Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure: Steel Ball Run Episode 9 drags Johnny and Gyro into the Rocky Mountains, where the race’s 150-point leader turns into a scaled, razor-clawed predator. The ability responsible is Scary Monsters, and its original user is geologist Dr. Ferdinand.
That distinction changes who the real threat is. Diego is the weapon on screen, while Ferdinand is the one aiming him.
Who Really Controls Scary Monsters?
Scary Monsters is an integrated Stand, meaning it has no body of its own and instead rewrites living bodies into dinosaurs. Ferdinand can use it on other people and animals, and Diego is the victim Episode 9 puts front and center. The anime lays the groundwork through small details, including Diego eating rocks and a bandage peeling off his cheek to reveal animal teeth.
The manga confirms the plan behind those clues. In Chapter 31, Ferdinand reveals that he turned Diego into a dinosaur and used him to infect everyone in the village so he could take the Corpse part for himself. At this stage, Diego is under the control of Ferdinand’s Stand rather than wielding one of his own.
Ferdinand also explains that Scary Monsters has been controlling every dinosaur the racers have faced so far. That makes the whole stage a single trap with one architect, not a string of random prehistoric attacks.
Related: Who Is Marco in Steel Ball Run? All About The Boy Gyro Is Racing to Save
Why Dinosaurs? The Jurassic Park Influence
Araki has said the Stand was inspired by Jurassic Park. In his JOJOVELLER Stand commentary, he pointed to the way the film’s dinosaurs behave:
“Simply put, it was inspired by Jurassic Park… I think? With the cunning dinosaurs that hunt in packs, and all. I thought it fit well with Dio, so I made it his Stand as well,” he said.
That pack-hunting idea explains why Ferdinand’s ability spreads through a swarm instead of a single monster. Araki also felt the Stand would suit Diego’s image, which sets up what comes next for the character.
Diego does eventually develop his own version of Scary Monsters later in the story. His version lets him change into a dinosaur completely or as a hybrid, and it can turn others, including his horse, into dinosaurs too.
The Episode 9 cliffhanger shows how quickly the ability spreads, as a dead bear beneath Johnny and Gyro becomes a T-Rex. With Diego hunting them as well, the pair now face a threat that multiplies instead of a single rival.
Steel Ball Run Episode 10 arrives next Friday on Netflix.
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