CHARACTER PROFILE
Donovan
- Primary work
- Battle Tendency
- Occupation
- SS Commando↗
Donovan (ドノヴァン) is a tertiary antagonist featured in the second part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series, Battle Tendency.
As an elite member of the Nazis, Donovan is ordered to capture Joseph Joestar in the Mexican desert to retrieve information about Straizo.
Image attribution details
Donovan. Source illustration via JoJoWiki; copyright remains with the original rights holders.
Image via JoJoWiki. Original franchise/production rights holders retain copyright; the wiki text CC BY-SA license does not license this image.
Original image ↗ · Archived image ↗01Basic information
02Appearance
Donovan is an athletic commando of muscular build with short, dark slicked-back hair, a wide nose, and a long cleft chin. Donovan's eyes are distinctively wrinkly and dark facial markings extend from them up to the corners of his forehead. He appears wearing a sleeveless single breasted military tunic, arm braces and gloves. JoJo notes that he could guess Donovan was German from his "face and accent."↗
03Personality
Donovan is a sadistic and conceited Nazi soldier. He is confident about his abilities and looks down on those younger than him. He specializes in torture, claiming that he would drain Joseph's blood without killing him. After assuming he is victorious, Donovan mocks Joseph, demanding that Joseph says that Donovan was right about their gap in strength.↗
Although he is prideful about being an elite military man who would never talk under torture, this proves to be a facade, as Joseph quickly makes him talk about the Nazi base just minutes after Joseph inserts a compass into his eye.↗↗
04Abilities
Donovan is an elite German SS commando and thus has several talents related to tracking people.↗
Stealth
Donovan has remarkable stealth skills. He is able to move lightly enough to avoid leaving footprints in sand and claims that he can sneak up on wild bats. As an elite soldier, he is also agile and flexible. He can balance atop a cactus using the flat edge of a knife and is skilled at battling in mid-air, tending to strike his opponents from above.↗↗
Whip-Knife
Donovan is equipped with a knife that appears to be wrapped in a special cloth which can unwind and be used much like a whip. He wraps it around Joseph's neck.↗
Although he uses his knife in the anime, he does not unwrap it to use the whip.↗
05Story
SPOILERS
Battle Tendency
While Joseph travels through the desert in Mexico in his search for information about Speedwagon, he suddenly spots a large cape floating down toward him. Suspecting it to be related to his sense of being followed, he sends it flying and reveals a man with a knife, who immediately attacks. After a short back-and-forth, the man reveals himself to be an SS Nazi officer sent to capture Joseph in order to acquire information on Straizo.↗↗
Donovan charges toward Joseph, who throws his cape back at him and then punches it. However, Donovan reveals that Joseph had actually punched a cactus instead, while Donovan was balancing on top of it using his knife. Donovan then unwraps the cloth on his knife and extends it into a whip. He ties the whip around Joseph's neck to pull himself closer before kneeing Joseph in the face.↗↗
Donovan tries to make a run for it as Joseph gets ready to leave on his motorbike. However, Joseph easily catches him and ties him to a cactus with a note reading "Hello Adolph!"↗↗
06Plot details
SPOILERS
Profile details
Status Status based on their final appearance in the part(s) they are featured in: Retired (Part 2)↗
07Appearances
08Sources & attribution
- Donovan
Source text: JoJoWiki and its contributors. This entry has been reorganized and condensed for readability under CC BY-SA 4.0. Archived records reflect their capture dates. Referenced manga, anime, and artwork retain their respective copyrights.
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