Oftentimes, the heroes of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure universe are the ones outsmarting their villainous counterparts. This has been a trend reliably observed from Phantom Blood to Golden Wind and even beyond. It is especially prevalent when the adversary in question has a significant advantage in power, as creativity is used to balance the fight.
However, there are many antagonists who used cunning and guile in order to gain a significant upper hand against their parts' leads. By identifying the smartest villains in the series, we can better appreciate their wits, strategy, and in some instances, even leadership.
10 Risotto Was The Leader Of The Infamous La Squadra Group
Risotto was the leader of the infamous La Squadra group, an organization driven to dethrone and replace Diavolo as the rulers of Italy's criminal underworld. Surviving against the Boss's assassins already suggests a formidable intellect on his end.
He was also responsible for uncovering Doppio's association with Diavolo and would have even defeated him through the versatility of his "Metallica" Stand if Narancia didn't gun him down. Although Risotto is an excellent planner, he does not factor contingencies into his machinations well.
9 D'arby The Player Outsmarted Kakyoin & Dozens Of Innocent People
D'arby the Player's Stand may not have been particularly strong, although he knew how to use it to its fullest extent. By locking down Jotaro's arm, he convinced the heroes to agree to a video game battle and managed to take Kakyoin's soul.
He added it to his collection of several dozen other innocent victims, entailing that he was crafty enough to manipulate all of them. D'arby only isn't rated higher because he failed to notice the vines of Hermit Purple that sabotaged the game by attaching to Jotaro's controller.
8 Mario Zucchero Almost Wiped Out Bucciarati's Entire Team
Mario Zucchero was one of the first threats that Team Bucciarati encountered and among their most serious adversaries. By layering one boat over another, he managed to pick off the heroes individually until only Bucciarati himself remained.
Since Abbacchio had an opportunity to use his Stand before being abducted, the team leader had a decent idea of where Mario was. Although the villain was unzipped, defeated, and ultimately tortured, he was nonetheless nearly able to achieve total victory over the entire Golden Wind cast with intelligence and preparation alone.
7 Yoshikage Kira Was Reasonably Intelligent & Adaptable
Yoshikage Kira was a reasonably intelligent villain. He used his Stand in order to reduce victims to dust, leaving virtually nothing for police to investigate aside from a disturbance report. Moreover, he displayed incredible adaptability when fleeing from Morioh's heroes and coercing Aya Tsuji into giving him a new face.
However, he has also made serious flaws that resulted in his downfall. Not only was he careless about his suit after it lost a button in his fight with Shigechi, but he also failed to deceive Josuke about being an innocent bystander and was almost immediately discovered by Hayato.
6 Kars Succeeded In His Plan & Mastered His Newfound Power Instantly
Kars' plan was simple; he wanted to steal the Red Stone and use it to become the ultimate life form. In the end, he was successful in his agenda despite the loss of his comrades, Esidisi and Wamuu.
After his transformation, Kars showed such a profound affinity for his new powers that he was even able to survive being thrown inside an active volcano. Joseph Joestar admitted that he only defeated the Pillar Man by a stroke of blind luck.
5 D'arby The Gambler Used His Resources To His Advantage
While D'arby the Gambler may not have had his brother's clairvoyance, he possessed a more practical intelligence that made him significantly deadlier. He understood how to cheat and manipulate others, using the entire bar that he paid off to lure the Crusaders into a false sense of security.
He also managed to outsmart Joseph Joestar and Polnareff before Jotaro finally stepped in. Even with his track record of victories, Jotaro couldn't have won without continuing to flicker Star Platinum on and off, thereby forcing D'arby to second guess himself.
4 Terunosuke Was A Master Of Coercion & Fear
While Terunosuke's "Enigma" Stand may not have been the most powerful, he used it to its fullest advantage through capitalizing on his opponents' fear. Two bodily expressions of trepidation are all he needs in order to seal his adversaries, leaving them at his mercy.
In order to defeat Josuke, Terunosuke kidnapped Koichi and his mother. After revealing his hostages to the Morioh student, he was able to get him to slip up and become his latest victim.
3 Rohan Kishibe Debuted As A Villainous Manga Artist Desperate For Original Content
While Rohan Kishibe would later become one of the series' most iconic heroes, he started as a villain who abducted Koichi and used him as a "muse." Even in his earliest days in the world of Stands, he displayed a fierce amount of intelligence when subduing Okuyasu.
Although Josuke was more careful than his partner, Rohan adapted against him by reading Koichi's pages for ways to bait his friend out of hiding. His decision to insult Josuke's hair may have been practical, but it didn't turn out nearly as well as the manga artist had hoped.
2 Diavolo Was The Ruthless Criminal Kingpin Of Italy
Diavolo was the criminal kingpin of Italy and a man who created new followers through the power of the Stand arrow. In addition to possessing one of the series' strongest abilities, he was also so elusive that neither Team Bucciarati nor La Squadra had ever seen his face before their final reckoning.
The Boss displayed an exceptional amount of cunning when ordering Bucciarati to deliver Trish under the pretense that he wanted to keep her safe. By the time that the young man realized his employer's true intentions, it was already too late. His intervention would cost him his life.
1 DIO Plagued The Joestar House For Centuries & Almost Never Made Mistakes
As the only villain to actually have murdered the main protagonist of his part, DIO was extremely resilient and tenacious. He understood his own weaknesses and actively resolved to improve them, as demonstrated through his vow to Jonathan in the family manor.
Additionally, DIO possessed the charisma necessary to sway massive hordes of followers from across the world and sire several children to carry his legacy. The villain seldom fell for Jotaro's tricks, although when he did, his mistakes were costly.