Joe Hardy (The Hardy Boys)

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Joe Hardy is a amateur detective in the famous fictional novels , The Hardy Boys. Joe is 17-years-old, 6 foot, with light blond hair, blue eyes, and a big, muscular frame. He resides in a fictional Bayport, New York, along with his family. Their house is a two-story old Victorian on the corner of Elm Street. His brother, Frank Hardy is his crime-fighting partner. His father, Fenton Hardy used to work for the New York City Police Department and is currently a private investigator. His mother Laura is a stay-at-home mom and his aunt, Aunt Gertrude lives them in Bayport as well. His aunt is secretly proud of the boys' investigating abilities, but always chides them when they pick up a new case. Joe's girlfriend is Iola Morton (the sister of Joe's best friend Chet, in the original series. After Iola is blown up by a bomb in the first Casefiles novel Dead On Target. After some time, Joe meets Vanessa Bender, and at the end of the series, the two are still going steady.

Some of Joe's friends are Phil Cohen, a computer genius; Tony Prito, the manager of a famous teen hang-out place, Mr. Pizza; Chet Morton, a comic relief character who enjoys eating and has a new hobby every two-three weeks and Alan "Biff" Hooper, a well-built football player who has helped the Hardys on more than one case. The friends go to school at Bayport High.

Frank and Joe owned a large number of cars or automobiles. They first had motorcycles (but Joe totals his "The Shore Road Mystery"). Next, they own a yellow convertible which is blown up in the first Casefiles book, Dead On Target. They are given a black van by the Bayport Mall Association. This one is also blown up in Casefiles #100, True Thriller. They finally purchase a blue van which remains with them until the end of the series. Throughout the The Hardy Boys Mysteries (Digests) series, the boys own a black van.

Joe plays many school sports along with his brother. Throughout all the books, the boys play baseball, basketball, soccer, and football, at different seasons in the year. Joe also does wrestling, and snowboarding in some of the books. He also develops an interest in video games.

Besides having his drivers license, in the Casefiles and Mysteries (Digests) series, Joe also has his pilot license in the original series.

As compared to his brother Frank, Joe is the irrational one, wanting to jump straight into a situation. He often goes by his gut-feeling and is usually right.