Line #40 YMMV/OneHundredBullets


1	* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
2	** Near the end of the series, Augustus and his allies assert that they only need to kill one more person before its over. [[spoiler: That person was Joan D'Arcy, but that raises the question of why they intended to spare Megan and Tibo. Was it simple PragmaticVillainy to make it easier to absorb and control their assets, or due to doubts that they'd be able to kill them as quickly and efficiently as their plans required? Was it a form of VillainRespect that came from watching those two counter their moves and feeling that there was a place for them in their new vision for the Trust? Or did Augustus and Vasco see them as MoralityPet's given that Tibo had been working with Vasco in publicly challenging Augustus's agenda for a while, and Megan had a sexual relationship with Augustus that might have led to him developing stronger feelings for her than he'd anticipated]].
3	** Did Roland Dietrich really conspire with Rose Madrid to move against the Medici's (which led to her death)? Roland did ask for Graves and the Minutemen to support him with something right after they were deactivated [[spoiler: and right before Graves betrayed him]] which might have been that, but Augustus himself (or one of his allies) wold have also had motive to have been manipulating Rose to further the divide between the Trust and the Minutemen that came from her execution.
4	** Did the remaining younger Trust heads really kill [[spoiler: Benito]]? Graves confidently asserts that they did, but they seem genuinely shocked and rattled by his fate (particularly Joan) even when alone with each other, and continue to deny it, while Lono (who was lurking around) and Augustus [[spoiler: who was seen watching Benito and Megan in the pool]] also had motives.
5	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: The first few issues of Volume 9 have a running subplot about an EscalatingWar between two gangsters in Miami that has nothing to do with the main plot. The things they do to each other get increasingly ridiculous ([[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext "Terry ate your dog.""]]) and it ultimately culminates in one decapitating the other with a katana and the second one's uzi flying through the air, spraying bullets everywhere and killing everyone else in the room. This plot never interacts with the main plot and is never mentioned again. Even more odd is that the two gangsters, Bosco and Spain, were introduced in previous volumes (Spain was mentioned in 4) in stories that ran parallel to the main plot, there was a ShaggyDogStory arc running all along.
6	* BrokenBase:
7	** The series deliberately having exactly 100 issues is either a great thematic device that keeps it from going on for too long or an annoying gimmick that causes it to be wrapped up prematurely.
8	** Is the series better when it focuses on people getting attache cases or when it shifts focus to the Minutemen's campaign against the Trust?
9	* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Augustus Medici]] is the most powerful member of [[AncientConspiracy the Trust]] and [[TheChessmaster the one pulling the strings of every other character]]. The Trust is a coalition of thirteen families that secretly founded the United States, but this is not enough for Augustus, who puts into motion a grand and intricate plan to take the other members' holdings for himself. Augustus proposes that the Trust and their enforcers, [[CarnivalOfKillers the Minutemen]], take over another country, to which the Minutemen refuse and are marked for death by the Trust. The Minutemen's leader, Agent Philip Graves, secretly working for Augustus, would then lead the Minutemen on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge and kill the Trust members Augustus wanted dead. After Augustus's son Benito is almost killed, Augustus enlists the sociopathic Minuteman [[WildCard Lono]] to torture and kill another trust head who had a hand in the hit and his heirs, and also orchestrate a [[FalseFlagOperation false flag assassination]] of female Trust head Megan Dietrich, whom Augustus then seduces despite a very large age difference. When a rival Trust head has two of Augustus's key allies killed, Augustus resigns his seat in favor of Benito, knowing that [[OffingTheOffspring this will lead to Benito's murder at Megan's hands]] and a power vacuum that ultimately kills all the other Trust members and most of the Minutemen. When confronted by a disgusted Graves over killing his own child, Augustus justifies himself by saying that he didn't ''technically'' make Megan do anything.
10	* CrossesTheLineTwice: In the final arc, Cole guns down [[spoiler:Echo, as payback for her own murder of his best friend Branch, while she's mid-coitus with Jack]], then calmly asks the latter, "Did you bust a nut when I...?"
11	* DracoInLeatherPants: Azzarello was disturbed to discover that Lono was inexplicably popular among female fans. Keep in mind that the character is, among many other unpleasant things, a misogynistic rapist.
12	** Sinister FemmeFatale Megan might count as a female version given how often she's associated with the series.
13	* FanonDiscontinuity: The last issue isn't universally accepted due to the way it wraps up some of the story arcs without explaining everything, leaves several unanswered questions (most prominent the exact significance of the [[MacGuffin mysterious painting]]) and has some of the cast arguably behaving out of character.
14	* FridgeBrilliance: The fact that the Trust is composed of '''13''' families initially just seems like a detail added in to make them seem more evil (because, y'know...'''13''' is an unlucky number). Then we find out that the Trust were the real founders of the United States--a nation that started out as a union of '''13''' colonies. One colony for each house of the Trust.
15	* GeniusBonus: Several involving the American-history stuff.
16	** "Lono" is a Hawaiian god of fertility and music. Aside of the fact that Lono '''is''' Hawaiian, he bears very little resemblance to the god.
17	* HesJustHiding:
18	** It's interesting that in the final issue, Tibo's face isn't visible when they find his body, Joan's body doesn't have any clear marks on it, and Megan isn't seen in the frame with Cole when he burns to death (and might have had the insight to run when she saw him drop the lighter).
19	** Jack and Crete might have been capable of fighting off the alligators that came after them.
20	** While Ronnie Rome likely died as a result of his brother's suicide, perhaps Victor's laugh afterwards was because Remi failed to hit him when he jumped off the roof.
21	** Some people like to think that the execution of Sigmar Rhone's family was faked, if only because it causes the otherwise well-liked Victor to border on crossing the MoralEventHorizon.
22	* MagnificentBastard:
23	** [[TheSpymaster Agent Philip Graves]] is the man who delivers the attache cases, offering people who have been wronged a chance for ''carte blanche'' vengeance. Often having multiple hidden agendas to his actions, Graves strategically uses some attaches to gain favors or followers, and is eventually revealed to have [[FakingTheDead faked his death]] with those of his squad, the Minutemen, who he manipulates back into service. Revealed to be secretly working in conjunction with his supposed rival Augustus Medici to slowly dismantle the infamous Trust and bring it down until only Augustus, Graves and their ally Javier Vasco remain, Graves is also revealed to be [[EveryoneHasStandards a man of principle]], which separates him from the monstrous Augustus, willing to select his principles over even his life in the end.
24	** [[BadassBookworm Joseph Shepherd]], the Warlord of the Trust and former Minuteman himself, is TheMentor and teacher of most of the current generation. Once a soldier in Vietnam dishonorably discharged for his homosexuality, Shepherd murdered a man who beat his lover into a coma and managed to commit such a perfect crime that not even Agent Graves was ever able to uncover how he'd done it. Allying with Graves to fool most of the Trust and fake the deaths of his charges, Shepherd [[WildCard plays his own game]] at assisting the Trust and Minutemen as suits him, ingratiating himself to both while making sure to guide his protege Wylie Times even if he knows it may mean his life after Wylie recalls Shepherd had him kill his lover Rose for betraying the Trust. Even at point of death, Shepherd is able to arm the vicious Lono with the trigger to awaken the Minutemen and his former position of Warlord.
25	** [[AntiVillain Joan D'Arcy]] of the Trust stands out as the only one of the Trust members to react proactively in the war against Graves, successfully derailing a LongGame far older than herself. Joan values a peace arrangement that everyone can live with over revenge against Augustus while still trying to ensure that he'll never have the power to be a threat to anyone again. When Augustus gains the upper hand anyway, Joan makes a somewhat amused comment about being beaten by the best, even as she agrees that they need to counter what he just did. In the final issue, she seems disgusted and angry about Benito's murder even though it does seemingly counter Augustus's plans to retain power. As the Trust's control over the rampaging Minutemen vanishes, Joan is the only person present to see the wisdom of fleeing the Medici mansion.
26	** [[HitmanWithAHeart Wylie Times]], "[[TokenGoodTeammate The Point Man]]", is the former leader of the Minutemen and the sharpest and most skilled of the Seven. A brilliant fighter whose motto is "[[TheGunslinger My First Shot Is My Last]]", Wylie helps to mastermind the Atlantic City Job, being the one to set fire to Roland Dietrich before allowing his memory to be erased. Wylie keeps some of his signature cleverness even as an amnesiac slacker, until his awakening in New Orleans. Using a quick ruse to obtain access to his gun and kill the corrupt hicks menacing him, Wylie storms the House of Madrid, setting up an ambush for Joseph Shepherd after slaughtering all of the Madrid guards, blaming Shepherd who had Wylie execute [[CrusadingWidow his lover Rose]] after her betrayal of the Trust. Choosing to forgive Shepherd, Wylie guards Dizzy Cordova after his death and even manages to match wits with Graves after figuring out his plans.
27	** [[ConsummateProfessional Victor Ray]] is introduced giving a lecture about the history of The Trust to some criminals he aided in RobbingTheMobBank. He advises one of his wounded partners to fake dropping dead to throw off his pursuers, and when that doesn't work, helps take out those pursuers, [[CasualDangerDialogue while finishing his story in the middle of the gunfight]]. Victor has a sense of loyalty towards his fellow Minutemen--even if he's willing to manipulate them for Graves--and stops Lono from raping his one-night stand even while treating her poorly in the same scene. While he's willing to help kill children if Graves orders him, he's deeply introspective about the job that he does and spends his free time trying to atone for his actions by being a VigilanteMan, rescuing the innocent and killing people worse than himself. At the end of the story, Victor recognizes how fishy Graves' behavior is, stops following his lead, and is one of the only people who's smart enough to walk away from the fight that kills most of the remaining characters.
28	** [[RetiredBadass Will Slaughter]] was a former Minuteman turned hired killer who uses assassinations to provide for his wife and three children. Taking the job to deal with Agent Graves for Joan d'Arcy, Slaughter kills ArmsDealer Arnold Rothstein to eliminate Graves' connections and then systematically dismantles all in his way with his professionalism and skill, killing Javier Vasco to force Graves and Augustus Medici to negotiate with the rest of the Trust. Finally intervening to save his son Victor Ray, Slaughter decides with too many axes being ground, it's time to [[KnowWhenToFoldEm withdraw and rejoin his family]], though not before he informs Louis "Loop" Hughes how proud his father would be of him.
29	* RootingForTheEmpire: It’s not that hard to root for some of the Trust members given that so many of the Minutemen are vicious killers it kind of makes sense to retire. While the Trust are a conspiracy they don’t seem to be that malignant of one, at least by what we see of them in present day. [[spoiler: The fact that Augustus, the face of The Trust, is using the Minutemen to clean house makes it even worse]].
30	* TearJerker: ''Wylie Runs The Voodoo Down'' has a plethora of these, namely:
31	** The death of Martin, who loses his jaw in a bear trap, destroying his talent for his trumpet. After lacking the resolve to shoot himself, Gabe makes Wylie do it. Wylie tells him to close his eyes and picture where he needs to go...and Gabe envisions playing his horn to his beloved April's admiration, just as Wylie, in tears and looking away pulls the trigger.
32	** Rose's death in a flashback. Wylie kills the woman he loves on a job, interspliced in dialogue and imagery to his current rage at Shepherd. Wylie executes Rose after a final kiss and promising her they're going to run away together. After, he cradles her in his arms, whispering he'll love her forever.
33	** Shepherd's reaction to having to make Wylie do the job. As much as Shepherd knows what has to be done, it's clear it's broken his heart as well. In present, he refuses to fight back against Wylie and only has two final words for him when it seems his death is inevitable: "I'm sorry."
34	** Issue 79, [[spoiler: the death of Wylie Times, the most good-hearted Minuteman and the moral core the story at this point. His death is as pointless as it is tragic, as Remi Rome, in an impulsive haste possibly spurred by his envy of Wylie, shoots him when Wylie reaches for matches, too focused on Cole, who knows Wylie well enough to relax his own guard. Even Graves is utterly horrified, and a dying Wylie is welcomed to the afterlife by his beloved Rose.]] The effect on the Minutemen is startling, as Victor Ray is seen in genuine mourning for the first time, to the point of nearly provoking a fight with a completely unrepentant Remi later. Tellingly, the news is enough to enrage short, fat, cowardly Branch to grab the nearest weapon he can and lunge at a ''Minuteman'' with a scream of fury in grief over his friend.
35	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Many Trust members (most notably BigFun Daniel Peres, MagnificentBitch Joan D’Arcy, the novice Nagel twins, CoolOldLady Mia Simone, BenevolentBoss Sigmar Rhone, and gruff yet reasonable Fulvio Carlito) have the potential for drawn-out arcs across the series due to their personalities and positions in the powerful AncientConspiracy running the country, but are all either killed off after a few appearances or hover in the background until the series is almost over.
36	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: There are two fascinating bits of BackStory that never get near the amount of exposition and detail than they deserve.
37	** Rose Madrid's attempt to kill and/or overthrow Augustus Medici play a big role in the BackStory, but her exact motivations and methods are never explained and her actions are only mentioned in a couple of arcs to set up why Rose's lover Wylie [[spoiler:had to kill her and then turned against the Trust.]]
38	** The Trust and the Minutemen fell out when the Minutemen refused to help the Trust expand into another country (something that they later speculate was deliberately engineered by one or more Trust members who wanted an excuse to go after them). What the plan entailed, which Trust members supported it, the exact reactions the Minutemen had to getting the order, and why the Trust didn't pursue the plan without the Minutemen are all left unanswered.

Context YMMV / OneHundredBullets