For Maria (in French Pour Maria) is the ninth album of the comic book series XIII. It was published in 1992.
Karl Meredith, a business man, is murdered in San Miguel by a mysterious priest, Padre Jacinto. At the same time, XIII and Jones, who live in exile, are on vacation in the plantation of Armand de Préseau in San Miguel. The priest calls XIII and makes an appointment with him in a seedy bar, because he needs his help to save XIII's wife (whose XIII did not even know existence).
For Maria provides examples of:
- Arms Dealer: Karl Meredith is an international arms merchant.
- Badass Preacher: Padre Jacinto fights against the dictatorship of Ortiz. He kills Karl Meredith in the prologue.
- Banana Republic:
- San Miguel, where the prologue takes place.
- Costa Verde, ruled by US-backed dictator Ortiz.
- Bavarian Fire Drill: To get out of the presidential palace, XIII dresses as an officer and he orders the guards to open the gate. Subverted, because he was tricked into escaping by Felicity and Peralta.
- Bilingual Bonus: The shouts of car drivers in San Miguel are not translated from Spanish.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Betty Barnowsky (who appeared in S.P.A.D.S. and Full Red) and Armand de Préseau (who appeared in Full Red) come back in this album.
- Felicity Brown (who appeared in Where the Indian Walks), who now goes by the name of Felicidad Moreno, returns as one of the antagonists.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Pr Simmel. XIII meets him on the plane going to Costa Verde. He tells XIII that he is a university lecturer. In El Cascador, he is revealed to be Minerco's main operative in Costa Verde.
- Cigar Chomper: Padre Jacinto always smokes cigars.
- Complexity Addiction: Peralta has an informant who tells him about Angel's plans. Therefore, he knew from the start that XIII was not the real Karl Meredith, but a guy sent to help the insurgency. So, he could have arrested him in the airport and have sent him to Roca Negra for interrogation. But instead, he chose to make XIII believe he was fooled by the fake identity, then to invite XIII to a gala dinner (where XIII has a real opportunity to escape). Later, when XIII is dropped by the insurgency in Puerto Pilar and is asked to kidnap Felicity, Peralta chooses to let him kidnap her and to arrest him only in the last second, when he is going to escape with a boat.
- Contrived Coincidence: Who is Ortiz's mistress? Felicity Brown, XIII's former mother-in-law.
- Creator Cameo: The CEO of Minerco looks like Jean Van Hamme, the writer of the series.
- Damsel in Distress: Maria Isabel de Los Santos. She is jailed in Roca Negra and Padre Jacinto asks XIII's help to free her.
- Dead Person Impersonation: XIII impersonates Karl Meredith, who was murdered by Padre Jacinto.
- Dressing as the Enemy: XIII dons Garcia's uniform to get out of the presidential palace.
- Eyepatch of Power: Jorge de Los Santos, alias Angel, is the leader of the insurgency and he wears an eyepacht with Costa Verde Libre ("Free Costa Verde") written on it.
- Fanservice: Felicity tears her own dress and she does not wear bra.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: XIII get on board of the ship and he notices that the insurgent is bruised, just before Peralta shows up and shoots the insurgent down.
- The Generalissimo: Ortiz, the general-president of Costa Verde.
- Gilded Cage: XIII's stay in the presidential palace is comfortable, but he cannot go out.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Peralta has evil scars on the cheek.
- Heroes Gone Fishing: XIII and Jones are chilling out in Armand de Préseau's plantation. XIII tries to teach Jones horse-riding.
- It Works Better with Bullets: XIII seizes Garcia's gun. When he tries to use it against Peralta, it turns out not to be loaded. Garcia then tells him that he would not have left him go with a loaded gun.
- The Mistress: Felicity Brown is Ortiz's mistress.
- The Mole: Padre Jacinto asks XIII to infiltrate the presidential palace of Ortiz under the false identity of Karl Meredith, an arms dealer, in order to save Maria Isabel de Los Santos, who is jailed in Roca Negra and was sentenced to death.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: El Cascador is a socialist guerrilla hero. He was trained in Cuba. He was caught by the soldiers of a US-backed dictatorship in a Latin American country because an informant disclosed the location of his camp. He is then executed and the photographs of his dead body are published in newspapers all over the world. His fate is very similar to Che Guevara's.
- The Omniscient Council of Vagueness: The people who talk about XIII in the beginning. We do not know who they are, what are their goals, we just know that they want to involve XIII in a secret (and probably evil) plan.
- Posthumous Character: Karl Meredith is murdered as soon as he is introduced, in the beginning of the story. We discover who he is after his death, because XIII impersonates him.
- Previously on…: The previous episodes are quickly summed up in the beginning, through a presentation to the members of the board of Minerco.
- Rebel Leader: Angel, the son of an assassinated president, his sister Maria, and Padre Jacinto, a priest who defends the poor farmers. El Cascador was also a rebel leader three years ago.
- Red Baron: The insurgency hero was better known by his nickname: El Cascador.
- La Résistance: Rebels led by Angel fight against the dictatorship of Ortiz.
- The Reveal: Peralta has an informant who tells him about Angel's plans. Therefore, he knew that XIII was not the real Karl Meredith and that he planned to kidnap Felicity.
- The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: Padre Jacinto brutally murders Karl Meredith. Later, Angel forces XIII to go back to the palace even if it is very risky for him.
- Schmuck Bait: The invitation sent by Felicity to XIII was a trap set up by Peralta.
- Shoutout: When XIII escapes from the bar in San Miguel and Jones waits for him in a car, Jones compares XIII with Tarzan and herself with Jane.
- This Is My Name on Foreign: Felicity Brown goes by the name of Felicidad Moreno in Costa Verde (moreno means "brown" in Spanish).
- Token Good Teammate: Garcia is loath to use chemical weapons against the insurgents.
- Tricked into Escaping: Peralta drives XIII to escape from the presidential palace with the help of Felicity and Garcia.
- Turbulent Priest: Padre Jacinto, alias El Padre Loco (the crazy priest), fights against dictator Ortiz.
- Wig, Dress, Accent: XIII uses a blond wig, a fake moustache and glasses to impersonate Karl Meredith.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Felicity tears her own dress, calls Garcia for help and pretends that XIII tried to rape her.
