Three Silver Watches (in French Trois Montres d'argent) is the eleventh album of the comic book series XIII. It was published in 1995.
Sean Mullway tells XIII about his family. The story begins in 1898, when three Irish men migrate to New York. At the same time, Peralta plans to attack Puerto Pilar, the capital of Costa Verde. Maria, the president, asks XIII to blow up a bridge to prevent Peralta from approaching the city.
Three Silver Watches provides examples of:
- Accidental Murder: Carla gets shot by Frank Giordino's gun when Sean Mullway tries to take the gun out of Frank's hand.
- The Alcoholic: Francis Mullway becomes one after the war.
- And Now You Must Marry Me: Don Pasquale Giordino offers to bail out the company of the O'Keefe sisters on the condition that his brother Giambatista marries Deborah. Deborah accepts to save the family business.
- Badass in Distress: XIII slips from the bridge and Peralta catches him. He would have been executed if Jones had not showed up in the last second.
- Badges and Dog Tags: Francis Mullway was a military during World War II. He becomes a policeman after the war.
- Best Friends-in-Law: Liam Mac Lane, George Mullway and Jack Callahan, three close friends, get married with the three daughters of Henry "Daddy" O'Keefe.
- Connected All Along:
- Armand de Préseau, whom XIII had met in Full Red, turns out to be an old friend of Sean Mullway, XIII's father.
- Frank Giordino, whom XIII had met in Thirteen to One, turns out to be the cousin of Sean Mullway, XIII's father, and the brother of XIII's mother.
- Contrived Coincidence: In hindsight. When XIII met Armand de Préseau by chance in Full Red, he met an old friend of his biological father, Sean Mullway.
- Cycle of Revenge: Between the mafia and the family of Henry "Daddy" O'Keefe. Daddy refuses to pay the mafia for his protection, so his shops are vandalized, his employees are mauled. Then Daddy recruits Irish henchmen to protect his business and to fight the Italian mobsters. The mafia sets fire to Daddy's house and he dies with his wife and one of his grandchildren. So, his three sons-in-law murders the mob boss, Don Vitale Castellana.
- Dating What Daddy Hates: Carla Giordino dates Sean Mullway and her father, Giambatista, forbids her to see him again.
- Dead Man Writing: Liam Mac Lane writes a letter to his son just before dying. Sean Mullway reads it after Liam's death.
- Death by Childbirth: Immediately after being hit by a gunshot, Carla gives birth to her baby and dies.
- Disappeared Dad:
- Liam Mac Lane, George Mullway and Jack Callahan had to run away after they killed Don Vitale Castellana, so their respective children, Tom Mac Lane, Francis Mullway and Deborah Callahan, were raised by their mother alone.
- Tom Mac Lane dies during World War II, when his son Jonathan is still a child.
- The father of Margareth and Sean Mullway, Francis, commits suicide when they are young adults.
- Exaggerated for Jason Mac Lane. His biological father, Sean Mullway, is framed for the murder of Carla, so he has to flee abroad. Jonathan Mac Lane, his adoptive father, is distant because he is always too busy, then he is jailed. Finally, he is murdered when Jason is still a child.
- Dismantled MacGuffin: Each of the three silver watches contains a part of the message that could indicate the location of Maximilian's gold. Liam Mac Lane sends one to New York. Sean Mullway finds the second one in a church in a Mexican village. The third one is probably in a grave in Costa Verde.
- The Don: The head of the mafia is first Don Vitale Castellana. After his murder, his nephew, Don Pasquale Giordino, inherits his business.
- Driven to Suicide: Francis Mullway hangs himself and dies.
- Elopement: Carla and Sean get married secretly.
- Flashback Within a Flashback: In the 1990s, Sean Mullway tells XIII about the story of their family. His narrative starts in 1898. At some point in this story, when Sean is a young adult in the early 1960s, he reads a letter written by Liam Mac Lane, which recounts Liam's story during The Mexican Revolution.
- Foregone Conclusion: Major plot points can be deduced from the family tree drawn by Sean in the beginning (for example, the wedding of Deborah with Giambatista, the death of George Mullway and Jack Callahan during The Mexican Revolution, the death of Carla...).
- Framing Device: Sean Mullway tells XIII about the story of their family. Another framing device is nested within this story, when Sean reads a letter written by Liam Mac Lane.
- Generational Saga: Sean Mullway tells the history of five generations, from 1898 to the end of the 20th century.
- Generation Xerox: Sean Mullway, like his grandfather George Mullway, has to run for the Mexican border because he is charged with murder.
- Gunship Rescue: Jones shows up in a fighter just as XIII is going to be executed by Peralta.
- Historical Domain Character: Pancho Villa appears briefly in Liam Mac Lane's story.
- Honor-Related Abuse: Frank Giordino threatens to kill Sean Mullway, because he thinks Sean's relationship with his sister Carla tarnishes the family's honor. He ends up accidentally killing Carla.
- I Just Shot Marvin in the Face: Carla gets shot by Frank Giordino's gun when Sean Mullway tries to take the gun out of Frank's hand.
- An Immigrant's Tale: Sean Mullway's story starts with three young Irishmen who decide to migrate to the United States in 1898.
- Iron Lady: Maria Isabel de Los Santos has become the president of Costa Verde. She is portrayed as competent (she analyzes correctly the diplomatic and military situation of her country, she devises a good plan to stop Peralta) and strong (she gives her love story with XIII up for the sake of her country).
- I Will Wait for You: The O'Keefe sisters expect their husbands to come back someday. It never happens because two of them died during The Mexican Revolution and the third one, Liam Mac Lane, considers that he is responsible for their death and does not dare to meet his family again.
- Kissing Cousins: Sean Mullway and Carla Giordino fall in love and get married, but they are second cousins.
- MacGuffin Title: The three watches that could indicate the location of Maximilian's gold.
- The Mafia: The family of Henry "Daddy" O'Keefe has to fight the Italian mobsters of New York. The main mobsters are: Don Vitale Castellana, who is murdered by Daddy's sons-in-law, Don Pasquale Giordino, his nephew, who inherits Don Vitale's business, Giambatista Giordino, Don Pasquale's brother, who marries Deborah and later poses as an honest business man, and Frank Giordino, Giambatista's son, who becomes the head of the NSA, but maintains links with the mafia.
- Mafia Princess: Sean Mullway falls in love with Carla, the daughter of Giambatista Giordino, a mob boss.
- Missing Mom:
- The mother of Margareth and Sean Mullway, Mary, dies from a cancer when they are still children.
- Exaggerated for Jason Mac Lane. His biological mother, Carla, dies in childbirth. Margareth Mullway, his adoptive mother, dies from a gastro-enteritis soon thereafter. Audrey, Margareth's stepmother, then brings up Jason, but she dies when he is three year old.
- Outliving One's Offspring:
- The son of Jack Callahan and Beth dies in the fire of Daddy's house. Jack Callahan and his brothers-in-law kill Don Vitale Castellana in retaliation.
- Liam Mac Lane and his wife Jenny lived longer than their son Tom Mac Lane, who died in captivity during World War II. Liam Mac Lane does not know it and he writes a letter to his son before dying.
- Carla dies in childbirth. Her parents, Giambatista and Deborah outlive her.
- Parental Marriage Veto: Giambatista Giordino does not want his daughter Carla to marry Sean Mullway. Therefore, Carla and Sean get married secretly.
- Parental Substitute: Jonathan Mac Lane and Margareth Mullway for Jason. Audrey too, after Margareth's death. Subverted because they all die when Jason is still a child.
- Redemption Quest: Liam Mac Lane after his attempt to seize Maximilian's gold resulted in the deaths of George Mullway and Jack Callahan. He takes his vows and devotes himself to helping the poor in Costa Verde.
- Refusal of the Call: XIII refuses at first the mission to blow up the bridge. Maria forces him to accept.
- Romantic False Lead: In the end, Maria tells XIII that he should leave Costa Verde. She still has feelings for him, but there is no room for him in her life since she is the president of Costa Verde.
- Rule of Three: Three Irish friends, three O'Keefe sisters, three silver watches.
- The Runaway: Carla runs away from her home because his father forbids her to date Sean Mullway.
- Run for the Border:
- Liam Mac Lane, George Mullway and Jack Callahan run for the Mexican border after the murder of Don Vitale Castellana.
- Sean Mullway runs for the Mexican border after the accidental death of his wife Carla.
- Saved for the Sequel: Where is the third silver watch? Where is Maximilian's gold? Why Jason Mac Lane went to a guerrilla training school in Cuba?
- Sequel Hook: In the end, the American ambassador asks Jones and XIII to come back to the US, because President Sheridan needs their help. The ambassador tells them that General Carrington has gone mad.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Francis Mullway was a POW in Burma with his cousin Tom Mac Lane, who died in captivity. When he comes back to the USA, he soon becomes an alcoholic and finally kills himself.
- Sibling Murder: Carla Giordino gets shot by the gun of her brother Frank when Sean Mullway tries to take the gun out of Frank's hand.
- Slipping a Mickey: Padre Jacinto puts a drug into Sean Mullway's drink, so that he sleeps for a very long time and he does not compromise the mission.
- Soft Water: XIII jumps from a very high bridge into the river and he is fine.
- Unreliable Narrator: In his letter, Liam Mac Lane tells that Maximilian's gold is in the Rio Grande. He lies.
- Villainous Crush: Giambatista Giordino, an Italian mobster, falls in love with Deborah.
- Workplace-Acquired Abilities: Margareth Mullway is able to save Carla's baby because she is a nurse.
