El Cascador is the tenth album of the comic book series XIII. It was published in 1994.
XIII is held prisoner in Roca Negra. Peralta tries to make him talk. Representatives of the Red Cross show up to visit the prison. Actually, they are Jones, Betty and Armand de Préseau, who want to free XIII with the help of the insurgents.
El Cascador provides examples of:
- Accuse the Witness: When he defends XIII, Sean Mullway accuses Pr Simmel, a witness, then Angel, a judge.
- The Alcatraz: Roca Negra, an island located 5 nautical miles from the coast, surrounded by a sea full of sharks.
- Almost Dead Guy: Before dying, Garcia can tell Sean Mullway the nickname of the mole, "Condor".
- Badass in Distress: XIII is held prisoner in Roca Negra and Jones, Betty and Armand de Préseau have to free him with the help of the insurgents.
- Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: The revolution was doomed to fail without the support of Minerco. Angel accepted this support.
- Banana Republic: The revolution ins Costa Verde, a fictional Latin American country, is backed by an American company, Minerco.
- Battle in the Rain: It rains when the rebels attack Roca Negra.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Maria seems to be in a surprisingly good shape when XIII meets her in Roca Negra, whereas the other prisoners (who are male) are pale, weak and skinny.
- The Cavalry: After crossing the mangrove, XIII and Maria are going to be caught by Ortiz's soldiers. The insurgents show up in the last second to rescue them.
- Chick Magnet: XIII does not try to charm Maria Isabel des Los Santos, but she falls in love with him and suggests him to have sex with her.
- Contrived Coincidence: Minerco executives tried to rekindle the flame of the rebellion with the help of someone who would impersonate El Cascador, a dead rebel hero. They chose XIII, who is actually the real El Cascador.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: The members of the board of Minerco, the CEO in particular.
- Damsel in Distress: Maria Isabel des Los Santos. She is jailed in Roca Negra. When the insurgents seize the prison, Peralta kidnaps her. XIII frees her, but she is injured and XIII has to help her to cross a mangrove.
- Dragon Ascendant: The insurgents seize Puerto Pilar, capture and execute Ortiz, the dictator, but Peralta, the head of the secret police, takes refuge in the North of Costa Verde where he becomes the head of loyalist troops.
- Disregard That Statement: The court informs Sean Mullway that it will disregard the interrogation of Pr Simmel, because it is unrelated to XIII's case.
- Driven to Suicide: When his crimes are revealed by Sean Mullway during the trial, Angel shoots himself down.
- A Fool for a Client: Subverted. XIII tells the court that he has no lawyer. Then Sean Mullway shows up and announces that he is a lawyer and that he will defend XIII.
- Frameup: Angel frames XIII up twice.
- First, he forces him to sign a confession where XIII recognizes that he is El Cascador and that he disclosed the location of the headquarter of the insurgency after being caught three years ago, in order to save his life.
- Then, during the trial, he gets Felicity to give false testimony: she tells that XIII is an impostor who worked as a mole inside the insurgency for Peralta.
- Full-Circle Revolution: Angel's rule does not seem to be better than Ortiz's. He uses the same kind of wording than Ortiz in his first official speech. Moreover, he is ready for killing fellow insurgents and loose ends, and for selling out his country's natural resources to get absolute power.
- Groin Attack: In Roca Negra, XIII delivers one to the torture technician, so that he can escape from him and two soldiers.
- Hauled Before a Senate Subcommittee: In the end, when their involvement in the revolution in Costa Verde is revealed, the executives of Minerco are summoned before a congressional committee.
- Hellhole Prison: Roca Negra. Torture is common. The cells are medieval. The prisoners (except Maria) are not in good shape when they are freed.
- He Knows Too Much:
- Angel threatens to kill XIII, Jones, Betty, Armand de Préseau and Sean Mullway because they know too much about the role of Minerco in the revolution. Mullway lampshades that he was caught because he knows too much.
- Then he kills Garcia during XIII's trial because he is about the reveal the nickname of Peralta's mole inside the insurgency.
- Instant Leech: Just Fall in Water!: When XIII and Maria cross the mangrove, leeches bite them.
- Interrogated for Nothing: XIII is tortured in Roca Negra, but he cannot disclose any information, because he does not know anything that Peralta does not already know.
- I Want Them Alive!: When XIII escapes from his guards in Roca Negra, the torture technician tells the soldiers not to shoot him down, because Peralta wants him alive.
- Kangaroo Court: The revolutionary court that tries XIII. A judge even shoots down an embarrassing witness during the trial.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: In the end, Sean Mullway reveals that he is XIII's biological father.
- Meaningful Name: Sean Mullway tells XIII that his first name, Jason, is a reference to Greek mythology: when he was a child, the hero Jason was raised by an adoptive father, the centaur Chiron.
- Never Smile at a Crocodile: The crocodiles of the mangrove are placid according to Maria, but when she starts panicking, they become a real threat.
- No One Could Survive That!: XIII assumes that Peralta died in the crash of his helicopter. He survived.
- Protagonist Title: XIII was nicknamed El Cascador when he was a guerrilla hero three years ago.
- The Reveal:
- Angel is the mole who gives Peralta information about the insurgency (so that El Cascador was caught and the headquarter of the insurgency was discovered three years ago, and XIII's cover as Karl Meredith was exposed).
- Sean Mullway is XIII's biological father.
- The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: Jones is shocked by the fact that Padre Jacinto shot down a disarmed prisoner. Then he also shoots down another prisoner, the torture technician of Roca Negra. Then, Angel threatens to kill XIII, Jones, Betty, Armand de Préseau and Sean Mullway.
- Romantic False Lead: Maria falls for XIII and they have sex together. Jones, XIII's official love interest, is jealous.
- Same Surname Means Related: Sean Mullway has the same name as Jason Mac Lane's mother Margareth Mullway. In the end, Sean tells that he is XIII's father.
- Sequel Hook: In the end, Sean Mullway start telling XIII about his family backstory.
- Short-Lived Aerial Escape: Peralta kidnaps Maria and escapes in a helicopter, but XIII catches hold the helicopter and causes the helicopter to crash.
- Shoutout: When XIII is locked up with Jones, Betty, Armand de Préseau and Sean Mullway in Mullway's cellar, Jones compares him with Zorro.
- Surprise Witness: First the Prosecution calls Felicity Brown as a witness. Then Sean Mullway calls Pr Simmel and Garcia.
- Tampering with Food and Drink: The CEO of Minerco puts strychnine in the coffee of the other members of the board, because they intended to deny their responsibility in the involvement of the company in Costa Verde.
- Torture Is Ineffective: XIII is tortured in Roca Negra, but he cannot disclose any information, because he does not know anything that Peralta does not already know.
- Torture Technician: There is one at Roca Negra. Padre Jacinto (who is a former prisoner of Roca Negra) cannot stop himself from shooting him down.
- Using You All Along: XIII was used all along by Minerco, who wanted the insurgency to defeat Ortiz to seize Costa Verde's natural resources.
