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Recap / XIII: The Jason Fly Case

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The Jason Fly Case (in French Le Dossier Jason Fly) is the sixth album of the comic book series XIII. It was published in 1989.

XIII travels to the small town Greenfalls where he is supposed to have spent his childhood. He is looking for more information about the death of his father. Meanwhile, Jones is attacked in her apartment by two hitmen.


The Jason Fly Case provides examples of:

  • Academic Athlete: Jason Fly was a champion in the ski team of CU Boulder.
  • Action Pet: Jones's cat saves her life: he jumps on the face of a hitman. This even counts as a Heroic Sacrifice, since Jones says later that the cat died.
  • Big Bad Duumvirate: Dwight Rigby and the Mongoose join forces to go after XIII.
  • Booby Trap: Kern plants a bomb in XIII's room. It kills Murdoch when he searches the room.
  • Bound and Gagged: The deputy sheriff is bound and gagged by XIII and Jones, when XIII escapes from the prison.
  • Butt-Monkey: David Rigby. Quinn insults him after the explosion. He is terrified when he sees Jones and two corpses in the hospital and Jones makes fun of him. Then the Mongoose calls him an idiot.
  • Clear My Name:
    • XIII is framed for the murder of Murdoch, who died in the explosion of a bomb planted by Kern.
    • Jones is framed for the murders of Dr Robertson and Kern. Dr Robertson was killed by Kern and she killed Kern, but in self-defense.
  • Crippling Castration: Jones's uterus was damaged when she was wounded in Full Red and she is infertile.
  • Destination Defenestration: One of the hitmen who get in Jones's apartment is thrown through the window.
  • Dirty Cop: Quinn, the sheriff of Greenfalls, who is an accomplice of Dwight Rigby.
  • Emotionally Tongue-Tied: Jones is too proud to confess she would like a Relationship Upgrade with XIII. She asks him what are his feelings for her. Since he does not answer with a Love Confession, she is disappointed and does not confess her own feelings.
  • Fanservice: Jones is almost naked when two hitmen move into her apartment.
  • FlashBack: The consequences of Jones's wound and XIII's investigation about the life of Jason Fly are told in flash-backs.
  • Flashback Effects: The panel borders are rounded instead of square in the flashbacks.
  • Good Scars, Evil Scars: Jones's cat inflicts evil scars on Kern's cheeks.
  • Hair-Trigger Avalanche: The explosion of the bomb planted by Kern triggers an avalanche that isolates the town from the outside world.
  • Hero Stole My Bike: Jones steals car from the parking lot of the hospital to go to Greenfalls.
  • Impersonating an Officer: The Mongoose pretends to be a federal agent.
  • In Medias Res: The story starts with the arrival of XIII in Greenfalls, then several flash-backs explain prior events.
  • I Own This Town: David Rigby explains that his father owns almost everything in Greenfalls.
  • It's Personal: Kern wants to kill Jones even if this is not part of the contract after Jones's cat gave him scars in the face.
  • Killing in Self-Defense: In the hospital, Jones kills Kern who tried to kill her.
  • The Klan: XIII sees a photograph of Klansmen in Dwight Rigby's chalet.
  • Mad Lib Thriller Title: "The" + name of a person + noun with political undertones.
  • Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Dr Robertson, who gives a sleep cure to Zeke so that he cannot speak to XIII.
  • Mysterious Past:
    • Jason Fly has a very mysterious past. Very little information about his past can be found (for example not any single photograph). Moreover, nobody knows what he did during 6 years between his university graduation and his hiring as a mole by Heideger.
    • Jonathan Fly's past counts too: why did he leave New York? Why did he settle in a small town? Why XIII cannot find any information about him in the archives of the newspaper he worked for?
  • Parental Abandonment: Jason Fly's mother died when she gave birth to him. His father died when his son was 11.
  • The Patient Has Left the Building: Jones leaves the hospital quickly to go to XIII's rescue. The nurse is very surprised and tells her that she cannot leave yet.
  • Professional Killer: Kern and the Mongoose's mission is to kill XIII.
  • Promiscuity After Rape: Judith is promiscuous (she says she regularly has sex with Dwight and David Rigby and she has a one-night stand with XIII) and she reveals that she was raped at 14.
  • Prophet Eyes: Zeke Hattaway is blind and has cataracted eyes. He is the only one who recognizes XIII as Jason Fly.
  • Rape as Backstory: Judith reveals that she was raped by Dwight Rigby when she was 14.
  • Ready for Lovemaking: Judith shows up naked in the chalet and makes clear she wants to have sex with XIII.
  • Romantic False Lead: XIII has sex with Judith. In the end of The Night of August Third, she recognizes that XIII is bound to Jones and that she cannot compete.
  • Running Gag: Everybody (Mrs Murdoch, Judith, David, Zeke) offers XIII some coffee and he always refuses. In the chalet Judith asks what he is drinking and he answers coffee. Too bad, there is no coffee and she gives him whisky.
  • Saved for the Sequel: The Jason Fly file does not mention what he did during 6 years between his university graduation and his hiring as a mole by Heideger.
  • The Sheriff: Quinn is the sheriff of Greenfalls.
  • The Shrink: XIII's shrink is well-meaning, but he cannot solve his problem.
  • Small-Town Tyrant: Dwight Rigby controls everything in Greenfalls, including the police. He gives orders to the doctor, the hotel owner and the sheriff.
  • Stranger in a Familiar Land: XIII does not feel comfortable in Greenfalls, his hometown. The facts that he is amnesiac and that he does not have the same face any more do not help.
  • Talking in Your Sleep: Zeke gives Jones crucial clues when he talks in his sleep in the hospital.
  • Tempting Fate: XIII tells Jones on the phone: "What could possibly happen to me in a dump like this?" Eventually, XIII will face a lot of problems in Greenfalls.
  • Town with a Dark Secret: XIII soon discovers that there is something wrong about his father's death. Some inhabitants of Greenfalls know what happened.
  • Whole-Plot Reference: The plot of this episode and The Night of August Third has many points in common with The Sons of Katie Elder. A Small-Town Tyrant has killed the hero's father. The hero returns to his hometown, he suspects something is wrong about his father's death and start investigating. Soon the hero and his allies are framed for a murder they did not commit and the corrupt hick, who joins forces with a hired gun, convinces the whole population that the hero is a dangerous criminal. The corrupt hick has a weak son named David/Dave.
  • You Wake Up in a Room: Jones wakes up in a hospital room and does not know where she is.

Alternative Title(s): The Jason Fly File, The Jason Fly Case

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