History ComicBook / ElSulfatoAtomico

* BaitAndSwitch: A trademark of Ibáñez, not used any less in this case. The very story opens with the title characters walking to their headquarters, which seem to be a magnificent government building... only to be revealed to be actually a small working shack next to the place. The joke then sees another iteration, as the shack is revealed to be the secret elevator entry of an underground facility, only for it not to be so secret after all given that it is shown that burglars have somehow stolen the ''elevator'' itself. It only goes on and on, with the Supervisor giving them plane tickets which are actually tickets for a cheap bus brand named The Plane.

** The worst example might be when Rino and Bruteztrausen grab a car to try to chase Mortadelo and Filemón. As the dictator keeps scresming to march forward, even despite Rino's doubts, the latter starts up the car and literally drives it right forward against the wall it was parked towards, crashing the vehicle and injuring them.

* MilitariesAreUseless: Downplayed, as there ''are'' competent people in Tirania's army, but many of them are not. The crewmen of its main tank division, for instance, are epically bad at their task, so much that the division ends up half destroyed by their own mistakes before Mortadelo unleashes a giant ant force on them.

* SurprisinglyHappyEnding: Unusually for a ''[=MyF=]'' story, this ends in complete success: the sulfate is recovered, the militaristic Republic of Tirania is overthrown (accidentally, but still), and Bacterio destroys the dangerous chemical. The only drawback sees the four TIA agents being hilariously attacked by the last insect affected by the sulfate.

* RealityEnsues: Mortadelo disguises himself as a construction worker in order to spy in a building in construction. It takes three hours for him to do so, returning all tired, as he was quickly given work to do when he was spotted.

* SurprisinglyHappyEnding: Unusually for a ''[=MyF=]'' story, this ends in complete success: the sulfate is recovered, the militaristic Republic of Tirania is overthrown (accidentally, but still), and Bacterio destroys the dangerous chemical. The only drawback sees the four TIA agents being hilariously attacked by last insect affected by the sulfate.

* ShovelStrike: A cop suffers an exaggerate version when Mortadelo accidentally hits him over the head with a ''power'' shovel.

* SatchelSwitcheroo: Mortadelo snatches sneakily the sulfate bottle from Bruteztrausen's hand and replaces it with a turtle before the dictator realizes. Bruteztrausen then uses to critter to club Rino for not having realized himself.
* TheScrooge: Apparently, Filemón is one, which Mortadelo exploits to get him out of the ball of rubble created by a giant dung beetle: he throws a coin nearby in what he calls the "X-B-7 method", and Filemón jumps out of the ball, entirely energized, in order to catch it.

* ThoseWackyNazis: Tiranians, of course. Several character types of the list are used in this story.

* BlackComedyBurst: When Bruteztrausen's tanks start firing, a shell hits a farmer that was busy steering a pig. The farmer ends up comically singed, while the pig is turned to sausages in his hands.

** The story is a WholePlotReference to Hergé's ''Recap/TintinTheCalculusAffair'' and Maurice Tillieux's ''Gil Jourdan: The Three-Fingered Glove'', with a lot of references to the latter among its gags. ''ComicBook/SpirouAndFantasio'' also lent influences.

* {{Sizeshifter}}: The effects of the sulfate over insects, aside from killing nearby plants.

* StoryBreakerPower: The sulfate spray given to Mortadelo and Filemón ends being vital to defeat Tirania, as Mortadelo uses it constantly to summon giant insects that wreak havoc.
* SurprisinglyHappyEnding: Unusually for a ''M and F'' story, this ends with complete success: the sulfate is recovered, the militaristic Republic of Tirania is overthrown (accidentally, but still), and Bacterio destroys the dangerous chemical. The only drawback sees the four TIA agents being hilariously attacked by last insect affected by the sulfate.

This comic marked the first appearance of all the iconic elements of ''Mortadelo y Filemón'': the TIA, the Supervisor Vicente, Dr. Bacterio and the worldwide reach of the title duo's missions. It is considered one of the greatest stories, both by its elaborate plot and its drawing quality, which came from Ibáñez's desire to imitate FrancoBelgianComics.

* BaitAndSwitch: A trademark of Ibáñez, not used any less on this case. The very story opens with the title characters walking to their headquarters, which seem to be a magnificent government building... only to be revealed to be actually a small working shack next to the place. The joke then sees another iteration, as the shack is revealed to be the secret elevator entry of an underground facility, only for it not to be so secret after all given that it is shown that burglars have stolen the ''elevator'' itself. It only goes on and on, with the Supervisor giving them plane tickets which are actually tickets for a cheap bus brand named The Plane.
* BaldOfEvil: Otto Rino's, Tirania's secret police chief, has one of those.
* BerserkButton: When Mortadelo recounts how Bacterio made him lose all of his hair, the doctor retorts lightly a Spanish idiom meant to make peace. The thing is that said idiom makes reference to hair, which gets Mortadelo angry enough to need Filemón to contain him in order not to attack Bacterio.
* BigCreepyCrawlies: The sulfate turns regular insects on this. Among the giantized insects in the story there are bees, beetles, grasshoppers, spider, ants and scorpions.

* BookEnds: At the beginning of the story, Mortadelo and Filemón get injured when they step into an empty elevator shaft, as the elevator itself was stolen. At the end, it happens again, with the Super (who also got injured both times) revealing they brought a new elevator who got quickly stolen too.

* CollateralDamage: Mortadelo summons a giant dung beetle while fighting Tiranian frontier guards, but the beast ends up destroying a post where Filemón is held in order to make a ball with it.
* ContrivedCoincidence: Bruteztrausen orders a tank to run over a tree on the roadside, and this tree happens to be a disguised Mortadelo hidding Filemón between his branches.
* CrazyPrepared: Tiranian peasants are all prepared for war to a comical degree, with a man even carrying a warhead in his car.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Mortadelo is as dense as always, but he defeats a fair share of enemies in this story thanks to his disguises, the sulfate and some quick wits.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Mortadelo and Filemón (or rather Mortadelo) are in their most badass in this story, as they smash their way through Tirania with incredible skill and end up not only fulfilling their mission, but also ending the Tiranian menace once for all. Later stories characterized them as much less competent.
* DrivenToMadness: At the end of the story, Bruteztrausen goes insane after all the mess, the breaking point being his tank division getting wrecked by giant ants. Supplementary materials reveal he never recovered and even died not much later.

** Mortadelo wreaks havoc with a power shovel for a very prolonged time, entirely by accident given that he was just seeking the controls. It destroys Bruteztrausen's limo and hurts the dictator in several ways, among other things.

* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Tiranian soldiers vary wildly in competence, some of them being quite sharp while others are classical idiots. A particularly dumb frontier guard, when spotting Mortadelo hopping the barrier disguised as an ostrich, opts to just ask his superior whether ostriches need license to pass.
* IdenticalStranger: A random cop in Tirania looks just like the Super, only slightly less stout, but this is never commented on.

** Mortadelo and Filemón are trying to get of a sewer when the latter asks the former if there are cars coming on. Mortadelo denies it, and Filemón comes out, only to be run over by a car. The point here is that Filemón had used an Spanish idiom meaning whether there was danger or not ("are there any Moors in the coast?") and Mortadelo understood he was asking about its literal meaning.

** The worst example might be when Rino and Bruteztrausen grab a car to try to chase Mortadelo and Filemón. As the dictator screams to march forward, even despite Rino's doubts, the latter starts up the car and drives it right forward against the wall it was parked towards, crashing the vehicle.
* MakeMyMonsterGrow: Bruteztrausen intends to do a literal example of this with the sulfate.
* MilitariesAreUseless: Downplayed, as there ''are'' competent people in Tirania's army, but many of them are not. Its main tank division, for instance, is epically bad at its task, and ends up half destroyed by its own mistakes before Mortadelo unleashes a giant ant force on them.

* PuttingOnTheReich: Tirania is obviously meant to be a thinly veiled Nazi Germany, down to their language.
* RealityEnsues: Mortadelo disguises himself as a construction worker in order to spy in a building in construction. It takes three hours for him to do so, returning all tired, as he was quickly given work to do.
* RefugeInAudacity: To Filemón's desperation, Mortadelo proposes to cross the Tiranian customts post by donning animal costumes and just strolling by. It actually works pretty well for him, but Filemón has less luck and is captured.

** The story is a WholePlotReference to Hergé's ''Recap/TintinTheCalculusAffair'' and Maurice Tillieux's ''Gil Jourdan: The Three-Fingered Glove'', with a lot of references to the latter among its gags. ''ComicBook/SpirouAndFantasio'' also contributed.

* SurprisinglyHappyEnding: Unusually for a ''M and F'' story, this ends with complete success: the sulfate is recovered, the militaristic Republic of Tirania is overthrown (accidentally, but still), and Bacterio destroys the dangerous chemical. The only drawback sees the four TIA agents being hilariously attacked by last insect affected by the sulfate.

* BaitAndSwitch: A trademark of Ibáñez, not used any less on this case. The very story opens with the title characters walking to their headquarters, which seem to be a magnificent government building... only to be revealed to be actually a small working shack next to the place. The joke then sees another iteration, as the shack is revealed to be the secret elevator entry of an underground facility, only for it not to be so secret after all given that it is shown that burglars have stolen the ''elevator'' itself.

** The worst example might be when Rino and Bruteztrausen grab a car to try to chase Mortadelo and Filemón. As the dictator screams to march forward, even despite Rino's doubts, the latter starts up the car and drives it right forward against the wall it was parked towards, crashing the vehicle.

* AgonyOfTheFeet: Filemón gets his feet trampled by a tank when he stops in the roadside with his shoes off to rest. Later Rino gets his own when he steps on a spike.