"You're in SPADS Tanner, not the National Guard Reserve! Do you know what that means!? That means, bone head, that this survival exercise is treated like a real operation! Carried out under real conditions with real risks!"
— Quinn, SPADS
SPADS is the fourth album of the comic book series XIII. It was published in 1987.
XIII trains as a commando in the SPADS under a fake identity. He has difficulties accepting the strict discipline of this elite unit.
SPADS provides examples of:
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Kim fell in love with Rowland, a far-right militant.
- Almost Dead Guy: Steve Rowland was seriously wounded, but he managed to go back to his home to deliver a message to his wife Kim.
- Banana Republic: The SPADS base is located in an unnamed tropical country. There are clues in this album that it could be Costa Rica (the letter that the Mongoose pretends Ross Tanner wrote from Costa Rica, the flag in Mac Call's office and the map in Quinn's office), but, in the next episode, it will be revealed that this is a fictional country named San Miguel.
- Berserk Button: Don't insinuate that Carrington might be part of the conspiracy in front of him.
- Blindfolded Trip: Kim was blindfolded to be driven to Steve Rowland's house after he faked his death.
- Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: During the loaded march, the lieutenant is much smoother than master sergeant Quinn, who simply punches XIII in the face to make sure he understands the lieutenant's orders.
- Chekhov's Gun: Full Red military exercices are casually mentioned by Carrington when Amos enters his office.
- Chekhov's Gunman:
- Calvin Wax (who will be revealed to be a leader of the conspiracy in Full Red) is going out of Carrington's office when Amos enters.
- When Amos and Allenby visit the cemetary, there is a woman in mourning in the background. She is Kim Rowland and she will shoot the hitman who will try to kill Amos.
- Chick Magnet: Without trying, XIII charms Betty Barnowsky. We also understand that Jones is fond of him, because she is jealous of Betty.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Heideger looks like Henry Kissinger.
- Connected All Along: Kim Rowland is General Carrington's daughter.
- Contract on the Hitman: The conspirators planned to kill William Sheridan's murderer just after he had fulfilled his work. hat's how the real Steve Rowland died.
- Contrived Coincidence: Betty Barnowsky's sister happens to live in Eastown, the town where Steve Rowland went into hiding after faking his death in a helicopter crash. By chance, Betty Barnowsky saw Rowland discussing with Mac Call in Eastown when she visited her sister.
- Conveniently Timed Attack from Behind: When Quinn is about to strangle XIII, Betty hits him on the head with a fire extinguisher.
- Danger Takes a Backseat: Quinn hides in the backseat of Jones's helicopter.
- Doesn't Like Guns: Amos says that he never carries gun.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: Quinn, who enjoys watching an exhausted XIII exercising in the mud.
- Faking the Dead: Steve Rowland faked his own death in a helicopter crash.
- Fanservice: Betty Barnowsky wears lingerie to welcome XIII. Since she has to flee rapidly, she remains half-naked for the rest of the episode.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: Betty tells XIII that she saw Steve Rowland discussing with Mac Call, just before he enters her room pointing a gun at them.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Quinn has an evil scar going from his chin to his nose through his mouth.
- Handicapped Badass: Amos, who has lost an arm and who has a foot wounded so that he needs a stick to walk, can easily neutralize a healthy man who has a gun.
- He Knows Too Much:
- This is the reason why the conspirators killed the real Steve Rowland and tries to kill Kim Rowland.
- Betty Barnowsky saw Steve Rowland discussing with Mac Call after his supposed death in an helicopter crash. When Mac Call hears it, he decides to kill her.
- His Name Is...: Allenby is killed just when Amos asks him who is Number I. One can wonder why the hitman did not kill Amos instead.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Amos asks for a drink when Heideger starts telling him the reveal.
- Initialism Title: SPecial Assault and Destroying Sections, in short SPADS, a fictional special operations unit.
- Just in Time: Kim Rowland intervenes just in time to save Amos from a hitman.
- Kiss of Distraction: Jones gives one (combined with a Pressure Point) to a soldier who was guarding her helicopter.
- The Klan: The members of the conspiracy that Kim Rowland infiltrates wear the distinctive white robes of the Klan.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: Mac Call's plan to kill off XIII, Jones and Betty Barnowsky is to stage a helicopter accident.
- The Mole:
- Judge Allenby, who is supposed to investigate the murder of William Sheridan on behalf the government, is actually part of the conspiracy behind this murder.
- Kim Rowland was an infiltrated agent in the conspiracy.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Wally Sheridan is the brother of an assassinated American president and he is a presidential candidate with a progressive and pacifist platform. He is based on Robert F. Kennedy.
- Outdoor Bath Peeping: A female soldier tells Jones that some male SPADS hides in the trees to watch them when they have bath in the river. There is actually a man hiding in the trees, looking for Jones: XIII.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Henry Sheridan has outlived his assassinated son William.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: The Mongoose dons a wig and it is enough to impersonate Ross Tanner's uncle. Amos recognizes him at the last second, just based on the description given by XIII.
- Physical Fitness Punishment: XIII has to exercise in the mud because he disobeyed during the loaded march.
- Pressure Point: Jones uses it (combined with a Kiss of Distraction) to neutralize the soldier who was guarding her helicopter.
- Previously on…: The previous episodes are summed up in two pages.
- Ready for Lovemaking: The way Betty Barnowsky is dressed when she welcomes XIII in her barrack room.
- Red Herring: Jones provided the files of the people who XIII could be. One of them was fake. It led Amos to an ambush where he was nearly killed. Jones secretly listens to Amos when he explains this to Carrington. Carrington seems surprised to hear this and searches for Jones, but she has fled. Actually, Carrington knew that the file was fake. The ambush was not set by Carrington or Jones, but by Allenby. Jones's flight was staged to confuse Allenby.
- The Reveal:
- Kim Rowland is General Carrington's daughter.
- XIII is Jason Fly, an agent who had plastic surgery to impersonate Steve Rowland after the real Steve Rowland was killed by the conspirators.
- Romantic False Lead: XIII has sex with Betty Barnowsky and Jones is jealous about it. In Full Red, XIII will bond again with Jones, much to the displeasure of Betty.
- Sacrificial Lamb: Chambers, the soldier who is wounded during the loaded march and dies soon after. This character only exists to show that SPADS training is Training from Hell.
- Saved for the Sequel: Jones notices that XIII can speak Spanish and that this is not mentioned in the Jason Fly file.
- Schmuck Bait:
- The lead of Tanner's uncle is a trap set by the Mongoose and Allenby for Amos.
- Mac Call sets up a trap to kill XIII, Jones and Betty: he lets them escape in a helicopter, but Quinn is hidden inside and has to cause an accident.
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: Kim Rowland felt that Steve Rowland had changed a lot during the war.
- Shirtless Scene: Carrington remove his shirt to show Amos that he has no tattoo. XIII is also shirtless when he cleans his weapon and when he has a great time with Betty in her room.
- Sinister Shades: Mac Call always wears sunglasses.
- Super Window Jump: This is the way Amos goes out of the house of "Tanner's uncle".
- Training from Hell: The SPADS training is downright nightmarish. XIII is angry because his superiors want to stick to the rules of a loaded march, even if it means that one of the soldiers of the platoon can die. And one does die.
- Two Lines, No Waiting: Amos's investigation and XIII's adventures with the SPADS.
- We Can Rule Together: Allenby suggests Amos to join the conspiracy when he is exposed.
- Would Hit a Girl: XIII has no qualms about knocking down a female soldier when he escapes with Jones and Betty Barnowsky.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: The conspirators planned to kill William Sheridan's murderer just after he had fulfilled his work. That's how the real Steve Rowland died.
