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''XIII'' (Thirteen) is a Belgian graphic novel series about an amnesiac who seeks to discover his past. It was created by writer Jean Van Hamme and artist William Vance. It is currently being written by Yves Sente and Youri Jigounov. The storyline of the first five volumes was adapted into a video game in 2003, also titled ''XIII'', which was released on several platforms. A Canadian television film based on the series, ''XIII: The Conspiracy'', was released in 2008. It was followed in 2011 by two seasons of a TV series, each 13 episodes, called ''XIII: The Series''. ==Volumes 1-5== The series begins with a man awakening to find himself washed ashore in the eastern United States and suffering from amnesia. The only links to his past are a tattoo of the Roman numerals "XIII" on his collarbone and a photo of himself with a woman, who is identified as Kim Rowland, widow of U.S. Army captain Steve Rowland. Volumes 1 through 5 deal with "XIII" searching for his identity and past. He finds himself hunted by a contract killer, the "Mongoose", who works for a mysterious organization known as XX, which aims to mount a coup d'état against the U.S. government. XIII is rescued from XX's assassins by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Colonel Amos, who confronts XIII with video evidence that shows XIII assassinating the President. In the second volume, XIII is captured by General Carrington, who confirms that XIII is Steve Rowland. Carrington further explains that Rowland was a member of a special ops unit called SPADS (Special Assault and Destroying Sections). Carrington had been commander of SPADS when Rowland was supposedly killed in a helicopter crash two years earlier. Because XIII's amnesia prevents him from identifying who sponsored the President's assassination, Amos lets him go. XIII reunites with his father and his uncle, but they are both murdered by XIII's young, gold-digging stepmother Felicity, who frames XIII after harming herself. XIII escapes the police with Carrington's help and meets Kim, an XX member known as "XVII", who reveals that XIII is not Steve Rowland. XIII is arrested by the police, and Kim disappears. XIII is found guilty for the murder of the Rowlands and sent to a maximum security prison. The third volume finds XIII in a facility for the criminally insane. Amos, still pursuing his investigation, realizes that XIII was a body double for the real Steve Rowland. Amos requests Carrington's help to identify people who have been trained as top-level special operators and match XIII's physique; Amos's aim is to discover XIII's true identity. Carrington provides the papers of about twenty people. One named Ross Tanner has been missing for two years. Amos decides to leave XIII in prison to have his amnesia treated. The treatment fails, and the Mongoose tries to have XIII killed in the prison, but he fails, and Carrington helps XIII break out. Volume four begins with Amos finding that Carrington had invented the Tanner identity and suspecting him of being part of the conspiracy to kill the President. XIII, under the name of Ross Tanner, has been hidden by Carrington in a SPADS training facility in the fictitious country of San Miguel. Amos continues to delve into the files and learns that Steve Rowland was murdered shortly after the assassination. Amos now assumes that Rowland was the real assassin, and is confused about XIII's real role, but he exposes Judge Allenby, the head of the investigation, as one of the conspirators. Amos interrogates Allenby, who is killed by Mongoose's assassin; Amos himself is rescued by Kim Rowland. Meanwhile, a female SPADS Sergeant named Betty Barnowsky reveals to XIII that she saw Steve Rowland in Eastown after his alleged death, in company with SPADS Colonel Seymour McCall. XIII, Barnowsky, and Jones escape an assassination attempt by McCall but end up lost in the San Miguel jungle. Kim Rowland takes Amos to intelligence chief Carl Heideger and General Carrington, who reveal that, after faking his death in the helicopter crash, Steve Rowland contacted his wife, Kim, and forced her to be a member of the conspiracy. Kim, not sharing the conspiracy's ideology, and herself a former secret agent, secretly alerted her former boss, Heideger. Despite having this information, however, Heideger was unable to prevent the assassination of President Sheridan. Steve Rowland was shot by the Mongoose, but he escaped badly-wounded and died shortly after telling Kim what had happened. Heideger and Carrington then came up with a plan to make the XX organization believe that Steve Rowland had survived, hoping to attract the Mongoose's killers, arrest them, and follow their trail to the conspirators. They sourced a man named Jason Fly who was transformed into a Steve Rowland double, but soon after, Fly disappeared, when he was shot and lost his memory, just before the story began. Kim Rowland is also revealed to be Carrington's daughter. At the start of volume five, XIII, Jones, and Barnowsky kidnap the Marquis de Préseau, a rich French land owner in San Miguel, to steal his jet to fly back to the US. Meanwhile, Carrington and Heideger have been arrested by the conspirators as they prepare to take over the country during a large-scale military exercise. XIII and the women meet with Colonel Amos, who brings them into contact with Walter Sheridan, brother of the assassinated President William Sheridan and himself a candidate for presidency. Sheridan helps XIII infiltrate the military center of operations, and, together with President Galbrain, they manage to stop the conspiracy at the last moment. The entire conspiracy group, with the exception of the illustrious Number I, has been either killed or captured. Walter Sheridan is elected President, and Kim Rowland remains missing for reasons unknown. At the end of the story, XIII believes he has found his old identity as Jason Fly and is prepared to continue his life normally, even if his memories have not yet returned. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「XIII (comics)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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