Panel 1
Black panel.
Panel 2
Mostly black
panel. We can see a door is opening, and
beyond that we see, in the distance, Eduardo Dorado strapped to a chair. He is still wearing the clothes we last saw
him in, although they look worse for wear (and other things). He is gagged.
Panel 3
Black panel.
Panel 4
A small
light has been introduced, and now we see a large figure looming behind
Eduardo.
Panel 5
Black panel.
TITLE:
“Paint it Black”
Panel 6
The figure
emerges into the faint light, and we can see the distinctive mask of the
Caballero.
Panel 7
Black panel.
WRITER: Tony
Laplume
Panel 8
Close-up of
the Caballero’s face.
CABALLERO:
There’s a natural order to this world, Dorado, that you try to resist, and I
find that…
Panel 9
Pulling in
closer, as if the Caballero is drawing himself still closer to Eduardo.
CABALLERO:
Irritating.
PAGE TWO
Panel 1
Close-up of
Eduardo.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): I knew all along, of course.
Panel 2
Close-up of
Eduardo.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): That you were a “superhero.”
CABALLERO
(o.p.): That you were working to sabotage my office from within.
Panel 3
Close-up of
Eduardo.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): I knew from the moment I took you onboard my campaign.
Panel 4
Close-up of
Eduardo.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): Your whole history was known to me.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): You might even call me your biggest fan.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): And perhaps your only, if we’re being honest here, and I think we can
both agree that now is the time for honesty, Dorado.
Panel 5
Close-up of
Eduardo.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): You’re a bit obscure, aren’t you?
Panel 6
Close-up of
Eduardo.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): Ask most Mexicans about “El Dorado” and they’ll conjure images of vain
quests for gold.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): A people’s sad history.
Panel 7
Close-up of
Eduardo.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): So I hope you don’t mind when I ask…
CABALLERO
(o.p.): What were you thinking when you gave yourself that name?
Panel 8
Close-up of
Eduardo.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): And I wonder, too, if you are asking yourself, now…
Panel 9
Close-up of
Eduardo.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): Have I been on a vain quest, too?
PAGE THREE
Panel 1
Bats.
Panel 2
Bats.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): I hope you don’t mind a visit from my friends.
Panel 3
Bats.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): They bring me comfort, for reasons I sometimes find difficult to
express.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): But for you I can try, Dorado.
Panel 4
Bats.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): I think it’s down to an incident I had when I was a boy.
Panel 5
Bats.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): You see, my father had a large estate when I was growing up, and I
would go exploring.
Panel 6
Bats.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): One day I fell into a hole in the ground.
Panel 7
Bats.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): And I fell, and I fell, and I fell.
Panel 8
Bats.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): And eventually I landed, of course.
I had fallen into a cave.
Panel 9
Bats.
CABALLERO
(o.p.): And there were, of course, bats in that cave.
PAGE FOUR
Panel 1
Close-up of
the Caballero.
Panel 2
Close-up of
the Caballero.
CABALLERO:
And from the moment onward, I considered them my friends.
Panel 3
Close-up of
the Caballero.
CABALLERO:
The end.
Panel 4
Close-up of
the Caballero.
Panel 5
Close-up of
the Caballero.
CABALLERO: I
know, riveting wasn’t it? I always was
quite the storyteller.
Panel 6
Close-up of
the Caballero.
Panel 7
Close-up of
the Caballero.
CABALLERO:
But as much as I love theatrics, we’re not here to talk about bats.
Panel 8
Close-up of
the Caballero.
Panel 9
Close-up of
the Caballero.
CABALLERO:
Let’s talk about how your vain quest has failed, Dorado.
PAGE FIVE
Panel 1
Eduardo and
the Caballero from the side.
CABALLERO:
You knew what I was before you ever agreed to be my running mate.
CABALLERO:
Of course you did.
Panel 2
Eduardo and
the Caballero from the side.
CABALLERO:
You knew my ambitions, what I had done previously.
CABALLERO:
What I hoped to do in the future.
Panel 3
Eduardo and
the Caballero from the side.
CABALLERO:
None of it particularly…life affirming, shall we say?
Panel 4
Eduardo and
the Caballero from the side.
CABALLERO: I
have no doubt that from your point of view, I am a very bad man.
Panel 5
Eduardo and
the Caballero from the side.
CABALLERO:
And that if I had managed to maneuver myself into a position of power, I could
accomplish very bad things indeed.
Panel 6
Eduardo and
the Caballero from the side.
CABALLERO:
Why bother with such a complicated plan, though?
CABALLERO: I’m
sure you’ve been asking yourself this for years.
Panel 7
Eduardo and
the Caballero from the side.
CABALLERO:
Many “villains” accomplish their goals through far more conventional means.
Panel 8
Eduardo and
the Caballero from the side.
CABALLERO:
Surely the risks would be greater?
Surely I would suffer the wrath of the world, if caught?
Panel 9
Eduardo and
the Caballero from the side.
CABALLERO:
The truth is, being the leader of a sovereign nation gives one the greatest
immunity in the world, and that is a wonderful thing.
PAGE SIX
Panel 1
Close-up of
Eduardo and the Caballero from the side, so that we see their faces inches
apart.
CABALLERO: Surely
the risks increase, in the final analysis, the humiliation greater, in the end.
Panel 2
Close-up of
Eduardo and the Caballero from the side, so that we see their faces inches
apart.
CABALLERO:
There will, in fact, be considerable compensation for such risks.
Panel 3
Close-up of
Eduardo and the Caballero from the side, so that we see their faces inches
apart.
CABALLERO:
For all the despots easy to identify, there will be those who will be forever
remembered favorably.
Panel 4
Close-up of
Eduardo and the Caballero from the side, so that we see their faces inches
apart.
CABALLERO:
Absurd, I know, but the people need their heroes.
Panel 5
Close-up of
Eduardo and the Caballero from the side, so that we see their faces inches
apart.
CABALLERO:
And they need them visible, Dorado.
Panel 6
Close-up of
Eduardo and the Caballero from the side, so that we see their faces inches
apart.
CABALLERO:
There are no more visible individuals than world leaders, Dorado, not even
celebrities. Not even actors. Not even “superheroes.”
Panel 7
Close-up of
Eduardo and the Caballero from the side, so that we see their faces inches
apart.
CABALLERO:
Just one of those sad truths we try so hard to avoid thinking about.
Panel 8
Close-up of
Eduardo and the Caballero from the side, so that we see their faces inches
apart.
CABALLERO:
And there are times in which this is even truer than others.
CABALLERO: Times
in which the population doesn’t believe in “superheroes” at all.
CABALLERO:
Times in which all the good guys are vilified.
Panel 9
Close-up of
Eduardo and the Caballero from the side, so that we see their faces inches
apart.
CABALLERO:
Times like these, Dorado.
PAGE SEVEN
Panel 1
Close-up of
the Caballero’s fist.
Panel 2
Black
panel. (Implied that the fist is being
swung.)
Panel 3
Close-up of
the Caballero’s fist.
Panel 4
Black
panel. (Implied that the fist is being
swung.)
Panel 5
Close-up of
the Caballero’s fist.
Panel 6
Black
panel. (Implied that the fist is being
swung.)
Panel 7
Close-up of
the Caballero’s fist.
Panel 8
Black
panel. (Implied that the fist is being
swung.)
Panel 9
Close-up of
the Caballero’s fist. It has blood on
it.
PAGE EIGHT
Panel 1
The
Caballero, using a white towel to wipe the blood from his hand.
Panel 2
The
Caballero is tossing the towel aside.
Panel 3
The
Caballero is smiling.
Panel 4
The
Caballero is now pulling up a chair.
Panel 5
The
Caballero is now seating himself.
Panel 6
The
Caballero begins to speak again.
CABALLERO:
And what is my endgame in all of this?
Panel 7
The Caballero
continues to talk.
CABALLERO:
Even if I am one of those unfortunate ones who doesn’t get to walk away, why
risk so much?
Panel 8
The
Caballero pauses to smile again.
Panel 9
The
Caballero concludes.
CABALLERO:
Why, perhaps simply, I am a madman who wants to see the world burn.
