Golgo 13

Golgo 13 (ゴルゴ13) is a manga series written and illustrated by Takao Saito, published in Shogakukan's Big Comic magazine since October 1968. In 1975, the manga won the 21st Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga. The series follows the titular character, a professional assassin for hire.

Golgo 13 is the oldest manga still in publication, and its tankōbon edition has the third highest number of volumes. It has sold over 200 million copies in various formats, including compilation books, making it the third best-selling manga series in history. It has been adapted into two live-action feature films, two animated films, a television series and five video games.

Plot
Golgo 13, also known by the pseudonym Duke Togo (デューク・東郷), is a professional assassin. His age and birthplace are unknown and there is no consensus in the worldwide intelligence community as to his true identity. Most of his jobs are completed through the use of a customized, scoped M16 rifle. Besides Duke Togo, Golgo 13's other aliases include Tadashi Togo (東郷 隆) and Togo Rodriguez (トーゴ・ロドリゲス).

The name "Golgo 13" is a reference to the death of Jesus Christ. Golgo is short for Golgotha, the place of Jesus' crucifixion. The number 13 is considered an unlucky number because there were thirteen participants at Jesus' Last Supper before his execution. Also, Golgo 13's logo is a skeleton wearing a Crown of Thorns.

Duke Togo's past is a mystery. Although many episodes of the series have presented speculation about his origin, such episodes always cast doubt on their own theories as well — leaving the readers uncertain whether the information was even true. It is only known that he had a son with ex-PIRA terrorist Catherine McCall named Joey, who was killed in an accidental explosion after he ignited some explosives at a PIRA safehouse. He also has yet another living son from a random previous sexual encounter, as seen in Episode 48.

With respect to the character's age, a large number of stories are dated as they are centered around current events of the time. However, Golgo 13's age has not increased significantly to account for these events. He has also suffered multiple injuries on his body via torture.

Official

 * Golgo 13 Official website
 * Saito Production's Golgo 13 website

Other Wikis

 * Golgo 13 Wiki