Faded Escobar

Faded Escobar (full name: Faded Sinsantanueva Crescent Escobar), also known as the Swordsman of Tijuana, is the son of a former prominent cartel boss and the anti-heroic central antagonist of the Toxic Soviets Comic Series. A corrupt yet hard working individual who uses bribery and manipulation to gain power, he was exiled by Leon (following his absence) for his corruption and 500,000 rubles of debt after overthrowing Wilhelm as acting Premier of the Soviet Union.
== Backstory ==
=== The Sinsantanueva Cartel and early life ===
The eldest child of a powerful cartel Don Fulgencio Sinsantanueva Escobar, Faded was introduced to a life of greed and deceit from a young age. These traits would remain as intrinsic characteristics of Faded as he grew into adulthood. As a leading figure and designated heir of the Sinsantanueva Cartel, Faded was under constant pressure from his father, who despite being very wealthy, forced his only son to live in difficult and impoverished conditions in order to toughen him up. It was also in this environment which Faded grew to be a competitive and diligent politician as well as a deadly swordsman. He was in fact so proficient in melee combat, that he was commonly referred to as the Swordsman of Tijuana by his fellow cartel associates. 
The Sinsantanueva Cartel was a prominent donor of left wing organizations both within and outside of Mexico throughout its existence. Because of this, the cartel had formed a close relationship with the Bolsheviks in Russia, who had accepted funding in return for political recognition and military assistance. Although the Bolsheviks were initially reluctant to receive funding from a criminal organization, the difficult conditions for the peoples under Bolshevik rule coupled with the devastation of war eventually drove the revolutionaries to accept the agreement. 
After the collapse of the inefficient democratic government in Mexico due to a military coup, and the following crackdown on drug trade within the country, Fulgencio arranged for Faded to escape Mexico to the newly established U.S.S.R, where the civil war had come to an end and the Bolshevik leadership had initiated a administrative expansion campaign known as the 2 Month Plan. Due to his former association with the Bolsheviks, Faded was given a position within the government as an advisor. Faded quickly rose up the ranks of the early Soviet government, eventually becoming the commissar for finance. Fulgencio and the remaining cartel leadership would be put to trial and hanged in Mexico by the military dictator Emmanuel Cerdito. 
== Toxic Soviets Events ==
=== Volume 1: The Beginning ===
Faded first appears in Volume 1 as the first major figure that Heydar comes across during his arrival in Moscow. Heydar accidentally bumped into Faded while walking, something which at first slightly upset Faded. However upon figuring out that Heydar was a newcomer, Faded immediately attempted to scam him off his money by telling him that he "can be trusted with his finances" and that he is an "honourable official". 
However, Faded gets spotted by a crowd of people scammed by him, many of them being anarchists who would chase him down in order to beat him up. Faded, alongside Heydar who is running with him, is cornered by the anarchists in an alleyway. There, after they threatened him to not move, Faded tells them that they wouldn’t want troubles with the Government, however one anarchist immediately jumps in to bash his head in with a baseball bat. Faded then quickly uses his perm to fade away and disappear, where he ends up turning to thin air and teleporting above a house’s roof, much to Heydar’s surprise and shock about this strange ability. 
=== Volume 3: The Voronezh Regime ===
With Leon going on a long vacation and Hokaj being busy as well, this left Wilhelm in charge as the Premier of the Soviet Union in the absence of the Generalissimi. While Wilhelm’s oppressive, self-centered and irrational rule is ongoing, Faded is making plans on overthrowing him and instead seizing power for himself as the sole Leader. He sees an opportunity in Heydar, who gets involved in constant clashes, fights and arguments with Wilhelm, and decides to approach him after he was escorted outside the Government room for attacking Wilhelm when he insulted his Mother. Though Heydar is initially reluctant in joining Faded’s plot against Wilhelm, he eventually agrees after Faded manipulates him into thinking that he would be a much better Leader than Wilhelm. 
Later on, Faded and Heydar would go on to search for more people to recruit for the plot, specifically popular individuals who are not yet involved in politics. Faded then finds Joseph Konstantin, a popular civilian painter who had no relations to political matters. Faded then attempts to scam him, telling him that he needs a license to paint in public (which is a lie) and that the punishment for not having a license includes torture. Joseph, though he sees Faded’s bribery, is also reluctant, however to not risk his career and life, he decides to join Faded for a month only, and Faded ensures that he will be pardoned if he agrees to be his Vice Premier. Later, in the Central Committee, Faded and his group of supports gather to vote on removing Wilhelm and replacing him with Faded instead. After a disruption caused by Spoop and his crackers, Faded forcefully shouts for everyone to shut up and the motions mentioned above. Though everyone agrees to the first one, no one agrees to the second one, and they only vote in favour when Faded bribes them to do so (with the exception of Casreor, whose opinion on Faded remains negative and static since the beginning). 
The discussion later moves towards ways to remove Wilhelm, and whole different are proposes, Faded ends up letting Heydar make up a plan to overthrow Wilhelm. However, he is interrupted by Wilhelm and his bodyguards when they bursted into the room, only to find Faded sitting in Wilhelm’s chair. Immediately, Wilhelm starts shouting at Faded, with him justifying his act through him just keeping the chair warm. Wilhelm later diagnoses Faded with retardation (as a "medical professional") and Faded goes for a "stroll" following Wilhelm’s new clash with Heydar. The next day, on the Day of the Coup, Heydar’s plan ends up greatly succeeding and paves the way for the people to revolt against Wilhelm and for Faded to enter the scene alongside the army, wearing a new fancier uniform and driving a new fancier car. 
Wilhelm, now furious after seeing the revolt and Faded being its Leader, once again challenges Faded to a duel, and after an intense sword-fighting battle, it ends in both pointing their guns at eachother as the people watched the events unfold. However, an Anti-Wilhelm woman’s chants would cause Wilhelm to lose control over the situation, and instead of focusing on the fight, he begins shouting misogynistic insults towards her, clearing the road for Faded to shoot Wilhelm in the head and claim Victory. To celebrate, Faded calls for a Party in the Kremlin with every person invited. The party ends up being a chaotic mess, completely destroying the Kremlin at the price of "keeping the people happy" and avoiding Wilhelm’s rule. This grows Heydar’s suspicions towards Faded, and causes him to start distrusting the new Leadership. The next day, after a chaotic night of mass partying, Faded’s total 500.000 rubles of debt ends up being revealed to everyone in the Government and most notably Heydar, who is furious with the situation while Faded tries to shrug off the situation through printing money and claiming that it’s his "grandma’s grocery list". As Faded orders Vasily to print money, Heydar’s anger goes out of control, with him attacking Faded in a similar manner to his earlier attack towards Wilhelm. 
Later on however, the whole argument is interrupted by a Guard who informs the Government of a mysterious crime case in the woods. With the Government and the Officers of the Militsiya arriving to the scene, Heydar takes charge of the interrogation of the victim and the gathering of clues, something that Faded dislikes, telling Joseph that Heydar became cocky after Leon promoted him. Joseph ignores him and instead still wonders why he was brought into Faded’s political business in the first place, and after Heydar asks for a notepad, Faded orders Joseph to help draw the physical appearance of the Criminal, which he agreed to do. Later with all the suspects rounded up and interrogated, Faded immediately accuses Wilhelm of being the guilty one after an envelope with the symbol from the cave ends up falling from his pocket, and thus he seizes the chance to imprison his political rival and have absolute power for himself for as long as Leon continues to be absent. 
=== Volume 4: Noreaga’s Dungeon ===
Following the events of Volume 3, Leon returned to the USSR after his long break only to find an unstable, corrupt Leadership with a total of 500.000 rubles of debt. Upon his return, Leon demanded that Faded gives him his position, and though he is reluctant at first, he eventually agrees after being forced. As a punishment for the 500.000 rubles of debt, the corruption and the instability surrounding the USSR throughout the Voronezh-Fadedist Era, Leon sent Faded to exile in the outskirts of a small Soviet village, stripping him off his titles and positions as a Government Official. 
Faded would then start plotting on his revenge by telling the local villagers to join him in retaking Power, but he fails miserably and only humiliates himself further. After hearing about the news of a possible Soviet invasion of Poland, Faded rushes to go to Warsaw in order to inform the Queen of the news, and he attempts to do so by scamming a young girl through stealing her bike, something he ends up doing either way. After hours and days of travelling from Russia to Poland in a small bike meant for a toddler, Faded arrived at Warsaw, though worn out, tired and drenched in sweat. Before the Castle’s gates, Faded is denied entrance and later tries to bribe his way out of the situation before realising that he no longer has the money, status or power to do so, thus causing him to panic and lose control. However, he then remembers his initial plan and shows the Guard the News of a possible Soviet invasion. Seeing as it is an important topic, Faded is let inside, though an eye is strictly kept on him due to his suspicious, eccentric behaviour. 
Inside the Palace, Faded, though confident at first, starts losing his cool over the situation upon seeing the Queen, who he ends up falling in love with and starts simping for (though he himself is in denial). After the Queen approached him and greeted him, Faded’s interaction with her was an utter failure, with Faded saying gibberish phrases that don’t make sense, much to the shock of the rest of the court and to his own embarrassment. The conversation is interrupted when Boris, the Guard, gets Faded to give the Queen the newspaper, something that she refuses to do, instead making Robert do the job. After 5 minutes of waiting for Robert to start he reading, he completes the task and reads out the news calling for an Invasion of Poland. After that, Anne orders that Faded is taken care of, cleaned (alongside everything he came into contact with, and given a room in the palace as a gesture of gratitude. 
=== Volume 5: Operation Fallen Eagle ===
After finding himself treated to by the Queen after he warned the Polish monarchy of a potential Soviet invasion in Volume 4, Faded recalls a memory where the Queen promised him 10 million Polish lek in exchange for state secrets. Faded quickly falls in love with the Queen once more, but he is overtaken by his greed for money. He then sees a Soviet helicopter land in Warsaw just outside the palace and quickly runs away before the KGB see him.
After Leon, Heydar, and Grills are taken hostage, the KGB arrives and promptly frees the trio before blowing up the palace. Faded notices the explosion, and realizes that the Queen has been taken captive by the KGB. Faded then argues with himself on whether to take the risk and save the Queen, but comes to a decision when he realizes he will be the most rich and famed man in all of Poland. Faded quickly jumps in the action, and whilst the Queen is mourning the death of her brother (Franz), he quickly grabs her and runs away into the woods.
== Personality ==
Faded can be summarized as a greedy, cunning, ambitious and bombastic politician who has his way with people through bribery and deceit. He's very extroverted and communicates easily with people he meets, often in a grandiose and charismatic way. This allows him to easily take advantage of less confident or unaware individuals, and preach to large crowds to garner attention and support. His unrelenting ambition coupled with his incessant greed make him dangerously opportunistic, which leads to most people who know him to mistrust him. He's also somewhat of a romantic, and falls in love quite easily, as evidenced by his interactions with the Polish queen Anne Asatru. 
== Relationships ==
=== Heydar ===
Initially meeting a newly arrived Heydar in Volume 1, Faded immediately takes advantage of his naïveness and attempts to scam him, before being attacked by a mob and disappearing using his perms. This causes Heydar to frown upon Faded, and in general, not align with Faded's ideas often. In Volume 3, however, Faded convinces Heydar that he is a better leader than Wilhelm and promises stability. This would cause Heydar to work with Faded during the Voronezh Regime. Heydar soon changes his mind about Faded and gets angry at him after he discovers that Faded plunged the nation into 500,000 rubles of debt.
The two have a healthy but constantly changing relationship. Heydar always changes his mind about Faded, and doesn't have a constant view point about him, though it is mostly negative. Heydar tends to agree with Faded, but only if he is promised what he wants, such as stability in Volume 3.
=== Wilhelm ===
During Wilhelm's oppressive rule during the period known as the Voronezh Regime, Faded quickly takes advantage of Wilhelm's instability and begins his plot to usurp power from Wilhelm to become the new Premier. Wilhelm is shown to loathe Faded, referring him to as a "crooked Mexican bastard" due to Faded's successful scheme in causing the people to lose support in him as the acting leader. Meanwhile, Faded is shown to not care much for Wilhelm, viewing him as more of an obstacle to power then a legitimate enemy. 
=== Joseph ===
Requiring a popular figure that isn't enveloped in Soviet politics to support him in his schemes, Faded "recruits" Joseph Konstantin, a humble painter in red square by blackmailing him into his services. Faded doesn't see Joseph as anything but a useful tool in his plot against Wilhelm whilst Joseph himself rightfully distrusts Faded, only begrudgingly working for him during the coup. 
=== Leon ===
Leon is proven to be the only individual in the toxic soviet comics to be able to fully control Faded which is most likely due to him being of both higher authority to him and also being acutely aware of his sleazy personality and tricks. Because of this, Faded seems to fear Leon and doesn't protest handing power back to Leon upon his return in Volume 4 as well as accepting his exile caused by the 500,000 ruble debt he cursed the nation with. 
=== Anne ===
Faded is quickly infatuated by Queen upon meeting her highness in Poland though she herself does not view Faded in such high regard. Faded's obsession with Anne (along with the promise of riches and glory) motivates Faded to free the now captured Queen and escape with her through the then burning forest of Warsaw.
== Abilities ==
=== Perm ===
Faded’s perm gives him the ability to essentially "Fade Away", turning into air and being able to teleport in any close location while remaining invisible. The perm has strength in sneak attacks and outmanoeuvring, however it doesn’t work too well for long battles and can only be used once a day.
The perm is essentially reflective on Faded’s name, as the User fades away and tricks the opponent, similar to Faded’s shrewd tactics.
=== Intelligence ===
Faded, although eccentric, is very cunning and strategic, both features that combine to make him an intelligent and charismatic politician. Faded’s charisma and sleazy character allows him to manipulate people into siding with him or coercing them into accepting his deals, something that is demonstrated in Volume 1 through the vast sea of people that were successfully scammed by Faded before going on to chase after him following the realisation that they were scammed. His manipulation, charisma and appeal to popular demands also allowed him to gain large unlic support, going as far as to coup Wilhelm as acting Premier of the USSR and secure the peoples’ support through a party at the Kremlin itself.
=== Swordsmanship ===
Apart from his perm, Faded’s major ability is his master swordsmanship and victories at duels. He would learn and master his skills throughout his time in Tijuana, Mexico where he was born and raised under the Sinsantanueva Cartel. Living under the difficult conditions set by his father in order to toughen him up, Faded established himself as a deadly swordsman to the point where he was dubbed by his Cartel associates as the Swordsman of Tijuana. His victory in the duel against Wilhelm would lead him to successfully coup him and become the acting Premier of the Soviet Union throughout the rest of Leon’s absence.