Name: (English) Roy
Mustang (Japanese)
Name: (English) Roy
Mustang (Japanese)
Alias(es): Flame Alchemist, Lieutenant Colonel Mustang, Colonel Mustang, Brigadier General Mustang
Age: 29
Hair: Black
Eyes: Onyx
Height: 5'8"
Status: Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel, and then Brigadier General in the State Military. State Alchemist
Quote: I will be Fuhrer some day!
Anime: Full Metal Alchemist
Voice: (English) Travis Willingham (Japanese) Toru Ohkawa
History and Personality: Colonel Roy Mustang , the Flame Alchemist, is the man who first recognized the Elric brothers' talent and recruits Edward Elric to become a State Alchemist (Episode 3). At the time of his introduction in the anime, Mustang held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and was stationed at Central, although he was soon transferred to the Eastern Territories to clean up Lieutenant Yoki's mess (Episode 9). He was a hero of the Ishbal War, but he remains haunted by the horrors of war and suffers great remorse for the lives he took, among whom are the parents of Winry Rockbell, a childhood friend of the Elric Brothers (in the anime only; in the manga, it was Scar, not Mustang, that killed Winry's parents).
At first Roy seems shallow, conceited, and just a jerk. He's rude to his only friend, mocks his own men, makes fun of Ed, and claims that once he becomes Fuhrer he'll make all the women in the Military wear mini-skirts. He's a callous man and a flirt, and people like him, and yet can't stand him at the same time. In reality this is an act he puts on to cover up how deeply he is hurting. He cares very much about the people under him, and about the lives of civilians. He seems to have a special concern for Ed, though he'd die before he admitted it.
Outwardly arrogant and playfully manipulative, Mustang is a very smart character who is always one step ahead. One can see Mustang's scheming ways at work when he devises a situation to allow Edward to take the State Alchemist examination, which would have otherwise been impossible as Edward is only a child. While perceived as merely a glory hog who doggedly pursues promotions and praise, his true goal is to become Führer and reform the government in order to absolve his sins in the Ishbal War, along with the (hopefully) joking requirement for female officers to wear miniskirts (which considerably increased Havoc's loyalty to him). His goals are admirable enough that he earns the fierce loyalty of his good friends Lt Col. Mäes Hughes, Major Alex Louis Armstrong, and his own subordinates, among whom are Hawkeye, Havoc, Breda, Fuery, and Falman. While Mustang has a close and amicable relationship with all of his subordinates, he appears to share a deeper bond of affection with his second-in-command Riza Hawkeye, who has devoted her life to supporting him. This bond culminates in the final episodes of the show when Mustang chooses Hawkeye alone to accompany him on his greatest and most dangerous mission.
During the Ishbalan war Mustang was forced to kill many people. He had been an idealist and when he returned home after the war, with his dreams shattered, he fell into depression and would have killed himself if Maes had not stopped him. When he decides to live he vows to become Fuhrer and change the system so that people do not die needlessly. From this point on he and Hughes are very close.
When Hughes dies, Mustang is devastated by his friend's death. When forced to pursue the Elrics per military orders, Mustang learns that King Bradley is a Homunculus, and tries to expose him to the top brass of military by revealing the truth about the Führer's secretary, Juliet Douglas (Episode 45). To counter this perceived threat against him, Bradley promotes Mustang to Brigadier General in preparation for his leading troops against armies in the north. Although Bradley intends for him to die in combat (at Envy's hands), Mustang stays in Central (Havoc acts in Mustang's place up north), making his move to avenge Hughes' death. He succeeds in killing King Bradley but only narrowly survives the ordeal. He loses his left eye, and it is commonly presumed that this injury was sustained when he is shot by automail-Archer.
A powerful alchemist in his own right, Mustang wears gloves with transmutation circles on them that are made of a material called "pyrotex/ignition cloth" that spark when he snaps his fingers. By adjusting the oxygen densities in the surrounding atmosphere through alchemy, he can create flames anywhere in the surrounding area at will and manipulate them as he desires. Amusingly, because of this, he is considered "useless" on rainy days. During the Ishbal war, Mustang wore an incomplete philosopher's stone on a ring, which increased his flame power and allowed him to destroy entire city blocks in a single blast.
Manga - Roy first appeared in Chapter 4: Battle on the Train. The anime followed much of Roy's role in the manga during the early storyline. However, as the anime diverges from the original story, Roy's role and much of his background also differed.
Roy tries to investigate Hughes' death in secret despite the military closing the case after convicting Maria Ross. Trusting in Ross's innocence, and with the help of Barry the Chopper, Mustang uses his alchemy skills to fake Ross' death and engineer her escape from Amestris. After discovering that King Bradley is a Homunculus, he tries to expose him to the top echelons of the military, only to discover that they know his true nature but continue to support him. This move costs Mustang and deprives him of his subordinates - King Bradley places Riza Hawkeye under his command and authorizes the transfer of Mustang’s remaining personnel to the far reaches of Amestris.
In chapter 58 (Padding footsteps of destruction), Roy is said to have learnt his elementary alchemy from Riza's father. In a flashback conversation, we are told Roy became a State Alchemist in order to help the common people, despite the objection of his shishou (teacher). Upon hearing Roy's wanting of power, Roy's teacher states that he would pass his greatest and most powerful alchemy to Roy if he shall use it as a good course. However, before any further explanation, Roy's teacher choked with blood and only managed to state that he had passed all his secrets on to his daughter, and asked of Roy to look after her. It is later revealed that the strange markings seen on Hawkeye's back were the method chosen by her father to pass his secrets on.
The more recent chapters depict Roy's active role in the Ishbal War. Like fellow State Alchemists, he was sent to raze a complete area where Amestris was losing, using his flame alchemy. Later, he was seen with Hughes discussing the State's involvement in the War, before getting ambushed by an injured Ishbalan. They were saved by a sniper, later revealed to be none other than Riza Hawkeye.
In chapter 61, in the continuing flashback of the Ishabal war, Mustang discovers that while he thought he was alone in the war, simply murdering people, he was saving the lives of the men in his unit. This new idea appears to spur him into making an attempt to become the Fuhrer, which he explains to Hughes at the end of the war. He then surrounds himself with people he knows he can trust; Hughes, Fuery, Falman, Havoc, Breda, and lastly Hawkeye. He orders Hawkeye to watch his back, and that if he ever strayed from the path of wanting to help people, of wanting to change the government, it was her role to shoot him.
In chapter 62, Roy compares his struggle against the Fuher to a chess game, and says that his knight, pawn, rook, bishop and queen have been taken away, obviously referring to the fact that his trusted subordinates have been stationed elsewhere. In this analogy, logically, Roy must be the king piece. Fans have also speculated that Hawkeye is likely the queen, not only because she is the only female officer in Mustang's group, but also because she is his most trusted officer, and because in chess, the queen is best used to protect the king. Following this line of logic, Fuery would be the pawn, as the least experienced and youngest of the group. As such, Falman or possibly Hughes should represent the bishop, as the most trusted after the queen, and Breda would be the rock-steady rook. This leaves Havoc as the noble, loyal (and unlucky) knight.
Also in the same chapter, it is revealed that his playboy tactics used in order to cover his true intentions were inherited from Hawkeye's grandfather, General Grumman. This is an interesting follow up to Mustang's note of gratitude towards Grumman 'I have learned a lot from you' before he left Eastern Headquarters.
Relationships:
Maes Hughes - Roy and Hughes were "friends" (barely) before the war, but afterwards in was Hughes who helped Mustang escape his suicidal depression. He also promised to work under Roy and push him to the top so that he could change the government for the better. Though Hughes can get on his nerves, and he isn't always patient with him, the two are very close and Roy is deeply affected by his death.
Edward Elric - Roy's relationship with the Elrics, and especially Ed, is a little odd. He found them while looking for their father and cleverly manipulates Ed and the state into making Ed a state Alchemist. He mocks Ed, belittles Ed, battles Ed, and manipulates Ed, but he also gives the kid pretty free reign and does all he can to protect him and allow him to accomplish his personal goals. There is always a hint that Mustang is taking care of Ed rather as a father would, or maybe an older brother. IN the end this becomes blatantly clear when Ed is being hunted by the Military and Mustang finds him. Mustang does not try to take him in and instead is only angry that Ed did not come to him for help. In the end of the movie Roy has to make his peace with Ed before he is able to escape lethargy and become the leader he was meant to be once more.
Riza Hawkeye - If Roy's relationship with Ed is odd, his relationship with Riza is... complicated, and not overly clear. Riza has pledged her life to Roy's goals, but she hates his attitude around the others. However, he clearly relies on her and she would do anything for him. She is the only one who ends up with him in his battle against Pride (the Fuhrer) and she takes care of him afterward when he is injured. At this point it becomes rather clear that their relationship is more personal than they usually portray - or at least that they would both like it to be more personal on some level. However, Roy leaves and takes a lousy post where nothing ever happens and he does not contact Riza until he returns when Ed appears in the movie. She is still very protective of him, loyal to him, and she'd very relieved to see him. Most fans believe that the two have a mutual romantic interest but have never pursued a relationship.
Subordinates - Roy isn't always very kind to his subordinates, he thinks they whine too much... but they are all fiercely loyal to him, and he is loyal to them as well, doing all he can to protect them.
Techniques: Presumably Mustang can use many forms of alchemy if he draws a circle, however he is partial to Flame alchemy 9thus the nickname...) and in the show that is all we ever see him perform. Roy wears special gloves which already have circles drawn on them to create fire with the snap of his fingers. He is amazingly skilled, able to create a small spark or a full blaze with his gloves.
Why we love him: Good looking and openly arrogant and flirtatious, but secretly hiding noble aspirations, melancholy, and the desire to make the world a better place? Come on, Mustang's the guy you hate to love, and then love entirely when you realize what's actually going on inside that head of his. You just wonder why he wants people to think he's a jerk all the time.
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