RIZA HAWKEYE
RH
Mustang's lieutenant. Sharpshooter. Her father Berthold Hawkeye originated flame alchemy and encoded everything he knew in tattoos across Riza's back before he died, passing the knowledge to Mustang through her. She follows Mustang because she believes in what he is trying to become and she is the person best positioned to stop him if he becomes something else. Brotherhood makes this dynamic more explicit than the 2003 anime and pays it off in the Promised Day arc with full weight. The most reliable person in any room she is in.
RIZA THROUGH THE ARCHIVE //
ISHVAL & THE WAR OF EXTERMINATION //
Open page →Riza Hawkeye arrives in Ishval carrying a history Mustang cannot separate from his own power. Her father encoded his flame-alchemy research on her back, and Mustang learned from that research.
After seeing what flame alchemy becomes in war, Hawkeye asks Mustang to burn the remaining array from her back so the complete research cannot be passed on again.
After seeing what flame alchemy becomes in war, Hawkeye asks Mustang to burn the remaining array from her back so the complete research cannot be passed on again.
Why it matters
Their partnership is built on shared responsibility, not uncomplicated loyalty. Hawkeye supports Mustang's rise while also positioning herself as someone who must stop him if he becomes another leader who treats power as permission.
STORY & ARC GUIDE //
Open page →Episode 30 and the history surrounding it
Brotherhood spends time inside the Ishvalan extermination because too many present-day choices depend on it: Scar's revenge, Mustang and Hawkeye's guilt, Marcoh's research, Kimblee's record and Winry's parents.
The later conspiracy adds another horror. Large-scale bloodshed also serves Father's nationwide design.
The later conspiracy adds another horror. Large-scale bloodshed also serves Father's nationwide design.
Why it matters
A political atrocity does not become less political because a supernatural conspiracy exploited it. Father benefits from human institutions already willing to carry out the violence.
THE PROMISED DAY //
Open page →Episodes 59 onward · forced sacrifice · blindness
Mustang enters the final stage blind after Pride forces him through the Gate.
He remains part of the battle by trusting Hawkeye to direct his flame alchemy and by continuing to make command decisions through other people.
He remains part of the battle by trusting Hawkeye to direct his flame alchemy and by continuing to make command decisions through other people.
Why it matters
The man who spent the series trying to reach the top of the military loses the sense most associated with command and observation. His effectiveness now depends openly on the relationships he built on the way up.
