Riza Hawkeye

Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye (リザ・ホークアイ, Riza Hōkuai) is an officer in the Amestrian State Military as well as the personal adjutant and bodyguard of Colonel Roy Mustang. A sharpshooter and weapons specialist, Lt. Hawkeye is an invaluable asset to the Colonel both in office and on the battlefield and serves as his closest and most supportive subordinate.

Appearance
Riza Hawkeye is a rather attractive woman in her mid-to-late twenties with a slender, yet muscular and curvaceous build, shoulder-length blond hair (though at her teens and at the epilogue of the story, she's shown with a short cut, close to her face), and brown eyes. The author has stated Riza has broad shoulders from her military training and flared hips appropriate for her age.

Though she has been known to wear her hair down, while on the job Riza wears it fastened up in back with a clip barrette in a style that resembles a bird's tail. Her bangs fall in a hawk's wing pattern from right to left, occasionally partially obscuring her left eye. Though she had worn her hair short in her youth and during her tenure in Ishval, she began letting it grow out in 1910 after becoming acquainted with Winry Rockbell. Each of her ears is pierced with a silver stud. While in disguise, Riza has been known to don faux eyeglasses. Riza frequently wears a black, close-fitting turtleneck under her military uniform and often while in casual dress as well. Though Riza has noted (in Perfect Guidebook 2) that skirts restrict movement and therefore are not welcome in a military office, while in civilian clothes, Riza is mostly seen in long skirts and boots.

In the manga and 2009 anime, she has a large and ornate tattoo that covers most her back with large parts completely obscured by burn scars. She always wears clothes fitted to hide the tattoo.

Personality
Riza is a quiet, collected woman, with a serious but usually kind demeanor. She has a very sharp sense of humor, usually expressed by snapping back at her superior officer. Hawkeye is referred to as the model of a perfect soldier, strictly disciplined and extremely rational--she rarely relaxes when on the job and is usually tasked with keeping her colleagues on track. Though from the outside she might seem strict, rigid, and even a little mean, Hawkeye is not as cold and distant as she appears. Those close to her know that there is more to her than her no-nonsense attitude; beneath her professional aura is a deeply scarred woman with a kind soul carrying a heavy burden.

Riza's softer side tends to make itself known through her interactions with younger characters, such as the Elric brothers and Winry Rockbell. It isn't unusual to see her behaving sweetly toward her Shiba Inu, Black Hayate, while in private. Very disciplined, Riza takes her work seriously and is almost never seen “dropping formalities,” even with those who are most intimate to her. She’s not prone to public displays of affection, preferring to show her feelings through more subtle ways. Hawkeye seems to be the epitome of "tough love," demanding excellence from those she respects or considers important. Her interactions with Hayate can be seen as a metaphor for all of her significant personal relationships--a stern hand and demanding nature tempered with genuine and deep affection.

It can be implied that Riza also changed across the years, from the manga. In the scenes where she's shown in her teens, she appears to be very idealistic about the world at large. Growing up at her father's house, she probably experienced a sheltered sort of childhood. After joining the military, her experiences in Ishval destroyed her youthful idealism and transformed her into the nearly stoic Lieutenant Hawkeye. It is due to these experiences that she decides to follow Mustang and support him in his endeavor to change the country. Hawkeye emerges from the war with a tremendous will, strong enough to shoulder the heavy guilt she willingly bears, and uses this motivation to stand along side and support Mustang in the hopes that future generations will remain free of the horrors of something like Ishval. Reticient, she doesn't speak unnecessarily or express her feelings often through words, but reveals her most of her thoughts through nonverbal communication, with trademark sharp looks and rare, subtle smiles. Her character shows a mix between a tortured woman looking for redemption she feels is unreachable, and a resigned acceptance of past mistakes and their consequences. Hawkeye learns from Ishval to accept responsibilities for her actions herself, rather than placing blame or burden on another. She decides she must sacrifice her own happiness and comfort and continue to dirty her hands with blood as a soldier in order to bring peace to the people. Despite the emotional difficulties in facing her mistakes, she learns to school herself and her emotions as personal struggles, brushing off the concern of others, always bearing grief or physical pain with a stiff upper lip.

When meeting Winry Rockbell, Riza indicated that she also doesn't like the military, because she is sometimes forced to kill. However, when Alphonse Elric refers to her weapons as "a tool for destruction" later in the story, she corrects him, telling him it is a "tool for protection." Riza seems to hold the belief that a gun is simply an object, by itself unable to cause pain or suffering without a person pulling the trigger. It is not her weapons that she dislikes, but the death that she causes by using them. After Ishval, Riza tells Roy Mustang that "a gun is good. It doesn't leave the feeling of a person dying in your hands." When he counters that this mindset is self-deception, she agrees, indicating that she is willing to deceive herself and continue to do her duty as a soldier if it means assuring the safety of others. While in the 2003 anime, she's seen using her guns to intimidate her work colleagues into doing their jobs, in the manga (and 2009 anime), she seems to take weapons a lot more seriously and is never seen taking out her gun when she doesn't mean to shoot it.

Relationships
Roy Mustang - Easily the most significant of Riza's personal relationships, her connection with Colonel Mustang goes deeper and further back than any other. The apprentice of her father, Berthold Hawkeye, Riza has known Roy throughout his youth and his entire military career, and has a personal stake in how he chooses to live his life. In turn, Roy has entrusted Hawkeye with his life as his personal assistant and bodyguard and has deemed her as both his conscience and executioner by giving her the express authority to shoot him in the back should he ever step off the righteous path. They repeatedly demonstrate a deep, genuine sense of concern and devotion to each other as equals. Riza seems to enjoy dismissing and discrediting the Colonel in ways he wouldn’t allow anyone else to, and she always has smart--and somewhat teasing--rebuttals whenever he attempts to boast himself, usually referring to his alchemy not being able to be used in wet conditions and calling him “useless” or “lazy.” She often has to nag him to complete his paperwork in the office, though her criticisms are generally tempered with clear affection. She shows a deep devotion to Roy and to their goal, dedicating her entire life to it and always dismissing Roy's inquiries about whether she wishes to continue on this path. Riza has been shown more than once to be afraid of losing Roy and of him straying from the righteous path. On two different occasions in the manga, it is implied or outright stated that she has no desire to outlive him. In turn, he seems to know her better than anyone, correctly sensing when something is troubling her, and providing assurances to those who don't know her as well that she has "a gentle heart" and is "truly kind."

Though their relationship has not shown any explicit signs of crossing into traditional amatory during the series, there has been many scenes where such a romantic nature is implied. Among the fans, their relationship has been a recurrent and controversial topic, only more clarifyed by a commentary from the author, in 2011, that somewhat confirms them as "a item", though not revealing their actual relationship status. It appears, from that the author has said, that the "status quo" of their position as superior office and subordinate surpasses the demonstration of any personal feelings they might have for eachother, compelling them to relegate that to their goals.

The nature of their relationship is a topic even among other characters of the series and King Bradley has used their connection twice as a weapon to control the Flame Alchemist.

Black Hayate - A very strict mistress, Riza trains Black Hayate to be a very well-disciplined dog. Hayate is clearly a useful and valuable companion, and they share a very deep loyal bond. Hayate has a profound love for his mistress, jumping to save her in dangerous situations. While in the presence of Hayate, we are shown a more domestic, intimate side of Riza.

Rebecca Catalina - Riza's best friend, Rebecca is the opposite of Riza in terms of temperament. She's an outgoing, smart-mouthed woman with a healthy sense of humor. They both went through the military academy together and remained friends after graduation. Rebecca is probably the only person, aside from Colonel Mustang, who knows how to push Riza's buttons and make her angry, making jokes about the coincidence of Riza working for famous womanizers and being assigned to important positions. She also pesters Riza with questions about men, boyfriends, and marriage. When the two are together, we see just how much of Riza's dry sense of humor is sharp and acidic.

Berthold Hawkeye - Very little is known about the relationship between Riza and her father and we never see a scene with both of them in the manga (except the one of Riza waking to her father's death).

However, Riza states he was a estranged, mad man, of whom Riza was afraid, and that when he researched, he seemed possessed by something. She seems to blame the Flame Alchemy for that, since she has drawn parallels with Roy and her fear of "Flame Alchemy driving him mad." Riza's father had his research notes tattooed onto his daughter's back; this is another facet of her close relationship with Roy Mustang, who is the only person she has ever permitted to view the notes. It is unclear whether the tattooing was done against her will or with her consent.

Overall, the relationship between father and daughter appears to have been difficult and distant. His death leaves her quite shaken, but she is not shown to shed any tears during the private funeral that she and Mustang hold for him. Nevertheless, it is implied that she was devoted to him in a fashion, and believed in his assertions that Flame Alchemy would be an asset to mankind.

Abilities
Aside from her high-level administrative and secretarial skills (keeping subordinates in line, organizing and filling out paperwork as well as preparing tea and coffee expertly), Lieutenant Hawkeye is an expert sharpshooter and firearms specialist. Whether armed with a bolt-action rifle, sniper rifle, pistol or even two handguns at once, she is well-known for never missing her mark and, in the manga, made a name for herself as the infamous "Hawk's Eye" of the Ishval Civil War. A true professional, Hawkeye is able to disassemble, properly clean and reassemble a standard issue firearm in record time and rarely goes into battle with fewer than two loaded firearms on her person. Additionally, she is quite skilled in combat tactics and covert operations, and is able to instinctively sense that Homunculi are a greater threat than a typical human. Such sensitivity is likely due to her sharp instincts from her experiences in combat.

History
After losing her mother relatively early in life, Riza Hawkeye was effectively brought up by her father Berthold who, despite his meager earnings as a civilian alchemist, was able to furnish his daughter with a respectable education. As she approached adulthood, Riza became acquainted with her father's young apprentice alchemist, Roy Mustang. Though they were the only associable family members either Hawkeye could bring to mind, the father and daughter remained emotionally distant while sharing the steadily deteriorating family estate, with Berthold becoming increasingly obsessed with his alchemical work and Riza growing to fear her father's mania. Perhaps further straining - or serving as an indication of - their already shaky relationship, Berthold (afraid of documenting his findings in the usual fashion lest his Flame Alchemy expertise fall into the wrong hands) instead tattooed a large, coded Transmutation Array containing his secret discoveries onto her back, effectively making her very flesh the guardian of his life's work. In the year 1905, however, when Riza was in her late teens, Berthold Hawkeye died of a mysterious illness.



With no other known relatives to turn to, Riza accepts Roy’s help, who make all arrangements for her father’s funeral and burial. At the funeral, Roy tells her about his dream of a united, peaceful Amestris. Moved and enamored with the idealistic future he paints, Riza decides to trust him with her father's research, significantly asking if she can “entrust her back to that dream”. She shows Roy the tattoo, to which Roy has, finally being able to learn Flame Alchemy and, with that knowledge, acquire the title of State Alchemist. They both go separate ways from here, only reuniting three years later.

Shortly after the funeral, Riza decides to follow in Roy’s example and enlists in the military herself. As a result of monumental losses in the field of battle, is shipped out to the front lines in the Ishval Civil War before her training is even complete. Only a cadet, Riza is summoned to the front for her excellent ability as a sniper. She quickly becomes famous among Amestrian soldiers, who start commenting about a very talented sharpshooter they call “Hawk’s eye”. During the siege, Riza sees two Amestrian soldiers being ambushed by a wounded Ishvalan. She shots and kills the man, saving the soldiers, who turned out to be Roy Mustang and Maes Hughes. The pair later appear to thank Riza for saving their lives. The reunion of Hawkeye and Mustang is bittersweet at best, as Roy laments her transformation into a killer using the phrase "even this girl has gotten a killer's eyes". Riza voices their shared torment concerning the life their righteous dream has lead them to:


 * "Why are soldiers, who ought to protect citizens, killing them instead? Why is alchemy, which ought to bring happiness to the people, being used for murder?"

Since she bestowed upon Mustang the secrets encoded on her back Riza considers herself to be at fault for all the lives taken through the use of her father's alchemy. When Roy finds her burying an Ishvalan child at the end of the civil war, she asks him to help her prevent the birth of another Flame Alchemist by burning the tattoo on her back. Mustang vehemently objects at first, but Riza is persistent and pleads with him to destroy her bonds to her father and alchemy so that she may "become Riza Hawkeye as an individual". He reluctantly agrees and burns away only enough to make it indistinguishable, so as not to hinder her lifestyle or harm her unnecessarily.

Returning to the Eastern HQ, Mustang receives his subordinates and, surprisingly, Riza is among them. He wonders why she decided to continue in the military service after living though Ishval, to which she answers she believes she must take the burden to herself if she wishes to make the country a peaceful place for future generations.

Roy then renews their pact of building a better future, setting his sights at the top of the country. Roy positions Riza as his personal aide and bodyguard, entrusting his back to her – in an echo of her entrusting the secrets on her back to him – under the agreement that she would protect him from harm and shoot him from behind if his march to power caused him to stray off of the correct path and use the knowledge she had given him with ill intentions.

Eastern Headquarters
Six years after the Ishval Civil War, Riza is still working under Roy Mustang at the Eastern Headquarters. At the early start of the series, we see her protecting Colonel Mustang from a terrorist Ed Elric has imprisoned inside a train, she is, however, dismissed by the Colonel, who chooses to confront the criminal by himself.



Shortly after, during the Shou Tucker, she is asked to accompany the Colonel to the scene of the crime. Hawkeye runs into the Elric Brothers, who are looking for information on the situation of Tucker and Nina. Heavy hearted, Hawkeye tells both of Tucker’s and Nina’s death and stops them from going to the crime scene, concerned they would, as children, be too shocked. Through Tucker’s case, Hawkeye and Mustang become aware of the existence of Scar, with whom they began to feel concerned about. Worried about the Elric Brothers and that Ed might be Scar’s next target, Mustang dispatches his unit to search for Scar and the Elric Brothers, encountering them just in time to save Ed from Scar. Mustang tries to attack Scar with his Flame Alchemy and is saved by Riza, who swoops Mustang down to the floor, reminding him he cannot use the Flame Alchemy in the rain. Riza proceeds to fire at Scar, who evades her shots. She gives coverage to Major Armstrong as he engages Scar, eventually being able to graze him after a brief struggle. Being oblivious to the dangers in the Elrics Brothers’ researches on the Philosopher Stone and the events of the 5th Laboratory, Mustang’s unit is taken by surprised by Maes Hughes’ death. Being close to Mustang and knowing him most her life, Hawkeye becomes concerned Hughes’ death might be a strong blow to Roy and accompanies the Colonel to Central for the Brigadier General’s burial. He is stoic throughout the funeral but afterward, when they stand alone at Hughes' grave, Mustang allows Hawkeye and only Hawkeye to see him crying over the loss of his best friend. As soon as the ceremony ends, the pair begin to investigate the circumstances of Hughes’ death, collecting evidences and talking, especially, to Major Armstrong, who gives away encrypted information to the Colonel. Mustang explains Hawkeye the situation and that this ordeal may involve the top brass of the military and that he intends to investigate further into that. He states that it will be dangerous and could be considered treason, asking her if she would follow and help him, to which she complies.

Soon after, Colonel Mustang gets transferred to Central, being allowed to take a few trusted subordinates, including Riza, with him by General Grumman. Once in Central, they carry on with their investigations on the military secrets.

She also appears in a flashback in chapter 24, when Ed tells Izumi their story. She accompanied Roy (ranked Lieutenant Colonel, at that time) to pay the Elric brothers a visit, intending to recruit them. She waited outside the room where Roy was having a discussion with them. Riza then has a conversation with Winry Rockbell. Winry asks if Riza has ever shot anyone, to which Riza answers she has shot many people. Winry then wonders why Riza joined the military if she doesn't agree with having to kill. Hawkeye responds that she has "someone to protect," explaining that she pulls the trigger of her gun of her own free will, and will continue to do so until Mustang accomplishes his goal.

In chapter 25, Riza was seen practicing her aim before being asked to report to the Colonel along the others in their squad. They were told that they would be transferred to Central with Mustang.

Barry the Chopper
After the transfer to Central, the top brass tries to keep Colonel Mustang as busy as possible and Riza only gets a day off weeks after the transference. Going back home at night, after buying groceries, Riza gets attacked by Barry the Chopper who has escaped and vanished after the events of the 5th Laboratory. Barry gets a crush on Hawkeye and confesses he knows Alphonse. Riza thinks the situation is suspicious and decides to call on the Colonel to figure out why a condemned criminal is not in fact dead, but made a guardian armor. Mustang meets up with them, summoning Falman to perform an interrogation to make sure the armor is indeed Barry the Chopper. Because of his crush on Riza and because he would like to get back at the homunculi for what they did to him, Barry decides to cooperate with Mustang, revealing that the military was performing human experiments inside the 5th Laboratory. He also reveals that the people who performed the experiments on him are all dead, having been used in the creation of Philosopher's Stones.

Barry makes an inappropriate move toward Riza, inciting Mustang's immediate agitation; he threatens to scorch Barry on the spot but is talked out of it by Riza. Mustang decides to keep Barry hidden, supervised by Falman.

"Fishing" in Central
Following the transference to Central, the Homunculi began to realize the Colonel’s moves to investigate Maes Hughes’ death could lead to him discovering more than he should. With that in mind, they create a diversion, blaming Second Lieutenant Maria Ross for the death of the Brigadier General. Thinking the accusations sound suspicious, Hawkeye reports the news to Colonel Mustang, who, in return, asks her to investigate further into Maria Ross. Looking over her files and information, Riza reinforces her first impression that Maria would have no reason whatsoever to kill someone. When she confers with Mustang, he asks Hawkeye to hide her discoveries and to collect Maria Ross’ dental information, erasing them from the military archives.

While Mustang leaves to fake Maria Ross’ death, Hawkeye stays in the office for cover up.

Wanting to confirm Barry’s information about the Military being involved in the 5th Laboratory incident, Mustang asks Major Armstrong to take Edward to the East with him since, in Mustang's words, Ed was “too passionate and can ruin the plan”. Mustang's unit begins the plan to use Barry to capture an Homunculus for information.

Pretending to be upset with Mustang for killing Maria Ross, Hawkeye asks for a small vacation. Instead, she goes into hiding in a tower near the apartment where Barry the Chopper is being guarded by Falman, waiting for the Homunculi to come after Barry. With the help of Fuery, who builds a small communication network, Hawkeye than proceeds to call Mustang several times as if she were one of Mustang’s flirty girls, under the codename Elizabeth, and passing him coded information about the situation at the hideout.

Helping Havoc and Falman once Barry’s body attacks, Riza gets ambushed by Gluttony. Mustang, hearing the commotion over the telephone, explodes in an uproar and rushes down to the scene to save her, only to get scolded by Riza for being foolish and risking compromising their position. Despite this, Riza thanks Roy later on.

The death of an Immortal
They begin chasing Barry’s body, which they believe could lead them to the Homunculi’s lair; passing Alphonse Elric in their car, they agree to let him accompany them. Barry and his body enter the 3rd laboratory; Mustang, Hawkeye, Havoc and Alphonse follow, discovering a network of tunnels which lie beneath the buildings. Mustang decides to split up to cover both directions of the tunnel, sending Riza with Alphonse and taking Havoc with himself. While Mustang and Havoc meet up with and are attacked by Lust, Al and Riza discover Barry with his body, standing in front of engraved gates. Short after, Lust appears, blasting Barry’s armor to pieces and claiming to have killed the Colonel. Upon hearing this, Riza completely loses her normal stoic demeanor and, in something of an echo of Mustang's own reaction to her being attacked by Gluttony, fires continuously at Lust until she runs out of bullets. Her ammunition exhausted, Riza falls to her knees, weeping, and urges Alphones to flee. He refuses, shielding her body from Lust's attacks, only to be interrupted by Mustang's arrival. The Colonel, having used his flame alchemy to cauterize the wounds Lust inflicted on him, turns the same powers on the Homunculus herself. While Alphonse protects Riza, Mustang burns Lust to death.

The Belly of the Beast
In the hospital after the battle with Lust, Roy harshly scolds Riza for believing the enemy's words that he was dead, and tells her to never give up no matter what. He then asks her to continue watching his back, to which she agrees. As an apology, Riza produces a map to Central City, explaining she counted the steps while their party was traversing the underground facility, but because the hallways were slightly curved, she was unable to calculate the exact location of that large white room, and could only confirm that they had ended up somewhere within a circle she had drawn on the map with the 3rd Laboratory at the center. Complimenting the lieutenant's exceptional work, Roy gets right to the task of examining the evidence they had gathered. He notices that both the Central Command and the Führer's executive residence lie within the circle and begins to wonder whether King Bradley is an enemy or an ally. Though the path ahead seems daunting, he vows to get to the bottom of the conspiracy that Hughes had uncovered and asks Riza and Jean to continue following him loyally. Riza complies wholeheartedly, but she and Roy are shocked when Havoc suddenly bows out, stating that he can no longer feel his legs and must retire from the service.

Concerned with Havoc and Roy, who starts to obsess over the guilt of making Havoc paraplegic, Riza continues to attend both at the hospital without rest. When he discovers that Havoc has been discharged from the Military for his injury, Mustang demands to be released from the hospital, against Riza's better judgment.

Upon his release, Mustang finds that Edward has grown very active and appearing more than necessary in the city. He follows Ed and learns of his plans to lure Scar out, as Fullmetal reasoned the Homunculi wouldn’t allow Scar to kill him. Taking advantage of the situation, Mustang and Riza help Edward by confusing the Military Police and, when the Homunculi started to appear, Riza is sent to capture one of them. She disguises herself with Fuery’s glasses and clothes and encounters Ling, who has just arrested Gluttony, picking both up with her car. However, she’s spotted by King Bradley while doing so, which leads to consequences later on.

Ling than begs Riza for help, since his attendant Ran Fan is very injured and will die without a doctor's attention. Riza agrees to carry Ran Fan along to the shack they were using as hideout and asks Mustang to summon Dr. Knox to attend to her.

Arriving at the shack, Riza stays on guard outside while Dr. Knox works on Ran Fan and Mustang gets acquainted with Ling Yao. Hearing Mustang's name, Gluttony rages out to him, as he was the murderer of Lust. Destroying half the shack, Gluttony chases Mustang into the forest, where Riza attempts to sidetrack him and escape with the Colonel.

Edward and Al volunteer to stay behind to face the Homunculi while Riza takes both Ran Fan and Mustang to a secure location, along with Dr. Knox. Riza lends Edward one of her revolvers. Ed protests, saying it's a weapon to hurt and kill people. Riza insists, telling him that "it's a weapon of protection".

They go to Dr. Knox’s house, leaving Ran Fan to his care and proceeding back to Headquarters, where Mustang wants to survey whether they can get any allies against the top brass and the Homunculi inside the Military. Mustang enters the HQ and Riza stays outside, on watch, for a whole evening, while Mustang is held in by the Führer.

Taking Hostages
The consequences of Mustang's activities and investigations arrive quickly, as he discovers all top brass of the Military are involved with the Homunculi. King Bradley holds Mustang at the Central Command for the night, stating that he will not kill the Colonel, but will not allow him to wander, either. To ensure Mustang's cooperation, Bradley reassigns his loyal subordinates; Falman is sent to the north, Fuery to the south, and Breda to the east. Havoc is already gone, having returned to his family's home.

For Riza, however, Bradley has something else in mind. Having deduced that she is the closest and most deeply trusted of Mustang's subordinates, as well as possessing superlative skills, Bradley has decided to make her his own personal assistant. In simplest terms, she is being held as a hostage for Mustang's good behavior, meaning that the Colonel cannot make a move to defy Bradley or defeat the Homunculi without placing his "queen" in grave danger.

Laying Low
With all his subordinates removed from his Command and with Riza as Bradley’s hostage, Mustang is forced to lay low for a while and to stop his investigations in the Military. While he regroups, Edward and Alphonse plan to travel North to learn more about Alkahestry from May Chang. Before they do, however, Ed goes to visit Riza in her apartment just after her transfer to work under the Führer.

Returning the pistol Riza loaned him during Gluttony’s attack, they begin to talk about many important subjects: Edward's goal to return his body, about living and protecting those we love, burdens, responsibilities for their mistakes, and Ed's feelings towards Winry and his brother. Edward asks Riza if she could tell him about what happened during the Ishvalan war, a request with which Riza complies, telling him her view of the Massacre.

Edward thanks Riza for her openness and asks about the future of the country, saying he now understands why Mustang wants to become Führer. Riza explains the complex situation which she and Mustang both face; should they succeed in their aims to place him at the head of the country, they will both likely face trial and possible imprisonment for their actions during the Ishvalan conflict. Nevertheless, they are both committed to bringing peace and democracy to Amestris. She also urges Edward not to worry about their fates, as he has quite enough on his shoulders already. They part on friendly terms, urging each other to be safe.

After this conversation Riza starts her work under Bradley in silence, not meeting or talking to Mustang often. Nevertheless, she remembers Mustang's earlier injunction that she should never give up no matter what, and only obeys orders as far as is necessary to prevent further difficulties for herself or Roy. One day, while working with the Führer, Riza asks him if he has any compunctions about living such a lie. Bradley surprises her by telling her "...but my wife, I have chosen myself".

The Original Homunculus
Not long after this conversation, Riza delivers some military documents to the Führer at his house, late at night. Mrs. Bradley attends to her, making conversation about her husband and his work. Riza feels a strange feeling, turning around to find Selim Bradley behind her. Mrs. Bradley than brags about Selim, telling Riza he’s adopted from a relative of her husband, which raises Riza’s suspicions. Sensing he is discovered, Selim reveals to Riza that he is in fact Pride, the first of the Homunculi. He threatens Mustang and her friends if she dares speak to anyone about him. He adds that he will be watching her from the shadows.

Frightened, Riza returns to her apartment, trying to decide what to do next. She is surprised by a phone call from Colonel Mustang, saying that he's got plenty of flowers and asking if Riza wants some. He can detect the uneasiness in her voice, although Riza tries to deny it, and looks for her in the canteen the next day.

Deciding to take a risk, Riza signals to Mustang that she will give him a coded message, continuing the conversation as if nothing has happened. Colonel Mustang notes down the names Riza mentions in the conversation, taking their initials to write “Selim Bradley is Homunculus.”

An Underground Promise
Riza lays low until chapter 83, when Hohenheim tells Alphonse about the plans of the Promised Day, which triggers a flow of messages from character to character about it. General Grumman receives the news through Briggs and send Rebecca, one of Riza’s best friends, to Central to pass on the message to Riza herself. Rebecca, under the guise of having a “day off” at Central City, visits Riza and slips a note into Black Hayate’s collar. She hints Riza to pass on the message by asking her to “Say hello to Havoc” for her. Later the same day, Riza visits Havoc at the hospital. Upon arrival, she notices Colonel Mustang is in the room, hidden, but chooses not to uncover him as to avoid the Homunculi to see them together and just talks to Havoc as if nothing is wrong. She gives him a pack of cigarettes with the note from Rebecca, which states the message from Gen. Grumman. After Riza leaves, Havoc passes the note to the Colonel. As a preparation to the Promised Day, Riza deserts the Military, joining Major Sargent Fuery and 2nd Lieutenant Breda in a warehouse, waiting to meet Mustang to start a Coup D’Etat during the Promised Day. Mustang join them in a underground passage after blowing up his foster mother’s bar. Mustang states they’re going down a path with no return, as of that moment, and made his subordinates promise him they’ll not get themselves killed. They proceed to intercept Mrs. Bradley’s car, taking her hostage before the news of the Führer’s train being blown up at the East got to the Military. With Mrs. Bradley in tow, they enter the city only to be chased by Central soldiers.

The Promised Day
Leaving the traumatized First Lady in the care of Breda and Fuery, Mustang and Hawkeye continue to move into the city, trying to get to the Central Command. After some struggle, they manage to reach the undergrounds of the 3rd Laboratory, eventually meeting up with Ed, Scar and the Chimeras at the engraved gates, while they fight the Immortal Army.

Aiding Edward to finish the enemies, Mustang finally comes face to face with Envy. Envy reveals to be Brigadier General Hughes’ murderer, setting Mustangs hatred alive. Scar and Ed decide to go on ahead with the chimeras, as Riza states she can take care of the situation with Mustang herself. Mustang attacks Envy mercilessly, with Riza following behind them without him knowing. In an attempt to confuse his enemies, Envy disguises as Mustang to attack Riza. Asking her to “follow close behind”, Riza discovers Envy, tricking him instead. Envy get the upper hand in the encounter, almost killing Riza, but being stopped by the Colonel, who proceeds to burn him without end, relieving all accumulated anger into the homunculus.



As Mustang prepared himself to release his final blow and kill Envy, Riza surprisingly points a gun to the Colonel’s head, saying she couldn’t allow him to kill the homunculus. Scar and Ed return just in time, Edward holding on to Envy and screaming at the Colonel, stating he’s blinded by hatred. In turn, Scar says he cannot stop Mustang, but is also curious about “what the world would be like with a vengeful man as its leader”. Riza, than, begs Mustang to see reason, saying she could kill Envy herself. She says she understands what he’s going through, but cannot let him go down the road of becoming a beast. Mustang answers she can shoot him if she really felt like it, but asked first, what she would do after she had killed him, to which she answers:


 * “I have no desire to live a carefree, happy life alone. After this battle, my body will leave this world together with the Flame Alchemy, that only brings insanity”

Upon hearing this, Mustang ceases, sorrowfully stating that “it wouldn’t do” and that he would not lose Riza and apologizes to her for causing her pain.



They continue to follow the tunnels together, trying to find Father’s Lair, but running into an old man with a golden tooth and doctor’s clothes, instead. He activates a transmutation circle, that takes hold of Ed (and Al, Izumi and Hohenheim), making him disappear. He states he was part of the process of creating the Führer and releases the former candidates to attack Mustang, Scar and Hawkeye, seizing them.

The Gold-Toothed Doctor than asks for Roy to perform a human transmutation, to which Mustang refuses. With his refusal, a Führer candidate slits Riza’s throat, to try and make him cooperate. Mustang attempts to save Riza but is held back. The gold-toothed doctor says he’s now the only person who can save Riza’s life, with a Philosopher's Stone in his possession, to which he will do if Mustang agrees to perform the Human Transmutation and become a Human Sacrifice.

Mustang then considers performing human transmutation to save Riza, but upon gazing into Riza's eyes, he gets the message from Riza not to perform human transmutation. Mustang reluctantly refuses to perform human transmutation, seemingly leaving Riza for dead.

However, they are saved by the appearance of May Chang and the other chimeras. May heals Riza's neck wound enough to stop the bleeding. Riza apologizes for worrying Mustang and states that he understood her eye signal well. Mustang replies that this is only because the two of them have been together for so long. Riza then is supported by Mustang until King Bradley arrives. Bradley states he's amazed by Mustang and that he believed the Flame Alchemist would do anything if faced with the danger of loosing "someone important". Riza is left in the protection of the chimeras while she can only watch as Mustang gets his hands pinned to the ground inside a transmutation circle and sent through the gate.

She stays with the chimera while the Human Sacrifices fight Father in his lair and, as their position is directly above Father’s room, she and the chimera are not affected when the transmutation circle is activated and all souls sucked into Father.

Shortly after, Major and General Armstrong appear, all of them meeting Izumi and the Colonel shortly after, as Izumi is going after Father. She leaves the Colonel to Riza, continuing her way up. Roy tells her he has been blinded by Truth, but dismisses any concerns, asking her how are her wounds. Riza scolds him for not worrying about himself only to be cut out by Mustang asking if she could still fight.

Greed, who arrived in the meantime, says he’s going after Father but only allows for the fitted to join, dismissing General Armstrong and Riza for being hurt. Mustang intervenes, saying they need him to fight and he can only do that with Riza at his side. They go up to the surface to face Father, Roy now using Flame Alchemy without transmutation circle. Riza takes the role of his eyes, supporting the Colonel and giving him the coordinates of where to direct his attacks.

As the fight comes to a close with Edward finishing off Father, Riza and Mustang are shown cheering on Edward as he takes advantage of the Homunculus’ unstable state.

In the aftermath, she is taken to the campaign hospital for proper care to her injuries. Rebecca appears to deliver her the news that the plan has worked and that the population believed they were trying to save Amestris. When Mustang is about to be cured by Dr. Marcoh, he asks to Major Armstrong to tell his subordinates they would have "a heavy job ahead".

In the epilogue pictures, Riza is depicted still working with Mustang at the rebuilt of Ishval. She has cut her hair short like in her teens.

Trivia

 * One of Riza's pistols greatly resembles the FN Browning M1910, Enfield No.2 in design.
 * The relationship between Riza and Roy is a heavily implied one, and fans refer to their relationship as "Royai." Some fans were reportedly disappointed that the epilogue did not reveal much more of their relationship.
 * In Perfect Guidebook 2, it's stated that General Grumman is, in fact, Riza's grandfather on her mother side. It's not clear whether she's aware of that relationship to the General. It is clear, though, that the General is aware of the relationship.
 * Like nearly all military personnel in the Fullmetal Alchemist series, Hawkeye is named after a military vehicle, vessel or weapon, in her case, the Grumman E-2 Hawkeye, a carrier-based tactical Airborne Early Warning (AEW) aircraft used by the US Navy. Interesting enough, her grandfather's name was also taken from the same aircraft.
 * In the Red Gaiden, aka Simple People, Riza reveals to her friend Rebecca Catalina that she let her hair grow after she met Winry at Resembool and realizing it "might actually look good". In the epilogue of the last chapter she's shown with her hair cut short, once again.
 * The name Riza (a Hungarian version of Thereza) has as one of its meanings "Guardian". Though it's unclear whether this was intentionally put by Arakawa, it fits Riza's story, both as the guardian of her father's secret through the tattoo on her back and the guardian of Colonel Mustang and his alchemy, not allowing him to stray from his path to become the Führer and use the Flame Alchemy "for the good of the people".
 * Mustang refers to all of his subordinates as chess pieces; Riza's is the "Queen". The Queen is the only "female" chess piece and is the most powerful and useful piece in the game of chess, appropriate for Riza's battle ability and closeness with Roy, who is the "King".
 * Riza is currently the most popular female character in the FMA series, having come in the 3rd place in the latest fan poll. Edward Elric and Roy Mustang came in 1st and 2nd places, respectively.
 * Riza's theme song on the CD Theme of Fullmetal Alchemist is called 'Bonne Nuit,' which means 'good night' in French. It is sung by her seiyu, Fumiko Orikasa, who is also a famous singer in Japan.
 * There are several implied jokes on the nature of the relationship between Mustang and Hawkeye in the manga and 2009 series, such as Lt. General Grumman asking Mustang to "marry his granddaughter" (who we know by other means to be Riza).
 * The author, Hiromu Arakawa, has commented in the Artbook 3 of the manga, answering to fan questioning why isn't Mustang married to Hawkeye at the end of the Series "I can't get them married because of Military Regulations. If they get married, they can no longer stay as superior officer and subordinate".