Fullmetal Alchemist: Roy Mustang’s Journey as an Antihero

 The Elric brothers, to get their mother back, committed the sin of human transmutation. They were punished for it and hence lost their bodies in the process. However, the Elric brothers were quick to accept their mistake and decided to make things right. Their innocent desperation might have pushed them to commit a sin, but they were brave enough to learn from it and move on. Despite being so young, they truly set an example even for adults. As they fought against Father’s master plan, their methods were much better than most characters on the show, including Colonel Roy Mustang.

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Roy Mustang was an essential ally of the Elric brothers, but they had different ways of dealing with the challenge in front of them. The member of the Amestris military, Colonel Mustang, was not only with the Elric brother to help them defeat Father, but he had his sights on King Bradley’s position. He had always dreamt of being at the top, and after Father’s plans were revealed, it was the right time for him to rise to the occasion and establish himself as a leader. Although the Elric brothers were motivated by the desire to make a better world, the same can’t be said about Roy’s motives and actions, which mark him as an antihero.

The Elric brothers, after losing their mother, were disheartened. Their arrogance led to their downfall as they thought that they could bring their mother back to life. They were humbled by their failed attempt in which they lost their bodies. They now decided to seek balance in the world and get their bodies back without committing any sin. Their decision put them on a path that changed them, and they matured along the way. Roy Mustang went in the opposite direction, and his ambition forced him to make questionable choices.

Even though Roy Mustang is already a Colonel, he is not satisfied and wants more power and influence. Although Roy does have some good motives and wants to make Amestris a better place and take it in the right direction, his methods are on the border between villain and hero. While characters like Major Armstrong and Maes Hughes are more concerned about their loved ones, Roy, on the other hand, tries to use others for his ambitions. He even blackmails and uses dirty tricks to control people he thinks can help him and his goals. 

Roy does have the goals of a hero, but his methods are similar to that of a villain. He even considers officers close to him as mere pawns in a big game of power and prestige. Roy is very intelligent about moving all his pieces on the chessboard as he thinks that they lay down the path for his rise as the ruler of Amestris. It is this persistent planning and plotting that make him appear villainous on many occasions. He is often cold to those around him, and he is hardly concerned for his fellow companions who risk their lives for his plans. It seems strange that he does not think what if his friends get hurt but mostly wonders how his plans have been ruined and what he ought to do to fix things. 

Roy is cold when it comes to his companions on many occasions, but he can be a nightmare for his enemies. He is ruthless, and his fight with Lust, the assassin, proves how terrifying he can be. Roy uses flame alchemy and does not shy away from burning his enemies to cinders. Roy does not even try to make peaceful resolutions, and if he is angered, he will only stop once he has burnt down his enemies. When Lust injured him, Roy Mustang showed no mercy and cut the transmutation circle into his skin, and ruthlessly cauterized his wounds just to blast Lust to death. It was a brutal display of his powers and his recklessness once he was angry.

When he confronted Envy later, he did the same and enjoyed evaporating Envy’s tongues and eyes with his well-targeted alchemy. Envy looked helpless, and if Riza, Scar, and Edward had not intervened, he would have loved to destroy him. Roy had almost embraced the darkness within him and became a ruthless leader. His ends justifying the means made him a monster on several occasions, but he would be wrong to think that he was entirely a villainous character. Roy is very protective of people close to him, like Riza Hawkeye and Maes Hughes. He was enraged at Envy because of her role in Hughes’s death. He was also aware that it was homunculus like Envy who had triggered the Ishval Civil War, but the murder of his dear friend primarily fueled his rage.

However, Roy did not go entirely to the dark side, and he learned to get over the past. When his friend talked him out of killing Envy, he not only listened but accepted his mistakes. Roy later became humble as the fight against Father became more intense. Roy undoubtedly had a dark side, which made him do things that he might have later regretted, but he got over it, which created an antihero personality that some love while others criticize.

Source: https://activate1mcafee.com/fullmetal-alchemist-roy-mustangs-journey-as-an-antihero/