Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: Why Mustang Had to Be the One to Kill Lust

Mustang shows that homunculi can die when he kills Lust. But he also shows the core of his character, the reason why he had to be the one to to kill her.

BY NATALIE CHERIE CAMPBELL

It’s been thirteen years and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood (FMAB) is still on top. Ranked the #1 anime and the #16 TV Show on IMDB.com, FMAB continues to stand the test of time for good reason. FMAB remains true to Hiromu Arakawa’s bestselling manga, delivering all the action and suspense we expect from a shonen while remaining focused. FMAB’s large cast of complex characters wrestle with politics and intrigue, relationships with the self and others, as well as philosophical and moral quandaries, making the story engaging for a wide variety of viewers.

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Spoilers ahead. But, if you’ve been missing out for this long, go watch it stat.

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FMAB is packed with symbolism, not least of which are the seven homunculi. Each homunculus is an incarnation of one of the seven deadly sins: Pride the Arrogant, Lust the Lascivious, Envy the Jealous, Sloth the Indolent, Gluttony the Voracious, Wrath the Furious, and Greed the Avaricious. Created by Father, the homunculi are his extracted vices distilled into a philosopher’s stone and placed in either artificially-formed or human bodies. They are undying monsters that can withstand any injury and the passage of time. Yet, they have a fatal weakness. They can be killed if the energy in their core is exhausted.

The homunculi’s deaths and who kills them is packed with meaning and symbolism, so let’s dig into the shocking death of Lust, the first homunculus to die.

Lust is interesting because she is the only homunculus that doesn't act according to her deadly sin. For example, she doesn't act lascivious despite looking seductive, and she's surprisingly calm and collected for one who we'd expect to be preoccupied by sexual desire. At most, she has a lust for blood, and she does enjoy piercing people with her extendable blade fingers, her "Ultimate Spear," which is certainly phallic.

Lust not acting but still looking according to our expectations shows that Lust is the manifestation of others' lust, not her own. She capitalizes on this fact. She uses her body with all its lusty temptations and her cunning insight into human desire to manipulate others. Most memorably, she tries to exploit Second Lieutenant Jean Havoc's desire for a sexy girlfriend to acquire intelligence on Colonel Roy Mustang's plans. She fails, which is to Havoc's credit, his professional separation of his private and work lives keeping his lusty obliviousness from causing any true damage.

Fast forward to the night Lust dies. Mustang, Havoc, Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, and Al are chasing Barry the Chopper, a serioal killer whose soul is bonded to a suit of armor, who is chasing his rogue body. They all arrive at the Third Laboratory in Central City and split up. When Mustang and Havoc run into Lust, they see her ouroborus tattoo, leaving Havoc in shock that his girlfriend, "Solaris," is actually a homunculus. Mustang dryly comments, "Well, I can see how she tricked you so easily. You've always been a sucker for big boobs." Havoc responds, "I can't help it, I love 'em."

Mustang and Havoc "kill" her with some quick-thinking, alchemy, hydrogen gas, and a lighter. However, Lust spears Havoc through his back as she regenerates from her ash. Mustang rips out her philosopher's stone to heal Havoc, causing her to disintegrate, but regenerates again and stabs Mustang through his side. Leaving them to bleed out, Lust finds Barry, Al, and Hawkeye. She shreds Barry with her fingers and bemoans her bad luck at Al being present, saying that she's already had to kill one candidate for "sacrifice," so killing another is quite a setback. Riza realizes that the first candidate Lust is referring to is Roy. Her reaction is visceral anguish as she screams and shoots bullet after bullet into Lust, knowing that Lust will just regenerate. Hawekeye falls to her knees sobbing and tells Al to abandon her. Al refuses and shields her from Lust's spears with his armor. Al is slowly being ripped apart by Lust when Colonel Mustang arrives.

In one of the most boss moments of the whole series, Mustang approaches with his stab wound seared shut, a transmutation circle carved into his hand, and a lighter in place of his ignition gloves. he engulfs Lust in flames. Again and again, he burns her alive until the energy in her philosopher's stone runs out. She falls to her knees and disintegrates for good.

Lust's death is important because it proves that the undying homunculi can be killed, but it is equally important because of its symbolic implications for Colonel Mustang and, by extension, Lieutenant Hawkeye.

Like Lust, Mustang is strategic in portraying himself as a lusty person. He has built a reputation as a womanizer to cover his calculated ambition. Sure, he likes miny skirts, but he is devoted to Riza Hawkeye, his childhood friend and partner in purpose. To the enduring dismay of all fans everywhere, Hawkeye and Mustang's relationship is never defined or confessed in the anime, but Arakawa did say in an art book that they would be married if not for military regulations.

For each deadly sin, there's a contrary virtue. For Lust, there's chastity. Most often chastity is coupled with sexuality, just as in the case of lust. However, more broadly speaking, chastity is purity in conduct and intention as well as restraint and simplicity in expression. These qualities are at the core of Roy Mustang's character as well as Riza Hawkeye's, whose lives are defined by their choice to set aside their romantic attraction in favor of supporting one another with restrained expression, complete devotion, and absolute dedication to jointly achieving their goals. Together they embody Lust's contrary virtue of chastity.

Stepping back to Jean Havoc for a moment. Like Mustang, Havoc is not an uncontrollable sex-driven character. However, unlike Mustang, Havoc is incredibly preoccupied with his desire for a girlfriend. His love of big boobs seems like a harmless, funny aspect of his character, like Roy's love for miny skirts, but it stops being funny when Lust takes advantage of him. There is nothing funny about both of these men longing for someone. There is nothing to mock about their priorities. Havoc, a true professional and loyal friend, threw the lighter. Roy, a devoted leader and caring friend, raced to heal Havoc. But even so, they were both stabbed by Lust.

In a symbolic but tragic move, the fateful encounter leaves Jean crippled and Roy only wounded. Perhaps this is because Havoc isn't the one who overcomes Lust/lust again and again. Mustang is. Mustang is the one who carries on, holding his wound and self-inflicted scar while achieving his goals to destroy Lust and save the woman he loves.

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