Maes Hughes

Maes Hughes
Race	Human
Birthday	1885
Birthplace	Amestris
Age	29 (deceased 1914)
Gender	Male
Professional Status
Affiliation	State Military
Rank	Brigader-General
Previous Rank	Lieutenant Colonel Colonel
Previous Occupation	Intelligence Officer
Base of Operations	Central City, Amestris
Personal Status
Relatives	Garcia Hughes (wife); Elicia Hughes (daughter); Jared Hughes (son)
First Appearance
Manga Debut	Chapter 6
Anime Debut	Episode 1
Voices
Japanese Voice	Keiji Fujiwara
English Voice	Sonny Strait

Maes Hughes (マース・ヒューズ, Māsu Hyūzu) was a Colonel stationed at Central City and assisted Edward Elric in investigating the Homunculus until his death at the hands of Envy.

Appearance

Maes Hughes is a man of average height and build. He keeps his hair slightly combed back in a spiky fashion. He has some facial hair on his chin and wears glasses. He has yellow irises. He wears the standard uniform of the State Military.

Personality

Maes Hughes comes across as a very friendly man, enthusiastically greeting new people. He is also shown to be attentive towards his subordinates, as he knew Maria Ross enough to see through Envy's disguise. He was also described as a very helpful person. He has a habit of bragging about his daughter, Elicia, showing off photos of her and inviting the people he meets to see her. However, he is very protective of his daughter , as when some boys wanted to play with her he drew a gun and warned them that if they tried anything funny with Elicia he will come after them. His intense love for his family was evident to the end, as he was unwilling to attack Envy when he took the form of his wife, Gracia, even though he knew it wasn't her.

History

During the Ishvalan Civil War, Maes Hughes was conversing with then-Major Roy Mustang about the progress of the war. He then receives a letter from his girlfriend, but before he can continue, an Ishvalan tries to ambush them, only for Riza Hawkeye to shoot him from afar. Afterwards, he states that he is fighting to stay alive. He was then seen thinking about Alex Louis Armstrong's incompetence at his mental breakdown over killing civilians. Soon, he found himself in the middle of an intense firefight between Ishvalans and the State Military, before the Ishvalans surrendered. He then witnessed Basque Grand kill his commanding officer when refusing to negotiate with the Ishavalans, and decided to cover-up the cause of death by saying it was a stray bullet. After the surrender was rejected, he conversed with another soldier about religion At the war's conclusion, Hughes was seen conversing with Mustang about his success and his ambitions..

Plot

During the Ice Alchemist's rampage, he walks in on a meeting between Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric, and Colonel Roy Mustang. Although estatic to meet the youngest State Alchemist in history, he mistakenly assumes Alphonse is the Full Metal Alchemist. He then invites the Elrics to his home. After the Ice Alchemist's death, he lectures Mustang on accepting compliments and listening to his elders.

After the death of the Tucker family, Hughes was seen investigating the crime scene. Later that day, he and Colonel Mustang were discussing the danger Scar posed. During Edward's, Mustang's, and Armstrong's battle against Scar, he remained unseen throughout the battle, saying that he is not a combat soldier.

As Edward was recovering in a hospital, Hughes discussed Mustang's ambitions and tried to get his subordinates to come to his daughter's birthday party. He then met up with Edward and Winry Rockbell, joking around that he had seduced her. He then dragged Winry off so that she can play with his daughter at her birthday. He was then present when Edward gave a description of the people who attacked him in a secret laboratory. When Fuhrer King Bradley entered, he immediately snapped to attention and listened as Bradley briefed them on the situation.

Later that evening, Hughes was researching Armestris's history, trying to connect the Homunculus to major events in the nation's history. Just as he started connecting the dots, a mysterious woman walks in and attacks him, saying that he knows too much. Although wounded, Hughes managed to also wound his assailant. He then decides not to use the phone in his office, instead limping to a phone booth outside to relay the information. He is then confronted by "Maria Ross", who pointed a gun at him. He quickly realizes that the Maria Ross he was talking to was an imposter, and turns to attack. However, he is stopped when the attacker transformed into his wife, and could not bring himself to attack the person, and is killed by his inability to fight back ch6 pg10; ch15 pg33-43

Abilities

Keen Intellect: Hughes is a very smart individual. He was able to make a connection between all of Armestris's military activities with the Homunculus, thereby discovering their plan.

Expert Knife Thrower: Hughes demonstrated talent with throwing knives, being able to hit Lust right between her eyes while being wounder by her.