Martin Riggs

Military career

Riggs joined the U.S. Army at age 19, eventually becoming a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces, receiving specialized training in weaponry and hand-to-hand combat. These skills would later serve him well when he became a police officer. Most of Riggs's time in special forces was in Vietnam, where he served as an assassin under the CIA's "Phoenix Project". The first time he became a killer when he shot a man to death with a sniper rifle from a distance in Laos; while his ability as a trained killer would later plague his conscience, he thought of it as "...the only thing I was ever really good at."

Family

In 1984, Riggs's wife, Victoria Lynn, dies in a car accident, sending him into a deep depression. Driven by grief to the brink of suicide, he regularly puts himself (and anyone else near him) in harm's way, hoping someone will put him out of his misery. This total disregard for his own life makes him literally fearless, turning him into a "Lethal Weapon". By the end of the first movie, however, he has resolved to keep living. In the second film, it is revealed that Victoria was actually murdered during an attempt on Riggs's life.^[6]

In the films

In Lethal Weapon, Riggs is transferred from the narcotics division to the homicide division after a shooting incident. He is partnered with Detective Sergeant Roger Murtaugh in hopes that the older, more conservative veteran will keep him in line.^[7] After a rough start, the two become good friends, even though Riggs always gets on Murtaugh's nerves. By the end of the first film, the two have worked together to rescue Murtaugh's daughter, who had been kidnapped by drug lords and military mercenaries.^[8]

In Lethal Weapon 2, Riggs discovers that the South African crime lord, Arjen Rudd, whom he and Murtaugh are pursuing ordered Riggs's death in 1984. Rudd's enforcer, Pieter Vorstedt, killed Victoria Riggs by mistake and made the murder look like an automobile accident to cover up their involvement. After avenging the deaths of his wife and Rika van den Haas (whom Riggs had become involved with romantically before she, too, was murdered by Rudd and his minions), he is able to move on with his life. Meanwhile, Riggs and Murtaugh are assigned to protect a comical federal witness, Leo Getz (played by Joe Pesci) whom they ultimately become close friends with.

He meets Sgt. Lorna Cole (played by Rene Russo), an internal affairs officer, in Lethal Weapon 3 during an investigation into the disappearance of weapons from L.A.P.D. impound. The two make an immediate connection and work closely together to clear Murtaugh's name after he is forced to kill his son's friend in self-defense. Riggs and Lorna become romantically involved and move in together after the end of the film.

In Lethal Weapon 4, Riggs and Lorna are still living together, and Lorna is pregnant with their child, but they have dodged the issue of marriage. Both Riggs and Murtaugh are promoted to captain by the fourth film in order to keep them out of trouble, but are demoted back to sergeants at the end of the film. Leo helps Riggs finally make peace with his wife's death; Riggs marries Lorna while she is giving birth to his son.