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, directive; 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.

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. 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.

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

His badge reads: Detective LAPD (not Detective Sgt) badge number 5893.

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 hit it off, and work closely together to clear Murtaugh's name after he is forced to kill a friend of his son's in self-defense. The two end up falling in love, and move in together after the end of the film.

In Lethal Weapon 4, Riggs and Cole are still living together, and Cole 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 by the end of the movie their status is returned to Sergeant. At the end of the film, Riggs finally makes peace with Vicki's death (with help from Leo), and later marries Cole, while she is giving birth to his son.

Television series

In a March 10, 2016 newspaper article, the plot for the television pilot is as follows: "when Texas cop and former Navy SEAL Martin Riggs...suffers the loss of his wife and baby, he moves to Los Angeles to start anew. There, he gets partnered with LAPD detective Roger Murtaugh...who, having recently suffered a "minor" heart attack, must avoid any stress in his life."

Weapons

Throughout all four films, Riggs has used martial arts, including 52 blocks, Wing chun, tai-chi, Shotokan Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, Kali, Capoeira, And Boxing (leading Murtaugh to jokingly suggest that Riggs himself be registered as a "lethal weapon", hence the title of the first film) and a Beretta 92F (assume FS) pistol as his signature weapon (which is fitted with Crimson Trace laser grips in the fourth film), though he will often commandeer an H&K MP5 sub-machine gun or AK-47 assault rifle from a vanquished foe if more firepower is needed, and also briefly used a Heckler & Koch PSG1 sniper rifle in the first film, for ranges exceeded by accurate 9×19mm (Luger) firepower. Riggs has previously claimed to have killed a target in Laos from a distance of 1000 yards "with a rifle shot in high wind," something he claims only 8 to 10 people in the world could have accomplished.

Other traits

Riggs lives in a travel trailer on a beach along the Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles. His original one was destroyed by the South Africans during Lethal Weapon 2. He has a new trailer in deleted scenes (restored in a director's cut) in Lethal Weapon 3, and still lives there with Lorna Cole in Lethal Weapon 4.

Riggs is shown to be humorous towards Murtaugh and Getz. He mainly antagonizes Getz in ways like pulling Getz's nose after Getz asks if his nose was bleeding (Riggs had inadvertently punched Getz in an attempt by Arjen Rudd and his henchmen) and he says sorry about that and pulls his nose, hurting him more or dooming him to a needless rectal exam after getting shot in the arm after the attempted arrest of former LAPD lieutenant Jack Travis.

Riggs has a loose shoulder which can dislocate easily. He can reset it by slamming it into a wall or other hard objects, although doing so is very painful for him. It helps him escape execution by the South Africans in Lethal Weapon 2 when he is able to escape a straitjacket while tied up underwater.

Riggs owns a Sheltie named Sam who is seen in all four films. He refused to kill a Rottweiler that was defending a drug operation in, saying, "I can't shoot a dog. People okay, but not dogs." He instead befriended and rescued the Rottweiler, and still keeps him as a pet along with Sam in the fourth film.

Riggs prefers driving GMC trucks, and owns a different GMC truck in every film.

Reception

Critics have given the character a positive reception. He is praised for his dramatic and brutal fight scene with Mr. Joshua (Gary Busey) and the sharp and clever dialogue provided by Shane Black. Martin Riggs is number 100 on Empire's list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters.