Martin Riggs
| Detective Martin Riggs | |
|---|---|
| Lethal Weapon character | |
| First appearance |
Film: Lethal Weapon (1987) Television: "Pilot" |
| Last appearance | Film: Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) |
| Created by | Shane Black |
| Portrayed by |
Mel Gibson (films) Clayne Crawford (television) |
| Information | |
| Aliases | Mad Cop, Chaos |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Police Detective |
| Title | Sergeant Patrolman (Lethal Weapon 3) Captain (Lethal Weapon 4) Detective (TV Series) |
| Spouse(s) | Victoria Lynn Riggs (deceased) (films) Lorna Cole Riggs (films) Miranda Riggs (deceased) (television) |
| Children | 1 unnamed son 1 stillborn son (television) |
| Religion | Christian |
| Nationality | American |
Martin Riggs is a fictional character from the Lethal Weapon franchise. He is played in all four films by Mel Gibson. On March 10, 2016, it was announced that Riggs would be played by Clayne Crawford in the pilot for the new Fox Television drama series.
Originally a member of the Los Angeles Police Department's Narcotics Division, upon being reassigned to the Homicide Division, he is partnered up with aging sergeant Roger Murtaugh. Riggs and Murtaugh remain partners throughout the film series.
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."
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 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.
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Wikipedia