Rick

Rick's look shifts noticeably between versions. The 2003 anime draws him as a younger, softer child, while the manga and 2009 anime render him a little older, sturdier, and rounder in the face. A missing tooth and a bandanna are his constant marks. His Ishvalan blood shows in his red eyes, though in the manga his unusually pale skin and light hair make him stand out among his people and hint that he may be only half Ishvalan; the 2009 anime instead gives him the full Ishvalan look of red eyes and white hair.

A rough upbringing has made Rick shrewd beyond his years. He admits he would simply have robbed the helpless Scar and dumped him back in the water had the man not turned out to be a fellow Ishvalan, yet once that bond is clear he proves genuinely tender, dressing the wounds of the fearsome killer, feeding him back to strength, and scolding him for training before he has fully healed. In the 2003 continuity he clings fondly to the memory of his mother, patiently pushing back against his brother's bitterness toward her.

In the manga and 2009 anime, Rick lives in the slums at the edge of East City and, together with an Ishvalan elder, finds Scar drifting unconscious through the sewers after his underground clash with Lust and Gluttony. He is awed by the Dragon's Pulse tattoo on Scar's surviving arm and helps nurse the man back to health. The 2003 anime recasts him as the younger of two orphaned brothers in Central City who befriend Scar and later Alphonse. There he is abducted by mercenaries hunting Ishvalans, and during his rescue a thrown dagger strikes his chest, only to be stopped by his late mother's locket. The keepsake breaks open to reveal eye medicine, proving that their mother had not deserted them but fled, half-blind, in a desperate search to find her sons. He makes a brief reappearance when the nationwide circle is activated.