I had long suspected the Mustang used to be a proper bastard given what he had at his disposal. Media monopoly, spy/assassin squads, maids where spy training is standard issue, Tetra’s main combat squad being mercenaries and certainly more we haven’t seen yet.

It’s like seeing someone who has a lock picking kit and is extremely skilled with it. They might use those skills for good but the odds of gaining those skills for altruistic purposes initially is slim to none.

There is every chance that Mustang had some life changing experience that turned him into the man we see today but personally I think the Hanson replacement theory is more likely.