The first Musketeer, alphabetically

ARAMIS

This smooth-talking musketeer shares his name with a fragrant resin used in perfumes and was often the romantic of the group.

The Three Musketeers—Athos, Porthos, and Aramis—are usually listed in that order, but alphabetically, "Aramis" comes first. The clue plays on the idea of ranking them by name rather than their traditional sequence. Since "A" is the first letter of the alphabet, Aramis wins as the initial Musketeer when sorted that way.