Homunculi of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga
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- For information on the Fullmetal Alchemist Homunculi who appear in the anime, see Homunculi of the Fullmetal Alchemist anime; this article describes the Homunculi as they appear in the manga.
In the Fullmetal Alchemist manga series, Homunculi are artificially generated beings, retaining human physical form and mental capabilities. Homonculi lack souls, and their existences are replaced and replicated, to some slight degree, with the material created from an innumerable amount of souls called "Philosopher's Stones." Ruthless and determined, these beings serve as the principal villains of the Fullmetal Alchemist series. They are manipulative, pulling the strings from behind the scenes for much of history, and cutting them when they no longer serve a purpose.
All Homunculi bear the mark of the Ouroboros, though the location of the tattoo varies. All Homunculi are also marked with several red circles on various parts of their bodies that are connected by a red line. The actual purpose of these markings is never specified.
Whereas the existence of a human being revolves around the soul, the existence of the Homunculi is sparked by the Philosopher's Stone(s) they carry within them. Due to the healing powers of the stone, Homunculi are endowed with amazing regenerative abilities, even to the point of allowing them to return from utter annihilation. This impressive ability, however, is fueled by the souls of the stone, and should their stones be depleted, their death is imminent. Apart from their healing power, each Homunculus is gifted with a paranormal power, which manifests itself uniquely for each of the Homunculi.
Each of the seven Homunculi present in the series is named after one of the seven deadly sins of Dante's Purgatorio: Lust, Gluttony, Envy, Pride, Sloth, Greed, and Wrath. As such, some of their personality and/or character traits are defined by the sin of which they are the embodiment. They are cruel sociopaths, as one would expect of incarnations of sin, although not incapable of questioning their nature or the validity of their existence.
The origins, nature, and some of the identities of the Homunculi vary depending on the media in question. Four Homunculi from anime were based from their Manga versions (Lust, Gluttony, Envy and Greed), while Sloth and Pride hadn't made a full appearance in the manga, thus BONES created two unique Homunculi based on Trisha Elric and Izumi Curtis's dead baby. They become the anime version of Sloth and Wrath respectively, and Pride was manifested in King Bradley, who is Wrath in the manga.
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[edit] Homunculi in the manga
Homunculi are deliberately constructed by gathering the elemental ingredients of a human being and building them around a Philosopher's Stone (in this version a true, completed stone), with each Homunculus's existence bound to that specific stone. As the presence of the stone is the crucial element of their life, Homunculi cannot age. In an effort to remedy this, a secondary method of Homunculus formation was developed; by injecting a Philosopher's Stone (in liquid form) directly into the blood stream of a human being, the Stone could potentially take control of the body and act from then on, although most bodies don't survive the grueling process. Thus far, two Homunculi have been created in this fashion: Wrath and the reincarnation of Greed.
In the manga, Homunculi are merely servants to a greater power, dubious in intent. Their creator, whom they call "Father", devised each of them to serve a specific purpose in his personal plans. Though they initially serve him without question, Wrath and the original incarnation of Greed seem to be developing contrasting feelings towards their master (Wrath out of his prolonged existence among humans and Greed for his sheer selfishness). It is notable that Homunculi who inhabit human hosts are bound by the physical limitations of those bodies, including the negative side effects of growing age.
There is dialogue that suggests the best way to kill a Homunculus is simply to kill them multiple times, or destroy the Philosopher's Stone that is their 'heart'. Greed is killed by destroying his stone and melting it. Lust is killed by forcing her to 'run out' of lives. Gluttony also ran out of lives, but he was killed by Father, his stone living on. The former is supported by various snippets of dialogue, such as Homunculi counting their lives to see how many they have 'left'.
The Homunculi of the manga do not, unlike the anime, desire to become human; they instead think of humans as weak and lower beings than themselves.
[edit] Lust
Lust (ラスト Rasuto?), also known as the "Ultimate Lance", can extend her fingernails or fingertips and turn them into razor sharp blades which can seemingly pierce through anything. In an earlier appearance, when she confronted Doctor Marcoh about the Elrics and their search for his notes on the Philosopher's Stone, Lust was run through on a large, alchemically-formed stone spike. While impaled, her index finger (which had been elongated at a few meters previously) was limp like a rope; once the stone spike retracted, she then used it to slice the spike in several places, not unlike garrote wire, indicating that her fingers are malleable with an ability to slice as well as pierce. On freeing herself, she merely smiles, scolding Marcoh for killing her once. Her tattoo is located above her breasts.
Her primary role was to gather intelligence on various situations around the country and report back to "Father". She claimed to have a widespread information network in place and confirmed that Dr. Marcoh's original research was backed by the Homunculi. The Perfect Guide Book 2 lists her as the second Homunculus created by Father before the History was recorded; as such, Greed and Envy referred to her as "old hag." Also, there is no indication of there having ever been previous or successive versions of Lust.
Eventually, she wound up in Central, dating Jean Havoc under the alias Solaris in order to get inside information on Roy Mustang, the Elric Brothers, and other projects. She was the first to respond when members of the Military found the door to the Homunculi's lair, and fought Havoc, Hawkeye, Barry the Chopper and Alphonse, proving her strength. During the ensuing battle, Mustang suffered severe wounds, Havoc was paralyzed below the waist after being lashed through the spine, and Barry would ultimately die as a result of being unable to defend himself in the aftermath. Lust would finally meet her end by the flames of Roy Mustang, who continually incinerated her (with the aid of a lighter and a makeshift sigil of blood on his bare hand) until her stone's powers of regeneration were used up. As she withers, Lust regards her killer with interest, complimenting Roy on his determined eyes that she cannot wait to see "filled with torment". Upon her death, Lust's stone shatters and fades into dust along with her. If a second Lust is to be created (as a new Greed has been and a new Gluttony in the future) a new stone will have to be forged and the new Lust will be completely different as the previous stone was destroyed.
Coincidentally, the way Lust met her end was the same as the punishment in hell, which is smothered in fire and brimstone, as Mustang's flames has destroyed her. Lust's fiery death is used on Wrath (Pride in the anime) near the end of the series by Mustang.
In Shanghai Youma Kikai, a one-shot manga by Hiromu Arakawa (the author of Fullmetal Alchemist), the main character Jack's director "Miss Nynetales" resembles Lust. Since Jack himself also resembles Havoc, it could be an intended cameo that both had somewhat of a relationship in the Fullmetal Alchemist manga.
[edit] Gluttony
Gluttony (グラト二ー Guratonī?) is a relatively young Homunculus. He is always eager to eat anything, or anyone, living or dead. The muscles in his jaws are also very powerful and his saliva is acidic, dissolving even the toughest metals to feed his ravenous appetite. He has the mentality of a child and has a very dependent nature, and has emotionally latched onto Lust and takes directions from her. Gluttony's Ouroboros tattoo is located on his tongue.
In his true form, he is able to devour anything on a larger scale, with his rib-like teeth being able to extend huge amounts of distance, dragging whatever is caught back to his cavernous maw. While this appears as a massive blast of energy, it's simply fast movement on his part. Any material consumed in this manner is instantly placed, as whole, into a large void-like area that Envy later reveals as a false Gate to the Doors of Truth. Inside it, biological materials seem to break down at an accelerated pace, and the blood-like floor saps people of their energy. However, large inorganic structures are unharmed, and in fact well preserved-a fragment of a wall carving Gluttony consumed during the fall of Xerxes, almost a millennium earlier, was still legible enough for Ed to recreate a complex alchemical array. Even Roy Mustang's flame attack was still active inside Gluttony's void.
Gluttony was originally intended by the Homunculi's "Father" to be a representation of the Gate of Truth, but the experiment failed. He falls into a slump after Lust's death, but shortly thereafter Wrath calls upon him to counter the threat of the foreign woman Ran Fan, who could sense the souls present in people and thus easily track their kind. During this mission, he was captured by Ling Yao, and taken to a secure location in the forest, tethered in a ball of wires for analysis. When he learns Lust's killer is there, he goes into a fit of rage, revealing his true form, wherein his stomach splits in two down the middle, with claw-like ribs sprouting from his sides. Between the ribs and in the middle of his body is a giant eye, much like the one inside the Gate.
Gluttony calmed down a bit when Envy arrived on the scene, having been instructed by Wrath to retrieve him from the Elrics and Ling Yao. A short while later, Gluttony accidentally swallows Edward, Envy, and Ling after Envy instructed him to swallow just Ling (Edward was deemed too important a "sacrifice", but since Envy got sliced in half and absorbed as well, it seems the process of absorption cannot be reversed once Gluttony starts it). Gluttony, not knowing what to do, considers going back to his "Father" and Alphonse asks that he take him along. It is later revealed that the place inside his stomach is actually a fake representation of the Gate that the Father created. Ed managed to escape this false gate, transmuting himself, Ling and Envy through the real Doors of Truth, and they burst from Gluttony's stomach in the presence of "Father" and Alphonse. The continuing series of battles with Scar, Ling and the military left him in bad shape however, as the powers of his stone had become so weak he was unable to even regenerate himself. "Father", unwilling to see a second pawn's stone go to waste, forcibly removed it from Gluttony's stomach, promising to create a new body for the stone with the previous incarnation's memories intact. In chapter 57, tiny versions of Gluttony are seen sprouting from Father's chest. The Perfect Guide Book 2 lists him as the sixth Homunculus created by Father.
[edit] Envy
An effeminate figure with a dry wit, Envy (エンヴィー Envī?) has the ability to assume the form of any person (or animal) and copy their voice, and the power to manipulate his body to form weapons and poisonous animals such as snakes. He is a skilled physical fighter, with incredible brute strength but mainly takes advantage from his "true form's" massive size to overwhelm the enemy. In terms of physical strength Envy is possibly the most exceptional of all of the Homunculi. His anime counterpart uses attacks ranging from simple punches and kicks to capoeira-like techniques. Envy is most comfortable in the "adorable" form of a young androgynous human. Envy's most valued contribution(s) to the Homunculi's cause is impersonation, gathering information unnoticed, and using his ability to change form to carry out efficient assassinations. Envy's favored technique for murdering humans is to impersonate someone the target cares deeply for, and use their natural hesitation as the opportunity needed to kill them. His Ouroboros tattoo is located on his left thigh.
Aside from being accountable for the death of Maes Hughes, it is Envy who sets Maria Ross up to take the fall. Recently, he took Doctor Tim Marcoh captive to meet someone for some goals unknown, before being told to intervene when Gluttony assumed his monstrous form. Like in the anime, the body Envy spends most of his time in a body not belonging to him, as in Manga Chapter 6. . Having been mistakenly swallowed by Gluttony along with Edward and Ling, Envy gleefully reminiscences on perhaps his most cherished accomplishment: it was he that fired the shot that began the Ishbalan war, ending the life of a child and starting the chain of events leading to the destruction of Ishbal and the genocide of its inhabitants, the rise of Scar and his path of vengeance, and the death of Winry's parents. And being that Envy deems there to be no escape and their only future to be death, he also decides to show them something good.
It was then that Envy's genuine form, an enormous, demonic creature, was revealed. His build suggests him to be a vast heaving conglomeration of merged souls–the long-dead citizens of Xerxes, thus revealing that the Philosopher's Stone in Envy's body was the result of an entire city dying in one night. The faces of these souls undulating on Envy's body move and act independently of one another, either screaming out in pain, hopelessly twisted and homicidal, or desperately longing for death. They continually mutate and rearrange themselves, constantly trying to reach the 'surface' where they can be heard. Ling was semi-aware of the size of Envy's true form, knowing from his footsteps and landings in various battles that Envy carried extra weight, but was unaware of the totality of his size. While powerful, Envy is very self-conscious of his true monstrous form, easily baited earlier by Greed and then seems to demanding Edward and Ling to not look at him, even as he moves in for the kill. The various voices that sound from a myriad of mouths work as a method of distraction, trying to tune into specific voices and keywords to stun his opponents while he attacks.
He used this tactic to take advantage of Edward's despair and devours him whole. Within his gullet, Edward catches a glimpse of the Philosopher's Stone held inside Envy's body and hits upon an idea. Imploring the Homunculus for assistance and a brief pause in their current battle, the two strike a deal–Envy agrees to lend the energy from his Stone to Edward, which was used to break down their bodies and reform them on the other side of the Doors of Truth, letting them escape into the real world once again. Despite the drain of souls from Envy's Stone, he survived the escape.
Later, he is seen to have met up with Kimbley, giving him the new Philosopher's Stone made from Dr. Marcoh's acquaintances, asking Kimbley to track Marcoh and Scar, and destroy Marcoh's refuge city if Marcoh is found out to be with Scar.
Though considered mostly to hate humans, he can get along with people like Kimbley, and even showing friendly/mocking demeanor to Elric Brothers and Marcoh.
The Perfect Guide Book 2 lists him as the fourth Homunculus created by Father.
[edit] Greed
Greed (グリード Gurīdo?) is the ancient Homunculus known as the "Ultimate Shield". He is able to make himself impervious to harm by rearranging the bonds between the carbon atoms in his body and changing his skin into an unnamed carbon-based substance, giving him the appearance of a black-skinned demon while in his transformed form. In terms of attitude, Greed carries himself as a rather slick character, a ladies' man and all-around arrogant fellow. His Ouroboros crest is on the back of his left hand.
Greed's main base of operations is the Devil's Nest joined with his loyal chimera allies. It is not revealed how long Greed had been situated at the Nest, or if whether he has had much contact with the outside world at all. The Perfect Guide Book 2 indicates he left Father's group and the other Homunculi 100 years before Alphonse was born, or roughly 114 years before he meets the Elric Brothers.
He taught Alphonse a few of the secrets of the Homunculi, such as regeneration. While he briefly fought with Izumi, she ended up leaving of her own accord to inform Ed of the situation. Similar to the anime, he did battle with Edward but escaped into the sewers, only to be captured and skewered multiple times by King Bradley, the manga's Wrath; Bradley killed him fifteen times or so. Greed appears to have been unconscious when Martel was killed inside Alphonse.
Greed was shackled in chains and taken to the Homunculi’s hideout, where Father offered him a chance to align himself to their cause once again. But Greed refused, as his avarice would never be satisfied so long as he stayed by Father's side. As a result, Greed was boiled alive in oil. The Philosopher's Stone within him was extracted and drunk by Father. Greed was obstinate and defiant to the end, cackling at how "the temperature's just right" and how "he'll be waiting for Father and the other Homunculi in Hell." It is noteworthy to mention the symbolism of Greed's "death" is a reference to the punishments for the 7 deadly sins in Dante's inferno. Greed is said to be punished by being "boiled in the finest oil".
His favorite phrase was "There's no such thing as no such thing." In other words, "Anything is possible/existing" ("Arienai mono wa arienai") It was revealed just prior to his boiling oil bath that he knew of every other Homunculus except for Wrath, who was created after he left the group. Suspiciously, he does not mention or ask about Pride, but it could be possible that Pride had rarely shown himself already before Greed left. The Perfect Guide Book 2 lists him as the third Homunculus created by Father around 200 years ago.
[edit] Ling Yao as Greed
Later in the manga, Greed was reborn. Father leaked Greed's Philosopher’s Stone out from the third eye on his forehead and allowed it to run into the bloodstream of the twelfth Xingian prince Ling Yao, creating a Homunculus with a method similar to that of Wrath's. Ling accepted this, because of his constant search for a way to attain immortality. While he has the same powers as his original incarnation and his Ouroboros tattoo is in the same location, Greed apparently has no memories of that incarnation, though he does seem to recognize the other Homunculi, or at least know their names. The obvious explanation for this is that, while Father recreated Gluttony with all of his memories intact, the same cannot be said for Greed. Since Greed would have immediately rebelled again if his original memories were intact, Father had no choice but to erase them. While Greed claims no relation to his predecessor, while accepting the stone Ling finds himself face to face with a kind of "source" of Greed, a void where a being, calling himself and looking like the shielded form of Greed, negotiates a bonding between them. While this could be no more than a hallucination, the new incarnation of Greed shares numerous traits with his predecessor, such as a natural aversion to following orders as loyally or dedicatedly as Envy or Gluttony would have. He also shares some of his original incarnation's policies, such as not lying and having no interest in fighting women.
While Greed has no memories of being Ling, it is apparent that Ling's soul is still present in that body, as Greed faltered when Ed mentioned Ran Fan. In a conversation with Wrath, Greed comments that Ling is always trying to assume control, evidently meeting with some success. He delivered a message to the Elrics at Ling's behest (written in Xingian, which Greed could neither read nor write) to be given to Ran Fan - that Ling had finally found the Philosopher's Stone.
[edit] Wrath
Wrath (ラース Rāsu?) is secretly King Bradley, the political and military ruler of Amestris holding the official title of president, also called Führer. He controls the country and directs its military in secret to further his ends. His true identity is revealed when his eyepatch was removed during his battle with Greed, revealing the Ouroboros tattoo located on his left eye. This "Ultimate Eye" gives him the foresight to see all possible outcomes of a given situation, allowing him to predict the moves of any opponent before they happen. His favored mode of attack is with his sword, which he wields with alarming accuracy thanks to his unique gifts. His swordmanship is quite excellent, that he is keen to use 5 swords at a same time, which he shows during Devil Nest's raiding on Dublith (and jokingly named Gotoryou in Vol 7 draftback omake). He is able to pass beneath Ling Yao's servant Ran Fan's gaze unnoticed (despite her deft ability at tracking Homunculi by their distinctive ki), because he has only one soul in his body. Bradley uses this opportunity to cut her down, almost severing her left arm. A skilled tracker in his own right, Wrath begins to hunt her down, only to find she's finished his job severing her arm herself and tied it to a stray dog in order to throw him off her track.
He seems to enjoy humor and is quite calm, despite his true affiliations and sin he presented. He can do unexpected things as a Fuhrer and enjoys playing with subordinates (dressing like tourist while trying to meet Izumi Curtis in Dublith, giving melons as gift to the Elric Brothers, ditching work to meet the brothers in the hospital (later leaping out of the window to escape his subordinates), asking Gluttony if he is into girls, stabbing Alphonse Elric with Mei Chan still inside, without hurting her, but close one, and so on).
Wrath doesn't seem to enjoy the aging process; Bradley comments on how he's unable to act as rashly as he might have years ago and that his eye sometimes gives him options his body can no longer follow. Still, he accepts his fate as the culmination of his father's plans for both he and Amestris since his creation some sixty years ago. Most recently, Wrath revealed that during Hughes' funeral, he was extremely annoyed at Elysia's crying. This suggests that he was holding himself back from killing the child.
Wrath also admits to having some fun at the expense of Mustang, the Elric Brothers and Ling's group. He likes having the challenge of keeping up with them, despite being more cunning and in a far higher position of power. He then speculates on whether or not they can now succeed due to the interference of the others to Pride, who sees this as treason, but does not report it. Yet Pride still reminded Wrath that he was nothing to humans but a monster to fear. After foiling an attempt by Mustang to expose him as a Homunculus, Bradley ordered an immediate transfer of Mustang's subordinates, sending them to different regions throughout the country. The lone exception was Hawkeye, who is to remain in Central as his own personal assistant (and as a hostage to keep Mustang in line).
It was recently revealed that Wrath was originally a human who was transformed into a Homunculus through scientific experiments, which involved injecting a Philosopher's Stone into his body. He was the twelfth subject injected with the stone material and the only one to survive the heretofore fatal ordeal. This explains why he both ages like a normal human and only possesses one soul as opposed to the collection of souls possessed by the older Homunculi. However, even Wrath is unsure if his soul is his own or one passed to him via the stone. The fact Wrath still retains some of his childhood memories might mean his original soul wasn't completely destroyed, or has possibly been combined with the soul within the stone (as opposed to the new Greed, whose original soul remains separate from that of the ones in the stone). The Perfect Guide Book 2 lists him as the seventh Homunculus created by Father, the youngest of all (not counting the reborn Greed).
[edit] Sloth
Sloth (スロウス Surōsu?) first appears in the manga digging a tunnel in an unspecified location. His body is huge and muscled from all the labor he does. Apparently he uses his hands to dig for his work, causing them to constantly bleed. He is chained up and forced to work. His Ouroboros tattoo is located on the back of his right shoulder area.
Nothing else was known about Sloth except that Greed once called him dim-witted, and from the context, appears to have been unaware of Sloth's imprisonment. Lust also called him lazy, and taking those into account, suggests that he's chained up for not following orders in a timely manner or even failing to understand them.
In chapter 65, it is revealed that Sloth is digging in northern Amestris, under the Briggs fortress. He mentions that digging (as well as dying) is 'tiresome'. His appearance is also revealed - He is a big, well-built man, with hairstyle bear little resemblance to Envy, and seems to be wearing a mask. He later surfaces directly in front of the Elric Brothers, then proceeds to cause chaos within the mountain fortress before being temporarily frozen outside.
Greed's and Lust's earlier comments in the series about Sloth being slow prove true, as he falls asleep quickly, is easily distracted or confused, and forgets what he's supposed to be doing or even where he is at any given time. However, despite his limited intelligence, Sloth seems to have a resistance to damage that rivals Greed, without an obvious use of his powers. Bullets, grenades, tank rounds and even tanks charging towards him have little effect on the giant. It should be noted that even though the first tank round damaged Sloth, he quickly regenerated and successive rounds seemed to not damage him at all, suggesting that his body "memorizes" types of damage and makes his skin that much harder. Whether this is his power as a Homunculus, or merely a side-effect of his intensive labor is unknown. General Olivier Armstrong was able to subdue Sloth by covering him in fuel, letting the fuel's rapid evaporation and the bitterly cold Briggs weather freeze the homunculus.
Sloth was revived and sent back into his tunnel by order of General Raven, who arrives from Central with Kimbley and who is part of the corrupt military elite who conspire with Wrath.
The Perfect Guide Book 2 lists him as the fifth Homunculus created by Father.
[edit] Pride
Pride (プライド Puraido?) is apparently in control of the other Homunculi, and seems to be highly respected and feared, even if he does have, according to Envy, the habit of showing up when he's either not needed or in a non-combatant form. Pride appears for the first time in chapter 39 as a disembodied voice who stops Gluttony and Envy when they intended to show their true forms in the fight with Ling Yao and Ran Fan. In chapter 49, we see a shadow-hidden Pride; one can see the form of a beardless male human but little else. The mouth-shape, the only non-grey area in the picture, could match a wide variety of characters. What little we can see of Pride's outline suggests he's hiding his form for a reason, and has other duties that require absolute discretion during the current events.
Pride apparently takes all contacts toward the Homunculi and their Father extremely seriously. When Wrath reports to Pride about how their plans being disrupted was fun, Pride said he would keep this a secret between them. This suggests that Pride regularly reports everything to Father, but that he also has an understanding with Wrath (as Pride is the eldest of the seven Homunculi, he may have a "brotherly" relationship with the relatively young Wrath). The Perfect Guide Book 2 lists him as the first Homunculus created by Father in the time before recorded history.
In chapter 68, the dark shadow that attacked the scout party from Briggs is often thought to be Pride, due to his grin/eyes and his power that doesn't match with other Homunculi (large shadow that can slice everything). In chapter 69, General Raven reminded Sloth about what Pride had said earlier; that he still has work to do. This would insinuate that the shadow in the tunnel was in fact Pride.
| Fullmetal Alchemist | |
|---|---|
| Common characters: | Edward Elric • Alphonse Elric • Roy Mustang • Maes Hughes • Winry Rockbell • Scar • Izumi Curtis • Hohenheim • Minor characters of Fullmetal Alchemist |
| Anime-only characters: | Dante • State Military • Homunculi • Minor anime characters |
| Manga-only characters: | Father • State Military • Homunculi • Ling Yao • Minor manga characters |
| Media: | Anime (Episode list • Voice casts) • Manga • OVAs • Conqueror of Shamballa • Video games (characters) • Trading cards |
| Items/Concepts: | Alchemy • Automail • Chimera • Equivalent Exchange • Gate of Alchemy • Philosopher's Stone • State Alchemist • Transmutation circle |
| Locations: | Amestris • Ishbal • Lab 5 • Lior |
