Father (Fullmetal Alchemist)

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Father
Fullmetal Alchemist character
Father by Hiromu Arakawa
Profile
Age	Undisclosed

An enigmatic being with no known name, Father is the central antagonist of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga, and is responsible for the creation of the seven Homunculi (and ultimately the cause for most of the atrocities throughout the story), his children with which he "shares his soul" (thus explaining his title).

[edit] Character Outline

Father is seemingly rather old in appearance, but it is suggested that he is even older than he appears - at least two or three centuries, if not more. He is a cold and pragmatic person who loathes treachery of his plans, and he may be responsible for the very creation of Amestris itself, as well as for the provocation of every war relating to it. He considers himself an existence far beyond human, comparing them to insects, and anyone who isn't useful in his plans is considered expendable. However, a large flashback in chapter 74/75 reveals that he did depend on Hohenheim for the creation of his body. As a result, their faces are almost exactly identical. Father refers to Hohenheim as "it" rather than "he" (however, in the Viz translation, "Father" never once calls Hohenheim "it" but always as "he"). It appears that the current connection he has with Hohenheim is not antagonistic, as it appears that Hohenheim knows what "Father" is doing, but has made no attempt to stop him. Also, when "Father" learns that Hohenheim is alive and has had children, he seems to react with excitement.

[edit] Powers

Father has the extremely useful power to nullify all alchemic processes within a large radius of himself, rendering any and all alchemic attacks - no matter how lethal, powerful, or proficient - to be completely useless against him. He is apparently vulnerable, however, to Xingese and Ishbalan alchemy (a mix between Xing and Amestris alchemy made by Scar's brother). The reason for this is that the two types of alchemy use different power sources. The Xingese alchemy uses the power that "flows from mountain into underground, nourishing land as it passed by". Amestrinian alchemy however, appears to be a brainchild of Father. While believed to get its power from tectonic plate movement, its power source actually appears to be a vast number of human souls that are being kept underground by means unknown, first time is felt by Mei Chan when she goes underground on Central. The current theory behind Amestrinian alchemy is as thus: Hohenheim's body houses a multitude of extra souls, which can be released in some sort of liquid, possibly a liquefied Philosophers Stone, when Hohenheim deliberately opens his body. Since both Father and Hohenheim appear to have almost identical bodies, it is assumed that Father has a similar number of extra souls. He has been seen in several chapters sitting in a chair with a very large number of pipes that connect to the inside of his body, and very likely to the underground soul-storage facility. Therefore, his ability to "turn off" Amestrinian alchemy stems from the fact that he created it and supplies it's power source(this theory is however built upon conjecture and is yet to be verified). It would also seem that he can perform alchemy purely through thought, with no movement whatsoever, and that he can transmute with any part of his body, not merely his hands as with most other alchemists. He has a third eye, hidden in his forehead, which dispatches Greed's incomplete Philosopher's Stone (later drinking it after punishing Greed for his transgressions). In addition, he is apparently capable of violating the law of Equivalent Exchange, as demonstrated when he replaces Al's missing hand without any visible raw material to use - though he may hold extra materials within his body, using them for such transmutations; or is able to bypass the law of natural providence, (transmuting air to metal, etc.).

His body is not that of a human, as shown in a scene where Scar grabs his face and attempts to decompose it, an ability that only works if Scar knows what he is decomposing; it didn't work on Father, which means that his body is not composed of the elements that form a human body (and the rebound nearly kills Scar in the process). His third eye and the fact that he can create bodies for the Homunculi out of his own body further support this theory. The full extent and source of his abilities are both unknown. At this point in the manga, his goal appears to be to create an enormous Philosopher's Stone, even larger than the one he used to animate Envy, to use as a passage fee to the Doors. To obtain the stone, he appears to be preparing to sacrifice the entire country of Amestris and the people of various surrounding areas. Once he has the Stone, he will then proceed to open the Doors either by performing human transmutation on himself, or by some unknown process possibly relating to his need for "human sacrifices". The entire thought behind this is probably to see the entire "Truth", which would enable him to become a god though this is at the time merely speculation. As a side note, his need for "human sacrifices" is completely unknown at this point. Also, there is very likely more to the plan, as Envy has let on several times to characters who have attempted to figure it out("Are you planning to create a philosopher stone using this country?!" "HA! That's close!"). It is revealed that he created the country of Amestris solely for the sake of his master plan, and is directly responsible for all of the deliberately bloody and chaotic wars of expansion that it has waged.

[edit] Plot Summary

In chapter 73, it's implied that he may need more than one human sacrifice. He is shown placing four pieces, representing Edward and Alphonse Elric, Van Hohenheim, and Izumi Curtis (all people who have seen the Doors) at four corners of a transmutation circle. The one to fill up this fifth slot is unknown, however, it is hinted at that the homunculi are creating circumstances so that Mustang will open the gate.

In chapters 74-75, during one of Father's rare sleeping periods, he dreams of his past. It is revealed that he met Van Hohenheim when Van was a boy slave in a laboratory. Father appeared as a small ball of shadows (resembling the ones Pride controls and those inside the Doors of Truth) inside a round flask. The conversation revealed that Van's blood had been extracted by his owner and used on Father. When Van asks Father what his name is, he tells him to call him "homunculus". Over time Father educates Van in reading, writing and basic alchemy. Some time later, the King of Xerxes summons Father and his Master to the palace and wants immortality. Father convinces the King to dig trenches around the country in the shape of a transmutation circle. When the circle is activated, the country and people are consumed and Father and Van are brought before the Doors. Father uses Van's body as a form to create a new 'vessel' to contain his essence, explaining why Father resembles Hohenheim. He refers to Van as his 'only blood brother'. As a gift for helping him, Father has made Van immortal by rebuilding his body with half the souls of the population of Xerxes. The other half Father used to create his body. As a result, it is implied that both Father and Hohenheim are Philosopher's Stones in human form. In addition, Father is most probably the legendary sage of the east that taught Amestrians Alchemy. This is because he was created in Xerxes, west of Xing and east of Amestris, as well as what would seem to be the birthplace of all Alchemy. Evidence shows that Amestrian Alchemy is the creation of father so it makes sense that he is the sage of the east. By contrast Hohenheim is likely the Sage of the west from Xing legend. He has been shown to be a master of Xing alchemy and was also from Xerxes and in chapter 76 May-chan said that the sage of the west had gold hair and gold eyes just like Hohenheim and the Elric brothers just as Winry pointed out.

Father's plans are very near to fruition, because in chapter 78 Sloth eventually finishes to build the tunnel underneath Amestris. Nonetheless, an encounter between Van Hohenheim and Pride in the caves underneath Lior seems to concern him.

[edit] References