I’ve already done a review of FMAB, but I decided to also focus on the villains of that piece. Of course I’m talking about the homunculi and their creator, Father. Everyone knows the history of the homunculi differs from the original series to Brotherhood. Their story in the original was interesting: they are the souls of people that died and were almost resurrected by the ones they love. Lust was initially Ishvalan, and Scar’s brother tried to bring her back to life, but unfortunately, Lust was the outcome. Envy was the miscarriage from Van Hohenheim’s first marriage. His name certainly suits the way he feels towards Edward and Alphonse. But, we’re not discussing them. We’re doing Brotherhood.
- Father – originally called ‘the dwarf in the flask’, Father is the head of the homunculi. Created from the blood of Slave 23, later Van Hohenheim, Father desires to attain the perfect form, knowledge, and immortality. He is an emotionless being after he separates all his feelings from his soul. Father’s desire is to turn the country into a transmutation circle, so that he can use human souls as a sacrifice to obtain this. He wants to become like God, which for a previous dwarf in the flask, is a tall order. Also, very heretical of him.
- Pride – the arrogant, the first homunculus. Pride was given the original form of Father back when he was in the flask. Trapped in the body of a child called Selim Bradley, Pride is the right hand homunculus to Father. Pride fancies himself above not only all humans, but even his fellow homunculi. Living up to his name, Pride can’t stand to be defeated by measly mortals. He controls an army of souls within his own Philosopher’s Stone; and it’s ironic that it took only two souls to defeat him: Solf J. Kimblee, and Edward Elric.
- Wrath – the furious, the King of Amestris. Wrath was born from normal parents, but was chosen to be part of the program to choose the puppet king. He went through rigorous training and was then turned into a homunculus. He is the only homunculus (besides Greed) who shows some semblance of free will. He chose his own wife and technically died on his own terms and with a smile on his face. Wrath was a homunculus I disliked, but I didn’t hate him. In the end, he was a homunculus we all could respect.
- Envy – the jealous, the shapeshifter. Envy is a character most people hate with a passion because of what he did to most of the characters. He killed Major Maes Hughes, started the war in Ishval, and personally (basically) tortures Dr. Tim Marcoh. Envy is the most open with his distaste towards humans, constantly belittling them and saying they’re easily manipulated. However, it is revealed that the reason he is so cruel is because (true to his name) he is jealous of them. He is jealous of their strength and the bonds they form. Humans aren’t so weak after all!
- Lust – the lascivious, the seducer. Lust tends to pick on men because of her abilities. Lust makes her comments about humanity in general, but she does like sniping about men. She targets Jean Havoc for information about Mustang, and then her final fight takes place against Col. Roy Mustang. It is fascinating, her final battle against the Flame Alchemist. Lust follows orders from Father without hesitation, but she has no goals or ambitions of her own. In that regard, she’s a little ambiguous. However, that does not stop her from being a dangerous and beguiling enemy.
- Greed – the avaricious, the Ultimate Shield. Greed is the most diverse because he was basically two characters in one. Or was it three? You have the first Greed, he simply defected from Father because he wanted to promote his own agenda. Greed can not be trusted because his first priority is always his own interests. The first Greed only wanted to have power, money, sex, status, women, and glory. That is still a limitless achievement. But, he gets captured by Wrath and re-assimilated by Father. Greed Part Deux took control of Ling Yao’s body. This Greed is a little more complex. At first, he follows Father, but when memories start resurfacing, he turns like his predecessor. Of course, we have to remember that Greed is also Ling Yao, and the Prince of Xing whispers in the homunculus’ ear. In the end, Greed does find out what he was really greedy for. Acceptance and friendship.
- Gluttony – the voracious, the failed portal. Gluttony is an odd one. He was usually paired with Lust and they were an odd couple: a tall, sensuous creature; with a squat and ravenous ball. Gluttony cared for her in a way; which is why he was so angry when Mustang killed her. Gluttony does not really have much else going for him. But, there’s only one other homunculus who is more one dimensional than Gluttony.
- Sloth, the indolent, the one dimensional. Life is such a pain. That’s his line, not mine. And that about says it all.
And those are all the homunculi for FMAB. Some are more colorful than others, but they all had some purpose to play throughout the series. They were all pieces of their Father’s plan and cogs in his machine.
And on that note, it’s been real!
It's Been Real! 