Homunculi
From left to right: Lust, Envy, Sloth, Gluttony, Pride, Wrath, and Greed in the mangaHomunculi (ホムンクルス Homunkurusu) serve as the main antagonists in Fullmetal Alchemist. They are a group of artificially created humans who seek to fulfill their leader's goals of creating a Philosopher's Stone. Each homunculus is named after one of the seven deadly sins, and can be identified by their bearing of the mark of the Ouroboros somewhere on their body. They also possess a heightened regenerative ability, rendering them nigh indestructible, though not invincible. Aside from this, the concept of the homunculi varies drastically between the manga and first anime series.
In the manga, the homunculi were created by or are at the discretion of Father, being a manifestation of one of his traits: his greed, his lust, and so onEach homunculus has a Philosopher's Stone somewhere in his or her body which fuels their regenerative ability, and were created at the same time as their respective Philosopher's Stone. Others, such as Wrath, are humans that accepted a Philosopher's Stone into their body, gaining the abilities of a homunculus while aging like a human. The only way to kill a homunculus is by expending all of the power in their Philosopher's Stone, leaving them unable to revive themselves once they have been killed.
In the first anime, homunculi are the result of a human transmutation, and closely resemble the deceased human intended to be revived. These homunculi are led by Dante, and feed on incomplete Philosopher's Stones to fuel their powers; they are susceptible to death once these stones are regurgitated. The homunculi of the first anime possess an additional weakness: a remnant of their original bodies (a bone, hair, etc.), which weaken and immobilize them when they come in contact with them.
In the first anime, Lust was created when Scar's brother tried to revive his deceased lover. Though originally largely the same as her manga counterpart, Lust, as the series progresses, begins to develop a strong desire to regain her humanity. This ultimately leads to her defection from the homunculi, and to her aiding Edward Elric if he promises to help make her human. Wrath eventually catches up to them before he paralyzes her using a locket filled with the hair from her original form and kills her. Yūko Satō voices her in Japanese, and Laura Bailey in English. Kikuko Inoue voices her in Japanese in the new series.
Gluttony
Gluttony (グラト二ー Guratonī), the second homunculus introduced in the series, typically appears in the company of Lust. He is a large, simple-minded homunculus whose thoughts rarely stray far from eating. He has powerful jaws and acidic saliva, and can and will eat almost anything. He particularly likes eating people, and the only way he can find enjoyment in a battle is if he can eat his opponent afterwards
In the manga, Gluttony is the failed product of Father's attempts to create a Portal of Truth. When activating this portal, Gluttony's stomach opens up, revealing a large eye at its center. His ribs spread out to act as a border for the gate, and then double as large extensible teeth that can consume everything in his eye's field of vision in an instant. Anything Gluttony consumes is transported to a realm within himself, which is littered with artifacts from centuries before the start of the series. In the ensuing battles, the energy in Gluttony's Philosopher's Stone is exhausted, leaving him unable to revive himself. Father later restores him and sends him and Pride to capture Ed. When his Philosopher's Stone nears depletion in the attempt, Pride consumes Gluttony to gain his abilities.The first anime explains Gluttony's origins as a way to produce imperfect Philosopher's Stones, the souls of the people he eats being condensed into red stones. After learning of Lust's death, Gluttony becomes deeply depressed. To stop his incessant crying, Dante transforms him into a mindless eating machine, an act that ultimately backfires when he eats her. He appears again in , having transformed into a large, multi-limbed monster since his appearance in the first anime. He exclusively attacks Wrath during the movie, the battle leading to Alphonse Elric sacrificing the two upon Wrath's demand, in order to open the Gate to Earth so that Edward can return home. Yasuhiro Takato voices him in the first Japanese series, and Chris Cason is his English voice actor.His voice in the second Japanese series is provided by Tetsu Shiratori.
In the manga, Envy's natural form resembles that of an enormous demonic creature, composed of citizens of Xerxes. After Lust's death, Envy replaces her as the homunculi's messenger. On a mission to personally capture Dr. Marcoh, all of the Xerxes' souls composing Envy's true form are destroyed in the ensuing battle, reducing Envy to a tiny parasitic creature that is revealed to be his actual original form. Envy is then handed over to May Chang in a mason jar for her to take back to Xing, but Envy instead convinces her to return to Central, where he absorbs several super-soldiers to recreate his body. Soon after, Mustang confronts Envy and learns that Envy was Maes Hughes' murderer. Envy stands no chance against Mustang's flames, and is subdued and rendered to his parasitic form once more. After Edward sympathizes with Envy over the jealousy he feels towards the strength of humans, Envy commits suicide by tearing out the Philosopher's Stone at his core.
In the first anime, Envy was the first homunculus and the only one with no desire to become human, and served as Dante's right hand. Throughout the series, Envy expresses a vendetta against the Elric brothers that is later clarified in his origins: Envy was created in Hohenheim's attempt to revive the dead child he had with Dante long ago. When his father left him and Dante to start another family, Envy began to hate Hohenheim and transferred that loathing towards his two half brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, even successfully killing Edward after revealing to him the truth of their relationship. After learning Hohenheim was still alive and on the opposite side of the Gate, Envy, leaping at the chance to personally kill his father, forces himself through while assuming the form of a giant serpentine dragon., Envy has lost his power of transformation and remains stuck in his dragon form. He is captured by the Thule Society and given Hohenheim as a human chew toy before being used as a sacrifice to open the Gate linking the two worlds. In the first Japanese series, Envy is voiced by Mayumi Yamaguchi, and by Wendy Powell in the English adaptation. His voice in the new series is provided by Minami Takayama.
In the first anime, Greed escapes the raid, fleeing to Dante's mansion. Dante, having created Greed when attempting to revive her dead lover, still retained the bones from his original body, which left him severely weakened. Edward kills Greed soon after he was made to believe that Greed killed Dante, though not before leaving with the valuable knowledge of how to kill the homunculi. He is voiced by Junichi Suwabe in Japanese, and Chris Patton in English. For the new series, his voice is provided by Yuichi Nakamura in Japanese; in English, Patton reprises his role for the first Greed, while the second Greed is portrayed by Troy Baker.
The first anime shows the origins of Wrath in Izumi Curtis's attempt to revive her infant child. Her effort failed, and the infant's body was taken beyond the Gate of Truth. There, the child, Wrath, grew up. When Edward Elric later lost his arm and leg while trying to revive his mother, Wrath took both for himself, which allowed him to use alchemy and escape to Amestris. Because of his ability to perform alchemy, Wrath can assimilate any sort of material or object into his body. Since the remains of his former body were used in his creation, Wrath lacks the weaknesses of the other homunculi, though both the Gate of Truth and the cries of a child have similar psychological effects on him. After joining the homunculi, Wrath develops a mother-son relationship with Sloth. When he unknowingly helps to kill her (having absorbed the remains of her original body) he becomes distraught, realizing the truth behind Dante and Envy, as the former takes Ed's limbs from him to keep him quiet when he attempted to revive Sloth himself. He is later given automail replacements by Winry Rockbell. He appears again in Conquerer is Shamballa, in which he battles against Gluttony so that Alphonse Elric can use them both as sacrifices to open the Gate of Truth. Al does so, and is able to reunite with Ed, while Wrath is able to reunite with the spirit of Izumi. The first anime Wrath is voiced by Nana Mizuki in the Japanese series, and by Luci Christian in the English dub.
In the first anime, Pride represents the true identity of King Bradley, while Selim is a normal human child who briefly appeared in the end of the series, playing an unintentional role in King Bradley's death at Mustang's flames, but not before the Führer strangles him to death in his rage. In the first anime, Makoto Tsumura voices Selim in the Japanese version, and Zarah Little in the English dub. His voice in the second series is provided by Yuko Sanpei in Japanese, and by Brittney Karbowski in English.
In the manga, the homunculi were created by or are at the discretion of Father, being a manifestation of one of his traits: his greed, his lust, and so onEach homunculus has a Philosopher's Stone somewhere in his or her body which fuels their regenerative ability, and were created at the same time as their respective Philosopher's Stone. Others, such as Wrath, are humans that accepted a Philosopher's Stone into their body, gaining the abilities of a homunculus while aging like a human. The only way to kill a homunculus is by expending all of the power in their Philosopher's Stone, leaving them unable to revive themselves once they have been killed.
In the first anime, homunculi are the result of a human transmutation, and closely resemble the deceased human intended to be revived. These homunculi are led by Dante, and feed on incomplete Philosopher's Stones to fuel their powers; they are susceptible to death once these stones are regurgitated. The homunculi of the first anime possess an additional weakness: a remnant of their original bodies (a bone, hair, etc.), which weaken and immobilize them when they come in contact with them.
Lust
Lust (ラスト Rasuto), the "Ultimate Spear," appears as the first homunculus in the series as a shapely woman who primarily works in the shadows, acts as envoy for her leader in both iterations, and encourages alchemists down her desired path. She can extend her fingers to great lengths, which are capable of cutting through virtually any substance. In the manga, after leading an effort to capture Barry the Chopper, her plans backfire when Roy Mustang infiltrates the homunculi's secret lair. Mustang repeatedly blasts Lust with flames, ultimately killing her after depleting the power of her Philosopher's Stone.In the first anime, Lust was created when Scar's brother tried to revive his deceased lover. Though originally largely the same as her manga counterpart, Lust, as the series progresses, begins to develop a strong desire to regain her humanity. This ultimately leads to her defection from the homunculi, and to her aiding Edward Elric if he promises to help make her human. Wrath eventually catches up to them before he paralyzes her using a locket filled with the hair from her original form and kills her. Yūko Satō voices her in Japanese, and Laura Bailey in English. Kikuko Inoue voices her in Japanese in the new series.
Gluttony
Gluttony (グラト二ー Guratonī), the second homunculus introduced in the series, typically appears in the company of Lust. He is a large, simple-minded homunculus whose thoughts rarely stray far from eating. He has powerful jaws and acidic saliva, and can and will eat almost anything. He particularly likes eating people, and the only way he can find enjoyment in a battle is if he can eat his opponent afterwards
In the manga, Gluttony is the failed product of Father's attempts to create a Portal of Truth. When activating this portal, Gluttony's stomach opens up, revealing a large eye at its center. His ribs spread out to act as a border for the gate, and then double as large extensible teeth that can consume everything in his eye's field of vision in an instant. Anything Gluttony consumes is transported to a realm within himself, which is littered with artifacts from centuries before the start of the series. In the ensuing battles, the energy in Gluttony's Philosopher's Stone is exhausted, leaving him unable to revive himself. Father later restores him and sends him and Pride to capture Ed. When his Philosopher's Stone nears depletion in the attempt, Pride consumes Gluttony to gain his abilities.The first anime explains Gluttony's origins as a way to produce imperfect Philosopher's Stones, the souls of the people he eats being condensed into red stones. After learning of Lust's death, Gluttony becomes deeply depressed. To stop his incessant crying, Dante transforms him into a mindless eating machine, an act that ultimately backfires when he eats her. He appears again in , having transformed into a large, multi-limbed monster since his appearance in the first anime. He exclusively attacks Wrath during the movie, the battle leading to Alphonse Elric sacrificing the two upon Wrath's demand, in order to open the Gate to Earth so that Edward can return home. Yasuhiro Takato voices him in the first Japanese series, and Chris Cason is his English voice actor.His voice in the second Japanese series is provided by Tetsu Shiratori.
Envy
Envy (エンヴィー Envī) is the third homunculus to appear in the series. He can assume any appearance he wishes. When not in disguise, he prefers the form of an androgynous young man. Because of his ability, Envy usually acts as infiltrator for the other homunculi, often assuming another's identity in order to gain sensitive intelligence. Envy enjoys violence between humans, having shot an Ishbalan child, sparking the resulting civil war.In the manga, Envy's natural form resembles that of an enormous demonic creature, composed of citizens of Xerxes. After Lust's death, Envy replaces her as the homunculi's messenger. On a mission to personally capture Dr. Marcoh, all of the Xerxes' souls composing Envy's true form are destroyed in the ensuing battle, reducing Envy to a tiny parasitic creature that is revealed to be his actual original form. Envy is then handed over to May Chang in a mason jar for her to take back to Xing, but Envy instead convinces her to return to Central, where he absorbs several super-soldiers to recreate his body. Soon after, Mustang confronts Envy and learns that Envy was Maes Hughes' murderer. Envy stands no chance against Mustang's flames, and is subdued and rendered to his parasitic form once more. After Edward sympathizes with Envy over the jealousy he feels towards the strength of humans, Envy commits suicide by tearing out the Philosopher's Stone at his core.
In the first anime, Envy was the first homunculus and the only one with no desire to become human, and served as Dante's right hand. Throughout the series, Envy expresses a vendetta against the Elric brothers that is later clarified in his origins: Envy was created in Hohenheim's attempt to revive the dead child he had with Dante long ago. When his father left him and Dante to start another family, Envy began to hate Hohenheim and transferred that loathing towards his two half brothers, Edward and Alphonse Elric, even successfully killing Edward after revealing to him the truth of their relationship. After learning Hohenheim was still alive and on the opposite side of the Gate, Envy, leaping at the chance to personally kill his father, forces himself through while assuming the form of a giant serpentine dragon., Envy has lost his power of transformation and remains stuck in his dragon form. He is captured by the Thule Society and given Hohenheim as a human chew toy before being used as a sacrifice to open the Gate linking the two worlds. In the first Japanese series, Envy is voiced by Mayumi Yamaguchi, and by Wendy Powell in the English adaptation. His voice in the new series is provided by Minami Takayama.
Greed
Greed (グリード Gurīdo) craves money, women, and other worldly possessions above all else. Because of this, he betrays the homunculi in both anime series and the manga, as working for them would deprive him of his greedy desires. He has the ability to rearrange the carbon atoms in his body to create a shield he calls the Ultimate Shield, which is as hard as a diamond and coats his body. Greed is introduced when he sends some of his chimera subordinates to capture Alphonse Elric.The State Military soon raids their location to rescue Al, and Greed's fate, from that point further, differs between adaptations. In the manga and second anime, Wrath repeatedly kills Greed multiple times, finally managing to subdue him, and then takes him back to Father. Unwilling to rejoin them, Greed is melted down and returned to the form of the Philosopher's Stone, then consumed by Father. Later, Lin Yao, in his search for immortality, offers to become the new Greed. Greed is given complete control of Lin's body after Lin willingly relinquishes control, believing this to be the only way to gain immortality. Though this Greed initially has no recollections of his actions as the former Greed, Bido's death brings back the memories of all his loyal subordinates. Angry with Bradley for killing his "possessions," and further provoked by Lin, the new Greed defects from the homunculi once more, eventually joining forces with Edward Elric during their fight against Father. Greed sacrifices himself during the final battle by separating himself from Lin's body and merging with Father, using his Ultimate Shield abilities to slow him down before Father extinguishes him.In the first anime, Greed escapes the raid, fleeing to Dante's mansion. Dante, having created Greed when attempting to revive her dead lover, still retained the bones from his original body, which left him severely weakened. Edward kills Greed soon after he was made to believe that Greed killed Dante, though not before leaving with the valuable knowledge of how to kill the homunculi. He is voiced by Junichi Suwabe in Japanese, and Chris Patton in English. For the new series, his voice is provided by Yuichi Nakamura in Japanese; in English, Patton reprises his role for the first Greed, while the second Greed is portrayed by Troy Baker.
Sloth
Sloth (スロウス Surōsu) differs greatly in the first anime and in the manga. In the manga, Sloth is a large, muscular, dim-witted man who believes everything to be pointless and tiresome. Despite his lazy nature, he is very strong physically, and is the fastest of the homunculi, his incredible speed disproportionate to his size.He is tasked with digging a gigantic transmutation circle beneath Amestris to be used in turning the country into a Philosopher's Stone. Though he is briefly impeded in this job when he runs into the Elric brothers at Briggs' Fortress, he is allowed to continue his work. After finishing the circle, Sloth serves as Father's bodyguard and fights off Mustang and Olivier's troops when they invade Central. He is eventually killed through the combined efforts of the Armstrong siblings and Izumi and Sig Curtis. He is voiced by Fumihiko Tachiki in Japanese and Patrick Seitz in English. In the first anime, Sloth is the product of the Elric brothers' attempt to revive their mother, Trisha Elric, found by Dante and fed incomplete Philosopher's Stones until she assumes her original form's likeness. She is given the alias "Juliet Douglas" (ジュリエット・ダグラス Jurietto Dagurasu) and appointed as King Bradley's personal secretary, allowing her to serve as the homunculi's direct contact within the State Military. She is able to transform her body into a watery composition, which she uses to drown others by grabbing hold of them. Sloth constantly suffers from memories of Trisha raising the Elric brothers and, determined to prove to herself that they are not her memories, longs to be able to kill the brothers as their real mother would never do such a thing. She develops a mother-son relationship with Wrath, and the two stick together during the second half of the first anime. During her final battle with the Elric brothers, Wrath, having merged with Trisha's remains earlier, merges with Sloth's body so that he will never have to be separated from her. This leaves Sloth paralyzed, allowing Edward Elric an easy opportunity to convert the water in her body into ethanol, which then evaporates into the atmosphere. Yoshino Takamori is her seiyu, and Lydia Mackay her English voice actress.Wrath
Wrath (ラース Rāsu) differs greatly in the first anime and in the manga. In the manga and second anime, Wrath is the true identity of King Bradley, and his Ouroboros tattoo is on his left eye, usually disguised by his eye patch.The first anime shows the origins of Wrath in Izumi Curtis's attempt to revive her infant child. Her effort failed, and the infant's body was taken beyond the Gate of Truth. There, the child, Wrath, grew up. When Edward Elric later lost his arm and leg while trying to revive his mother, Wrath took both for himself, which allowed him to use alchemy and escape to Amestris. Because of his ability to perform alchemy, Wrath can assimilate any sort of material or object into his body. Since the remains of his former body were used in his creation, Wrath lacks the weaknesses of the other homunculi, though both the Gate of Truth and the cries of a child have similar psychological effects on him. After joining the homunculi, Wrath develops a mother-son relationship with Sloth. When he unknowingly helps to kill her (having absorbed the remains of her original body) he becomes distraught, realizing the truth behind Dante and Envy, as the former takes Ed's limbs from him to keep him quiet when he attempted to revive Sloth himself. He is later given automail replacements by Winry Rockbell. He appears again in Conquerer is Shamballa, in which he battles against Gluttony so that Alphonse Elric can use them both as sacrifices to open the Gate of Truth. Al does so, and is able to reunite with Ed, while Wrath is able to reunite with the spirit of Izumi. The first anime Wrath is voiced by Nana Mizuki in the Japanese series, and by Luci Christian in the English dub.
Pride
Pride (プライド Puraido) differs greatly in the first anime and in the manga. In the manga, his identity is a mystery until during the later half of the series; Pride was created in Father's original image, and thus appears as a dark blob with many eyes. He can destroy or manipulate anything that this shadow comes into contact with, and can gain the traits of whomever he eats (such as Gluttony's appetite and sense of smell). Taking on a host body in Selim Bradley (セリム・ブラッドレイ Serimu Buraddorei), the adoptive son of King Bradley, Pride can only exist within a given area: the area surrounding his body and the underground transmutation circle running throughout Amestris. He needs a light source in order to be able to use his shadow, and his shadow can similarly be "killed" if the light becomes too bright or he is surrounded by darkness. He is very dedicated to the homunculi's cause, and does not allow anyone to get in his way. He does, however, have some attachment to his adoptive human mother. Edward destroys Pride's body in battle, reducing him to his true form: a minuscule, fetus-like creature. After the battle with Father ends, the now powerless Pride is brought to his adoptive mother and raised all over again. Two years later, Selim is shown to have grown into a much more compassionate young child.In the first anime, Pride represents the true identity of King Bradley, while Selim is a normal human child who briefly appeared in the end of the series, playing an unintentional role in King Bradley's death at Mustang's flames, but not before the Führer strangles him to death in his rage. In the first anime, Makoto Tsumura voices Selim in the Japanese version, and Zarah Little in the English dub. His voice in the second series is provided by Yuko Sanpei in Japanese, and by Brittney Karbowski in English.
