Homunculi of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga

: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 "." 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. The markings could be like a homunculus' circulatory system pumping energy from the homunculi's stone to other parts of the body. This would make sense because in the manga when Wrath stabs Greed in the four circles that are connected by these lines Greed collapses and appears to be rendered more or less helpless, as he cannot move or activate his shield; however he can still see and talk.

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., could extend her fingernails or fingertips and turn them into razor sharp blades which could 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. Upon freeing herself, she merely smiled and scolded Marcoh for killing her once. Her Ouroboros mark was located above her breasts..

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 Homunculus' lair, and fought Mustang, Havoc, Hawkeye, Barry the Chopper and Alphonse, proving her strength. As she withered, Lust regarded her killer with interest, complimenting Roy on his determined eyes which she cannot wait to see "filled with torment". Upon her death, Lust's stone shattered and faded 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.

The way Lust met her end hearkens to both the punishment and the purification of the lustful in Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. Mustang's relentless attacks mirrors that of the violent storm of the Second Circle of Hell, while Lust's demise symbolize the wall of absolving fire in the Seventh Terrace of Purgatory.

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.

Gluttony

is a relatively young Homunculus. He is always eager to eat anything, Any material consumed in this manner is instantly placed, as whole, into a large void-like area that Envy later revealed as a false Door 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 after the fall of Xerxes, (presumably long after, as Xerxes fell 400 years ago, and he is the sixth Homunculus, while Greed, the third, is only 200 years old) , 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 Door of Truth, but the experiment failed. He fell into a slump after Lust's death, but shortly thereafter Wrath called upon him to counter the threat of the foreign woman Lanfan, 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 learned Lust's killer was there, he went into a fit of rage, revealing his true form, wherein his stomach split 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 Doors. Gluttony, not knowing what to do, considered going back to his "Father" and Alphonse asked that he take him along. It was later revealed that the place inside his stomach was actually a fake representation of the Door 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 Gluttony 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. Later, a tiny version of Gluttony was seen sprouting from Father's chest that began to say "I'm hungry".

The Perfect Guide Book 2 lists him as the sixth Homunculus created by Father.

Envy

An effeminate figure with a dry wit, has the ability to assume the form of any person Although emaciated, Envy proved to still be a threat due to his parasitic ablility to attach himself to the back of a person's neck and control their body functions. Though he attempted to use Yoki, Envy was tricked into letting him go by making it seem that no one cared if Yoki was killed. Envy was placed in a jar and given to Mei to take back to Xing. However, Envy was able to convince her to go back to Central in the belief that she can learn the truth about immortality, while Envy plots to get his hands on another stone.

Though considered mostly to hate humans, he can get along with people like Kimbley, and even shows mocking demeanor to Edward and Marcoh.

The Perfect Guide Book 2 lists him as the fourth Homunculus created by Father.

Greed

was the ancient Homunculus known as the "Ultimate Shield". He was 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..

Greed's main base of operations was the Devil's Nest, where he was joined with his loyal chimera allies.

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 Lan 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 Lan Fan - that Ling had finally found the Philosopher's Stone. In chapter 82 of the manga, Ling is shown to have conversations with Greed and at the end of the said chapter, Ling is seen again having assumed control of his body and meets Edward Elric in their old hideout in Central. Ling's control over his body, however, only lasts for a short while. In this time frame though, Ling is able to tell Edward briefly about Father's plans for Amestris before being taken over by Greed once more. Greed walks away from the hideout without harming Edward or his compatriots, but Edward decides to team up with Greed by offering to be his subordinate.

Wrath

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 swordsmanship is quite excellent, and he skilled enough to use 5 swords at a same time, which he shows during Devil Nest's raiding on Dublith, asking Gluttony if he is into girls, and so on).

Wrath doesn't seem to enjoy the aging process; Wrath 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, the only real glimpse of any sort of anger seen from him so far.

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 speculated on whether or not the Homunculi could now succeed due to the interference of the others to Pride, who saw this as treason, but did not report it. He mentions that digging (as well as dying) is 'tiresome'. His appearance is also revealed - He is a big, well-built man, with a hairstyle bearing a little resemblance to Envy's, 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 Olivia 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. Later, Kimbley stumbles inside a room where all the debris created from Sloth's labor was disposed of. He is approached by Pride, who mentions that Sloth has nearly completed digging his tunnel, and hints that Kimbley will use Sloth's aid in fighting against the soldiers of Briggs. Later in chapter 78, he says he is done and asks Pride if he can stop now.

The Perfect Guide Book 2 lists him as the fifth Homunculus created by Father.

Pride
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, not wanted, or in a non-combatant form. Pride appears for the first time as a disembodied voice who stops Gluttony and Envy when they intended to show their true forms in the fight with Ling Yao and Lan Fan. 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. and General Raven later 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.

Later, the Fuhrer's son Selim revealed to Riza Hawkeye that he is Pride (this also explains his connection and apparent leniency towards Wrath). His ability seems to have something to do with disconnecting his shadow, as his shadow has the same "eyes" as the one in Briggs. In his brief conversation with Riza Hawkeye, she asked him if he was similar to Gluttony because they both emanate the same "aura" of bloodlust (except Pride's aura "cannot be compared to Gluttony" in terms of intensity). Pride responded by telling her that he is indeed like Gluttony, but that it is "unthinkable" to put him on the same level as Gluttony, implying that he is much more powerful. He also states that he's not just "a Homunculus" but in fact "the original Homunculus", the first created by Father. Pride tells Riza that he admires her, and offers her a chance to join him. When Riza refuses, acknowledging that the Homunculi need pawns, not friends, Pride touches Riza with his shadowy tendrils, slicing her cheek in the process. He tells Riza that Mustang and her friends will suffer unimaginable pain if she happens to tell them his true identity. As he leaves, Pride warns that he will be watching her from the shadows. Hawkeye has recently been keeping a weary watch on all shadows around her, and secretly told Mustang about Pride's identity via a code of names (the first letters spelling out "SELIM BRADLEY IS HOMUNCULUS"), but Mustang is finding it hard to believe. Later, Pride appears as a shadow to Zolf J. Kimbley, and comments that he should forget about Scar for now and start carving a bloody sigil on Briggs. Kimbley comments about the strength of the local soldiers, to which Pride replies that he will have to match their strength with something as powerful, and informs that Sloth has almost completed his tunnel.

His shadow power is based on the original form of Father. Just as Father was trapped inside a flask, Pride is unable to move outside of the tunnels that make the giant transmutation circle and central though it is not clear if Selim's body is also limited. Pride is the original homunculus cut from Father's first form. His sin, Pride, comes from the immense pride Father had in the flask homunculus form . The location of Pride's Ouroboros mark has yet to be revealed.

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