Fullmetal Alchemist have 7 deadly homunculi, but the best are definitely Greed & Pride. Here is why
One of the most popular manga/anime shonen stories out there is Fullmetal Alchemist, a story of pride and tragic hubris, the light and darkness of humanity, redemption, and much more. Good villains can make a story far more compelling, and Fullmetal Alchemist has plenty of those. Seven deadly homunculi represent the major sins, and the two best are Greed and Pride.
Each of them embodies major themes of this show, and they also have all kinds of cool action scenes and smart dialogue with the rest of the cast. Between Pride and Greed, which one of them best represents Fullmetal Alchemist and brings the story to life in a memorable way?
10. Greed: Redemption
In a sense, each of the deadly sins homunculi died in a manner that contradicts the sins they represent. Sloth died fighting, and Gluttony was devoured by Pride. Greed, meanwhile, died in a way worthy of any shonen protagonist: fighting for others.
By the end of the story, Greed had learned the value of humanity and the real worth of good friends, so he bravely risked himself to confront Father and take him down. It was inspiring to see Greed do a total 180 like that and give his life for others.
9. Pride: All-Powerful
The best villains are the most powerful, those that hold all the cards and force the hero to run away or find a creative solution to win the day. Pride the homunculus is exactly that villain, and not even the ultra-powerful Van Hohenheim can defeat him.
Pride embodies powers from the other six homunculi, and his true body is an enormous mass of shadows, eyes, and mouths that can destroy or devour everything in their path. For the longest time, it seemed like nothing could stop him, and that made all of his scenes tense and scary.
8. Greed: Theme Of Immortality
Why did Greed send his minions to capture Alphonse and drag him back to the Devil’s Nest? Despite being over 200 years old, Greed feared death, and he wanted to become truly immortal (like Father does).
He couldn’t crack the code just by studying Alphonse’s body, so he lured Edward into the Devil’s Nest and offered a deal. If the Elrics gave him the secret to immortality like Al’s, he’d give them leads on the Philosopher’s Stone. Though the deal was rejected, it nicely played into the themes of the entire franchise.
7. Pride: Inner Evil
Who is Selim Bradley? He seems to be King Bradley’s young son, but that body is just a hollow container for the monster within. Ed once met “Selim” and had no idea that he was face to face with none other than Pride.
This is symbolic of humanity’s darker half, where some individuals, groups, or causes appear benign or ordinary on the outside, and are horrific on the inside. Fullmetal Alchemist isn’t cynical, nor does it wear rose-tinted glasses; it sees both halves of human nature, and Pride stands for the darker one.
6. Greed: Cool Powers
All of the homunculi have supernatural powers, like Envy’ shapeshifting and Lust’s spear-like fingers, but perhaps none of them are more eye-catching than Greed’s armored form. He will use it against only the strongest of foes.
He can rearrange the carbon in his body to form a diamond-hard outer skin, and very few attacks can breach it. Greed can use this on just his hands, but if need be, he can cover his whole body, and he looks like an awesome comic book villain in the process. In some screenshots or manga panels, he looks downright terrifying.
5. Pride: Mirrors Father
Pride is symbolic not just of humanity’s darker inner half, but also of the Father homunculus that created him in the first place. He truly is Father’s son: he looks like Father’s original body with his shadowy form, and his life is similar, too.
Despite purging himself of sinful pride, Father’s plans and dialogue are still quite prideful, and they match Pride’s ideas of homunculus superiority. Both of them died in a fit of hubris, such as “how can mere mortal humans defeat me?!” This symbolizes any number of real-life empires or dictators who were taken down by the very people they looked down upon.
4. Greed: Good Sense Of Humor
The best characters are the most well-rounded ones. Whether a hero or a villain, a character shouldn’t be defined by just one trait or goal, or they end up shallow. Fortunately, Greed is quite a complex fellow.
He is vicious and ambitious, but he also learns to have a heart, and he’s a bit funny, too. He goofed off a bit during his first arc, and he’s a good sport when other people get angry at him. During the final battle against Father, Greed had a relaxed, cool, punkish attitude that totally contrasted with Pride or Wrath.
3. Pride: Sinister
Those little tendrils on Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye’s neck are Pride’s, and he sure knows how to intimidate people. Many of the coolest villains are also the most chilling or menacing, from Hannibal Lecter to Darth Vader.
Pride is like that too, being able to stalk anyone and intimidate them into seeing things his way. He was also chillingly relaxed and casual as he prepared to eat Solf J. Kimblee alive to steal his powers.
2. Greed: Humble Homunculus
Despite being selfish and sometimes arrogant, Greed does have his humble side, and this also helps make him a well-rounded character, aside from his humor. He proves that even the mighty have a few things to learn.
He was perfectly willing to share a body with Prince Ling, and he listened to Ling in order to learn how to better fight Wrath. He even refers to Ling as a friend, and he openly admitted that Pride is a “monster,” even for him.
1. Pride: Undying Evil?
Pride has an open ending, as opposed to Father’s more conclusive final fate. He was beaten into submission when Edward converted himself into a Philosopher’s Stone, and his homunculus body dissolved away.
But he appears again in an epilogue scene, as an even younger boy who doesn’t recall his life as Pride. Is Pride truly gone, or is he just biding his time until he’s reborn? It’s ambiguous in the anime, and it tantalizes the viewer. Sometimes, evil never seems to die.
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