History Characters / FullmetalAlchemistMainCharacters

[[center: [- [[Characters/FullmetalAlchemist Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/FullmetalAlchemistBrothers Elric Brothers]] | '''Main Characters''' | [[Characters/FullmetalAlchemistMilitary Military]] | [[Characters/FullmetalAlchemistHomunculi Homunculi]] | [[Characters/FullmetalAlchemistOthers Others]]]]-]

This is a short summary page for characters from the ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'' manga series and its anime adaptation ''Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood''. '''Note''': For the page about the characters from the first anime, see Characters.FullmetalAlchemistAnime.

This page deals with the Main Characters of the series.

'''Warning: Spoilers are below.'''
-----
[[foldercontrol]]



[[folder:Roy Mustang]]
[[quoteright:268:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/roy11_6979.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/ShinichiroMiki (JP), Creator/TravisWillingham (EN), Rolman Bastidas (Latin America/animated series), Creator/LuisDanielRamirez (Latin America/live-action film)

[floatboxright:
'''Affiliation:''' Amestris Military\\
'''Rank''': Colonel\\
'''Specialty:''' Flame Alchemy/Military Tactics/Alchemy Without an Array]

A colonel in the military, stationed in East City at the start of the story. Known as the [[KillItWithFire Flame Alchemist]], he seeks to become the Fuhrer so he can fix the country and spread his ideals to the people.
-----
* TheAce: Easily the best State Alchemist in terms of combat power, made colonel before 30, has a loyal team, manages to assemble powerful allies to help him, and he has the highest homunculus body count.
* TheAtoner: His main motive for becoming Fuhrer is to ensure that nothing like Ishval ever happens again. According to Riza, his ultimate goal would most likely lead to him getting tried and quite possibly put in jail for what he did in Ishval - and he's just fine with that.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: By far the most badass member of his unit, as well as the resistance he organized.
* BackToBackBadasses: With Ed and Ling when Envy and Gluttony destroy their safehouse; briefly with Riza under the Fifth Laboratory.
* BadassBoast: To Lust: ''You said it takes more than that to kill you, right? Then I'll just keep killing you until you die!''
* BadassBookworm: In the same vein with Ed. Probably the most powerful of all the State Alchemists. [[spoiler:Incinerated Lust and curbstomped Envy with no effort, and he actually had to be injured twice and blinded in the final battle against Father [[StoryBreakerPower to preserve]] [[DramaPreservingHandicap the drama]].]]
* BadassFingersnap: He is a justified case; the friction he creates between his fingers when he snaps provides the ignition for his flame alchemy.
* BadassInANiceSuit: Less obviously than with Kimblee, but he always wears either a uniform with a dress shirt underneath or a suit. The only exception is when he's in the hospital.
* BadassLongcoat: White or (mainly) black, depending on the task.
* BattleCouple: With fellow soldier Riza, unofficially, due to the military's anti-fraternization rules.
* BeardOfSorrow: While grieving [[spoiler:Hughes']] death, he lets himself go.
* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: [[spoiler:Mustang only loses his sight after meeting Truth, rather than his actual eyes. However, he was truly forced to perform human transmutation (specifically, Pride used energy from his own Philosopher's Stone while using the Gold-Toothed Doctor's knowledge to more-or-less ''force'' Roy through the Gate). Him just losing his sight did teach him something valuable, but he didn't commit the hubris of transmutation to warrant losing his eyes; in a side story, there was an alchemist who lost his eyes trying to bring his friends' daughter back, reinforcing this notion.]]
* BerserkButton: He doesn't take kindly to being reminded that he's useless when wet.
** On a more serious note, harming Hawkeye or any of his faithful subordinates is guaranteed to anger him.
* BigDamnHeroes: Pulls one on Ed and his team, while the latter are engaging a horde of immortal mooks and are slowly but surely losing. Mustang pops in, asks if they're in need of help, and proceeds to set every single one of the mooks ablaze, clearing the whole room in under two seconds.
* BloodKnight: A unusual example. Roy freely admits after his battle with Lust that he actually enjoys fighting a homunculus because it makes him feel human again and that he enjoys that feeling.
* BrokenAce: Ishval did a number on him, and he never forgave himself for it. Being lauded as a war hero likely made him feel worse.
* ByronicHero: Actually a subversion. Mustang is certainly saddled with a lot of {{angst}} and guilt from Ishval, and although he is set up to be an AntiHero when he stages Maria Ross' murder he remains one of the most idealistic characters in the entire series.
* TheChainsOfCommanding: Protecting your subordinates and being an effective military officer already carry a lot of responsibility. [[UpToEleven When your superiors are plotting against you, it's even worse.]]
* TheChessmaster: Sometimes successfully (the [[FakingTheDead Maria Ross incident]]), sometimes not so much ("''Scar feeding cats, King Bradley is a homunculus...''") Somewhat subverted on the whole, as most of his enemies and his allies figure out quickly that he's planing a coup, but consider his actions inconsequential to their plans, and they tend to ignore him because he's right where they want him to be. It should be noted that his coup would have failed spectacularly if not for major outside interference by others, and one of his allies swooped in at the last moment and took his prize from him anyway.
* ChessMotif: Refers to his five closest subordinates using the names of chess pieces; he himself is the king.
* CodeName: [[PlayingWithFire The Flame Alchemist]].
* ColdBloodedTorture: Puts [[spoiler: Envy]] through this near the end of the series. He even lets them [[HealingFactor regenerate themselves]], stating outright that they'll die a ''thousand'' deaths before he's done with them.
* ColonelBadass: He's even the page image for the trope. He BURNS HIS OWN WOUNDS SHUT and by the end of the series, he manages to personally take down [[spoiler:two of the seven Homunculi]], which is REALLY impressive in that universe. He also plays several of the defining bits of the trope incredibly straight - he's only thirty years old, rose through the ranks incredibly fast (partly due to being a State Alchemist, which automatically starts you off at the rank of Major), he's extremely high-minded and has tremendous ideals for the country, and he will throw himself into danger in a heartbeat rather than risk losing one of his comrades, particularly [[AFatherToHisMen his five dearest and most loyal subordinates]].
* CombatPragmatist:
** [[spoiler:Envy found out very painfully that [[TalkingIsAFreeAction talking ISN'T a free action]], [[ShapeshifterGuiltTrip pretending to be allies]] doesn't work (although Envy should have picked someone who was alive), and Mustang goes for the [[EyeScream EYES]].]]
** Subversion: [[spoiler:the one thing he lets Envy get away with is TransformationIsAFreeAction. Doubly subverted when he boils its eyes immediately afterwards, remarking how stupid it was to make his target bigger for him.]]
** Another subversion: [[spoiler:Mustang declares that he's going to let him regenerate each time before he resumes the torching, instead of getting it over with as fast as possible. He does this explicitly to make it suffer over and over again for Hughes' death.]]
* CrazyJealousGuy: Implied once in the manga. When he first sees Barry the Chopper put his hands on Riza (who clearly doesn't like it), Roy responds by pulling on his ignition gloves and telling her to stand aside because "there's going to be a ''fire'' tonight." It's noteworthy that the font of his speech bubbles changes for this scene, and he's shown to be literally growling.
* CripplingOverspecialization:
** His Flame Alchemy. While he's a talented alchemist (Talented enough to become a state alchemist long before he got his flame alchemy), he is so focused on said flame alchemy he's rarely seen using any other type of alchemy - you can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times he does on the show - and he's treated by most of the characters as severely weakened or nigh useless if he's wet and therefore denied his flame alchemy - despite the fact that by all rights all that should do is make him even to any other alchemist that doesn't possess flame alchemy.
** Zig-zagged during his preparation for faking Maria Ross's death, where he sends Breda on a shopping trip for "the ingredients for one charred corpse". Unlike the formula used by the Elrics, Roy intends on making his cadaver mostly out of pork meat and bones, which are roughly analogous to that of humans. Roy justifies his corner-cutting by explaining to Breda that his dummy doesn't need to be functional and will be burnt through and through when he's done with it. Though this isn't quite the case as the doctor who examines it immediately knows it's fake, but he agrees to keep it a secret because he owes Roy a favor. The look on his face when this is brought up shows Roy knew he dodged a bullet.
* CurbStompBattle: Completely crushes Envy in what is unquestionably the single most one-sided battle against a homunculus in the entire series. It's so bad that Mustang's ''own allies'' have to jump in to stop him from crossing the MoralEventHorizon.
* CursedWithAwesome: By the end of the series, he [[spoiler:lost his eyesight as toll for the Gate.]] On the other hand, he gained the ability to perform circleless Alchemy, which also expands his repertoire beyond just Flame Alchemy. And thanks to Doctor Marcoh, [[spoiler:he might be getting his sight back anyway.]]
-->'''Mustang''': Hmm... This ''IS'' convenient.
* {{Determinator}}: Stabbing him through the abdomen won't stop him. Being forced to cauterize his own wounds won't stop him. Destroying his gloves won't stop him. Not even [[spoiler:''losing his eyesight'']] will stop him for long. He will fight, and he ''will'' win.
* DiscardAndDraw: [[spoiler:Loses his eyesight as a result of being forced through the Gate, which means he's not as in control of his Flame Alchemy and needs Riza's help to aim. However, like the Elric Brothers, he can now perform alchemy without the need of a circle, which comes in handy when erecting defensive barriers.]]
* DudeWhereIsMyRespect: {{Inverted}}. After Isvalian war he is praised for his involvement it and commonly considered to be a war hero, but he would much rather [[TheAtoner get punished for it]].
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: When Edward "ObliviousToLove" Elric picks up on how much two people care about each other, it's pretty obvious.
-->'''Ed:''' And don't go worrying the Lieutenant.
* EyeScream: [[spoiler:Inflicts this on Envy during his RoaringRampageOfRevenge, by flash-boiling the water in Envy's eyeballs. Twice.]]
** This is subverted [[spoiler:when he lost his own sight after being forced into performing Human Transmutation. Sure he is blind but not due to direct damage on his own eyes.]]
* AFatherToHisMen: Part of the reason Team Mustang is recognized in the fandom as TrueCompanions is his leadership.
* TheFettered: He refuses to back down even after his plan is temporarily foiled by Wrath, and his goal involves getting himself tried for the war crimes he committed in Ishval. He won't sacrifice a life if he can help it, [[ThouShaltNotKill including enemies' lives]], and refuses to do Human Transmutation even when Hawkeye gets her throat slit.
* FourStarBadass: At the very end of the manga, he reaches the rank of general.
* GenreSavvy: Tells Hughes not to talk about his loved ones in Ishval because [[spoiler:"those characters always get shot in the next battle."]] He's referring to novels.
* GetOutOfJailFreeCard: Subverted when it is revealed that he feels immensely guilty for [[MyGreatestFailure his actions in Ishval; being considered a war hero for committing mass murder sickens him and he actually]] ''[[TheAtoner wishes]]'' [[TheAtoner he was in jail for it.]]
* GoodEyesEvilEyes: If it wasn't apparent that Envy had just angered Mustang '''big time''', then his eyes narrowing to a slit makes it terrifyingly so. He's stopped right before he really goes off the deep end, though, then returns to normal.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: He has a scar on the back of his hand from when he had to cut a transmutation circle into it to kill Lust. Presumably he also gained one on his right side from the same battle, although it's never confirmed because we never see him with his shirt open again.
* GuileHero: As impressive as his flame alchemy is, his ability to outthink his opponents is even moreso. [[spoiler: Successfully managing to stage a coup in the name of an enemy you just staged an assassination attempt on is awfully impressive, especially when you plan it right under his nose when he knows that is exactly what you are trying to do.]]
* HandicappedBadass: [[spoiler: Loses his eyesight as a toll for going through the Gate (or rather, being forced through it, hence why he only lost his sight rather than his eyes). He gets his sight back thanks to a Philosopher's Stone in Marcoh's possession.]]
* HappilyAdopted: {{Implied|Trope}}. He was raised by his father's sister, and they are obviously very fond of one another.
* HavingABlast: His alchemy revolves around changing air densities to allow the air to combust and lead the flames to the target. He can even make the air so dense around the target that he essentially creates bombs out of pure oxygen that will explode spectacularly once the flames reach it. Overlaps with PlayingWithFire.
* HealItWithFire: He's skilled enough to cauterize severe wounds with his alchemy, and puts it to good use saving himself and Havoc. Of course, he admits that he almost passed out from the pain of doing so.
* HeroicBSOD: He has a brief one in the ''Brotherhood'' anime when Bradley plays the LoveIsAWeakness card and announces that he's making Riza his own personal assistant, essentially holding her hostage for Roy's good behavior. The poor guy's face turns ''gray''.
* HeroKiller: {{Inverted|Trope}}. He's the only character whose mere presence is enough to constitute a deadly threat to the [[HeroKiller Homunculi]], thus making him a Hero Killer Killer.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: With Hughes, ever since the Ishvalan War. [[spoiler: Needless to say, he does not take his friend's death very well.]]
* HeroWithBadPublicity: He becomes one after [[spoiler: the Maria Ross incident because he made everyone think he brutally burned her when he actually saved her.]]
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: He's aware of this possibility happening on his quest to reform the military, namely that he may become as bad as the current regime, so he makes Hawkeye promise to shoot him if he ever goes off the deep end. [[spoiler: Good thing that he's thought of this. When he encounters Envy, who killed his best friend Hughes, he becomes so ruthless that he nearly loses himself, making all of his friends and comrades present fear for him. See IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim for more information.]]
* HorrifyingTheHorror: His brutal beatdown on [[spoiler: Envy]] near the end of the series. He actively tortures them to the point that by the end, they're ''[[VillainsWantMercy begging]]'' [[VillainsWantMercy for mercy]].
* HowDareYouDieOnMe: He says something like this to [[spoiler:Hughes's]] grave after his funeral, and then later says it almost word-for-word to Riza when her throat is cut. It's even closer to an exact quote in the ''Brotherhood'' anime.
-->'''Roy:''' Don't you dare die! Stay with me, Lieutenant!
* HurtingHero: Justified, considering the Ishval massacre that he regrets.
* IAmAMonster: Invokes this trope to explain why he's eager to fight Homunculi: he only feels completely human when fighting ''true'' monsters.
* ICanStillFight: He needs Hawkeye to help him aim after [[spoiler:he loses his eyesight]], but his flames are as hot as ever. Not to mention, [[spoiler: he can summon defensive barriers from the ground without drawing alchemic circles.]]
* IfIDoNotReturn: Played with in one scene, when he says this to Riza and she refuses to leave if he doesn't come back. To his amusement, he can only get her to agree as long as he promises to return.
* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Subverted. While Ed, Hawkeye, and Scar all step in to stop him from killing [[spoiler:Envy]], they do so to prevent him from [[HeWhoFightsMonsters losing himself in his hatred]], with all of them agreeing that they deserves to die either way.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: With a snap of his fingers, he makes Envy's eyeballs explode, leaving the rest of the face relatively intact.
* IntergenerationalFriendship: With Grumman. They play chess on their time off.
* InternalReformist: Of the "working the system" variety.
* JerkassFacade: He gives the impression that he's a selfish, womanizing, ladder climber when he's actually TheAtoner. He uses the womanizing as a cover story for when Riza goes undercover.
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: Invoking this is a big part of his motivation. As a soldier in the Ishval Civil War, he committed numerous atrocities, but as he was on the winning side, he was commended and treated as a war hero. His goal throughout the series is to become the Führer of Amestris, so he can make sure this is rectified. When Hawkeye points out that this means Mustang himself will most likely be tried as a war criminal and sent to prison, Mustang informs her that that's ''exactly'' what he wants. WordOfGod confirms that [[spoiler:Mustang does indeed see his day in court for his crimes in the war, and is found guilty, but pardoned for his role in saving everyone]].
* LargeHam: When distracting some officers over the radio in episode 18, he really gets into it.
* TheLeader: He's charismatic enough to get everyone underneath his command (and several people who ''outrank'' him) to conspire on what is essentially a military coup.
* LivingEmotionalCrutch: For Riza, who emphatically asserts that she has no interest in living in a world without him. This is due to their deep and complicated backstory that resulted in their intense loyalty to one another.
* LogicalWeakness: The fact that he's useless when it's raining is a bit of a RunningGag. This is because, well, he uses fire, and rain is going to put a bit of a damper on his ability to get a flame going.
* ManlyTears: Once. ''Almost'' twice, although the second time he covered it with a lot of shouting.
* MaybeEverAfter: Although he and Riza have an incredibly close relationship based on their shared history and future goals, and are strongly implied on many occasions to have more than platonic feelings for each other underneath their professional masks, we are given no indication of whether or not TheyDo after the series ends. The ''Chronicles'' book further confirms that they remain together for the rest of their lives, but are unable to marry because of military regulations.
* MeaningfulName:
** Roy is old French for "King", creating an interesting parallel to Bradley, whose first name actually ''is'' "King".
** The P-51 '''Mustang''' was considered the best fighter plane in WWII. It's carried further back, as the Colonel, like the fighter plane, was most likely named for the "wild, untamed horse" who bucks the master's (in this case, Bradley's) commands.
** "Mustang" is also a slang term in the US military for commissioned officers who began their careers as enlisted soldiers.
* TheMenFirst: Insists on Havoc being treated before him despite his own intense injuries.
* MilkyWhiteEyes: As a visual effect when he goes blind.
* MookHorrorShow: [[spoiler: Played straight in Mustang's "fight" against Envy. It was less of a fight and more of a hunt. Just like a classic slasher film, Envy is show frantically scrambling for his life, desperately trying ANYTHING to so much as phase Mustang. While Mustang [[TranquilFury calmly]] hunts him, his stride never breaking faster than [[TheSlowWalk a slow deliberate walk]] (yet he is always [[OffscreenTeleportation JUST behind Envy)]], all of Envy's attempts to attack him just managing [[UnstoppableRage to piss him off even more]]. Within minutes, Envy's expression when Mustang so much as gets him in line of sight is [[OhCrap utter horror and fear]]. When Mustang finally cornered Envy, it was only Hawkeye begging Mustang to stop that prevented him from brutally murdering Envy (if only just).]]
* MrFanservice: So very, ''very'' much. About the only way his {{Fanservice}} factor could be increased would be if he got as many {{shirtless scene}}s as Ed.
* {{Mukokuseki}}: Inverted. Roy's appearance is noticeably Asian despite having a European name, leading to some speculation that his family has roots in Xing, but it's not something that's ever commented on.
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: Keeping with Arakawa's tendency to name military characters after real-world war machinery, Roy was named after [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_P-51_Mustang the P-51 Mustang]], which gained fame in World War II for its ability to lead raids from the front, handle high altitudes, and stay flying for long periods thanks to its fuel capacity -- all of which are referenced in Roy's character. It also was responsible for shooting down more Axis aircraft than any other Allied fighter, which is alluded to in how [[spoiler:Roy ends up killing the homunculi more than any of the other heroes, both for good and in general terms of depleting their philosopher's stones]].
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast:
** To the point that whenever his ''allies'' hear [[RedBaron the Flame Alchemist]] is about to take the stage, they have a collective OhCrap moment and promptly clear the field.
** Mustang garners this reputation amongst the ''[[SmugSuper Homunculi]]'' as well after [[spoiler: he kills Lust.]]
* NoBadassToHisValet: Yes, he's the powerful Flame Alchemist and even some of his allies are afraid of him, but his "precious subordinate" Riza has no qualms about sassing or even bullying him if the need arises. He wouldn't dream of retaliating; the only time he's ever seen acting even remotely ''annoyed'' with her, it's because [[DeathByDespair she almost]] ''[[DeathByDespair died]]''.
%%* NobleMaleRoguishMale: Noble Male to Ed's Roguish Male.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Delivers this to Envy after admitting that he killed Maes Hughes. It involves burning him repeatedly, non-lethally, to inflict the maximum pain without allowing Envy to counteract.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Normally he's very strategic, professional, and pretty guarded, playing StraightMan to semi-comedic subordinates like Hughes. ''However,'' there are also a good few instances of him goofing around. He seems to enjoy acting like an obnoxious bro over the phone just a little ''too'' much. He even admits to this when he's screwing with the military radio to throw them off Scar's trail in Episode 21.
-->'''Mustang''': Attention! This is Sector 3 Patrol! We're under attack from Scar! Request immediate backup. What? No! [[LargeHam No! NOOOOO! AUUUGH!]] *disconnects the radio* Alright. On to Sector 17. Ohohoho! This is pretty fun!
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Though more like obfuscating perversion; the truth is those "mistresses" are actually his spies.
* OddFriendship: With Hughes. His constant pestering for Roy to find a wife and outgoing personality is a constant annoyance to Roy, but in the end, the two are as close as close friends could be.
* OneManArmy: With his flame alchemy he can wipe out entire cities with a snap. Think what he can do to soldiers in formation.
* OutOfCharacterAlert: His completely out-of-place remark about the chicks in the East to Armstrong when he's pretending he charred Maria Ross. It's how Armstrong knew that Maria Ross was there.
* OverrankedSoldier: In the eyes of several of his contemporaries.
** Until Edward Elric, Roy was the youngest State Alchemist in the country's history, which made him a Major in the military at the ripe old age of twenty. The result is that by the time he turned thirty, he had already become a ColonelBadass. Many of the other, older commanding officers resent and/or dislike Roy for a number of reasons, this being one of them.
** He's then a full general before the age of 40.
* ParentalAbandonment: One of the guidebooks reveals that ''both'' of his parents died when he was young, leaving his father's sister to care for him.
* ParentalSubstitute: To the Elric brothers. Since their mom is dead and the father is long gone, (at first) he generally fills in the mentor role of being a parent, if not exactly the 'nurturing' part. Though this is more evident with Ed because of their shared status as state alchemists (Roy having been the youngest in state history before Ed came along.) One scene even has Hughes pestering Roy about the two brothers and how they are too young to endure the hard reality of military life, and Roy just sighs and says he's their commanding officer, [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial not their father.]] [[TheStoic Riza]], of all people, is better at the 'nurture' part, although she mainly confined to showing [[SugarAndIcePersonality the more caring part of her personality]] to animals (in a firm but fair way) and [[FriendToAllChildren children.]]
* PayEvilUntoEvil: When he finds out that [[spoiler: Envy killed Maes Hughes, he goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge, repeatedly flash-frying them until Envy is literally ''begging'' for mercy. Despite the fact that Mustang was rapidly approaching HeWhoFightsMonsters territory, after all of the atrocities Envy has committed, not the least of which include being directly responsible for kick-starting the Ishval Civil War, they deserved every second of Mustang's wrath]].
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Destroys city blocks by snapping his fingers.
* PietaPlagiarism: [[spoiler:With the dying Riza.]]
* PlayingWithFire: His FLAME alchemy.
* PostVictoryCollapse: [[spoiler:After defeating Lust, he collapses due to the pain of his injuries and the HealItWithFire method that caused more pain.]]
* {{Protectorate}}: To Riza. The whole reason she's in the military, as she explains to young Winry in a flashback, is because "there is someone [Roy] she needs to protect".
* RankUp: In the epilogue. The stars on his epaulets indicate he's made General.
* RedBaron:
** The Flame Alchemist. Also doubles as Roy's CodeName.
** The Strongest State Alchemist.
** [[EldritchAbomination Pride]] also calls him "The Most Troublesome State Alchemist".
%%* RedOniBlueOni: The blue to Edward's red. (One of two)
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: After finding out [[spoiler:Envy was the one who killed Hughes]], he goes on one of these. ''Man'', does he ever. It's pretty furious in the manga, but the anime takes it UpToEleven: at one point, he loses it completely and just keeps on firing ceaselessly until [[spoiler:Envy]] turns to dust. And even then, the only thing keeping him from crushing its true form under his foot is the thought of harming [[SubordinateExcuse Riza. ]]
* SandInMyEyes: "It's raining."
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: He plays often with General Grumman.
* SonOfAWhore: His foster mother and biological aunt is the 'madam' of a whore house, and he gets the bulk of his information from the girls that work for her.
* SpamAttack: He kills [[spoiler:Lust]] by repeatedly blowing her up until she dies.
* TheSpymaster: He uses his foster mother's employees to gather important information without raising suspicion.
* StuffBlowingUp: Again, part and parcel of being the Flame Alchemist.
* SupportingLeader: He's not TheHero, but he is the heroes' direct superior and he's the one to lead the resistance against the BigBad. This is why he can be seen as a BigGood.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Amusingly enough, Arakawa mentions in the third guidebook that she never intended him to be this way, despite the widespread fandom reaction. She states that he really isn't all that tall and although he's not bad looking, he isn't ravishingly handsome either. Most fandom estimates using Ed (the only canonical height ever given) as a baseline put him around or just under six feet.
* TeamDad: To his subordinates, with Riza acting as the TeamMom.
* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: After [[spoiler:Envy confesses to be Hughes' killer]], Mustang slips into this mindset, intent on sending [[spoiler:Envy]] straight to hell with a death as painful as possible. He succeeds in completely obliterating [[spoiler:the homunculus' vessel]], preparing to go through with a merciless finish on his now helpless opponent. Riza and Scar stop him, noting that such a brutal finish would latch onto his leadership capacity as well.
* TookALevelInBadass: [[spoiler:Not that he ''needed'' to take one, but, while he temporarily loses his eyesight, he also gains the ability to transmute without a circle. It can be assumed that, although he's recovered his sight, he retained this skill.]]
* TrickedOutGloves: The transmutation circles on his gloves help him with his alchemy.
* UnresolvedSexualTension: With Riza. Arakawa's comments verify that the only reason they aren't married by the end of the series is the anti-fraternization law. She has also confirmed that Roy eventually [[spoiler:achieves his goal of becoming Fuhrer, which may allow for a change in their relationship.]]
* UnstoppableRage: After Envy [[spoiler: proceeds to reveal that he was Hughes' murderer and [[TooDumbToLive gloat about it to Roy's face]], Roy proceeds to burn his body all the way down to ash and is about to step on the little bastard when they talk him out of it.]]
* UrbanLegendLoveLife: As a part of his [[ObfuscatingStupidity facade]]. The women he is seen with are part of his hidden information system. Still, one of the novels implies that he thoroughly enjoys the company of the fairer sex even outside his information system. It's not as if he can be blamed, either, with working long hours in an environment that's 10% female at best.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Ed. They drive each other nuts, but it becomes pretty apparent that they also always have each other's backs. It's alluded to this being because they're so alike at heart, but very different outwardly.
-->'''Ed''': The Colonel may be a bastard, but he's trustworthy.
* WeaksauceWeakness: Repeatedly said to be totally ineffective if under rain or if wet. It's not entirely accurate; he just can't use his alchemy if his ''gloves'' get wet, as they're made of a special ignition cloth to create the necessary spark. However, if he has another source of fire available (not even fire, all he needs for his alchemy is the appropriate circle and a spark - such as from a lighter), pray for deliverance. We're looking at [[spoiler:(what's left of)]] you, [[spoiler:Lust]].
* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: In contrast to his [[TheChessmaster other behavior]], his fighting style is simple: KillItWithFire. If that doesn't work, [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill kill it with more]]!
* WorldsBestWarrior: The absolute best combat alchemist among the heroes, excluding Hohenheim, who prefers to transmute non-lethal traps.
* YouCanBarelyStand: His final confrontation with Lust.
-->'''Roy:''' I almost passed out a few times.
* YouKilledMyFather: What he asks of several people suspected of killing [[spoiler:Hughes, his best friend]], though when he finally finds the real person ([[spoiler:Envy]]) he skips straight to the incinerating.
* ZeroApprovalGambit: [[spoiler:He enacted a plan to make it appear that he burned Maria Ross to death (it was actually a fake cadaver, and Ross was being sneaked out of the country). Ross was under arrest for the murder of Maes Hughes and was to be executed, so Mustang saved her life while making it appear to the higher-ups that his desire for vengeance was quenched. All the while, Ross's friends and family continue to think she's dead, making Mustang a bloodthirsty murderer in their eyes (at least until they learn the truth).]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ling Yao]]
[[quoteright:268:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ling11_3684.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/MamoruMiyano (JP), Creator/ToddHaberkorn (EN), Eder La Barrera (Latin America)

[floatboxright:
'''Affiliation:''' Kingdom of Xing/Clan Yao\\
'''Rank''': 12th Prince of Xing\\
'''Speciality:''' Swordsmanship/Martial-Arts]

Ling Yao is a member of the Xing Royal Family, and is well-trained in martial arts and swordsmanship as a result. He comes to Amestris seeking the Philosopher's Stone so his clan can triumph over the country's SuccessionCrisis.

His appearance marks the start of the large differences between the first anime and manga/''Brotherhood'' anime.
-----
* AintTooProudToBeg: Ling largely downplays his status as a prince from Xing, and pretty much admits he's willing to grovel if that's what it will take to get what he wants.
* AllChinesePeopleKnowKungFu: Well, [[FantasyCounterpartCulture Xingese]] anyway, and he and the other Xingese characters all fit this trope's stereotype of Chinese people as martial arts masters. It's justified in the fact that every Xingese character by that point had been either a noble or a noble's bodyguard, and thus would have been trained in martial arts from a young age.
* AntiHero: Extremely greedy and selfish in his motivations--[[spoiler:which of course made him the perfect candidate to host the 2nd Greed.]] While it's true his ultimate goals are positive and he's very loyal to people he's made connections with, he doesn't have qualms with getting food and information by means of extortion.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Make no mistake, this guy is no slouch in combat. He fought off ''[[MasterSwordsman Wrath]]'' while he's carrying an injured ally and the latter is wielding his [[InstantDeathRadius favored weapon]], and he's about the only one in the series who faced Wrath and escaped relatively unscathed.
* AsianSpeekeeEngrish: He deliberately uses this to his advantage. He's perfectly fluent in the language of Amestris, but comically fakes a language barrier with an exaggerated accent to get out of taking responsibility for the destruction of a town.
* BadassNormal: Does not know alchemy or alkahestry at all, yet manages to be on the same league as Edward or Roy in combat.
* BashBrothers: With Ed starting when they fight Envy and Gluttony together. [[spoiler:It even carries over to Greedling.]]
* BenevolentBoss: Ling might run off on them a lot, but he really does care a great deal about his bodyguards and is very protective over them. See also AFatherToHisMen and ReasonableAuthorityFigure.
* BerserkButton: He doesn't explode in the manner of, say, Ed, but just ''try'' to convince Ling that subjects to authority are [[WeHaveReserves expendable]] (''[[IWillOnlySlowYouDown including yourself!]]'') and it will ensure that he will have a serious bone to pick with you.
* BerserkerTears: In a terrifying manner when [[spoiler:Wrath/King Bradley kills Fu.]]
* BigEater: In fact, he's been known to collapse if he doesn't get enough to eat, which could be ObfuscatingStupidity except that his bodyguards seemed legitimately worried about the possibility when they couldn't find him. If it's for real, it might make him a HandicappedBadass. [[spoiler: Unsurprisingly, though, it's not a problem for Greed.]]
* BrokenTears: Ling is absolutely devastated when comes to the realization that [[spoiler: while he obtained an immortal body for himself, he can't save Fu]].
* BroughtDownToNormal: [[spoiler:Though, it seems [[HeroicSacrifice it was Greed's decision to do so.]]]]
* CatchPhrase: Ling has two phrases that he says some variation of several times in the series: 'A King is no King without his people. Without his people, there is no King' and 'People of Xing always keep their word'.
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: Ling is a gifted martial artist who is able to hold his own when fighting against Homunculi, despite having no superpowers. Notable accomplishments: fending off Wrath one-handed while carrying a wounded Lan Fan with his other arm, and being able to lift up Gluttony, one of the heavier Homunculi.
* CombatPragmatist: He's definitely not afraid to fight dirty, and it helps him stay alive in a world full of dangerous alchemists and Homunculi. An early example is constantly running into King Bradley's apparent "blind spot" caused by his eyepatch. He even keeps some powder in his sword scabbard so that when he whips his blade out, it'll get in his opponent's eyes. Justified by his background and how he learned after surviving several assassination attempts.
* TheConscience: Despite Ling's shadier characteristics, he has a strong sense of morality and ends up serving this role to [[spoiler: Greed, after they end up sharing a body]]. While it is partly to gain an advantage over him, Ling comments on his actions, chews him out when it's warranted, and eventually coaxes him into recognizing what he really wanted in life.
* CoolSword: He wields an especially broad Dao sword that serves as a great foil to Wrath's western cavalry sabers.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Starting in the fight with Gluttony and Wrath. Ling goes from [[FriendlyEnemy "Hi! How's it going? That's a pretty unique body you've got there!"]] to ''stonewalling Wrath in a swordfight '''with one hand''''' after they make the mistake of wounding one of his subjects.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Like other Xingese, he is born with black eyes and hair. [[spoiler:Until he gets possessed by Greed, after which they become the characteristic purple-red of most of the other Homunculi.]]
* DealWithTheDevil: [[spoiler:Or in this case, deal with Father, who is practically the devil. Ling agrees to let Greed possess him, effectively making him into a homunculus, if it means he'll be that much closer to obtaining a Philosopher's Stone and thus the secret to immortality.]]
* DetectEvil: All the Xingese characters are trained to sense [[LifeEnergy "the flow of chi"]]... which comes in pretty useful when dealing with homunculi.
* {{Determinator}}: Willing to do ''ANYTHING'' to a) get the Philosopher's Stone and b) save the lives of his friends and retainers if he can help it. He shows off both in the course of the series.
* DisappearedDad: While Ling's main motivation is to succeed his father's place on the Xingese throne, Ling also flatly states in the manga that he has actually never had a single conversation with his father in his life.
* TheEmperor: [[spoiler:The Yao clan succeeds the throne after Ling finally gets ahold of a Philosopher's Stone.]]
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: [[spoiler:After accepting Greed. Remember how the first Greed couldn't hope to take on Wrath in a one on one fight? The second Greed can nearly hold his own against him, combining Greed's ultra-durability with Ling's martial prowess.]]
* EnemyWithin: [[spoiler:Greed... sort of. Averted after the timeskip, they become genuine friends and swap control to one another as needed.]]
* EyesAlwaysShut: He does this deliberately, because he's aware his eyes are [[GoodEyesEvilEyes "shifty"]].
* FaceOfAThug: Ties in with GoodEyesEvilEyes and his aforementioned EyesAlwaysShut habit.
* {{Fainting}}: Has a habit of doing this. Mostly it's from genuine hunger and exhaustion, but on other occasions, it seems to be part of his ObfuscatingStupidity.
* AFatherToHisMen: Strongly believes "a King is no King without his people" and will do anything to save his comrades, even if it means risking his life. His bodyguards, Fu and Lan Fan, certainly hold him in extreme high regard in part because of this.
* FireForgedFriends:
** With the Elric brothers, Ed in particular. Their relationship starts off antagonistic, but they eventually begin to work together. By the time Ling, Ed, and Envy end up [[spoiler:trapped in Gluttony's stomach]], they've become friends for real.
** With Greed as well. [[spoiler:Even if it did give him what he wanted (a Philosopher's Stone), Ling was still basically forced to accept Greed into his body, and initially the two fought each other for control of Ling's body. However, eventually (especially after the timeskip), the two have learned to work together and willingly trade who's in control depending on whose skills are needed more at the time. Despite frequently snarking back and forth, it's clear that they've gained a great deal of respect for each other, and eventually, Greed pulls a HeroicSacrifice to save Ling (who would otherwise have been killed trying to save ''him'')]].
* {{Foil}}: Ling is a contrasting character to both Ed and [[spoiler: Greed]], who incidentally also parallel each other in a few ways. Unlike either of them, Ling is fairly transparent about his feelings, lacks their egotism, and doesn't share their overt OedipusComplex despite having sufficient reasons to despise his father (instead he appears indifferent).
* FunnyForeigner: Faked when Edward first needs his help.
-->'''Ling:''' So Sori! I no understand much language of this countwi!
* GoodCounterpart: To King Bradley. Their philosophies on what it means to be a leader are the complete reverse of each others. Also interesting to note is Bradley's former status as 12th Fuhrer candidate and Ling being the 12th son of the Emperor.
* GoodEyesEvilEyes: Played with. He's fundamentally a good person, though aware of how his "shifty" eyes makes him look evil so he goes with EyesAlwaysShut to disguise it. He drops the act when he means business.
* {{Greed}}:
** He's a pretty greedy fellow, given that he a seeks immortality and the power to rule over his country. [[spoiler: It perhaps makes a bit too much sense that he becomes the second Greed.]] To his credit though the reason he even wants those things is so that he may provide for his people in return.
** Ling actually manages to embody the ''positive'' parts of greed, namely that desire and ambition are not always evil when pursuing a worthwhile goal. Perhaps most importantly, greed means treasuring what you have and being unwilling to just throw it away--and the very thought of throwing aside his people or his TrueCompanions is a pointed BerserkButton for him.
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Kinda.... given his tendency of latching onto anyone he thinks might be able to help him achieve his goals, he winds up allied with a plethora of different people at different points of the story whether it's intentional or not. He's definitely at heart a "good guy", however.
* HeroicWillpower: [[spoiler:Cunningly inverted; he willingly gives up his body to Greed without a fight (which incidentally helps in the long run, as his lack of struggle prevented the philosopher's stone he received from burning out most of its power), but he has enough willpower to maintain his consciousness. From there on Ling uses a combination of patience and willpower to occasionally wrestle back control of his body from Greed, at least until they start acting more in tandem.]]
* IdiotHero: Subverted. He often ''[[ObfuscatingStupidity behaves like one]]'', to the point Ed calls him an 'idiot prince', but Ling has a cunning mind up his sleeve.
* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Ling struggles with a variation of this through his entire character arc. Because of Ling's conviction that leaders should live to serve their people, people like King Bradley who view their nation as CannonFodder absolutely disgust him. Ling vehemently resists taking actions that would result in someone being sacrificed, even if his life is in jeopardy, believing that if he allows it to happen he'll be just like Bradley. This isn't helped by the fact Ling [[spoiler: becomes a human based Homunculus like Bradley]] which only furthers this complex he develops. [[spoiler: When Ling's comrades make sacrifices for his sake anyway and he can't do anything about it, Ling takes it very badly.]]
* IGaveMyWord: Ling strongly holds by the phrase 'People of Xing always keep their word', and will do his best to fulfill his promises.
* TheIllegal: He's an illegal immigrant from the country of Xing. He's sent to jail, but breaks out later. Since he's a prince, he could probably be considered a diplomat or such, but he didn't have his papers ([[YoungerThanTheyLook and they wouldn't believe he was only 15]]) when he was arrested.
* ImmortalitySeeker: Ling's reason for coming to Amestris is to find the secret to eternal life (or at least, seems like it, so that his clan can win the Emperor's favor before he dies). He gets his wish, but it comes with a price...
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Not as much of an outright "jerk" as most other examples, but he does come off as being smug and callous at times, especially when dealing with his personal desires. Nonetheless he genuinely cares about his country and the people close to him.
* {{Keet}}: He's pretty damn energetic and happy-go-lucky when he's not keeling over from starvation. Or [[spoiler: dealing with sharing his body with an egotistical homunculus.]]
* KingIncognito: Only a few people know he's actually a foreign prince.
* MadeOfIron: While fighting Envy after he goes OneWingedAngel, he breaks at least two ribs and gets hit so hard that he [[BloodFromTheMouth coughs up blood]], but keeps going.
* MasterSwordsman: Can hold his own when dueling against ''Wrath''!
* MeaningfulName: The words "Ling" and "Lin" have various different meanings in Chinese in addition to being names, depending on the hanzi used: "ling" can mean, among other things, "nimble", and is one of the hanzi used to spell the word "spirit" (appropriately enough, considering his fighting style and [[spoiler:the fact that his spirit is apparently strong enough not to get lost among all the other ones swirling around Greed's Philosopher's Stone]]), while "lin" can mean "carry" (which he does to Lan Fan while they're escaping from Bradley). His surname Yao, on the other hand, could be a play on the fact that "yao" can also mean [[spoiler:"want"]]. And then, in languages other than Chinese...
* ModestRoyalty: So much so that everyone doubled over from laughing in disbelief when he revealed that he's a prince.
* MrFanservice: Handsome? Check. Goes [[NoShirtLongJacket almost]] [[WalkingShirtlessScene shirtless]] for much of the first part of the series? Check. Badass? ''Check''.
* NoShirtLongJacket: Has a tendency of leaving his shirts always open...
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Extremely convincing when pretending to be [[IdiotHero a complete moron]]--''even while displaying window-crossing stealth bordering on OffscreenTeleportation''.
* PeekABangs: His prominent bangs sometimes will obscure one of his eyes.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Wants to be one. His belief that a King exists to serve his people certainly reflects this, and he already does take into account the feelings and suggestions of his bodyguards.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething
* SayMyName:
** ''LAN FAAAAAAAN!!!''
** [[spoiler:''GREEEEEEEEEEED!!!'']]
* ShadowArchetype: His character parallels Greed in a number of ways. [[spoiler:And then ''he becomes'' Greed.]]
* ShipTease: With Lan Fan. More subtle than most of the other ShipTease's in the series but it's definitely there. Ling doesn't deny that he has feelings for her when Greed brings up the possibility.
-->'''Greed:''' You're quite the stud! How long have you been keeping such a fine young lady from me?\\
'''Ling:''' Well, what can I say...I'm full of surprises...
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Ling/Lin/Rin, and some offbeat examples like Lynn. Ling seems to be the correct spelling, as his name tag bracelet when he gets put in jail has it written this way.[[note]]Xingese people have proto-Chinese names, so "Ling" (spelled "Lin" in Chinese, and either "Lin" or "Rin" in Japanese) is the correct form.[[/note]]
* StealthHiBye: Pretty good at pulling these off but it's more on the 'hi' side than the 'bye' side.
* StealthPun: Maybe not deliberate, but in English - "[=PrinceLing=]".
* SuccessionCrisis: The Emperor's twelfth son, but he could inherit the throne if he successfully wins his favor. Which he apparently does.
* SuperPoweredEvilSide: [[spoiler:Acquires Greed as his more powerful, more amoral alter ego.]]
* SymbioticPossession: [[spoiler:Despite being basically forced to receive Greed into himself, they eventually become friends. Greed even pulls a HeroicSacrifice for him, and Ling appears to grieve his loss.]]
* ThereWasADoor: He seems to enter buildings through ''windows'' more often than he does doors.
* UndyingLoyalty: To his Clan, and especially the people close to him. He's willing to risk his own life for them, to the point he once has to be reminded that as much as a King is nothing without his people, the people too would be lost without their King.
* VitriolicBestBuds: First with Ed, and later with Greed.
* WalkingSpoiler: The fact that he becomes [[spoiler:a homunculus by becoming the second Greed]].
* WarriorPrince: As he put it, he [[HadToBeSharp had to be able to defend himself]] when his family is a DeadlyDecadentCourt about to go into a SuccessionCrisis. And he's no slouch either - he fought off ''[[OneManArmy Wrath]]'' while carrying an injured ally, and escaped relatively unscathed.
* WeakButSkilled: Ling does not possess Alchemy or Alkahestry and yet he holds his own in a fight thanks to his sword skills, his martial-art skills, and his speed.
* WhatWereYouThinking: Gets this reaction [[spoiler:after his DealWithTheDevil, of course.]]
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: [[spoiler: Ling ultimately has this revelation. He came to Amestris seeking immortality and got his wish when fusing with Greed rendered him practically immortal. However, Ling realizes it's not worth it when he's still helpless to save people he cares about.]]
* WiseBeyondHisYears: In that while he wants to become an emperor, he also understands the responsibilities that come with it, namely a sense of duty towards his people.
* WorldsBestWarrior: The best swordfighter among the heroes, but can't do a damn thing when it comes to alchemy. [[spoiler:After he spends some time sharing a body with Greed, he picks up better hand-to-hand skills]].
* YoungerThanHeLooks: Is apparently 15 years old when introduced to the story (a bit younger than Ed), and thus technically a KidHero, although he looks like a fully grown adult and is [[WiseBeyondTheirYears mature beyond his age]]. Lampshaded when he gets arrested for being an illegal immigrant. The guard questions Ling's age and subsequently refuses to believe he's actually a minor.
** Winry and Ed are also surprised when they find out he's about their age, having assumed he's an adult. (Naturally, [[TheNapoleon Ed]] proceeds to get jealous over Ling's height -- which probably helps contribute to him seeming older.)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Van Hohenheim]]
[[quoteright:268:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/van11_7665.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/UnshoIshizuka (JP), Creator/JohnSwasey (EN), Creator/DaisukeNamikawa (JP - Young), Creator/AaronDismuke (EN - Young), Héctor Indriago (Latin America)

[floatboxright:
'''Affiliation:''' None\\
'''Rank''': None\\
'''Speciality:''' Perfect Alchemy/Trap Alchemy/Immortality]

The Elrics' father, a renowned alchemist who left them and their mother when they were little.
-----
* AbsentMindedProfessor: While a fairly serious and somber character, he can be a bit of a bumbling space-cadet at times. For example, he once tried building a tree swing for the boys, stopped paying attention to what he was doing to think about other matters, and promptly fell out of the tree. Then there was his reunion with Al in the manga:
--> '''Al''': Father?!\\
'''Hohenheim''': My vintage armor!!\\
'''Al''': '''''What!!!!'''''\\
'''Hohenheim''': Oh... Er, Sorry.
* ActionDad: The father of the two main heroes and has proven to be able to kick alot of ass.
* AdaptationPersonalityChange: While the Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood anime preserves the most important parts of Hohenheim's character arc, it omitted the vast majority of scenes involving Hohenheim being an airhead, resulting in his personality coming off as much more serious compared to the manga.
* AllLovingHero: [[spoiler:Does everything he can to save thousands of people he'll never meet, all while putting himself through hell. And then there's getting to know all of those souls.]]
* AnimalsHateHim: Justified. It's [[spoiler:a natural reaction when they can sense more than half a million people standing in front of them at once.]]
* BadassBeard: Sports an impressive-looking beard.
* BadassBookworm: He looks like he should be teaching in some school, but he's one of two Perfect Alchemists in the series. Which, considering the nature of alchemy as a power science, would actually ''add'' credibility to him as a schoolteacher.
* BadassInANiceSuit: Always wears a nice suit.
* BadassLongcoat: It's not as military as Mustang's or as... ''adolescent'' as Ed's, but his regular jacket is still long enough to accentuate his movements.
* BadassPacifist: Not a fighter himself but some of his actions can [[spoiler:[[SpannerInTheWorks screw]] [[BigBad Father]] over.]]
* BerserkButton: When he was young, he would get angry if someone called him an idiot.
* BigGood: He's the GoodCounterpart to Father, serves as a MessianicArchetype, and has been setting up a response to the latter's plans for years.
* BornIntoSlavery: [[spoiler:Born a slave in Xerxes.]]
* BreakThemByTalking: After meeting his son for the first time in ten years and asking why they had burned his house down, he coldly rips Edward's answer apart. By the time he's done, Ed looks about two seconds away from having a breakdown.
-->'''Hohenheim:''' That's not it. You just didn't want to see it again. You wanted to escape your horrifying memories. You wanted to conceal all traces of the sin you committed. You're no different from a child who hides his sheets after wetting himself in his sleep. [[ArmorPiercingQuestion You ran, didn't you, Edward?]]
* ChekhovMIA: He left his family and went missing years ago. Once he reappears, he becomes a major character for the entire plot.
* TheChessmaster: [[spoiler:Has been setting up a response to Father's transmutation circle for years. No one, including the BigBad, saw ''that one'' coming.]]
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Having all those souls inside him makes him kinda quirky.
* ConvenientTerminalIllness: [[spoiler:Averted; he is dying after the final battle, having used up all the souls inside him, but Ed refuses to sacrifice him.]]
* CoolOldGuy: [[spoiler: Centuries old and has all of the experience and savviness that comes with it.]]
* CruelToBeKind: During his first appearance, he coldly accuses Edward of running away and then knowingly lets him overhear a conversation with Pinako about the possibility that what he created wasn't even Trisha. The combination of these two events drives him to prove he isn't running away by checking the body only to find out that not only was it not Trisha, but it's little more than a crudely made jumble of random body parts that could never have been a functional human. By talking to it with Al, they realize it didn't even have a soul or consciousness of its own, so they didn't bring some poor freak into the world that could only suffer before it died either. This greatly eases the conscience of Ed, Al, and Izumi because it means they didn't kill their loved ones a second time.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Matching golden eyes and hair. A trait he passed onto his sons.
* DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou: He doesn't try to justify his actions, but left home after realizing [[spoiler:that Father was preparing a larger version of the Xerxes transmutation circle.]]
* TheDeadHaveNames: Knows the names of every person who died in [[spoiler:the last days of Xerxes.]]
* DeathSeeker: One of the main reasons he left his family is because he was trying to find a way to revoke his immortality so he and Trisha would be TogetherInDeath.
* DirtyOldMan: {{Subverted}}. He's called this for requesting Lan Fan to accompany him when the group splits up in the Third Laboratory. It's really so he can help her escape the lab and find Ling; he's intending on confronting Father alone.
* DisappearedDad: Hohenheim left the family when Ed and Al were very young. He did have huge reasons, namely [[spoiler:preventing his evil blood-related creation from absorbing the entire country into intself, becoming god, and conquering the world,]] but Ed is (understandably) still bitter about it.
* EverybodysDeadDave: [[spoiler:The complete destruction of Xerxes. To top it off, at least in part [[UnwittingPawn it was his fault]]. No wonder he [[BigNo freaked out]].]]
* GoodCounterpart: To Father, who shares his appearance and power; in a weird way they essentially created one another.
* GoOutWithASmile: [[spoiler:He dies smiling at Trisha's grave; the closest to a reunion he could make.]]
* HairAntennae: Evidently, Ed inherited it from him.
* HappilyMarried: He and Trisha weren't officially married, but they lived happily together for several years.
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Hohenheim doesn't think anything he does is good enough.
* HumanoidAbomination: AnimalsHateHim because he's the Philosopher's Stone given the form of a man.
* IAmAMonster: His usual explanation to anyone who sees his Philosopher's Stone-derived powers.
* IAmLegion: A rare heroic example. He has, over time, come to terms with each and every one of the innumerable souls within him, making him nearly impossible for Father to subsume like the other Philosopher's Stones.
* {{Irony}}: [[spoiler:After the final battle, when he's dying, he realizes that now that he's finally [[DeathSeeker getting what he wanted, he actually doesn't want to die.]]]]
* IWasQuiteALooker: He was a {{Bishonen}} before he grew a beard and definitely fits the bill for MrFanservice in his youth. Though he's not that bad looking now.
* LastOfHisKind: [[spoiler:The last Xerxian.]]
* LetsGetDangerous: Pretty restrained with his power, but when he lets loose....
* LivingForeverIsAwesome: Downplayed. "I'm not gonna lie and say it doesn't come in handy."
* ManlyTears: To highly [[TearJerker dramatic]] effect, after hearing Trisha's last words.
* MayflyDecemberRomance: With Trisha. When they got together, he had already lived for hundreds of years while Trisha was just a regular human. When he realized he would eventually outlive his wife and sons, Hohenheim wanted to find a way to get rid of his immortality and grow old with them.
* MindHive: [[spoiler:He has hundreds of thousands of Xerxian souls in him, but he is the dominant soul in the body. He has, however, managed to soothe all of the souls so they aren't consumed by despair and panic like souls in other Philosopher's Stones, and this allows them all to act with a singular purpose, as shown when Father's attempt to drain him is [[TooSpicyForYogSothoth interrupted by some of the souls, and even more prominently with the Umbral Circle failsafe.]]]]
* MysteriousParent: We don't know much about him until later.
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: The full name given to him by Father is Theophrastus Bombastus van Hohenheim -- [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paracelsus the real name of famous real-world alchemist Paracelsus.]]
* NighInvulnerability: [[spoiler:Thanks to his Philosopher's Stone, it's really hard to hurt him.]]
* NonActionGuy: Despite his god-like powerful alchemy and NighInvulnerability, he flat out admits [[UnskilledButStrong being a pretty poor fighter]]. [[spoiler:This results in him duelling Father by exhibiting impressive alchemic powers while stumbling around trying to stay on his feet.]]
* NoSocialSkills: He's so terrible at interacting with his sons that at first he almost comes off as outright villainous. One of the first things he does is give Ed a BreakingSpeech about his reaction to the failed Trisha resurrection, and instead of just telling Ed he didn't kill Trisha again he fakes an ExactEavesdropping moment.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: He doesn't want passers-by to know his true nature so he downplays it.
* OpaqueLenses: They make him look pretty creepy on occasion, but [[spoiler:it's ultimately a RedHerring.]]
* PapaWolf: "Don't you EVER mock my SON!"
* ParentalNeglect: When they were little, Ed and Al viewed as a cold father who spent all his time working on his office, but he really cares about them.
* PoweredByAForsakenChild: His alchemy is fueled by [[spoiler: the 500,000ish Xerxian souls within him, as he is a Philosopher's Stone given the form of a man. It's reconstructed however, given how he managed to reach an understanding with each and every soul within him, and in the finale, the souls within him actually urged him to use ''more'' of them to stave off the Big Bad's assault. It's as awesome as it is heartwarming.]]
* ThePowerOfFriendship: Part of at least ''two'' [[OutGambitted counter plans]] he has prepared, thanks to [[IAmLegion his Legion.]]
* ReallyDeadMontage: [[spoiler:In ''Brotherhood'', after his death at the very end of episode 63.]]
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Always looks like he's in his 40's to 50's, but [[spoiler:is over 400.]]
* RedHerring: [[spoiler:Let's see, he looks just like the BigBad, who was last seen getting off his throne and walking somewhere unknown shortly before Hohenheim returned to Resembool, he gives Ed a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, he warns Pinako about a coming catastrophe and tells her to leave the country and when she refuses he says that will be the last time they speak, and finally when he scares off some bandits by proving he's immortal he refers to himself as a monster, in a page that contrasts him with several Homunculi. It's really obvious that he's supposed to be sketchy as hell.]]
* ScaryShinyGlasses: A warning light indicating he's about to [[LetsGetDangerous get dangerous]]. Alternatively, they indicate that he's currently being incredibly dorky.
* ShipperOnDeck: He pretty blatantly acknowledges Lan Fan's feelings for Ling when he tells her to go find him.
* SoleSurvivor: [[spoiler:Of Xerxes.]]
* SympathyForTheDevil: Expresses some for Father.
* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler:He gets a scene with Trisha in the afterlife.]]
* TrapMaster: He may not be the best at combat alchemy, but he's great at transmuting traps and tombs for his foes. Pride learned this the hard way.
* UnskilledButStrong: Fu describes him as the strongest person present at a gathering that included Greed, Gluttony, and Pride. Despite this, his lack of combat skills makes him less impressive than he could be.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:[[BrainInAJar The original Homunculus]] tricked him into helping to obliterate his own civilization.]]
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Zigzagged all over the place. [[spoiler:At first, with the freshly dead Xerxians inside him, he wanted to die to be free of the screaming. After he got them under control, he liked that he had all the time he wanted to experience the world. Then he met his wife, and regretted that he would outlive her and his sons. Finally, as he's dying at the end of the series, he laments that he can't live a little longer with his sons.]]
* YouAreNumberSix: [[spoiler:He was known as Slave 23. Father was the one who gave him a real name.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Winry Rockbell]]
[[quoteright:268:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/winry11.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/MegumiTakamoto (JP), Creator/CaitlinGlass (EN), Melanie Henríquez (Latin America)

[floatboxright:
'''Affiliation:''' None\\
'''Rank''': None\\
'''Speciality:''' Mechanic]

The Elrics' childhood friend and Ed's personal automail mechanic, who happens to have a crush on him.
-----
* AdaptationDyeJob: Blonde-haired in the manga and two anime series, brown-haired in the movie.
* {{Adorkable}}: Winry's unusual love for machines and tools is quite endearing.
* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:She marries Edward and has two children with him at the end of the story.]]
* BadassPacifist: She's the only [[WorldOfBadass major character without combat skills,]] but she manages to stand out as one of the braver characters through her sheer kindness and willingness to help others.
* BareYourMidriff: Some of her outfits feature this.
* BelligerentSexualTension: With Ed.
* BerserkButton:
** Do not damage the automail she makes. Retribution will be swift.
** Also, if you're Edward, do not refrain from drinking your milk.
* BreakTheCutie: Totally loses it when she found out who murdered her parents.
* TheChick: The kind supportive NiceGirl of the series though she is more of a {{Tomboy}} than is standard for this trope.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: With Ed.
* ChildProdigy: She made Ed's first automail limbs when she was 11. Ed also says she was able to comprehend and read medical journals from a young age like he and Al did with alchemy books, which comes in handy when she has to deliver a child when no doctor is available.
* ClingyJealousGirl: A very slight case, but she did seemed bothered by Rosé's desire to see Ed again and Al teases her for it.
* CryCute: In the aforementioned BreakTheCutie moment. And again near the end of the series [[spoiler:When Ed and Al return with their bodies restored]].
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Her parents were murdered in the Ishvalan War and her two closest friends nearly died doing a human transmutation.
* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: She beats Ed ([[ComedicSociopathy comically]]) with a spanner every time he breaks his automail (that's often). In the manga, her response to the damage from his battle with Lan Fan was to ''maul him with a chainsaw''.
* FanServicePack: Her figure becomes appreciably more curvaceous and feminine throughout the time in which ''Brotherhood'' takes place. Justified in that she goes from [[SheIsAllGrownUp 11 to 15-16]].
* GadgeteerGenius: She made Ed's automail.
* GenkiGirl: She goes full-on Bishie Sparkle, Squee, and arm-wavy mode whenever she sees something cute or acting cute (Elysia Hughes weeded this mode out of her the first few minutes after she met her), something's caught her interest (mainly anything involving automail, i.e. Rush Valley, or a shopping spree in Central), or a rather vicious (and comic) argument with Ed (again, mainly over automail).
* GetAHoldOfYourselfMan: She repeatedly hit Al with a wrench, after he started wondering about his history and if he was really a human (or just a construct created by Ed).
* GirlNextDoor: Was this to Ed and Al growing up, as their nearest neighbor and closest friend.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: One of the most morally upstanding individuals in the series.
* TheHeart: Winry's main purpose in the series is to keep the Elrics grounded in reality.
* HeartwarmingOrphan: Downplayed as she still had her grandmother and the Elrics have more sympathetic trauma.
* HeIsNotMyBoyfriend: Thought not quite as, ah, ''vehement'' as Ed is about it, she is quick to tell Rosé that Ed is her childhood friend when Rosé looks as if she's about to assume something else.
* HeWillNotCrySoICryForHim: Winry does this for Ed and Al at first, until Ed asks her to stop as it only makes things harder for him. They agree the next time she cries for them they'll be tears of joy. [[Heartwarming/FullmetalAlchemist D'aww...]] Btw…promise kept!
* HostageSituation: The brothers specifically admit she is their weak point, as the villains of the story have, unfortunately for her, figured out.
* {{Hypocrite}}: She believes that Scar should be punished for the murders that he committed against Amestrians, but as more hesitant to believe that Mustang, Hawkeye, and the rest of the Amestrian soldiers should be punished for doing the same thing to Ishvalans, a view she shares with Ed and Al. Most of Scar's victims were State Alchemists, some that participated on his race's genocide, but the Amestrian soldiers killed ''thousands'' of Ishvalans, women and children included. Granted, he believes that the Amestrian soldiers were JustFollowingOrders and being manipulated by the homunculi, but Hawkeye, who participated in the genocide, outright states that's no excuse for their actions.
* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Ed tells her something like this when she points a gun at Scar.
* InnocentBlueEyes: Like her mother, which plays a big role in Scar's character development and Winry's forgiveness.
* TheLadysFavour: Winry gives Ed some earrings to look after. It's actually for a logical reason, but it's clearly intended to hint at this trope.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: She's very much aware that Ed and Al don't tell her everything about what they do, and it really bugs her too; especially when she finds out that Scar was the one who murdered her parents and that Ed and Al knew this without telling her. Gradually she's let in but even then Ed and Al '''still''' feel the need to hide or lie about whats going on including the fact that Bradley is using her as a hostage against the two trying to break away.
* LoveEpiphany: When she gets on the train back to Rush Valley after the Scar incident, she gives the matter a lot of thought and comes to the realization that she's been falling for Ed for a long time.
* LovingAShadow: Being an orphan, she admitted to feeling this way toward Lt. Colonel Hughes for her dad, which made it all the sadder when he was killed.
* TheMedic: Winry was reading ''medical textbooks'' at the same age that Ed and Al started teaching themselves alchemy, and she shows skill in surgery, first aid, and automail (which requires background in neurology and anatomy, among others). She also delivers a baby in Rush Valley despite never having done it before.
* MissFixit: Usually automail but other machines too.
* MsFanservice: The bath scene in Lior. Also, her normal working attire top appears to be just a tube top bra as well, and her other usual outfit is a tiny miniskirt.
* NaiveEverygirl: Most shown with Kimblee.
* NeutralFemale: {{Justified}}, as she isn't a Alchemist or even related to any form of military except her parents being doctors. The one time she nearly gets into a fight is definitely not meant to be played for laughs or awesome...
* NiceGirl: Winry is a very emotional, strong-willed and emphatic person who puts all her heart and effort into the things she does.
* PluckyGirl: She's a lot more cheerful than the brothers, and just as brave.
* RaisedByGrandparents: She was raised by her grandmother after her parents died.
* ShipperOnDeck: Makes cracks at Al, regarding May.
* {{Shorttank}}: She's a mechanic and is frequently referred to as a "gear head" or tomboy. She fits the dress code quite well as she wears a sports bra when working and in public wears a tank top, jacket, and short skirt.
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: It took her awhile to notice, but Winry realized she fell in love with Ed a long time ago. To reiterate, Winry fell for Ed, the man who is brave, selfless, loyal, fiercely protective of those he loves, and reverently values life. In fact, her LoveEpiphany was right after Ed made a promise to her that the next time he and Al made her cry, it would be ''tears of happiness''.
* {{Squee}}: When she gets to Rush Valley, oh boy does she go into fangirl mode!
* TankTopTomboy: When shown during mechanical work, she often wears a tank top.
* TaremeEyes: They showcase her kind nature.
* TeenGenius: When it comes to automail. She made Ed's at the age of 11.
* {{Tsundere}}: A harsher Type B, focused around her family/friends, though the only person she gets really mad at is Ed.
* VaporWear: At least in the chapter where Ed ''almost'' watches her undress.
* WillTheyOrWontThey: With Ed. [[spoiler:TheyDo.]]
* WrenchWench: Page image! Never seen without a wrench and is the most skilled main character when it comes to machines.
* WrenchWhack: Her preferred method of punishing Ed (and on one occasion, Al) when he does something out of line, specifically [[BerserkButton breaking the arm that she made for him]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Scar]]
[[quoteright:268:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scar11_2544.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/KentaMiyake (JP), Creator/JMichaelTatum (EN), Alfonso Nittoli (Latin America)

[floatboxright:
'''Affiliation:''' Ishval (formerly)\\
'''Rank''': Monk (formerly)\\
'''Speciality:''' Destructive Alchemy/Alkahestry/ Constructive Alchemy/Alkahestry]

A mysterious Ishvalan Priest in a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the State Alchemists that annihilated his people.
-----
* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: InUniverse, Roy and Ed argue about what kind of man Scar is. Roy says he's a genocide survivor with a good reason to avenge his people. A chagrined Ed believes that Scar just likes attacking people because he's a bully that is masking his pain. Given that Ed was too young to participate in the Isvhalan massacre and Scar attacked him and Al, he may have a point.
* AntiHero: Eventually switches sides after [[ConflictKiller the Homunculi]] start moving openly, but stays gruff and closed-off.
* AntiVillain: He just wanted revenge on those that have killed his people.
* BackToBackBadasses: With Al when escaping Father's lair.
* BadassBoast: "Your only solace from my wrath will be '''[[PrepareToDie damnation!]]'''"
* BadassPreacher: A former warrior-priest. The guy killed about 20 State Alchemists before the start of the series and was able to effortlessly defeat Ed and Al. He even killed [[spoiler: Bradley]], a guy that went 1-0 with ''a tank''.
* BadassTransplant: [[spoiler:He has his brother's arm, tattooed with alchemical markings that allow him to destroy anything with a touch.]]
* BareFistedMonk: Literally, as he was an Ishvalan warrior monk. Later upgraded this status with his added FacePalmOfDoom.
* BatmanGrabsAGun: During his showdown with [[spoiler:King Bradley]] near the end of the series, he [[spoiler:breaks his code as an Ishvalan and uses Alchemy to reconstruct matter, thus regaining the upper hand. Up until that point, he only used his abilities to destroy things and so remained technically within the bounds of his code against it.]]
* TheBigGuy: Scar's an extremely effective martial artist. However, because of his history as one of Ishval's more conservative priests, he is (by choice) unfamiliar with the rest of the setting's combat tools. Ed almost got killed in his first fight with Scar by trying to fight him hand-to-hand; in his next fight, he stressed his alchemy more and had Scar locked down. It's also telling that Scar was only able to deconstruct Jerso's saliva ''after'' Ed mentioned that it was mostly water.
* BigLittleBrother: He is way bigger and stronger than his older brother was.
* BookEnds: His story of revenge begins when he wakes up after being saved by the Rockbells and discovers that his country has been destroyed, and ends when he wakes up in the Armstrong mansion and is offered the chance to rebuild his people. [[spoiler: A key difference is that in the first one, he suffers a FreakOut and kills the Rockbells, having connected them with the Amestrians who killed his people, while in the second he doesn't do any of that, despite being greeted by the similarly blonde haired and blue eyed Olivier.]]
* BreakThemByTalking: "Just don't forget, it was ''you Amestrians'' that started the Ishvalan War!"
* CharacterDevelopment:
** He cast aside his name to murder State Alchemist, and near the end realizes [[spoiler:he doesn't need one to rebuild his people.]]
** On another level, Scar starts out the series [[HeWhoFightsMonsters hell-bent on getting revenge]] on the State Alchemists for the genocide of his people, and will even attempt to kill children for that purpose. Towards the end of the series, he's grown so much that he ends up [[spoiler:helping to talk down one of the State Alchemists he was hell-bent on killing from losing himself to blind hatred and vengeance--exactly what Scar was at the start of the series.]]
* CoolShades: He wears a pair to hide his red eyes.
* TheComicallySerious: First seen in chapter 26. When a young Ishvalan refugee yells at him to clean up before ''throwing a washcloth at his face'', Scar's expression doesn't waver one bit. However, the most famous example is probably [[CutenessProximity his reaction to Shao May]].
* CutenessProximity: He loves kittens and had an urge to pet [[PandaingToTheAudience Shao May]].
* DarkAndTroubledPast: The extermination of his people, his brother dying to save him, the scar on his face etc.
* DarkSkinnedBlond: It's a trait shared by all Ishvalans.
* DeathSeeker: Implied, at least for a time. His goals seemed to be suicide by State Alchemist. More explicit in the manga when, after being saved by Olivier, he complains that she, like the Rockbells, didn't just let him die.
* DespairEventHorizon: Hovered on the edge for a long time. He could only justify living with vengeance.
* TheDreaded: For a good long while, he was the boogie man that had the entire military on edge.
* EasilyForgiven: Played with. Winry is willing to help Scar by treating his life-threatening injuries because it's what her parents would have done, but that doesn't mean she's forgiven him. Also, Edward still wants to beat the crap out of him and make him pay his respects in front of the Rockbell graves one day. He also refuses to tell Winry why he killed her parents, not wanting to seek forgiveness for it (he killed them after regaining consciousness after his family was killed, discovering that his brothers arm was now attached where his own once was, and freaked out when he saw them and was reminded of the Amestrian soldiers.) On the other hand, [[spoiler: Olivier saves his life near the end and Miles offers him the chance to help rebuild Ishval. Olivier claims that she did it to scare Roy when it became obvious that saving him wouldn't benefit her.]]
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Even before he got any alchemical abilities, he was capable of defeating multiple armed Amestrian soldiers with just his bare hands. The manga even states that the average Isvhalan warrior-priest was equal to 10 standard soldiers in a fight.
* EvenEvilHasStandards:
** After he incapacitates Al, who isn't a State Alchemist, he gives his word to not kill Al while preparing to execute a helpless Ed, who ''is'' one.
** He admits that he feels horribly guilty for [[spoiler:killing Winry's parents, because they were innocents and had saved him]].
* EverybodysDeadDave: His refugee party is wiped out by Kimblee.
* FacePalmOfDoom: His signature attack.
* TheFarmerAndTheViper: During the war, [[spoiler:Winry's parents gave him medical treatment, saving his life. Scar thanked them by flipping out and killing them both. It's a bit of [[PlayedWith unusual variation]], as this murder was a result of confusion and rage on his part, rather than being an UngratefulBastard like in most examples]]
* FreakOut: He's usually quite cool and collected, but when [[spoiler:he wakes up to find his brother [[SurvivorGuilt has sacrificed himself to save him he loses it completely and undeservedly kills Winry's parents]].]]
* FriendToAllChildren: Children who aren't certified State Alchemists at least, since he tries to kill Ed as soon as he finds him. May Chang is the first one to try to reach out to him, and he also sympathized with [[TragicMonster Nina Tucker]], albeit in a [[MercyKill twisted way]].
* GenocideBackfire: Unfortunately for the Amestris military, one of the survivors of the massacre happened to be a [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge vengeful]] Badass monk with a penchant for doing YourHeadAsplode to State Alchemists. It ''really'' backfires in the end, doesn't it Bradley?
* GetOutOfJailFreeCard: While he does go through a genuine HeelFaceTurn, Scar is still responsible for dozens of murders, including Rockbells, who were in no way responsible for the Ishvalan massacre. He doesn't suffer any official punishment for any of them.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: His entire family was killed by alchemists and his brother gave up his life (and arm) to save him, since his people have a quasi-religious reason to hate alchemy, he goes out hunting, "In God's Name". Especially ironic since he uses a form of alchemy to destroy his targets: state alchemists. This is spelled out to Scar himself when Ed throws himself in front of Winry to protect her from Scar. Scar flashes back to Ishval, where Ed is in his brother's place, and Scar himself is in ''[[MadBomber Kimblee's]]''.
* HeelFaceTurn: He wasn't super ''evil'' to begin with, but he grew less violent and radical over time. Even Envy [[BreakThemByTalking pointed out to him that he was teaming with a State Alchemist; Scar basically told Envy he knew and just didn't care anymore]].
* HeelRealization: He knew he wasn't a ''good'' person for a while. But it wasn't until Winry agreed to heal his wounds despite her hatred for him (crystallizing a point his elders made about their decision to pursue nonviolence) that he comes to realize just where--and how grievously--he went wrong. The start of it was after Winry freaked out and tried to kill him after she discovered that he had killed her parents. Afterwards, Scar could only wonder if that was what he looked like.
* HeroKiller: His first encounter with Ed and Al ends with Ed's automail being shattered, and Al unable to move. Ed was saved only by Riza Hawkeye and Alex Armstrong's BigDamnHeroes. Mustang also tried to pull this along with them, but failed because [[WeaksauceWeakness it was raining.]]
* HisStoryRepeatsItself: He starts out as a member of an oppressed group fighting to take Amestris down, and winds up [[spoiler:saving it]].
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: When May decides to start hanging around. She's around his waist in height.
* IAmNotLeftHanded: Shows Bradley that [[spoiler:he has managed to make a reconstruction tattoo on his left arm]] in their final fight.
* {{Irony}}: Scar's quest for vengeance started because Amestrians slaughtered Scar's people. That quest ended with his working with Amestrians to save both peoples. Also, he's the man who ends up killing Fuhrer Bradley, the man who ordered the Ishvalan genocide, AKA Wrath, the sin he prescribed to the most in his original [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge roaring rampage of revenge]]. By the end of the story, he's over all his anger and bitter hatred and is instead helping Major Miles promote a new age of peace and understanding between his people and the people of Amestris, as should have been done all along.
* KickTheDog: He comes across the Elric brothers brooding in the rain, neither in a state to fight. Then he asks for their names, attacks them, and corners them when they try to run.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: His victims include [[spoiler:Shou Tucker and [[ColonelKilgore Giolo Comanche]] (an unrepentant State Alchemist who served in Ishval). He also goes up against [[AxCrazy Kimblee]], who would have killed the Rockbells if he had not.]] However, it's implied that he also murdered some relatively decent people, such as [[spoiler:Basque Grand]].
* LifeOrLimbDecision: When Scar lost his arm in a bomb attack, his brother replaced it with his own arm, and apparently bled to death in his place.
* LightningBruiser: His WeaponOfChoice are his [[BareFistedMonk fists]] (well, his [[RightHandOfDoom fist o' destruction]]) so in order to do much damage he has to get close enough to touch his opponent. Pair that with fighting mostly long-range opponents, and you either get really quick or really dead. He's probably the fastest human in the series, barring perhaps Major Armstrong, and Ed when he had his Briggs automail.
* MisplacedRetribution: He tries to kill the Elric brothers shortly after he's introduced. Scar is one of the few surviving members of a genocide perpetrated by the Amestrian government, and so has good reason to be angry, but he chooses to exact revenge for the deaths of his people by killing State Alchemists, and ''all'' State Alchemists, regardless of whether or not they were involved in the Ishvalan conflict. Ed and Al in particular were small children when the genocide took place, and had absolutely nothing to do with it.
* MrFanservice: He gets a few shirtless scenes and many, many shots that pan down his arms. His good physical shape's justified in that he's an Ishvalan warrior-priest, and he gets yelled at for maintaining his workout regiment even while recovering.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:Among his murders, Winry's parents are the only ones he feels genuine guilt and remorse over, as he knows they were unjustified. And unlike the others, they also weren't planned and were carried out in the middle of a freak out.]]
* TheNameless: More like he [[ThatManIsDead forsook his own name]].
* NobleDemon: He may be an extremist serial killer who indiscriminately hunts down state alchemists, but he does have his principles. He avoids harming innocents and even minimizes damage to soldiers and police, saving his wrath for assassinating state alchemists and self defense against homunculi. He kills Nina to spare her from a living hell as an abomination and experiment, honors Ed's "last" request to spare Alphonse and takes full responsibility for killing Winry's parents in cold blood.
* NormallyIWouldBeDeadNow: Survives killing Wrath (no easy task) and even gives us [[MrExposition some exposition]] in 106. While dripping blood out of... everything. He's not that impressed when he wakes up later to find that he did survive.
* NotSoDifferent:
** While he and Ed have several differences, signs point to them being incredibly similar. Scar actually lampshades this about himself and Edward. The fact that he did so to encourage Mustang not to become as bitter as them did not amuse Ed.
** Ed's not the only Elric brother that Scar has similarities to: A younger brother had his life saved by his older brother, who gave up his right arm to do so. Also, the younger brother is the better fighter and more physically imposing than the older in both cases. Are we talking about Scar, or Alphonse Elric?
* OddFriendship: With May.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: He's only known by Scar. He refuses to tell anyone what his real name is because he doesn't feel he deserves it anymore.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: A subtle version post-reform. When helping to [[spoiler:talk Roy down from his RoaringRampageOfRevenge against Envy]], he concedes he has no moral high ground to condemn [[spoiler:Roy's vengeance]] but admits he shudders to think what someone consumed with hate like he once was could do as the leader of a country. Up to that point there's never been a hint that anything following the Ishval Massacre could actually scare Scar.
* OverdrawnAtTheBloodBank: Bleeding out a ''lot'' after his CrowningMomentOfAwesome, but survives.
* PerpetualFrowner: The number of times he smiles in the entire series can be counted on one hand.
* PersonalityPowers: A violent revenge seeker fittingly has destructive alchemy.
* PetTheDog:
** His mercy-killing of chimeric Nina, grim as it may be. The pity with which he finishes her is one of his first on-screen instances of humanity.
-->'''Scar:''' "At least your passing will be in peace."
** His kindness to May makes him a bit more likeable.
** According to the Omakes, he also likes kitty cats. Awww.
** Being fond of Shao May is an almost literal example, as he tries to pet her at one point.
** Unlike his hatred for alchemists and apparent indifference or distaste for Amestrians, he is gentle and respectful to the Ishvalan refugees he meets, especially children and his elders.
* PleaseKillMeIfItSatisfiesYou: When Winry picks up a gun and is on the verge of shooting him, Scar freely admits she has every right to do so, though he also warns her that the second she pulls the trigger, she will be his enemy. Ed and Al intervene, [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim not wanting Winry to become a murderer]].
* PowerNullifier:
** He ignores Father's PowerNullifier and absolutely wastes Gluttony with his destructive touch after Ed and Al's alchemy had been rendered useless. [[spoiler:This was because his right arm, which he'd received from his brother, was based in Xingese alkahestry and not Amestrian alchemy.]]
** [[spoiler:In the story's climax, Scar is responsible for carrying out the plan to nullify Father's PowerNullifier by activating a reverse transmutation circle in coordination with several Ishvalans. Not only does this make it impossible for Father to shut off alchemy any further, but it also gave Amestrian alchemists full access to the raw power of the earth, something Ed picks up on and uses to his advantage.]]
* PowerTattoo: The source of his alchemy.
* RedemptionEarnsLife: He becomes a priest in the reforming Ishval, teaching the new generation about their people's culture alongside Miles.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Zigzagged. [[InvokedTrope His red eyes identify him as an Ishvalan--something which would get the average Amestrian up in arms immediately.]] [[SubvertedTrope However,]] the Ishvalans are a needlessly persecuted ethnic group [[LastOfHisKind that was nearly wiped out in a civil war]]. Compared to the average Ishvalan, though, Scar is an extremely dangerous individual, especially to State Alchemists, yet through his CharacterDevelopment, he's less caustic and more antiheroic by the end of the series.
* RightHandOfDoom: Can only perform his deconstructions with one hand.
* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: How he's introduced.
* SayMyName: "KIIIIIIIIMBLEEEEEE!!!"
* ScaryBlackMan: Well, Scary ''Ishvalan'' Man, but close enough. This guy becomes the State Alchemists' bogeyman! Although it's averted with May, who doesn't find him scary at all, even after being informed that he kills people.
* SerialKillerKiller: Replace "serial killer" with "war criminal" and yeah, that's Scar. Indeed, he assassinates his targets with the same power that they use to commit their war crimes.
* ShootTheDog: Upon finding Nina transformed into a horrific dog-creature, Scar recognizes that she's suffering and mercy-kills her with his alchemy.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Father's alchemy-cancelling abilities have absolutely no effect on him. Compounded with the moment he and May first gatecrashed into his lair, he's been derailing his plans bit after bit.
* TheStoic: He's a man of few moods. The most common is "solemn religious judgement".
* SuicideByCop: Seems to be his life's goal. He doesn't succeed, much to his irritation.
* SurvivorGuilt: He deals with it by killing state alchemists.
* TameHisAnger: Probably the most noticeable one in the series.
* ThatManIsDead: He uses this as his reason why he abandoned his real name.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: With everyone after his HeelFaceTurn, especially Ed.
* TragicBigot: His hatred of all Amestrians, including and especially State Alchemists, stems from what the Amestrian military did during the Ishvalan Massacre.
* TranquilFury: In his RoaringRampageOfRevenge, he is, save for a few moments, very calm throughout the entire deal. He even goes toe to toe with [[spoiler: Wrath]] with only a DeathGlare to show his utter hatred of the [[spoiler: man who slaughtered his people.]]
* TraumaButton: When Ed throws himself in front of Winry to protect her, Scar flashes back to the moment his brother threw himself in front of him to protect him from Kimblee and freezes up; Al takes advantage of it to attack Scar and drive him off.
* TraumaCongaLine: It all [[StartOfDarkness started when Kimblee attacked him and Scar's brother gave up his arm to save his life. When he woke up and thought his brother was with him only to find out about his arm and the fate of his brother]] [[FreakOut he freaked out]], killed the Rockbells in a berserk rage, and went outside [[FromBadToWorse only to find]] Ishval destroyed.
* TheUnreveal: He doesn't reveal his real name.
* WarriorMonk: He was a warrior-priest of Ishval during the war, and tried to do penance afterward through becoming a death-seeking avenger of God.
* WithholdingTheirName: The Ishvalan known as Scar underwent a MeaningfulRename, and tossed away his old name in his quest for revenge. During ''Brotherhood'', Yoki asks Scar's name. Scar responds that to Ishvalans, a person's name is the most important thing; the name is regarded as a gift from God. So Yoki asks again, and Scar's response is "I threw it away. I threw away my own ''name''." Yoki doesn't dare ask him again. At the end of the series, [[spoiler:he ''still'' refuses to give his name and says [[NoNeedForNames you can just call him whatever you want to.]]]]
* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: He's one of the few survivors of a brutal genocide which killed almost all his loved ones. As revenge against the government who massacred his people, he becomes a SerialKiller who exclusively targets state alchemists. Fortunately, he gets much better overtime.
* WorldsBestWarrior: Scar is the best hand-to-hand fighter in the cast thanks to his martial arts prowess and his destruction technique. He is, however, held back by his poor range and lack of alchemical skill, [[spoiler:at least until he battles with Wrath and decides to give reconstruction a shot]].
* WouldHurtAChild: At first. He gives a [[spoiler:MercyKill to Nina after he murders her father in front of her. Then he attacks Ed and Al, who only put up a fight when cornered, despite the fact that Ed was too young to have participated in the Ishvalan massacre. Mustang and Armstrong have to challenge him to get him to stop Scar from murdering Ed in cold blood.]]
* {{Wrath}}: His big sin. He essentially views himself as the wrath of God personified, starting him down the deep end. It foreshadows [[spoiler:him being the one to finally kill Wrath the homunculus.]]
* XMarksTheHero: DoubleSubverted. He starts out as a HeWhoFightsMonsters-style AntiVillain, but the ensuing CharacterDevelopment slowly turns him into an AntiHero instead.
[[/folder]]
!!Supporting Main Characters
[[folder:May Chang]]
[[quoteright:268:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/may11_7088.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/MaiGoto (JP), Creator/MonicaRial (EN), María José Estévez (Latin America)\\
Shao May is voiced by: Creator/RieKugimiya (JP), Creator/TiaBallard (EN)

[floatboxright:
'''Affiliation:''' Kingdom of Xing/Chang Clan\\
'''Rank''': 17th Princess of Xing\\
'''Speciality:''' Medical Alkahestry/Martial Arts]

A Xingese princess from a very minor clan, her goals are similar to her half-brother Ling's. She's always accompanied by her tiny panda, Shao May.
----
* AllChinesePeopleKnowKungFu: May is a fantasy-counterpart Asian princess, and she can really kick ass in a fight. Justified, in that learning self-defense tactics is a necessity for someone who is a potential target of assassination attempts.
* AnimeChineseGirl: Xing is a FantasyCounterpartCulture to China, so yeah. She fits this trope more than the sensible ninja Lan Fan, being a perky martial artist/princess, having OdangoHair, and being dressed in feminine East Asian clothing.
* BadassAdorable: Despite being around twelve years old she's quite the martial artist, and she's undoubtedly cute.
* BottomlessMagazines: You may be wondering where she gets all those throwing knives. This trope is averted by FridgeBrilliance in that she simply transmutes more from available material.
* ChildProdigy: Expert at alkahestry and martial arts, and she is still not a teenager yet.
* ChronicHeroSyndrome:
** A somewhat milder case, although [[spoiler:in the end, instead of returning to her country with Envy, she decides to stay in Amestris to help everyone. Ling notes that she lost her chance to make her clan win by involving herself in another country's business.]]
** Exemplified again in the fight against the gold-toothed doctor and his mooks. May could make a grab for the Philosopher's Stone he dropped, or [[spoiler:stop the dying Riza's bleeding. Unsurprisingly, she chooses the latter]].
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Has quite the overactive imagination.
* CombatMedic: A great martial artist and practitioner of alkahestry. She knows enough about alkahestry's medical applications to be a competent first aid provider.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Like most other people of Xing.
* DetectEvil: She can sense homunculi [[spoiler:and the subterranean Philosopher's Stone]].
* EmpathyPet: One of the more literal examples. Her panda not only shares her feelings, but also mimics most of her movements.
* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: Her status as a princess of Xing is only relevant insofar as it [[ImmortalitySeeker spurs her quest for the Philosopher's Stone]]. Otherwise, it's rarely brought up. Admittedly, she's not a princess in very high standing.
* FlechetteStorm: A variant in that she doesn't use it to attack people directly, but she ''does'' tend to throw them very close to people's heads when performing remote transmutations.
* TheGlomp: Her standard greeting towards Alphonse.
* HeadPet: Shao May, who's small enough to perch on her head at times.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: [[spoiler: May thinks Scar and Yoki are great guys before either has really reformed, and she initially distrusts Ed and Al.]]
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Once she gets over Ed, she's on Al [[UnusualEuphemism like Elvis on a pound of bacon]]. Also a platonic example with Scar, who's probably two feet taller than she is.
* IGotBigger: [[spoiler:In the epilogue, she appears to have grown at ''least'' two feet taller. Justified by the fact that it seems to be at least several years later, so May could've hit a growth spurt or two during that time.]]
* ImmortalitySeeker: She's searching for the secret to raise her clan's standing in court.
* ImpliedLoveInterest: For Alphonse. While she clearly has a PrecociousCrush on him, he's affectionate towards her, [[spoiler:and she appears in the family photo at the end]], we don't know for sure if they get together.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: She can effortlessly throw five knives at once to land in a circle.
* TheIngenue: Sweet, naive, and well-intentioned.
* KnifeNut: Not as a weapon, but a tool to perform her alkahestry.
* KungFuKid: Enters the story by kicking Al in the head.
* KungFuWizard: Adept at both martial arts and alkahestry.
* LittleMissBadass: See PluckyGirl below.
* LoveBeforeFirstSight: Develops a crush on Ed after misinterpreting a description of the Fullmetal Alchemist and his legendary exploits, coming to believe he's a KnightInShiningArmor. Then she finds out what Ed's really like, she drops him for Al for similar, but less exaggerated reasons.
* MaybeEverAfter: [[spoiler:It's implied that she got together with Al since she appears in the new Elric Family Photo.]]
* TheMedic: Knows some healing alchemy. Oddly enough, she fills this role for her group more than [[spoiler:her teammate Marcoh, who is ''an actual doctor''.]]
* MoralityPet: For [[spoiler:Scar]]; his treatment of her is one of his first kindnesses in the series.
* MouthyKid: Although she can border on BrattyHalfPint whenever Ed's around.
* NaiveEverygirl: She's well-intentioned, but she's not a very good judge of character.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Envy tricks her into restoring him/her to his full strength on the Promised Day.]]
* OcularGushers: Enough to put out ''a fire.''
* OdangoHair: With BraidsOfAction to boot.
* OddFriendship: With [[spoiler:Scar]].
* PandaingToTheAudience: Shao May, her tiny panda sidekick.
* PerkyFemaleMinion: She fits this to the extent that while she is rather cheerful, the character she follows is very much TheStoic. [[spoiler:Granted, Scar is well on his way to being an AntiHero by the time she meets him.]]
* PetBabyWildAnimal: She found Shao May after she had been abandoned by the other pandas due to her stunted growth and has taken care of her ever since.
* PluckyGirl: Crosses a Sahara Desert expy and into an unfriendly militaristic nation ALONE, picks a fight while still recovering from a concussion, and [[spoiler:attacks the Big Bad even while knowing that she is totally outclassed by him. Even after being badly wounded, she continues to help out in the final battle.]] [[{{Determinator}} May Chang does not give up]].
* PrettyPrincessPowerhouse: While a polite and well-mannered princess who is devoted to her clan, she's also an accomplished martial artist and alkahestrist. Justified in that she grew up in a DeadlyDecadentCourt where assassination attempts are the norm, and downplayed in that she can't be more than twelve, so she still acts like a child in some respects.
* PrincessesPreferPink: Her outfits are usually varying shades of pink and red.
* RapunzelHair: It's both braided and wrapped up in buns--it'd probably go to her feet if she let it down.
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Shao May.
* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Justified. She ''has'' to do something (in this case, search for the secret to immortality) if she wants her clan to survive.
* SettleForSibling: After Ed doesn't turn to be what she expected, she falls for his brother Al.
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: Develops a crush on Ed after misinterpreting a description of the Fullmetal Alchemist and his legendary exploits, coming to believe he's a KnightInShiningArmor. After meeting him in person, she quickly drops her infatuation. Instead, she falls for his brother, [[NiceGuy Al]], who fits the "knight in shining armor" description better.
* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Where to begin? May Chan, May Chen, Meichan, May Chang, Mei Chang, Xiao May, Xiao Mei... it just never ends.
* SuccessionCrisis: As means to save her [[TheClan lesser clan]].
* TagalongKid: Kind of; she ends up joining [[spoiler:Scar's group]], and while she is the youngest member of the team, she's far from useless or a burden.
* TeacherStudentRomance: She teaches Al about alkahestry and she very much likes him. [[spoiler: Her presence in the Elric family photo in both the manga and ''Brotherhood'' implies that Al returned those feelings.]]
* ThinksLikeARomanceNovel: She has indulgent romantic fantasies towards both Elrics.
* TooDumbToLive: Attacking Father head on despite being warned by both Elric brothers that it's a horrible idea and he's really powerful. She gets a massive CurbStompBattle for her poor decision making.
[[/folder]]
-----

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: In-universe, Roy and Ed argue about what kind of man Scar is. Roy says he's a genocide survivor with a good reason to avenge his people. A chagrined Ed believes that Scar just likes attacking people because he's a bully that is masking his pain. Given that Ed was too young to participate in the Isvhalan massacre and Scar attacked him and Al, he may have a point.

[[center: [- [[Characters/FullmetalAlchemist Main Character Index]] | '''Main Characters''' | [[Characters/FullmetalAlchemistMilitary Military]] | [[Characters/FullmetalAlchemistHomunculi Homunculi]] | [[Characters/FullmetalAlchemistOthers Others]]]]-]

[[folder:Edward "Ed" Elric]]
[[quoteright:268:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/edo11_612.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/RomiPark (JP), Creator/VicMignogna (EN), José Manuel Vieira (Latin America/animated adaptations), Alan Fernando Velazquez (Latin America/live-action film)

[floatboxright:
'''Affiliation:''' Amestris Military / Greed's Gang\\
'''Rank''': Major\\
'''Speciality:''' Martial-Arts/Weapon Alchemy/Alchemy Without an Array]

The protagonist of the series and the titular "Fullmetal Alchemist". Along with his brother Al, he committed the mistake of attempting to bring his mother back to life, and lost an arm and a leg in the process. He became Amestris's youngest ever State Alchemist in order to seek the secret of the Philosopher's Stone so he can regain his limbs and Al's body. The truth behind the Philosopher's Stone, and the connection to the secrets behind the country he lives in, drives the story.

* AccidentalPervert: He almost sees Winry naked when she starts undressing, without realizing Ed is in the room with her.
* ActuallyIAmHim: A constant thorn in his side is that people are more willing to believe that Al is the infamous "Fullmetal Alchemist" rather than him. Ed is the current trope image.
* AdorablyPrecociousChild: Young Ed managed to be an alchemy whiz who was wiser than his years. He more or less kept it when he grew up, only now it makes him seem high-strung and unpleasant.
* {{Adorkable}}: Especially when dealing with anything related to Winry and romance and his adorable overreactions over his height and anger at being called "little" brother.
* AintTooProudToBeg; When Scar destroys his arm so he can't perform alchemy, and prepares to kill Ed, Ed doesn't beg for his life. He instead says he'll FaceDeathWithDignity if Scar will spare Al. Scar agrees, since Al is incapacitated and wasn't the target. Fortunately, Roy appears in the nick of time to save both brothers.
* AlliterativeName: '''E'''dward '''E'''lric.
* AlwaysSecondBest: Ed's brother Al always wins their sparring matches. Makes sense 'cause Al is, ya know, a ''living suit of armor''. It’s indicated, during their reminiscing of past spats at the hospital, that Al was winning quarrels between the two even before he was a suit of armor or was under Izumi’s tutelage.
* AmbiguouslyHuman: Subverted. His mother Trisha was human, but he does question his own humanity after finding out that [[spoiler: his father is a walking, talking, immortal Philosopher's Stone. Hohenheim does confirm that both Ed and Al are both humans]].
* AnArmAndALeg: Lost his left leg attempting human transmutation, sacrificed his right arm to retrieve Al's soul. [[spoiler:He eventually gets the arm back but the leg stays gone.]]
* ArtificialLimbs: His automail, replacing the arm and leg he lost during his attempt at human transmutation.
* AuthorAppeal: Hiromu Arakawa likes muscular men, which should come as no surprise seeing how extremely ripped Ed is for a too-short-for-his-age teen. And his remarkable tendency to [[ShirtlessScene rip off his clothing to show off his bare torso.]] Lugging around all of that auto-mail which probably helps with his physique, along with all of the fighting he does.
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Edward picks up several alchemical techniques simply by observing others and adopting their styles.
* AxCrazy: Downplayed and PlayedForLaughs. His demeanor when fighting mooks is usually either dissonant glee or comical bloodlust. Even his allies comment on how scary he gets whrn he's worked up. Sometimes plays it up to [[TerrorHero demoralize his enemies]]. However, in dramatic situations this trait disappears, and it's clear he doesn't actually want to hurt anyone if he can avoid it.
* BabiesEverAfter: [[spoiler:At the end of the story, we see a picture of Ed and Winry with their children.]]
* BadassBoast: Extremely satisfying example in [[spoiler:the last battle against Father.]]
-->'''Edward''': GET UP, YOU NOVICE! [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown I'M ABOUT TO SHOW YOU HOW OUTCLASSED YOU REALLY ARE!]] THIS FIGHT YOU LOSE!
* BadassBookworm: You can't exactly practice alchemy without hitting the books, and State Alchemists are supposed to hit lots of other things, too.
* BadassLongcoat: If (well, more like when) it gets shredded, fixing it is high on Ed's priority list.
* BadassTransplant: An arm and a leg are made out of auto-mail.
* BashBrothers: With his actual brother Al, as well as Ling later on.
* BeAllMySinsRemembered: When he [[spoiler: has the opportunity to regain his lost leg, he decides against it, to remind him of his journey and the consequences of his actions.]]
* BelligerentSexualTension: With Winry, whom he quarrels with often but cares deeply about. [[spoiler:Eventually, TheyDo.]]
* BerserkButton: Has quite a few due to his HairTriggerTemper
** [[TheNapoleon "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A]] [[TwistingTheWords TINY LITTLE BEAN SPROUT THE SIZE OF A GRAIN OF RICE!?!"]]
** "I HATE MILK!" (This is because it's a reminder of how short he is.)
** "[[SheIsNotMyGirlfriend WHAT GIRLFRIEND!?]]"
** Okay, yeah, [[HairTriggerTemper He's got a lot of them]]. But there are, in his words, "some lines you really shouldn't cross". For example, disregarding the value of human life and he ''will'' make you feel pain.
* BigBrotherBully: He used to pick on Al when they were little, but after a little talk with Hohenheim he started to be a nicer brother.
* BigBrotherInstinct: His mission in life is to get his little brother's body back.
* BigEater: Not really given much focus, but Ed eats a lot. Later on, he theorizes that this is because he's actually connected to Al's missing body and keeping it alive by providing extra nutrients.
* {{Bishonen}}: While not usually drawn as such, May Chang's fantasies of him have Ed as a dashing, slender PrinceCharming.
* BladeBelowTheShoulder: His automail arm frequently gets transmuted into an arm-blade.
* BladeOnAStick: Frequently makes an elaborate spear out of his alchemy for combat. [[TheWorfBarrage Said creations usually get very little use]].
* BraidsOfAction: He usually ties his hair in a braid and is quite the badass.
* BrattyHalfPint: Easily the living embodiment of this trope in the male perspective. But don't let him catch you calling him "half pint" or you will get ''plenty'' of bratty.
* BroughtDownToNormal: [[spoiler:Willingly sacrifices his ability to use alchemy to get back Alphonse.]]
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Ed is a brilliant alchemist with a hair-trigger temper who flies into a rage when people call him short.
* ButtMonkey: Hero. Protagonist. Amusing (and not-so-amusing) injury magnet.
* ByronicHero: Edward has the less destructive traits of this. As cheery as he may seem, he is rigidly stubborn and spends a good amount of time brooding over the terrible things that have happened to him. His Byronic aspects are more emphasized in the 2003 anime.
* CallingParentsByTheirName: Typically refers to his father as "Hohenheim," until the last chapter, [[spoiler:when he tells Hohenheim "Shut up, you rotten father!" in response to his offering to sacrifice himself to bring Al back.]]
* CallingTheOldManOut: The first time he sees his father in the main narrative, he punches the guy in the face, and with his metal arm too. This is because he stayed away from home while Trisha wasted away and died waiting for him.
* CannotSpitItOut:
** He'd rather recite the periodic table of elements at top speed or spit ''other'' things (like his drink all over poor Black Hayate) out than admit his feelings for Winry.
** There's his fear that Alphonse secretly blamed and hated him for getting Al de-bodied. He never could bring himself to ask Al about it and it almost came back to bite him (for more on that see PoorCommunicationKills under Al's section).
* CastFromLifespan: To keep from bleeding to death, Ed uses his own soul as a Philosopher's stone and shortens his lifespan by a few years to close a wound.
* CelibateHero: A mild case of "Love is a distraction". He has to [[RedemptionQuest get Al's body back]] before even thinking about Winry and... ''[=HydrogenHeliumLithiumBeryllium...=]''
* CharacterDevelopment: Edward begins the series dependent on alchemy and doing everything himself. By the end of the series he has learned to depend more on his friends and share his burdens.
* ChildhoodFriendRomance: With Winry. At that age, he and Al used to fight over who would get to marry her (Al won those fights).
* ChildMage: Started alchemy at a very young age.
* ChildProdigy: Gets admitted into the military as a State Alchemist at the age of twelve. At the age of ten he managed to perform a perfect human transmutation, bonding Al's soul into a suit of armor after reading it in a book. He also, over the course of the series, increases his skillset through PowerCopying by simply watching others perform alchemy and duplicating their technique.
* ChildSoldier: Received a State Alchemist's certification at the age of twelve, which also gives him a rank equivalent to ''Major.''
* TheCoatsAreOff: He doesn't take off his jacket, he ''rips it off''.
* CodeName: [[TitleDrop Fullmetal Alchemist.]]
* CombatBreakdown: [[spoiler:One-sided on Edward's end. He goes from using all his alchemy on Father to simply beating him down with his fists.]]
* CombatPragmatist: In his own words, "There's no such thing as dirty in a fight."
* CosmicPlaything: Is he ever; one might think The Truth gets some sick pleasure in watching him struggle. Though this does lead to a rather satisfying CallBack by Ed at the end of the series, "There's no such thing as a painless lesson."
* CursedWithAwesome: His artificial limbs have saved his life a ''lot''. And we can't forget anchoring his brother's soul let him transmute with just clapping his hands.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: His golden hair and eyes are inherited from his father. A minor plot point, as they mark him as being [[spoiler:descended from the lost civilization of Xerxes]].
* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: PlayedForLaughs, as this happens whenever somebody [[BerserkButton calls him short.]]
* TheCynic: Ed's idealism got well and truly sliced to ribbons upon his mother's death and what came after it. Even though he tries his level best not to let it hold him back. Later experiences just jumped on the remains and called it a day.
* CynicismCatalyst: The whole [[{{Necromantic}} human transmutation]] experience and Nina made him far more cynical and bitter, though he still strives to be heroic.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Shared with Al -- Their father seemingly abandoned them, mother died of an illness when they were young, and they tried to revive her via human transmutation... The results were ''not'' pretty; Ed lost his arm and leg, and Al lost his entire body.
* DeadpanSnarker: Appropriately enough for a teenager, Ed gives plenty of bored-sounding backtalk to the cast.
* DestructiveSavior: He once remarked "(doing) good goes on a side bar on a military report next to 'collateral damage'."
* {{Determinator}}: He was a Determinator when he was ''ten'', and he hasn't changed since. His sheer stubbornness and determination are what gave him the epithet of the [[TitleDrop Fullmetal Alchemist]], along with the automail.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Twice. First against Pride, then against Father. The second one counts as punching out ''two deities at once.''
* DisabledLoveInterest: {{Inverted|Trope}}. He's the main protagonist with an automail leg and arm (by the finale, just the leg automail) and is this for Winry, who, interestingly, is the one who maintains his prosthetic limbs. This led to an amusing incident where Hughes says "I hear your brought a pretty blond girl into your room to service you" when she was fixing his automail. [[spoiler:They eventually marry.]]
* DoesNotLikeGuns: Strangely enough; they make killing without consequence too easy for his liking.
* DoesNotLikeSpam: He absolutely loathes drinking milk.
* EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler:He gets his arm back, Al gets his body back, and he starts a family with his VictoriousChildhoodFriend,]] but WOW did he go through hell and back to get it. Which makes the happy ending all the more spectacular.
* ExactEavesdropping: He learns that [[spoiler: what he created was not his mother]] by eavesdropping a conversation between Hohenheim and Pinako. Invoked as Hohenheim knew Ed wouldn't be up for talking with him.
* ExpectingSomeoneTaller: Not a good thing with his... [[TheNapoleon vertical deficiency complex]]. [[BerserkButton Seriously]].
* ExperiencedProtagonist: Ed, along with Al, is already an experienced alchemist who has been working for the Amestris military for three years when the story begins. The anime provides several episodes worth of flashback.
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange:
** He's seen with his trademark braid after he recovers from his automail.
** Later in the story, he switches it to a high ponytail while he's in hiding to recuperate from an injury. He does this because the military's hunting him, and their description of him mentions that he wears his hair in a braid.
** The ponytail also further parallels his likeness to his father, who looked just like him when he was younger. When Hohenheim mentions this, Ed changes his hair back.
** The last chapter shows an image of him with the ponytail again. It's possible Hohenheim's death had something to do with it.
* ExpressiveHair: Not just when in SuperDeformed mode, either. His IdiotHair spikes up when his emotions are heightened.
* ExtraOreDinary: His and Al's alchemy specialty is with metal.
* FragileSpeedster: He's very fast and quite strong for [[TheNapoleon his size]], but can't take that much punishment. [[{{Determinator}} He keeps fighting anyway]]. Later becomes a LightningBruiser.
* FreakyIsCool: He appears to have a taste for gothic and macabre fixtures and will usually transmute decorations filled with monstrous or demonic imagery and unnecessarily gaudy details.
* GenerationXerox: As flashback episodes ultimately show, he looks exactly like his father as a teenager, who was also an alchemical prodigy traumatized by human transmutation.
* GeniusBruiser: A brilliant alchemist (he achieved State Alchemist status at the age of ''twelve'') and a formidable fighter.
* GivingSomeoneThePointerFinger: He does this many times over the course of the series. The most memorable has to be when [[spoiler: he did this while trying (and failing) to propose to Winry.]]
* GraspTheSun: Used as a shot in two of the opening credits, which parallels his ShoutOut speech to the myth of Icarus early on in the series.
* GuileHero: Though it can be hard to tell with how reckless and aggressive he becomes when excited, Ed is actually something of a tactical genius. Outside of clocking badguys with his automail fist or sending them flying with a pillar of raised earth, the crux of Ed's fighting style is discerning the composition of an opponent's equipment or surroundings and manipulating said materials with alchemy. When fighting a tougher foe, he often leads them into elaborate alchemical or even mundane traps, commonly feigning weakness or employing decoys to draw them in. He manipulates false prophet Cornello into blowing his own cover in front of his loyal following, and reclaims Youswell's mine for the people with an illegal gambit exploiting a corrupt official's greed. He also shows an almost frightening political savvy and an instinctive grasp of human psychology, helping him face more nebulous threats like the state.
* GuiltComplex: His entire motivation is to get Al's body back after their attempt at human transmutation.
* HairTriggerTemper: You could say he has a very... ''[[IncrediblyLamePun short]]'' temper. Considering his height insecurity, he might be trying to make up for.
* HandicappedBadass: ''Technically'', but his automail usually more than compensates. [[spoiler: At the end of the story he is still handicapped, but has both arms.]]
* HeightAngst: He is so insecure about his short height that it is by far his most well-known BerserkButton, often to the point that he'll assume any "insults" regarding it aimed in his direction are far worse than they really are.
* HeIsAllGrownUp: Winry notes to herself that Ed's back/shoulders are broader now, and Ed is becoming a man and is no longer a child.
* HeroicBastard: Despite living with his mom for years, his dad never actually married her.
* HeroicBSOD: His major BSOD happens in his backstory after his and Al's attempt at Human Transmutation goes horribly wrong, luckily Mustang showed up and offered him a chance to become a State Alchemist. [[spoiler: He also goes into one after Nina's death. So much so that he almost lets Scar kill him during their first encounter.]]
* HonorBeforeReason: Edward follows a ThouShaltNotKill principal to a T. This puts him at a major disadvantage during his fight with Kimblee.
* HumbleHero: Despite his occasional InsufferableGenius antics, Edward rarely puts that much stock into [[MildlyMilitary his military rank]] or even just how [[TeenGenius talented at alchemy he is.]]
* HurtingHero: Ed is constantly burdened with guilt over pressuring Alphonse to help him with his efforts to bring their mother back through human transmutation, and causing the subsequent loss of Al's entire body (and the loss of his own arm and leg). He also feels anger at his father's abandonment and holds him responsible for his mother's death.
* {{Hypocrite}}: He believes that Scar should be punished for the murders that he committed against Amestrians, but is more hesitant to believe that Mustang, Hawkeye, and the rest of the Amestrian soldiers should be punished for doing the same thing to Ishvalans, a view he shares with Winry and Al. Most of Scar's victims were State Alchemists, some that participated on his race's genocide, but the Amestrian soldiers killed ''thousands'' of Ishvalans, women and children included. Granted, he believes that the Amestrian soldiers were JustFollowingOrders and being manipulated by the homunculi, but Hawkeye, who participated in the genocide, outright states that's no excuse for their actions. It also doesn't help that Scar tried to murder him, but Roy and Riza risked their lives to save the brothers.
* IdiotHair: He might not be an idiot, but Ed has a small "antenna" of hair which he intentionally sticks up, probably to make himself appear taller.
* IGotBigger: Goes from roughly 4' 10" when shown in the very beginning to about 5' 4" in the final battle a year later. Then once again to around 5' 9" in the epilogue, which is several years after that. A rare case in fiction of a teenager growing slowly in real time, slow enough in fact that you don't notice until you compare the differences over the course of thirty or so chapters. Amusingly enough, he only starts to grow once he stops complaining about how short he is.
* ILetGwenStacyDie: This occurs '''twice''' over the course of the series to poor Edward: [[spoiler:Nina's death, and then Hughes' death.]] These deaths stay with him all the way until the end.
* InSeriesNickname: Almost always referred to as "Ed" instead of "Edward".
* InsufferableGenius: Part of Edward's CharacterArc is a conflicting confidence in his own ability. At the beginning of the story, he was convinced that he can solve all of his problems through Alchemy. Edward's growth was his learning to accept that he could rely on others around him.
* IronButtMonkey: With everything he goes through, does he really need Winry along with half his friends comically abusing him?
* ItsAllMyFault: Ed completely blames himself for the loss of Alphonse's body to the point of fearing that Al hates him.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He's rude, stubborn and short-tempered, but a really good guy deep down.
-->'''Alphonse''': Don't take it personally, he's like that with everybody and he's actually nice deep inside.
* KnightInSourArmour: He is ill-tempered and cynical about the world, but still fighting to do the right thing.
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: When Scar succeeds in destroying Ed's arm and prepares to kill him, with an injured Al being ForcedToWatch, Ed can barely move and stops trying to fight or run. He merely asks that Scar spare Al. Al, after the battle, smacks his brother around for giving up on life so easily.
* KungFuWizard: He's an accomplished state alchemist who can complete complex transmutations instantly with a clap of his hands, and often uses this ability to create melee weapons or alter the environment in close-quarters combat. He also has martial arts training, which complement his automail limbs.
* LargeHam: When annoyed. Minus the "large" part. Also, in a [[BatmanGambit gambit to lure out Scar to kill him, and by extension the Homunculi to protect him]], Edward puts on a rather theatrical display of his Alchemy.
* LastOfHisKind: By descent, he and Al are [[spoiler:the last two ethnic Xerxians.]]
* LaughingMad: Does this briefly when he realizes trying to bring his mother back was a SenselessSacrifice after digging up the remains of what he and Al created during the failed human transmutation.
* LifeOrLimbDecision: He saved Al's soul from crossing over by trading his arm to be able to keep his brother's soul in a suit of armor.
* LightningBruiser: Once he was outfitted with cold-weather automail, he truly became a force to be reckoned due to increased with heavier hits from sturdier automail.
* LikeFatherLikeSon:
** He can't stand his dad for abandoning his family and yet he abandons what constitutes ''his family'' in the way he shuts Winry and Pinako out of his life. He gets better in this regard.
** Hohenheim is also quick to pick up on the fact that Ed has the same brash attitude he once had at his age.
* LittleBigBrother: Al had been taller than Ed since childhood, but when he loses his body and is bound into a seven-foot-suit of armor, he towers over Ed, who is a hair under five feet (and very defensive when this is pointed out).
* LongHairedPrettyBoy: Starting around the time of his state alchemist exam. Ed usually keeps it braided or in a ponytail, but as seen when he's sleeping and [[spoiler:after he recovers from the girder through his stomach]], his hair is ''very'' long
* LoveEpiphany: Whilst Winry's in the midst of upgrading his automail to cope with the cold weather, Ed laments to himself that Hawkeye was convinced that he was in love with Winry, before realising that she was right.
* MagicKnight: A very skilled alchemist whose mentor put him in TrainingFromHell to make him good at fighting as well. Some of his go-to transmutations for combat include converting his automail arm into [[BladeBelowTheShoulder weapons]] or pulling a [[BladeOnAStick metal spear]] out of the earth.
* MajorlyAwesome: State Alchemists have a rank ''equivalent'' to Major, so it somewhat counts.
* MeaningfulEcho: Of a sorts. The positions in the family photo of Hohenheim, Trisha, Ed, and Al are roughly repeated in the finale photo with Ed, Winry, and their two children. Well, except for Daddy Ed looking far more ecstatic than Hohenheim did.
* MenDontCry: Excluding his backstory, Edward only ever cries once in the entire series, and those were BerserkerTears over Hohenheim trying to convince Ed to sacrifice him to bring Al back to life.
* MildlyMilitary: Though having the rank equivalent of a Major as a State Alchemist and apparently being paid handsomely for that position, Ed doesn't do much that would indicate he's part of Amestris' military complex and chain of command aside from grudgingly listening to Mustang. It can be assumed his superiors are fine with him doing this since he keeps proving his potential value as a combatant in yearly examinations to keep his State Alchemist license yet they lack sufficiently pressing engagements for him utilized for them. It might ''also'' be on account of how it's later shown the antagonists want him kept alive as a sacrifice.
* MommasBoy: He adored his mother when she was alive. Her death drove him to try to revive her, which triggered the most of the plot.
* MouthyKid: "Cranky" seems to be his default mood.
* MrFanservice: Spends large amounts of time without a shirt on, usually because he keeps ripping it off. And don't forget his shower scene. Not bad for a [[TheNapoleon vertically-challenged]] double-amputee.
* MyGreatestFailure: Two equally gut wrenching things hang on his shoulders during the course of the anime: Costing Al his humanity by failing the human transmutation and [[spoiler:not being able to save little Nina from her father.]]
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: He's named after a real-life medieval alchemist.
* TheNapoleon: See BerserkButton... However, after he gets Al's body back, he eventually gets a growth spurt down the line! Even a little before the Promised Day, there was already an instance of him being noticeably taller than Winry. [[spoiler: Yet Al is still taller than him in the BabiesEverAfter photo, despite his body spending several years in an emaciated state. Ed just can't win...]]
* NayTheist: Not only does he know for fact that God[=/=]Truth[=/=]Whatever-He-Calls-Himself exists, his leg was stolen by it. That's the reason why his opinion of the guy is so low. Alternatively, Ed is not convinced that the Truth is God. Either way, it fits.
** Just for reference; how low is Edward's opinion of God[=/=]Truth? It's so low that, despite having literally met it, ''he describes himself as an agnostic'' and thus claims that he isn't certain or can't know that God exists.
%%* NobleMaleRoguishMale: The Roguish Male to Mustang's Noble Male.
* NoIndoorVoice: Honestly, it's surprising that he hasn't given himself an anger-induced heart attack from all the yelling he does.
* NomDeMom: He and Al are registered under their mother's last name.
* NonIdleRich: He makes quite a lot of money being a State Alchemist. He's also quite generous with it too.
* NoOneElseIsThatDumb: A variation - when he and Ling end up in Gluttony's stomach, the latter [[BerserkButton asks him if he is the little runt]] to make sure he's not Envy in disguise. Ed reacts promptly.
-->'''Ed:''' ''[royally pissed]'' '''''WHO YOU CALLIN' A LITTLE RUNT, YOU JEEEEERK?!?!'''''
* ObliviousToLove: In a bizarre twist on this trope, Ed's obviously in love with Winry, but he can't seem to see that Winry returns his affections.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Whenever you see someone pressing Ed's BerserkButton (specifically [[TheNapoleon calling his height to attention]]) yet Ed didn't blow his top and instead cowering in fear, that someone ''instantly'' gets TheDreaded status.
* OrphansOrdeal: The main catalyst for Al's and his whole arch is that their father disappeared and then their mom died, thus provoking drastic action.
* PowerCopying: The true genius of Ed's combat Alchemy lies in his aptitude for incorporating the Alchemy styles of others into his own after merely having once seen them in action, which makes him very adaptable to various situations. He has adapted Scar's destruction Alchemy, Alex Louis Armstrong's gauntlets and stone spikes as well as Greed's carbon armor hardening into his combat repertoire. [[spoiler:He reversed Pride's attempt to possess him. He has also shown that he's capable of copying the Homunculus' technique to turn his soul into a Philosopher's Stone. As Pride ''painfully'' found out.]]
* TheProtagonist: He's the "Fullmetal Alchemist" from the title.
* RankUp: Upon passing the State Alchemist exam. He is still called ''Mister'' Elric instead of ''Major'' Elric, however, because according to Maria Ross, State Alchemists possess a rank ''equivalent'' to a major. Most characters in the military call him by [[FirstNameBasis his first name]] or "Fullmetal".
* RatedMForManly: The reason his duster is red? He thinks the colour is badass.
* RedBaron: The Fullmetal Alchemist. Interesting enough, Edward actually does have a [[ChildProdigy reputation that precedes him]], to the point where May Chang even traveled all the way from Xing to learn from him. Due to [[MildlyMilitary Edward's typical attitude]] [[note]]Edward only treats his rank and title as a means to an end to research more into the Philosopher's Stone.[[/note]], most people that know him well, save for Mustang, don't actually address him by the title.
* RedemptionQuest: ''"I'm sorry, Al. This is all my fault. So I promise that no matter what, I'll get you your body back."''
* RedIsHeroic: His red duster, although he denies being a hero. More or less an InvokedTrope aside from that as he wears the red duster because he thinks the colour is badass.
* RedOniBlueOni: The red to Alphonse's blue being more outwardly passionate, hotblooded, and ''short tempered''. Then there's the visual in the red duster.
* RetiredBadass: [[spoiler: In the DistantFinale and even then Al mentions that Ed and him are working on new forms of alchemy.]]
* RudeHeroNiceSidekick: Ed is bad-tempered, rash and ill-mannered, while his sidekick and younger brother Alphonse is kind, patient and polite.
* ScarsAreForever: Decides against regaining his leg as a reminder of his journey and the consequences of his actions. [[spoiler:Even after he gets his right arm back, he retains the brutal-looking scars from his automail surgery, as well as a couple of metal bits sticking out of his skin and presumably more inside him.]]
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: The blunt, insensitive Manly Man to Alphonse's thoughtful, quiet Sensitive Guy.
* SharedFamilyQuirks: When Hohenheim was young, he seemed have to being called stupid as his BerserkButton just as Ed's is being called short.
* SharedUnusualTrait: The gold eyes and gold hair he got from his father are an important plot point, as they mark him as as [[spoiler:an ethnic member of the lost Xerxes civilization]].
* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: He says this a lot about Winry. Nobody buys it. [[spoiler:Since they later end up married and have children together, it's no wonder they don't buy it.]]
-->'''Ed''': She's my mechanic! Nothing more!
* ShipperOnDeck: You know it's sad when ''[[CannotSpitItOut Ed]]'' [[EveryoneCanSeeIt can see it]].
** Has been playing matchmaker to Ling and Lan Fan.
** Like the above pairing, Ed plays matchmaker for Roy and Riza as well.
** He did this to Al and May (although it might have been unintentional) in chapter 104.
* ShirtlessScene: He loses his shirt so much that it's a wonder he [[WalkingShirtlessScene bothers to wear one at all]].
* SiblingYinYang: With Al; while he is short, short tempered and passionate, Al is taller (because of the armor), more patient, and more methodical.
* SingleTargetSexuality: Apparently decided he wanted to marry Winry at a young age, goes through a long period of CannotSpitItOut during which he never shows the slightest interest in another girl, [[spoiler: and eventually marries Winry.]]
* {{Sleepyhead}}: Ed tends to fall asleep a lot during the day. Like BigEater above, he theorizes that this is because [[spoiler:he's actually connected to Al's missing body and keeping it alive by providing rest.]]
* SlasherSmile: Played entirely [[PlayedForLaughs for laughs]]. Ed commonly sports one of these, complete with GlowingEyesOfDoom and/or ominous facial shading, when he's feeling vindictive or mischievous. Al usually steps in to try and hold him back or talk him down when this happens.
* TheSouthpaw: Ed is ambidexterous but writes with his left hand. He was originally right handed but switched to his left after he lost his right. Presumably, automail doesn't have the same kind of dexterity as a real arm and hand.
* SpitTake: Delivers a spectacular one when Hawkeye asks him if he loves Winry.
* StockShonenHero: A more complex version of this trope. Ed is a rash and impulsive, but kind-hearted KidHero who would do anything for those he cares about and will never give up no matter what. He starts the series as TheAtoner due to past events in which his overconfidence and recklessness led to truly horrific results. His essential personality still almost completely matches the description, except for the IdiotHero part.
* StressVomit: Occurs when digging up the monstrous being that wasn't really his mother.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: Flashbacks [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld to about 400 years ago]] reveal that when Hohenheim was younger, he looked almost exactly like Ed does now. According to a series of sketches of Ed aging done by Arakawa, he will look even more like his father by the time he gets to 40 or so.
* SuddenlyAlwaysKnewThat: Averted. The ability to [[spoiler:turn himself into a philosopher's stone]] was foreshadowed after his battle against Kimblee.
* SweetAndSourGrapes: He starts becoming noticeably taller after he finally starts mellowing out about being short.
* SympathyForTheDevil: [[spoiler:After Envy's defeat, Ed realizes that Envy that is actually envious of humanity's ability to form friendships and support each other. Just the knowledge that Ed pities it is part of the reason why Envy [[DrivenToSuicide commits suicide shortly after.]]]]
* TechnicalPacifist: In contrast to [[ItGetsEasier his portrayal in the 2003 anime]], Edward refuses to take a life, human and homunculus alike. [[spoiler:Ed makes a sole exception for Father, fighting to kill in the climax of the story. Even then, Ed ''still'' didn't actually kill him; Father was HoistByHisOwnPetard. Though considering Father gets sucked into the Gate by the Truth, [[FateWorseThanDeath Father probably wishes Ed had killed him]].]]
* TerribleArtist: His attempt at drawing Shao May sucks (though it's probably his visualization based on his negative experience with Shao). Al even says it looks like an alien. That said, his technical drawing skills are excellent, as being able to draw precise diagrams is a prerequisite for learning alchemy. He just can't do portraiture.
* TestosteronePoisoning: Most of what he makes through alchemy could look good in a Death Metal concert. It's justified because he's a kid.
* ThouShaltNotKill: Absolutely refuses to kill people.
* TokenHuman: The only known full-on human character in the history of Greed's gang.
* TookALevelInBadass: As if he already wasn't badass enough, Ed getting his right arm back leads to Father getting a complete NoHoldsBarredBeatdown.
* TookALevelInKindness: In a big way. While Ed was never outwardly greedy or cruel, he is rather selfish and myopic at the beginning, and his more Jerkass moments are him fixedly ignoring or outright dismissing other peoples problems while Al runs interference; as we learn through his development it's less because he's unable to empathize, and more because he's [[ItsAllMyFault so utterly horrified by what he's done]] that he believes that ''he'' has to fix his mistake, ''he'' has to deal with his own problem. But being forced by his own quest to acknowledge the suffering of others, as well as the other character's gentle (and [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan not so gentle]]) reminders that he's not alone in this fight, that he has other people who care about him and will help him, make him gradually a kinder and more open person- so much so that the same guy who coldly told Rosé to deal with her own problems early on has to be ''talked down'' from offering help to others. Perhaps that's the reason he grew taller.
* TragicKeepsake: Edward's pocketwatch is engraved with 'Never Forget' and the date he and Al burned their house down to prevent themselves from returning home.
* {{Troll}}: He quizzed Darius and Heinkel about the chemical composition of dynamite at one point, who were rather confused until they realized that [[FiveSecondForeshadowing Ed was about to deconstruct the explosives behind him and gas them with ammonia.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swmaCXZrMdg His smug, shit-eating grin before the transmutation]] makes it clear he was fishing for an OhCrap on purpose.
* TroubledButCute: Traumatized by his father's disappearance, his mother's death, his failed attempt at resurrection of said mother taking his leg and brother's body, and trading his arm to anchor his brother's soul in a suit of armor. And you've read his MrFanservice entry already, right?
* {{Tsundere}}: A male Type A; he's got a harsh personality and a hot temper, and cannot spit his feelings out in standard ways. However, he softens up notably around those he cares about, like Al and Winry.
* TsurimeEyes: To emphasize both cynicism and determination in this case.
* TwistingTheWords: Taken UpToEleven whenever someone makes even the slightest comment about his height; for example, he interprets "small" as "so-tiny-that-he-need-not-fear-being-crushed-by-a-boot-because-he-fits-so-easily-between-the-grooves-of-the-sole."
* UnstoppableRage: He goes completely berserk against Father after [[spoiler:Al's HeroicSacrifice. It's the one time he's clearly showing killing intent]].
* VisualDevelopment: Becomes taller and more muscular as the series progresses. However, it's not until he [[CharacterDevelopment stops complaining about his height]] that it's noticeable.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Mustang, Ling, and Scar, after the latter's HeelFaceTurn. Let's just say anyone Ed befriends are likely to become quite dependable while also giving him grief. Even Julia Crichton from TheMovie forms this with Ed.
* WackyMarriageProposal: [[spoiler:To Winry. "Equivalent Exchange! I'll give half of my life to you, if you give half of yours to me!"]]
* WalkingTheEarth: At the end, [[spoiler:he goes west for more research and create a replacement rule for alchemy.]]
* WillTheyOrWontThey: With Winry. [[spoiler:TheyDo.]]
* WiseBeyondHisYears: While not as often as Alphonse, Ed does have tendency to display a high level of wisdom for someone his age.
* TheWorfBarrage: He has on several occasions conjured an elaborate-looking spear from the ground. Until the fight with the Cyclops Army it would always be cut apart in moments. He's a much better fighter barehanded or with a blade transmuted from his automail's casing.
* WouldHitAGirl: He claims that "I'm not sexist!" when it comes to battles. Since the homunculi are just as dangerous - male, female, or otherwise - it's a good thing he is.
* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: To Scar regarding a relatively minor matter, "Hearing you agree with me makes me mad for some reason..."

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Alphonse "Al" Elric]]
[[quoteright:268:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/al11_2656.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/RieKugimiya (JP), Creator/MaxeyWhitehead (EN), Johnny Torres (Latin America/animated series and live-action film)

[floatboxright:
'''Affiliation:''' None\\
'''Rank''': None\\
'''Speciality:''' Martial-Arts/Balanced Alchemy/Trap Alchemy/Alchemy without an Array]

Edward's little brother. He lost his body during an experiment that went horribly wrong and survives in the form of a suit of armour, his soul joined to it through the use of a blood seal.
-----
* AchillesHeel: His blood seal is his one real weakness; if that gets damaged, he's in real trouble.
* AllLovingHero: He always looks on the bright side of life. He has also converted two chimera soldiers to his cause just by showing them that they are still human.
* AmbiguouslyHuman: While he was born to a human mother, [[spoiler: his father is a walking, talking, immortal Philosopher's Stone]]. Subverted when it turns out they are fully human.
* AnimatedArmor: His soul is bonded to the armor by a circle made from his brother's blood.
* BadassAdorable: A sweet boy with a soft spot for kittens who is a living armor alchemist.
* BareFistedMonk : Unlike state alchemists with special tattoos and gloves or those who have seen the Truth, Al needs time to draw transmutation circles in order to do alchemy [[spoiler: for most of the series,]] so he often fights enemies with brute strength and martial arts alone. It helps that he can't feel pain, has metal limbs and is too heavy for most opponents to knock over. He can keep master fighters like Scar and Armstrong on their toes, and Ed mentions that even before he had the advantage of an armored body, Al always won their sparring bouts.
* BerserkButton: Not even close to as bad as Ed, but it still upsets him when people talk about how awesome it would be to have armor as a body, since [[BlessedWithSuck he clearly isn't]] [[SenseLossSadness very happy about it]]. His typical reaction is telling them "BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor".
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Yes, he's a sweet-natured young boy. He's also a living suit of armor with greater than average strength, and is perfectly willing to use it if necessary. He never lost his temper, but has come close...
* BigLittleBrother: He may be the youngest of the two protagonists, but his armor body makes him taller and more impressive than his older brother. Despite getting a growth spurt, Ed is still shorter than him, even after Al gets his body back.
* {{Bishonen}}: He becomes a '''[[MrFanservice big]]-[[EvenTheGuysWantHim time]]''' Bishonen after he gets his body back and heals up.
* BlessedWithSuck: Several characters, namely Ling and Greed, think it's a case of CursedWithAwesome. Alphonse though, doesn't agree because it means he can't eat, can't sleep or even feel the air around him.
* BulletProofVest: It's impressive how a 20th century suit of armor can ''bounce'' bullets off it without so much as a scratch.
* ChildMage: The mind of a young boy with incredible alchemy powers.
* ChildProdigy: Might be even better than his brother at alchemy.
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: After blaming himself for the deaths of [[spoiler:Nina, Hughes and Martel]], he seems unable to let anyone die, even if they're possible enemies. For this reason, he adamantly refuses to leave a [[HeroicBSOD heartbroken]] Lt. Hawkeye behind to die at Lust's hands and shields her with his own body. [[spoiler: Giving Col. Mustang enough time to catch up and ambush Lust, scorching her to death]]
* CornerOfWoe: In contrast to his brother, making fun of Al's size or armor results in this.
* CursedWithAwesome: Like Ed, he really hates how his "body" is a suit of armor, but it's saved his life and the lives of others many times over.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: In his human body, he has golden hair and eyes.
* CutenessProximity: He's a KindheartedCatLover, and wanted to keep Shao May when he found her alone.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Shared with Ed -- Their father seemingly abandoned them, mother died of an illness when they were young, and they tried to revive her via human transmutation. The results were ''not'' pretty; Ed lost his arm and leg, and Al lost his entire body.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: The second main character after Edward (the main protagonist).
* ExperiencedProtagonist: Al, along with Ed, is already an experienced alchemist who has been working for the Amestris military for three years when the story begins. The anime provides several episodes worth of flashback.
* ExtraOreDinary: His and Ed's alchemy specialty is metal.
* EyeLightsOut: Whenever Alphonse's soul is ''unconscious'', or being pulled over to the Gate, his eye-lights go out. This seems to be for the audience only, since none of the characters including Ed seem to be able to tell the difference.
* GeniusBruiser: His metal body grants him greater than average strength which he uses in combo with his impressive alchemy. Even when they were kids, Al would win most sparring bouts with Ed, who himself is quite a badass.
* GentleGiant: He looks intimidating, but he's much nicer than his brother.
* GlowingMechanicalEyes: It's not clear whether this is for the audience's benefit or not, but his eyes always appear to be glowing.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: One of the kindest people in all of Amestris.
* HeroicBastard: Like his brother, but has less apparent baggage about being "illegitimate".
* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler:He falls on it when King Bradley kills Martel and regains his memories of the gate.]]
* HeroicResolve:
-->'''Al:''' I won't leave you! I'm sick of watching people die, and I can't just sit back and take it anymore! I won't let anyone else get killed! Not when I can protect them!
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:During the FinalBattle, he refuses to get his body back, since he can't properly use it for combat, despite the fact that he ''desperately wanted that proper flesh and blood body for years.'' Then after his blood seal was cracked, Ed had lost his automail arm and was pinned against a rock and about to have his life force drained by the Father, ''he gives back his soul so that Ed could have his original arm back''. [[TearJerker You dumbass.]] Thankfully he gets better, body back and all, when Ed comes back to save him.]]
* HugeGuyTinyGirl: His interactions with May would already be this if he were in his flesh-and-blood body, let alone a large suit of armor. She is that small. [[spoiler:Subverted eventually; she grows much taller by the end]].
* HurtingHero: Alphonse is wracked with guilt about his brother losing his arm [[PowerAtAPrice to save Al's life]].
* {{Hypocrite}}: He believes that Scar should be punished for the murders that he committed against Amestrians, but is more hesitant to believe that Mustang, Hawkeye, and the rest of the Amestrian soldiers should be punished for doing the same thing to Ishvalans, a view he shares with Winry and Ed. Most of Scar's victims were State Alchemists, some that participated on his race's genocide, but the Amestrian soldiers killed ''thousands'' of Ishvalans, women and children included. Granted, he believes that the Amestrian soldiers were JustFollowingOrders and being manipulated by the homunculi, but Hawkeye, who participated in the genocide, outright states that's no excuse for their actions.
* ILetGwenStacyDie: Feels responsible for the deaths of [[spoiler:Nina, Martel and Hughes.]]
* InSeriesNickname: Everyone refers to him as "Al".
* IronButtmonkey : A mild example. His gentle nature sees him walked all over, and when played for laughs this often leads to abuse exploiting his immortal body. Ed is fond of using his detachable head as a projectile or flail and his heavy body as a battering ram or shield, without permission or remorse. In one fight Ed transmutes a chimera's thick saliva into water, which quickly freezes in the cold climate, then dropkicks poor Al into him, sticking the two together.
* KindheartedCatLover: He hides them in his armor so Ed won't insist he abandon them.
* KnightInShiningArmor: Literally, given his situation and his nobler outward bearing than his brother. May also thinks of him as this.
* KungFuWizard: Like Ed, Al can kick ass with alchemy or his bare hands. He's more Kung-Fu than Wizard, though, as he can't use alchemy without drawing a transmutation circle [[spoiler:(although this restriction is lifted once he regains his memories of the Gate of Truth, thus evening the alchemical playing field)]], and usually relies on his martial arts skills in combat, which have been even better than Ed's since they were kids.
* LastOfHisKind: By descent, he and Ed are [[spoiler:the last two ethnic Xerxians.]]
* LossOfIdentity: He begins to fear his life is a lie after facing the possibility of being an artificial soul created by Ed.
* MadeOfIron: Averted. Even armor that can stop bullets cold still readily gets sliced up by super-powered beings later in the series, to demonstrate how lethal they are.
* MagicKnight: Suit of armor? Check. Magic ([[MagicByAnyOtherName well, alchemy]])? Check. Although at first, he's more of a KungFuWizard due to lacking the ability to use Clapping Alchemy,[[spoiler: but he eventually acquires this ability after regaining memories of losing his body, due to passing through the Gate of Truth.]].
* MaybeEverAfter: It's implied that he hooked up with May since she appears in the new Elric Family Photo in the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue.
* MightyGlacier: Downplayed. Being a heavy suit of armor, he's not as nimble as Ed, but he's much stronger, and can tank hits that would kill regular humans.
* MommasBoy: Like Ed; their attempt to revive her was what started most of the plot.
* NamedAfterSomebodyFamous: Like Ed, he's named after a real-life medieval alchemist.
* TheNeedless: He cannot eat or sleep and it brings him much sadness and frustration on his quest to get his body back, especially because he essentially spends his nights awake alone while his brother and everyone else close to him sleeps.
* NiceGuy: In contrast to his brother, Al is unflinching nice and sweet and does not enjoy seeing others in pain.
* NomDeMom: He and Ed are registered under their mother's last name.
* NothingButSkinAndBones: Inside the gate, his real body [[spoiler:is in pretty bad shape; poor hygiene, gaunt with emaciation, and too weak to even walk. Theorizing that his body may have been feeding off of his brother's nutrients, he probably would have died had Ed not been a natural SleepyHead and BigEater. Even still, he's happy to get it back at the end, though it probably took months (or even a year or two) to get healthy and back in shape. It is stated that it took 2 months for him to get healthy enough to walk again, and even then he still needs a crutch and lacks the stamina to walk from the train station to Winry's house without a rest.]]
* NotSoAboveItAll: He acts more mature than his brother, but he does tend to make mistakes too and often times can't help but be distracted by cute things like cats.
** A hilarious example was when he talked to May for the first time and she learned he was Ed's brother. Her tone indicated her new distaste for him (as a result of her delusion of him). Rather than take it calmly or even defend him, he becomes really annoyed before ranting in an Ed-like manner (albeit more subdued) about his qualities, saying he's taller, has neat hair, being the better fighter and being a gentleman. Quite out of character and hilarious (furthermore is that this speech was helped kickstart May's infatuation of him.)
%%* OrphansOrdeal
* PeekABangs: His hairstyle while trapped behind the Gate.
* PoorCommunicationKills: Barry the Chopper screwing with him about whether he is really alive or just a puppet made by his brother actually rents space in his head because of something that Ed tried to talk to him about once but couldn't. He flips out on Ed as a result and accuses him of creating him so he could control him. True to the trope, this gets solved within a minute of Winry confronting him about this, as she knows what's really going on—turns out Ed wants to know if Al hates him for dragging him into his plans to transmute Trisha back to life and thus causing Al to lose his human body, but he can't bring himself to actually ask about this. Sure enough, Al doesn't hate Ed, in fact he feels responsible as well for Ed's missing limbs as he could've refused or talked Ed out of the plan but instead helped him carry it out. Thus, once it's clear Al's memories truly are his own, the brothers make peace.
* PunnyName: The Japanese transliteration and pronunciation of "Al" is "Aru". This is also a homophone for the Japanese verb "to be" that is used when referring to inanimate objects (with humans and animals, the verb "iru" is used). Suddenly, Barry the Chopper screwing with him about whether he is really alive or just a puppet made by his brother makes a bit more sense.
* RedOniBlueOni: The blue to Edward's red given his greater patience and politeness.
* RudeHeroNiceSidekick: The much more patient and thoughtful sidekick of his short-tempered and rash older brother Ed.
* SenseLossSadness: He misses being able to do basic human things, but tries to remain optimistic by keeping a notepad of things he will do when he gets his body back (like trying Winry's pie).
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: The thoughtful, quiet Sensitive Guy to Edward's blunt, insensitive Manly Man.
* SharedUnusualTrait: The gold eyes and gold hair he and Ed got from his father.
* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend: He denies that he has any feelings for May when Ed asks him about it in the final chapter/episode, but unlike most examples, he says it as if he was correcting Ed about a math problem and doesn't get flustered at all. They are ''still'' implied to get together in the DistantFinale.
* ShipperOnDeck: For Edward and Winry. "Brother is so youthful!"
* ShrinkingViolet: Al spends a lot of time in a CornerOfWoe or otherwise shrinking away from someone else.
* SiblingYinYang: As short tempered and hotblooded as his older brother is, he is the opposite.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: Whereas Ed looks like Hohenheim, Al looks like a blonde, male version of Trisha.
* StrongerSibling: Ed is the superior alchemist, but Al was always the better fighter. Even before his soul was bound to a steel suit of armor, but especially after.
* TaremeEyes: His human body has them as a contrast with his sharp eyed brother but the "eyes" of his metal body are different.
* TeacherStudentRomance: May teaches him about alkahestry, making it a variant where the teacher is ''younger'' by a few years.
* TookALevelInBadass: To a point that he's just as badass as ''Ed''!
* TraumaticHaircut: PlayedForLaughs; He has the long "hair" (actually a ribbon) from his helmet torn off after being tangled up to Buccaneer's [[ArtificialLimbs Automail]] during their first fight. Alphonse becomes distressed of that and comments how horrible his "hair" looks now.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Okay, he doesn't ''exactly'' go unnoticed, but you would think people would be more baffled to talk casually with a 7-foot-tall suit of armor which has the voice of a child to boot. No one ever seems to question why someone would need to wear the armor around all the time, even while (pretending) to eat.
* VocalDissonance: The voice of a child isn't what one would expect from a huge armor, even if it's just the soul. [[spoiler: It seems even more out of place, for some reason, coming from an older, giant-sized man after getting his body back.]]
* WalkingTheEarth: At the end he goes [[spoiler:east to Xing to learn under May. Which Ed [[ShipperOnDeck teases him for.]] He ends up returning (her following no less) back to his hometown.]]
* WiseBeyondHisYears: Is far more level-headed than Edward despite being one year younger than him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Roy Mustang]]
[[quoteright:268:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/roy11_6979.png]]
->Voiced by: Creator/ShinichiroMiki (JP), Creator/TravisWillingham (EN), Rolman Bastidas (Latin America/animated series), Creator/LuisDanielRamirez (Latin America/live-action film)

[floatboxright:
'''Affiliation:''' Amestris Military\\
'''Rank''': Colonel\\
'''Specialty:''' Flame Alchemy/Military Tactics/Alchemy Without an Array]

A colonel in the military, stationed in East City at the start of the story. Known as the [[KillItWithFire Flame Alchemist]], he seeks to become the Fuhrer so he can fix the country and spread his ideals to the people.
-----

* LoveEpiphany: Whilst Winry's in the mist of upgrading his automail to cope with the cold weather, Ed laments to himself that Hawkeye was convinced that he was in love with Winry, before realising that she was right.

** Before that him killing Nina could be considered as such in a darker way. He later makes a good point that since she could never get back to normal and would certainly spent the rest of her life being treated as a lab rat, a quick death was mercy.

* {{Hypocrite}}: He believes that Scar should be punished for the murders that he committed against Amestrians, but is more hesitant to believe that Mustang, Hawkeye, and the rest of the Amestrian soldiers should be punished for doing the same thing to Ishvalans, a view he shares with Winry and Al. Most of Scar's victims were State Alchemists, some that participated on his race's genocide, but the Amestrian soldiers killed ''thousands'' of Ishvalans, women and children included. Granted, he believes that the Amestrian soldiers were JustFollowingOrders and being manipulated by the homunculi, but Hawkeye, who participated in the genocide, outright states that's no excuse for their actions.

** On another level, Scar starts out the series [[HeWhoFightsMonsters hell-bent on getting revenge]] on the State Alchemists for the genocide of his people. Towards the end of the series, he's grown so much that he ends up [[spoiler:helping to talk down one of the State Alchemists he was hell-bent on killing from losing himself to blind hatred and vengeance--exactly what Scar was at the start of the series.]]

* FriendToAllChildren: May Chang is the first one to try to reach out to him, and he also sympathized with [[TragicMonster Nina Tucker]], albeit in a [[MercyKill twisted way]].

* MisplacedRetribution: He tries to kill the Elric brothers shortly after he's introduced. Scar is one of the few surviving members of a genocide perpetrated by the Amestrian government, and so has good reason to be angry, but he chooses to exact revenge for the deaths of his people by killing State Alchemists, and ''all'' State Alchemists, regardless of whether or not they were involved in the Ishbalan conflict. Ed and Al in particular were small children when the genocide took place, and had absolutely nothing to do with it.

* TheFarmerAndTheViper: After the war, [[spoiler:Winry's parents gave him medical treatment, saving his life. Scar thanked them by flipping out and killing them both.]]

* GetOutOfJailFreeCard: While he does go through a genuine HeelFaceTurn, Scar is still responsible for dozens of murders. Many of them were innocent people who were not involved in the Ishval massacre, and Scar is never punished for any of them.

* VitriolicBestBuds: With everyone after his HeelFaceTurn, especially Ed.

%%* ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil

* AdaptationPersonalityChange: While the Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood anime preserves the most important parts of Hohenheim's character arc, it omitted the vast majority of scenes portraying Hohenheim being air-headed in some way, resulting in his personality coming off as much more serious compared to the manga.

* AdaptationPersonalityChange: While the Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood anime preserves the most important parts of Hohenheim's character arc, it omitted the vast majority of scenes portraying Hohenheim being air-headed in some way, resulting in his personality coming off as much more serious than in the manga.

* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Ling struggles with a variation of this through his entire character arc. He has always believed that King lives for his people, and people like King Bradley who view their nation as CannonFodder absolutely disgust him. Ling vehemently resists taking actions that would result in someone being sacrificed, even if his life is in jeopardy, believing that if he allows it to happen he'll be just like Bradley. This isn't helped by the fact Ling [[spoiler: becomes a human based Homunculus like Bradley]] which only furthers this complex he develops. [[spoiler: When Ling's comrades make sacrifices for his sake anyway and he can't do anything about it, Ling takes it very badly.]]

* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Ling struggles with a variation of this through his entire character arc. He has always believed that King lives for his people, and people like King Bradley who view their nation as CannonFodder absolutely disgust him. Ling resists taking ''any'' action that explicitly would involve sacrificing someone's life, believing that if he allows it to happen he'll be just like Bradley. This isn't helped by the fact Ling [[spoiler: becomes a human based Homunculus like Bradley]] which only furthers this complex he develops. [[spoiler: When Ling's comrades make sacrifices for his sake anyway and he can't do anything about it, Ling takes it very badly.]]