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12This is the page for the manga and ''Brotherhood''. For the 2003 anime, see '''[[Fridge/FullmetalAlchemist2003 here]]'''. FridgeLogic is on the [[Headscratchers/FullmetalAlchemist headscratchers page]].
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16[[folder:FridgeBrilliance]]
17* During the final battle against Father, as everyone recovers their souls, why can you can see 2 souls go into a young woman laying on the street? Because she was pregnant.
18* The Elric family:
19** Edward's color scheme is that of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnum_opus_(alchemy) Magnum Opus.]] His shirt, pants, shoes, and the Flamel on his coat are black (Nigredo), his gloves (and maybe even the whites of his eyes and the fact that he's Caucasian/European) are white (Albedo), his eyes and hair are gold (Citrinitas), and his coat is red (Rubedo). Because Hiromu Arakawa is ''just that brilliant.''
20** [[spoiler: How did Ed transmute himself into a philosopher's stone, invade Pride's being and [[DevourTheDragon destroy him from the inside out]]]]? He'd already pulled that trick once before, way back in episode 41 when he used his soul as a philosopher's stone to heal himself.
21** Edward managed to successfully [[spoiler:bring back Alphonse from the dead and keep both their lives intact the process. How did he do it? He eventually figured out what price someone could pay (aside from their own life) to bring someone back from the dead: [[ItOnlyWorksOnce THE ABILITY TO DO IT AGAIN.]]]]
22*** It goes even further than that, upon further evaluation: [[spoiler: What Ed offers isn't just his ability to do alchemy, but his Gate, his connection with Truth/God/All/One. He isn't just sacrificing his ability to do alchemy, but severing his link with the Truth. He literally agrees to cut himself off from the rest of the universe, and even "God" himself, to bring his brother back. He has given up a fundamental part of his humanity, something of infinite value, in exchange for something else of infinite value, the life and soul of his brother]].
23** In a world where [[PeopleOfHairColor eye color indicates ethnicity]] better than any other physical trait (red for Ishvalans, black for Xingese, blue and brown for Amestrians), why do only Ed (and later shown Al and Hohenheim) have gold eyes? At first, you could mistake this for [[RuleOfCool the anime wanting to make the hero look distinctive]], but it makes sense when you take Xerxes into account: Hohenheim and his sons carry the genes of a people who no longer exist.
24** In the first chapter, Ed sits in a church, announcing his disbelief, and explains that humans are made up of common elements which could be purchased "with a child's pocket money." At first thought, this seems to just be a declaration of how inexpensive it is, but the brilliant part was that he wasn't speaking metaphorically, he was speaking from experience. It was a stealth confession. Seemingly nodded to again in the second ending of the second anime, which shows Ed and Al (who look to be the same age as they are in flashbacks to their human transmutation attempt) happily plunking down a fistful of change on the counter at a store and carrying home big paper bags... This, however falls firmly into FridgeHorror.
25** Episode 26/Chapter 53 has a beautiful piece of fridge brilliance that you really only notice after rewatching/rereading the series several times. To clarify, it isn't the fact that Ed punched open the Gate, but right before he performs that human transmutation. He apologizes to the souls of the Xerxians within Envy's Philosopher's stone, before he uses them. Later, when Hohenheim is [[spoiler:using the souls of the Xerxians within him to create a counter to Father's Nationwide Transmutation Circle]], he says the ''exact same thing.'' It becomes even more epic, when you realize that, in the fight against [[spoiler:Pride, Ed turns himself into a one-soul philosopher's stone]]. And then, all of the comments about Ed being ''exactly'' like his father become even more epic. He is literally following his father's footsteps.
26** In one chapter, a group of bandits shoot Hohenheim. The shots break his glasses, as well. Later on, we see his glasses and clothes still in their damaged states. Why didn't he just repair them with alchemy? Because every time he uses alchemy, [[spoiler:he uses the philosopher's stone inside of him, which means he uses up part of the souls of the Xerxes people]]. So Hohenheim makes sure to never use alchemy for trivial things. This is somewhat comparable to a later moment where Alphonse displays similar capacity for understanding the gravity of using up the energy of people's souls. During the battle with Kimblee and Pride on the Promised Day, Al has an opportunity [[spoiler:to use Heinkel's Philosopher's Stone]] to overpower Kimblee and Pride, but he refuses to do it until Heinkel tells him [[spoiler:the souls trapped in it want to fight to stop the evil that killed them from happening again]]. Like Hohenheim, Al will not [[spoiler:sacrifice the souls within a Stone]] until he realizes he's encountered with ''[[spoiler:literally the exact sole situation Hohenheim would endeavor to use the souls in his own Stone for]].''
27** The first and last opening themes of ''Brotherhood'' come from Hohenheim's perspective.
28** When Al is punched in the side by Number 66, he falls to his knees as if winded. Later, we learn that his metal body is connected to his physical body beyond the Gate, so it probably felt the attack, and responded appropriately, making this a case of foreshadowing as well.
29** Come to think of it, since Ed is constantly supplying Al's body with requirements for survival, this means Ed is in decidedly less than peak condition throughout the series. In fact, it's only at the very end that we catch a glimpse of what a peak Ed is physically capable of. [[spoiler: [[HeroicSacrifice After Al transmutes his soul to get Ed's arm back]] during the final battle with Father, Ed proceeds to, in the words of Hohopapa's outtake from that episode, '''''[[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown FUCK HIM (Father) UP!]]''''' Ed, quite literally, [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu punches out]] [[{{Satan}} Father]]. [[UnstoppableRage Twice]].]] That also explains why Ed is so short for most of the series even though he is a BigEater - Al's body is constantly draining energy and other essential elements like vitamins from Ed's in order to remain alive.
30** Hohenheim never officially married Trisha Elric, meaning Ed and Al have their mother's last name. [[spoiler: This is most likely for at least two of these three reasons. One, if they'd made their marriage official, it would have been registered and inevitably gotten back to Central, meaning that Father and the Homunculi would have been able to track the family down and use them. Two, it's highly unlikely that Hohenheim actually ''existed'' in any database or census taking in Amestris or anywhere else, considering he'd been trying to stay under the radar for five hundred years; he wouldn't have been able to get married legally in any case. Three, even if they were officially married, and even if Hohenheim had a name, he would've recommended the kids adopt Trisha's surname with the excuse that "Edward Elric sounds better than Edward Hohenheim" because he knew he'd eventually have to walk out on the family to stop Father. He didn't want his sons to be tied to his name, especially if they would hate him or otherwise suffer for his not being in their lives. Considering Ed's grudge toward him over it, this was probably a wise decision.]]
31** Ed and Al's ordeal with human transmutation likely gave them a better understanding of the value of human life. This explains their refusal to kill in any situation [[spoiler: including the aforementioned reluctance to use already-created Philosopher's Stones even when they absolutely have to]]. All of this is, again, very much like Hohenheim before them [[spoiler:with the exception that they didn't become walking soul jars like he did]].
32** Why is it that Al is only a year younger than Ed, but he sounds like he's a little kid? Because he ''was'' a little kid when he lost his body. Chronologically, he's 14, but pneumatologically[[note]]Pneumatology being the study of spiritual beings[[/note]], he's still only 10.
33** Ed is very well known for being [[BerserkButton humorously sensitive]] about his height and constantly bringing up how much he hates milk. However, in flashbacks Trisha often called him "her little man" and Al makes several references to how Trisha made a stew/soup with milk. [[TearJerker Of course Ed would hate the two things that remind him so much of his mother.]]
34* Ed and the Military:
35** The military accepts a 12-year-old Ed into its ranks, and the story justifies it. In his entrance exam, Ed used alchemy without a transmutation circle, which let Bradley know Ed had opened the Gate. [[spoiler:Since Lust knew that circle-less alchemy meant someone had opened the Gate, we can reasonably assume Bradley would know, too—and he could have received the order from Father if he didn't.]] Ed eventually discovers the actual purpose of the State Alchemist system: [[spoiler:to collect candidates for human sacrifice and keep them under the military's control/on Father's leash. Since Ed has already performed human transmutation, Father would absolutely want him under his control.]] As the supreme leader of the military and the direct commander of the State Alchemists, Bradley only needed to say that Ed would pass for it to happen. Ed didn't pass because of his age or his talent, but [[spoiler:because it meant Father would gain a valuable piece in his plan -- and of his own free will, to boot. Father must have laughed.]]
36** Out of all the units that Ed could have been assigned to as a State Alchemist, why Roy Mustang's? Why not somewhere more regimented where Ed could have been constantly watched? Several reasons. [[spoiler: Father]] was keeping several [[spoiler: of his]] potential [[spoiler: sacrifices]] in one place. Ed was already a viable candidate, Roy was ambitious enough while Alex could be manipulated through threatening his family (well aside from [[FourStarBadass one elder sister...]]) and had previously [[HeroicBSOD suffered PTSD]]. Furthermore, many of the soldiers Ed interacted with came across as (and fundamentally were) decent human beings. This gives Ed a reason to stick around when the hammer came down. Rather than Edward just evacuating Risembool and fleeing the country [[spoiler: to deprive Father of one of the sacrifices necessary for his plan]], Ed would instead stand by his friends and comrades[[spoiler: …several of whom were also sacrifices]]. Basically it boils down to Ed being too strong-willed to easily indoctrinate. As an orphan, Ed had few emotional attachments outside of his own hometown. Give him comrades that could become [[TrueCompanions a surrogate family]] and Father could be assured that he would stay and fight no matter what and that holds true for Al as well. In other words, Roy being Ed's immediate superior was not an accident.
37** Ed receives the code name "Fullmetal Alchemist" because he used the metal in the floor for his alchemy exam (and his two automail limbs). This establishes the premise that alchemists' code names are based on their skills, [[spoiler:which is ultimately a clever smokescreen. Likely, the State gives codenames to alchemists in case the person in question finds out about something they shouldn't. The State has to think of a certain person whenever someone says their alchemist name so as to find someone the State can use to blackmail the alchemist into silence. Ed would think of Winry (who built his automail) and Al (who has a "body" made fully of metal). Riza, who gave the Flame Alchemist a source of alchemy research and serves as his closest confidante, ends up working for Bradley. This even extends to Shou Tucker, the Sewing-Life Alchemist: the phrase "sewing life" brings the idea of birth to mind—which means children like Nina Tucker. As for the Strong Arm Alchemist…well, that one's spoken for itself for generations]]. This is made evident in Chapter 56/''Brotherhood'' Episode 29, when [[spoiler:Wrath]] forces Ed and Roy to [[spoiler:remain State Alchemists and keep their mouths shut by threatening the people they love]].
38** There are a few odd fits in this particular equation, some of whom we don't know enough about such as [[spoiler:Basque Grand (the Iron Blood Alchemist) and Giolio Comanche (the Silver Alchemist)]]. Some of whom we do know about, such as [[spoiler:Solf J. Kimblee (the Crimson Lotus Alchemist). The red lotus is a flower that symbolizes passions of the heart and human nature, with all its good and all its evil. Kimblee's got the kind of alien morality that would care to explore that and go nuts within his job rather than take a real stand on either side, and given what he said about wanting to see who would win in the Humans v. Homunculi conflict, it's entirely plausible that the Homunculi convinced him he could see it for himself from their vantage point]]. As for [[spoiler:Tim Marcoh (the Crystal Alchemist), the homunculi end up blackmailing him over his role in creating the Philosopher's Stones, and he'd probably at least started researching or made some prototypes when he became a State Alchemist. Bradley probably realized he'd be able to make an actual one later, and named him based on that]].
39* Roy Mustang:
40** When attending a funeral [[spoiler:for his friend Maes Hughes]], Mustang mentions that it's a terrible day for rain, even though the weather is actually very mild, as he sheds solemn tears. This is more than just a case of SandInMyEyes when you think about Mustang's combat powers: his flame alchemy is powerful, but requires both himself and his target to be completely dry, and thus is useless in rain. Mustang is not trying to make excuses for his tears, but subtly hinting that he felt completely powerless [[spoiler:to save Hughes]].
41* Lust the Lascivious:
42** Why does Lust not actually act, well... Lusty? In Christian doctrine indulging in sex is not a sin because it is a necessity, what is a sin is to invoke lust in others. Seems Father reads the bible.
43** Using sexual lust to tempt people is exactly what she tries to do [[HoneyTrap with Havoc]]. It seems Lust is quite okay with invoking "her" sin in others.
44** Alternatively, it could just be that Lust is a symbol for sexual lust while having a personality of blood lust.
45** Lust herself seems to [[CombatSadomasochist enjoy]] [[BloodKnight combat]] a little too much, making her "proper" sin ''blood'' lust pretty likely.
46** Lust was a sin of Father, who's true form is [[spoiler:a little, genderless ball of shadow]]. Father would logically lack a sex drive, and thus [[spoiler: his Lust also would lack a sex drive]].
47** It could also be more as a non-sexual derivative of the traditional definition: lusting for power from and over other people. Related to greed and envy, but more manipulative in nature.
48** It could also be that she is full of lust, but lacks a suitable partner. The other homunculi are her family, and having sex with a human would amount to bestiality for her.
49** Lust's power initially doesn't make much sense, given that cutting things up has nothing to do with lust. However, not only does she have the ultimate FemmeFatalons, her power is called the Ultimate Lance, as in she can penetrate anything.
50** Lust could represent Father's Lust for power and his bloodlust.
51* Envy the Jealous:
52** Hohenheim's explanation of Pride's appearance also gives an explanation about Envy's powers; envy is coveting what someone else has. His powers correspond to this by easily allowing him to ''become'' that "someone else".
53** Also, Envy's true form is ''green'' in color.
54** Not to mention Envy's true form is an incredibly pitiable embryo-looking creature. Another reason why [[spoiler:he envied us so]].
55** Jealousy is natural. Envy is to wish harm to someone out of jealousy, which isn't natural. Hence why it's the sin of envy and not jealousy. Let that sink in for a moment…
56** The fact that [[spoiler: he kills himself]] comes off as the ''perfect'' [[spoiler: death]] for this guy. [[spoiler: He did it in his true form aka the pitiable embryo. After a massive and VERY painful HumiliationConga. By that point he has '''nothing''' left but his own envy of humans.]]
57*** In addition [[spoiler:he kills himself by destroying the only possession that humans do not have, his Philosopher Stone.]]
58** The transliteration of Envy's name from Japanese is "Enbi", which is homophonous with "Enby", derived from "NB", the modern shorthand for "non-binary". Envy doesn't have an actual gender, being a shapeshifter (which too goes back to their corresponding sin)!
59** Envy's truest form having VaginaDentata for their mouth serves as a VisualPun in that they have the mouth of a pussy: talks like a big-shot but when the chips are down is nothing more than a sniveling coward, in other words, a pussy.
60** Envy's case of DontYouDarePityMe is also incredibly fitting, as seemingly being looked down upon further reminds him that he's ''not'' what he so desperately wants to be.
61*** More so in that even some of the audience pitied him in that moment. They really made it hard not to, even for someone as horrible as him. Considering [[spoiler:pity from one human was so humiliating it [[DrivenToSuicide drove him to suicide]], imagine if he knew how many humans beyond the fourth wall couldn't help but pity him, ''after'' wanting him to die the worst possible death for killing Hughes and starting the Ishvalan Civil War.]]
62* Führer President King Bradley:
63** Mrs. Bradley slapped her husband the first time they met. He promptly started hitting on her. Given that he's [[spoiler: ''Wrath the Furious'']] this makes ''so'' much sense. [[spoiler: [[FridgeHorror Of course, you then realize]] [[TheMasochismTango how Wrath and Mrs. Bradley's more intimate moments would be like.]]]]
64** This extends to his first appearance in the manga, where he wholeheartedly approved the match between Edward and Roy. Or when you consider that [[spoiler:he never reported to Father that Ling wrestled control from Greed for an instant, out of sheer anger at Wrath's belittlement of humanity]]. He probably thinks that these displays of anger are ActuallyPrettyFunny.
65** Anyone familiar with clickbait knows that the surest way to piss somebody off is to reveal some form of deception or injustice. Wrath's Ultimate Eye allows him to see straight through the lies and deceptions around him.
66** Consider Bradley's sympathetic backstory and how it is recounted in the Brotherhood adaptation. In the manga, it was something of a PetTheDog scene which made you pity Bradley, despite all of the awful things he had done and would do in the future. In the anime, however, Bradley, in keeping with being a somewhat literal ThatManIsDead example, is narrating his own life ''objectively'' and thus completely understands that he was turned into a monster by evil people, but yet he still follows them. By doing this, it shows that he's NotBrainwashed, but rather is doing evil willingly.
67** Bradley's name is redundant on several counts. His first name is ''literally'' "King", [[spoiler:and as he explains, this is because he was chosen as the ruler of Amesteris]]. However, his actual title also doubles up, being "Führer President." [[spoiler:This double-up also reinforces that he wasn't simply elected into office, but there's another detail too. ''Führer'' is a homophone for ''furor'', which itself is another word for ''[[MeaningfulName Wrath]]'']].
68* Selim Bradley:
69** When you meet Selim for the first time pay attention to the conversation he has with Ed and Al, about how he calls Xing's alchemy the alchemy of an inferior country and how he wants to be useful to his father. This isn't anything out of the ordinary seeing how he is the son of the Führer and would be taught this mindset. However, later it makes sense when you think about it when [[spoiler:he is revealed to be Pride]].
70** As King Bradley talks with Mustang in his office, he mentions how the reason he was shaking during [[spoiler:Maes Hughes's funeral]] was out of anger because of [[spoiler:Elicia's crying]]. When Roy brings up Selim in turn, he states that Selim is better behaved and responds to Roy's what-if about Selim finding out his own father's [[spoiler:a homunculus]] by saying that Selim will never be a weakness in his life. Well, of course he's not scared of his son being used as a weak point by his enemies when [[spoiler:his "son" is actually his oldest and most powerful brother in disguise]]. [[spoiler:Assuming the first anime's "Pride of Dante" incarnation of Bradley is any indication, if Selim was actually King Bradley's son and not a several hundred year old being who he's more or less subservient to in the pecking order of the Ouroboros homunculi, King would understand how human children behave and thus would never shake in TranquilFury at Elicia during the funeral in the first place.]]
71** Apart from being [[spoiler:rather smug in general once TheReveal is out there's a second reason him being Pride is fitting. Hohenheim realizes that his shadow form is similar to Father's original form, and he's also the oldest homunculus after Father. He's Father's favorite, or Father's "''pride'' and joy," so to speak.]]
72*** [[spoiler:There might be an even deeper reason for why Pride looks like Father's original form, and why that seemed to anger Pride (despite his argument to the contrary). Father's whole plan in Xerxes was to leave his flask, and leave his limited existence as the shadowy vapor he was at the time, so by giving Pride, the first Homunculus he made, something like that form, he was essentially giving himself a reminder that he was no longer like that, superior to his previous existence. Hohenheim was essentially telling Pride he's his father's favorite not because he's the ''best'' Homunculus, but because he's a living symbol of Father's own acheivment of gaining a superior human form. Pride is a symbol of Father's own "weakness" that he left behind, not of his superiority as a Homununculus.]]
73** Selim is "miles" backwards. [[spoiler:Pride can only extend outward beyond Selim and the nationwide transmutation circle, his two containers, in an immediate area with limited light.]]
74** Selim's voice sounds... kind of like a bad dub voice. This is ''completely'' intentional. [[spoiler: Because Pride is "Dubbing" himself to sound "normal" like an actor playing a kid]].
75** And what does his mother say? That Selim is the pride of her life [[spoiler: ...literally - because he's Pride]].
76** His extreme loyalty to [[spoiler: Father makes more sense when you realize his true form is a baby, and that he can be a good person if raised right. He's essentially a blank slate, and since he was the first one made, he had no other influence when he was created. Pride's also arguably a child Homunculus (Selim form aside, he is rather childish and mostly does things because he's told to), which would also make sense that he's the most obedient. Children care more about pleasing their parents than adults/teenagers do.]]
77** Pride, being the most powerful homunculus, has powers of all the other homunculi:
78*** His shadows can pierce anything like Lust's spear and [[spoiler:Wrath's sword]].
79*** He can eat things much larger than his entire body like Gluttony.
80*** He can [[spoiler:hide inconspicuously amongst the public and control a person’s body]] similar to Envy, although Pride is much more limited in this regard.
81*** Like Sloth, he can lift heavy objects with no effort, as seen when lifting Al, and can move quickly. Unlike Sloth, Pride can only do this in the darkness.
82*** At first it appears he doesn't have Greed's Ultimate Shield…except if you watch when Heinkel is trying to kill him, even though his clothes are repeatedly torn by lion's claws, ''he never once bleeds''. Heinkel was explicitly not holding back and even said as much. Pride has Greed's Ultimate Shield on constantly, without ever looking less than human.
83*** After [[spoiler:having his container and powers destroyed]], we see Pride's true form: a tiny, unassuming infant. What was Father's true form: a tiny, unassuming shadow ball. Like father like son, huh?
84* Homunculus Father:
85** Why would Father [[spoiler:manufacture a secret army if he had planned to turn the country into a philosopher stone]] before it could be used? Why does [[spoiler:said army]] look like him? Answer: [[spoiler:He was creating a nest]].
86** An omake shows Father getting a lifetime subscription to a newspaper. In the end of the series, we find out his intention for causing the entire plot.
87** He's greedy, and continues to be so even after he discards Greed from his body, meaning that, in a way, he embodies the sin of Greed more than his son.
88** This excerpt from the FMA Wiki sums up Father's hypocrisy quite nicely: "Though it's stated numerous times that Father has expelled all of his sins, it's interesting to note he acts in a way similar to that of the sins: He seeks power at all costs (Greed); views humans as "ants" (Pride); devours souls with no self-control (Gluttony); has a desire for a family like humans (Envy); prefers to let others do his bidding for him (Sloth); feels anger towards any opposition, principally Hohenheim (Wrath); and lusts after becoming a perfect being (Lust)."
89** Getting into MindScrew territory, Father commits at least three of those sins ''against the corresponding desire.'' He subjects Sloth to hard labor, steals from Greed (more than once), and treats Pride more like a tool or a trained animal than an ally. A rather disturbing trend, potentially going into FridgeHorror when considering Lust…
90** The opposite may be true, actually. Minus his sins, Father is an empty shell of a personality in a way. He briefly demonstrates a capacity for kindness during the time that he has his Greed in him (as Greed himself noted that the desire for friendship is a form of Greed), but apart from that, Father doesn't really do anything but continue mindlessly following his plan. Up until the climax, he's an object in motion, forever remaining in motion because there is no opposite force to act on him, but without any sense of conviction or desire to remain so.
91** Plus, the thing about pride? You see all that make you what you are as valuable. If Father was so full of pride, he'd never want to abandon his prized sins in totality — yet at the same time is too arrogant to admit he sees value in humanity. Simply put, Father's pride makes him unable to abandon his sins-fitting, given pride is considered the sin that leads to all others.
92** Envy, despite saying that he's better than us puny humans, is jealous of our qualities. Could this be how, deep down, Father feels?
93** Despite being the closest thing to Satan, Father [[GrandpaGod is the farthest thing from]] [[BigRedDevil the sterotype we associate with the Devil.]] Considering how Father(and traditionally the Devil) [[AGodAmI has a god complex]], he'd want to look the part—even down to intentionally defying the stereotype in [[LightIsNotGood pretty much the same way]]. Furthermore, the devil is known for masquerading as an angel of light. Now, consider how Father is introduced...
94** He is even going for the entire Catholic Trinity: He is the Father (Obviously) and he is (because of the nature of the Homunculi) the Son (Sons and Daughter, considering Lust). The last part he is looking to acquire is the Holy Spirit (Truth).
95** In ''Brotherhood'', Father's voice seems incredibly strained like he's struggling to say or pronounce certain words. [[spoiler: Then he takes off his "skin", which has his talking become much more fluent, because the body is holding him back.]]
96** In the stinger for episode 28 of Brotherhood, Father finishes off Gluttony and reabsorbs his stone back into his body, promising to revive him with all of his memories intact. Now, you might ask yourself why he would do this, as it doesn't serve him any strategic purpose, and his 'love' for his 'children' is largely just a front. But near the end the series, Hohenheim suggests that Father created the homunculi so that he could have "family". Yes, as much as Father acts like an uncaring and manipulative bastard, his act of resurrecting Gluttony with his memories restored proved to be an act of fatherly love, however twisted it may have appeared to be.
97** [[spoiler:[[TheChessmaster Father]]]] narrates ''Brotherhood''.
98** The homunculi are named after the seven deadly sins. In the manga, they were all created by Father. Therefore, Father's name is a clever StealthPun. First, it makes the Homunculi the quite literal "sins of the father." Secondly, it makes him the "father of sin", [[SatanicArchetype fitting the Satan analogue like a glove]]. The fact that he did this on purpose, as [[spoiler:he didn't start calling himself Father until after he founded Amestris and made the other homunculi]], only further strengthens the Satan analogy, in particular mirroring Lucifer's unmitigated vanity to think he deserved to be God.
99** Why did Father/Homunculus want to become a god? At first he claims it's because he wants to become a perfect being, but think about what his original goal was: To be freed from his flask. Now fast forward to his death scene, where he wails that all he really wanted was to be free. What do we call a being that has no boundaries or limitations of any kind? ''A God''. Father wanted to become a god because godhood represented absolute freedom to him, freedom being his underlying motivation.
100** When reading 107, it finally hit why [[spoiler:despite having Father rid himself of his 'sins' in the form of the homunculi, he still seemed to posses enough greed to go after Godhood. The avarice he imparted on Greed wasn't absolute as the Ultimate Shield made us believe, no, the thing he wanted the most in the whole world were friends and companions like Ed has. Everything else he was after was misdirected greed on his part.]]
101** The final battle against Father is one massive FridgeBrilliance. After getting what he thinks is the power of God, his first real [[ATasteOfPower taste of power]] is against people who were once human, or are still human. [[spoiler: In the end, Father is defeated by human hands, not by alchemy he created, not by a Homunculus (though Greed plays a role in defeating him), but instead by a single punch by Edward. He's defeated by the same people he thought were simply pawns and fuel for his actions.]]
102** The order in which he created the Homunculi is also indicative. As Hohenheim points out, Father created the Homunculi in imitation of a human family. The first Homunculi was Pride, in the form of a child. A son for the new "Father." Next came Lust in the form of a woman, i.e. a wife. Then came Greed, and since Greed contained his desire for companionship, the remaining four Homunculi are more clearly purpose built. Their powers and bodies have obvious roles to fill in Father's plans, where the first three did not.
103* Ling Yao and Greed the Avaricious:
104** Why is Greed the most moral of the homunculi? [[spoiler: Because Father didn’t actually purge himself of his greed, even if he thinks he did. The sin of greed motivates Father’s entire philosophy to consume God, so Greed fails to represent Father’s greed like the other sins.]]
105** Ling's [[BigEater appetite]] and [[EyesAlwaysShut shifty]] [[ObfuscatingStupidity cleverness]], coupled with his desire for immortality and power, is clever foreshadowing [[spoiler: to him becoming the new Greed]].
106** Greed never lies. He always keeps his word, because if he doesn't, he won't "own it." [[StealthPun Get it?]]
107** The Ultimate Shield turns Greed's skin into diamonds.
108** By the end of the manga/''Brotherhood'' series, Greed becomes FULL of FridgeBrilliance. We already know about all the {{foreshadowing}} in his actions leading to the inevitable realization that [[spoiler:what he always wanted more than anything was to have TrueCompanions]]. But let's take this one step further. One of the overarching themes driving the story is that ''nothing in this world can match the value of the human soul''. Under the laws of EquivalentExchange, it's the whole reason using human transmutation to revive the dead is doomed to always epically fail. One way we could describe [[spoiler:friendship]] for the purposes of this entry is [[spoiler:the freely and earnestly decided bond between souls]]. Greed's [[spoiler:truest desire]] isn't a mere subversion of greed—''it's the ultimate application of greed!'' What he desires above all else is the most valuable thing on earth! [[spoiler:That last statement is all but confirmed by the "right answer" which Ed gives in order to finally get Al's body back from Truth, btw.]]
109*** Less profound than the previous statement, but [[spoiler: if he is the embodiment of greed, that means he really wants everything. Anything his "owns" he cherishes because its something he really really wants to have and to keep. Treating something badly and not taking care of it indicates that you do not truly want or value it. One does not keep a possession by throwing it away.]]
110** Taking this further, Greed's rebellion against Father makes total sense when you remember that Father is, again, a SatanicArchetype. Father, like the Devil, ''trades in corrupting and devouring souls as a defining part of his agenda''. Likewise, ''FMA''[='=]s conception of the soul as the most valuable property of a human being and the logical conclusion thereof that anyone who would trade it away to achieve some earthly goal is cheating themselves is also preceded by Literature/TheBible (and other religious texts). As Mark 8:36 famously asks, "For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" When Greed cited having his own ambitions as the reason he refused to come back to Father's side, he was speaking a larger truth than he'd even imagined—his great desire ran both directly against and far higher than Father's! [[spoiler: Again, Truth would concur, given his stern lecture towards Homunculus upon the latter's return to the Gate.]]
111** Greed and his minions were hopelessly outmatched and destroyed by King Bradley when Bradley raided the Devil's Nest. After returning later in the series, however, he puts up a much better fight. In fact, he even goes as far as to engage Bradley extending his Ultimate Shield only over his arms and still gives him the fight of his life. To make sense of this, one has to remember just how he returns: [[spoiler:in Ling's body]]. Sometime after stomping Greed and killing off his minions, Bradley ended up in pursuit of [[spoiler:Ling and Lan Fan]]. Seeing how [[spoiler:the Xingese royals that crossed into Amestris]] are far more ''[[WeakButSkilled skilled]]'' than Greed, they were able to elude Bradley. [[spoiler:Second Greed wasn't ''stronger'', he was ''more skilled'' thanks to Ling's martial arts prowess.]]
112** A small fridge brilliance is why Greed has the Ultimate Shield. The fact that it prevents him from taking damage seems good and all, but a little wasteful when considering that he also has such potent regenerative abilities. Except that using regeneration costs him souls from his Philosopher's Stone. The Ultimate Shield is to make it so Greed can have great defense and survive while still hoarding all of his stone's souls. [[spoiler:His later link to Ling, who believes that kings exist to protect their people, and the later realization about Greed's true desires, become more significant in this way when you remember what the Elrics recognized—despite existing as disembodied co-catalysts, the souls of the stone ''are still people''.]]
113** Before he [[spoiler:gets boiled down]], Greed insults Envy's appearance by [[BerserkButton calling them ugly]] and then goes out of his way to goad them to turn into their [[OneWingedAngel real form]], even though Envy is threatening to kill him. Why would he do that? Well, he'd definitely want to go out with the satisfaction of angering Envy (and the rest of his family) if he ''had'' to, but if Envy did take a swipe at him in their giant form, given how short-sighted Envy can be it likely would've broken the restraints on Greed and could have offered him a chance, however slim, of trying to escape in the ensuing mayhem (or of [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge trying to take down]] [[ItsPersonal Wrath]] again and potentially [[TakingYouWithMe some of the other homunculi]]). Envy being in their giant size would also provide a good obstacle to the other homunculi trying to get to Greed and potentially block their line of sight on him.
114* Sloth the Indolent is the fastest and strongest of the homunculi. He embodies the sin of sloth because he refuses to use his potential unless Pride is specifically ordering him to do so.
115** Sloth is the ultimate application of BrilliantButLazy. His work for Pride and Father can be taken a step further in that he even views ''saying no'' as "too much effort." Then, he's [[LightningBruiser incredibly strong and fast]], yes, but only fights when ''absolutely'' necessary, and he can't seem to [[TooFastToStop control his speed]]. Sloth probably never bothered to practice using his abilities at all.
116*** During the fight at Briggs, [[BoomHeadshot Sloth takes a tank round to the face that blows half his head off]]. Once his face grows back, he decides "Pain sucks. I don't wanna do that anymore" and afterward [[NoSell the same rounds hardly scratch him]]. He's superhumanly fast when he wants to be, but he still can't control himself because he can't be bothered to use any finesse. It almost seems as though Sloth is only as powerful as he ''wills'' himself to be, which is extremely little. If Sloth ever decided that he needed to strategize to beat someone, it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine that he might even become ''[[GeniusBruiser literally brilliant]]''.
117*** Sloth is definitely extremely intelligent. He manages to dig a circle around the entire country. A PERFECT circle. The amount of mathematics involved in calculating that and then applying it to engineering over the course of several hundred years without error is bonkers. Sloth is the fastest, strongest and smartest Homunculus...but it's worth very little to him as he simply doesn't care.
118* Ling vs. Bradley:
119** Why did [[spoiler: King Bradley]] lose the ability to regenerate when he was turned into a Homunculus, and [[spoiler: Ling]] didn't? Because [[spoiler: Ling]] didn't really "fight back." Bradley explains, when he revealed his backstory to Roy, that after the experiment he only had one soul left in him, as opposed to other Homunculi who have multiple souls. Their regeneration and long lives are due to them consuming multiple life forces. This also explains why Bradley ages.
120** The method that they became homunculi reflects their own principles. [[spoiler: King Bradley]] was created to stand on the top, both among the other führer candidates, and the country. He became a homunculus by supressing and destroying every other soul in the Philosopher's stone until his was the only soul left. On the other hand, [[spoiler: Ling]] believes that a king should live for his people, and would be nothing without them. He becomes a homunculus by accepting and coexisting alongside every soul in his Philosopher's stone.
121** During his fight with Bradley, Ling says that Bradley is no true king to which Bradley retorts that "There are no true kings in this world!" At first it seems odd for him to say that, being that is Führer KING Bradley. However, it makes sense as the series goes on because [[spoiler: Bradley is the ruler of the country yes, but he's just a servant of Father, and 'King' is merely his first name, not one of his titles. Thus, to him there is no real kings or rulers because every ruler will have someone controlling them]].
122* Kimblee and Pride:
123** The two's interactions counter each other. First off, Kimblee essentially represents light with his white suit, specialization in alchemy based around bright explosives, and alchemical circles tattooed on his hands that involve the sun and moon, which are both symbols of light. On the other hand, Pride obviously represents darkness and shadow, which can easily see by looking at his powers. As such, Kimblee and Pride's interactions are light and darkness (or shadow) working together in tandem. [[spoiler:And this makes Kimblee being devoured by Pride a moment where the shadows engulfed the light]].
124** Kimblee's motives for [[spoiler: screwing over Pride and helping Ed. It wasn't a HeelFaceTurn or a last ditch effort at revenge. No, it was actually true to Kimblee's moral code and objectives. Kimblee runs a bit on OrangeAndBlueMorality—he respects those who possess values. Doesn't matter how good or bad those values are, just the strength of conviction in the beings who hold them. He made it clear when he earlier tried to recruit Ed to help him hunt Scar that the reason why he sided with the Homunculi was to egg on the war between them and the humans because he wanted to see which species was truly superior. By Pride deciding to take over Edward's human body, [[{{Irony}} swallowing his pride of being a Homunculus in the process]], he both answered Kimblee's question and pissed the smooth criminal off]].
125* Regarding the deaths of the Homunculi:
126** [[spoiler: Roy Mustang, who is known as a womanizer, is the one to kill Lust.]] Bonus Points: [[spoiler: By [[BigDamnHeroes showing up]], he stops her from killing [[BodyguardCrush Hawkeye]]. In addition, Al who unconditionally loves those around him swore to protect those dear to them make his last stand even when Hawkeye was in despair against Lust who will kill anyone for the sole sake of power.]]
127*** ''Bonus'' bonus points: [[spoiler:Roy isn't ''actually'' a womanizer; he just uses that as a cover to gather information. There's also some extra irony/contrast in that Lust pretended to date Havoc in order to get information out of him, too.]]
128** [[spoiler: Armstrong, who's been constantly berated by his sister for not putting his full effort into the war, kills Sloth.]] Bonus points: he kills him by making him fight so hard he didn't have the energy to heal himself.
129** [[spoiler: Selim kills Gluttony by EATING him.]]
130** [[spoiler: Envy and Greed get themselves killed, both in manners that are almost paradoxically befitting of the sin they represent.]] Specifically: Envy commits suicide out of shame and humiliation when a mere human being feels pity for him. Greed was melted down for his most valuable part.
131*** More on Greed: [[spoiler:his second and "actual" death came from him pulling a HeroicSacrifice. His final act was ''willingly'' doing one of the absolute least greedy things possible!]]
132*** Yet it still fits his vice. [[spoiler:There's plenty of stories about greedy men dying trying to protect their possessions. Greed dies protecting his "possessions".]]
133** [[spoiler: Wrath is killed by Scar, a man consumed by hatred for humanity because of his troubled past.]] Bonus points: [[spoiler:Scar]] uses Creation Alchemy (which [[spoiler:he and almost all other Ishvalans]] HATED) to help him do so. And for extra bonus points: [[spoiler:King Bradley, the Sin of ''Wrath'', died ''peacefully'']]. For even more bonus points [[spoiler: Scar kills Wrath after he has started to work with his former enemies and is no longer as wrathful as he previously was - he overcomes wrath/Wrath twice!]]
134** [[spoiler: And finally, Edward, the one who was so confident in his abilities that he thought he could play God by bringing a human back to life, is the one to defeat Pride and send him back into his true form.]] Which was foreshadowed in chapter 83: [[spoiler: "Now that I think about it, the moment I decided to become a dog of the military, I gave up any pride I might have had anyway!"]]
135*** [[spoiler: It also applies to Father himself, fueling himself on the despair of the souls powered by Alchemy, Ed chose to forsake Alchemy for the hope of a world that can happy without needing Alchemy to solve all their problems]]
136*** Also, [[spoiler:back to Pride, he looked down on humans due to his arrogance, but was then forced to live as a regular human.]]
137* Truth and the Gate:
138** How can the armored Alphonse talk to himself (the skinny, naked Alphonse) beyond the gate? Because the skinny, naked Alphonse [[spoiler: is actually Truth, wearing his body the same way he wears Ed's arm and leg! This also explains why Truth comes off as a JerkassGod -- we usually only see [[JerkAss Ed's]] version of Truth...]]
139** In addition, [[spoiler: Truth says that he "is you," and thus acts similarly to how the person seeing him does: Nice to [[NiceGuy Al]]; rude to [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Ed]] until he learns his lesson, after which Truth praises him; and [[KarmicDeath downright]] [[FateWorseThanDeath evil]] to [[AGodAmI Father/the Dwarf in the Flask.]]]] So basically "Truth-kun" is [[spoiler:the part of you, a "One", that is connected to the Universe, the "All". Or, viceversa, an avatar of the "All" who is specifically connected to a "One"]].
140** It goes further. [[spoiler:The body of Al tells him that it will return him when Al chooses to abandon his body; when seeing what condition it's in, he sticks with his armor. How can anyone except Truth return Al]]?
141** In ''Brotherhood'', [[spoiler:Gluttony and the Truth both share a large smile with big, square teeth.]] While this may seem coincidental, they are the only characters to hold the said attribute, perhaps {{foreshadowing}} that the two are connected through [[spoiler:Gluttony being Father's failed attempt to synthesize The Gate, technically making Gluttony a gatekeeper like the Truth.]]
142** Whenever the Truth takes something from someone, it takes the entire body part: Ed's leg, Al's body, Izumi's organs. On the other hand, [[spoiler:Roy]] only lost his eye''sight'', not an actual organ. [[spoiler:Since he didn't really commit the taboo, he got a lighter version]]. It's also implied that his condition is reversible, which is highly unusual (Hohenheim, despite his great alchemic skills, explicitly tells Izumi that he is unable to give back what Truth took from her). Crosses into FridgeHorror once you realize that [[spoiler:had he actually performed human transmutation, he would have likely lost his eyes.]] Which is exactly what happened to Jude in the OVA ''The Blind Alchemist''
143*** It goes even deeper than that. [[spoiler:Mustang has, both figuratively and (as the final battle demonstrates) literally, a spare set of eyes. One might say he has a [[MeaningfulName hawk's eyes]]. What makes it more ironic is that both pride and Father were bragging when they saw his condition how he would be of no use in a hypothetical fight, despite how dangerous and powerful his alchemy is. Neither of them thought that someone else would be able to see for him. Although the Truth might have...]]
144** Everyone's Gate has its own unique design. For example, [[spoiler:Roy Mustang's resembles his flame transmutation array,]] implying that it represents not just the person, but their ''knowledge''. [[spoiler:Father's]] Gate is completely blank. No wonder Truth is so disgusted with him: in all his centuries of life, he has learned nothing.
145* Maes Hughes:
146** You know the scene where Maes [[BoyfriendBlockingDad threatens his daughter's friends with a cocked gun]]? While it works as CrossingTheLineTwice BlackComedy, it's actually [[CrossingTheLineTwice Crossed The Line Thrice]], making it more hilarious and somehow SugarWiki/{{heartwarming|Moments}}. You see, [[spoiler:he didn't really want to harm those little guys, he's just mildly threatening them.]] If you notice, [[spoiler:he is considerably more skilled with knives than with guns. Every kill he made is by using knives, and he never made a successful shot with a gun. Even in the manga, [[DefiantToTheEnd his last attempt to spit on Envy]] is made by using a knife. While everyone on Ishbal brings rifles, he's consistently using knives.]] It's very probable that he did that stunt just to get a good laugh, even for the boys, [[spoiler:when they realize he's just kidding and they're not in any danger]].
147** The fact that Hughes was able to [[HeKnowsTooMuch figure out the big conspiracy]] ages before anyone else had a clue seems a bit odd at first glance, [[spoiler: especially considering he's not an alchemist, so he wouldn't immediately think of a transmutation circle]]. Then you remember, he's head of the Amestrian military's Investigations Office. It's his job to figure things out and think outside the box.
148*** He'd also have easier access to the information about [[spoiler:the points making up the circle]], and, in fact, he figures this out while talking to another worker about [[spoiler:the Liore riots, which make up one of the points]].
149* [[StarterVillain Isaac]] [[CanonForeigner McDougal]]:
150** From the first episode of ''Brotherhood'', [[KillItWithWater Isaac the Freezer]] brought about some very deep foreshadowing, especially with the phrase "Do you know what shape this country is in?!" About a dozen episodes later into the anime, we find that Amestris isn't as what we originally believed, [[spoiler: especially being the main base of operations for Father, his homunculi, and his soldiers that are devoted to his twisted cause, and we were assumed he meant that. THEN Ed pieces together all the outbreaks that happened over the years of the country's following with help of Valman listing them, and when he connected the dots... it showed the pattern of a transmutation circle. All within the ''round shaped'' country. Ed realizes this in-universe too when he flashes back to what [=McDougal=] was ranting about.]] This is especially evident with the first scene of the first episode: [[spoiler: a match cut from a transmutation circle to the equally circular Central.]]
151** You know how Isaac is StillWearingTheOldColors despite his open disdain for the military and their actions in Ishval? That's because even in his madness, he still fights to protect his country—perhaps now more than ever, knowing [[spoiler:the truth he foreshadows]].
152** Isaac was probably able to activate multiple transmutation circles from a distance by [[spoiler: using alkahestry]]. This, combined with how he went from merely being disgusted at the military's actions in Ishval to [[spoiler:figuring out what sinister havoc was getting ready to be wreaked on Amestris]], hints at historical and alchemical knowledge that he most likely would've had to obtain by [[spoiler:making the same pilgrimage through the Great Eastern Desert into Xing and back that Maria Ross later made over the course of the series]].
153* ''[[Anime/FullmetalAlchemistTheSacredStarOfMilos The Sacred Star of Milos]]'':
154** We see young Julia collapsing upon seeing her dead parents and the apparent death of her brother, Ashleigh. When he reappears and retells that scene from his perspective, the flashback shows Julia already unconscious before he is attacked. What seems like a plot hole at first glance is actually a [[{{Foreshadowing}} hint]] that [[spoiler:he's lying and is not Ashleigh at all.]]
155** Ed tells Julia that [[spoiler:the Sanguine Star will consume her soul if she eats it]]. Now many people online seem to think something like that doesn't make sense in the series. However, let's think again about two of the Homunculi. Both [[spoiler:King Bradley/Wrath]] and [[spoiler:Lin/the Second Greed]] are Homunculi [[spoiler:made by injecting a Philosopher's Stone inside a human body]]. Now if one recalls as well, [[spoiler:Wrath's stone consumed the souls of all previous candidates that failed to contain it until it got into the 12th candidate, who became Wrath. And even then, he had burned up every soul in the stone save for one because he resisted it—to the point he doesn't even know if the one was his original soul or one of the Stone's]]. And in contrast, [[spoiler: when Lin accepted Greed, no souls were consumed in the process]]. Now if we look again at the movie, both [[spoiler:Julia and her brother swallowed a Star of Milos, which is simply another Philosopher's Stone. In a way, they did just like Wrath and Greed. The main differences are that their stones, or rather Stars, were not made by Father, thus did not held any kind of Sin/Homunculus within them, and the souls weren't taken directly, but through the blood of those killed for it. However even without a Sin/Homunculus inside of the stone, there was still the risk that the Stars' combined amount of souls can consume the soul of the one that swallowed it, or at least affect it to an extent]]. This might border on FridgeHorror when we consider the possibility that [[spoiler:the Stars could have essentially turned Julia and her brother into pseudo-Homunculi, or made them immortal. But then again, probably due to the difference in creation, their Stars seemed a bit limited compared to the Amesterian Stones.]]
156* [[http://eriftips.tumblr.com/post/85225103923 The Seven Deadly Sins and their opposites.]]
157* In ''Brotherhood'', why are the Elrics' old family photos in color? Color photography was already been ''invented'' by the start date of the events of the story, but you'd hardly expect ALL the photos, including Ed & Al as babies, to be in color, especially coming from a small town like Resembool...] Good old (analog) Photographs only became commercially viable once the optimal chemical composition and processes needed of negatives and how to "fix" (develop) them were found. And an entire country full of enthusiastic state-funded alchemists (aka proto-Chemists) will definitely have an advantage in speedily finding said chemicals...
158* When a lot of the Japanese voice cast was replaced for the new Brotherhood adaption, many fans were upset. But as the plot took off, the new voices made perfect sense... because they highlighted the differences between the versions of the characters. For example, [[Creator/ShinichiroMiki Roy]] is less cynical and more earnest this time around, so his younger-sounding voice is perfect [[spoiler: and makes a GORGEOUS contrast with Miki's increasingly and incredibly angry deliver of Roy's lines as [[DarkestHour he faces Envy]].]] [[Creator/FumikoOrikasa Riza's]] voice is higher and sweeter, which fits her more empathetic portrayal. Envy's [[Creator/MinamiTakayama more sadistic and masculine sounding voice]] suits just how much he loves to KickTheDog [[spoiler: and when Miki's Roy goes apeshit, Takayama (who plays little boy roles almost all the time) can convincingly make Envy sound like a terrified 10-year-old.]]
159* Why does [[spoiler: Father's separation of his sins and eating Truth ultimately lead to his reabsorption into the Gate? When he's fighting Hohenheim in episode 55, Father says he won't "lower himself to [humans'] level. When Ed goes into the gate a few episodes later, Truth asks him if he's willing to lose alchemy/lower himself to the level of normal humans to save Al, and he replies that he's been an ordinary human all along. Ed's answer is what lets him and Al leave with Truth's blessing, and saying/believing the opposite is where Father went wrong.]]
160* The whole sequence where Mustang and his crew are staging a coup in Central? It's [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Operation Valkyrie!]] Or rather, it's Operation Valkyrie if Colonel von Stauffenberg had succeeded. The conspirators use an explosion to kill the Führer, then systematically take control of the capital while pretending to be suppressing a (nonexistent) coup by those closest to the Führer (the generals in FMA, the Schutzstaffel in RealLife). All signs suggest that they will succeed, but then comes an unforeseen complication: the Führer comes onto the radio saying "Hi guys, I'm not dead. My, my, some people have been naughty." (In ''FMA'', it's because [[spoiler: Bradley is Wrath]] and in real life they didn't use a big enough bomb.) Of course, throw alchemy, homunculi, and the Briggs Bears into the mix and the game changes entirely.
161* Dr. Marcoh refers to the PhilosophersStone as "[[{{Satan}} the Devil]]'s research", and anyone with a conscience who at first wants to use it but then actually discovers ''[[PoweredByAForsakenChild what needs to be done to create one]]'' quickly goes through HeroicBSOD and agrees with him. This seems like it's just a commentary on how evil it is to wipe out large swaths of people for a powerful artifact. But consider the significance of the soul in this whole deal. The cost of the stone is specifically [[DealWithTheDevil taking people's souls]], and going through with its creation anyway is the kind of act that would get someone described metaphorically as ''having'' no soul. This is entirely fitting when accounting that [[spoiler:the obvious SatanicArchetype that is the BigBad of the series and the driving force behind the creation of the likely very first Philosopher's Stones]] is a homunculus, a creature often described in the series as an empty shell or a soulless body. The true underlying reason why the Stone is called the Devil's research is [[spoiler:a clear LampshadeHanging about Father himself]], and the reason most people know about the Stone first and '''then''' have to look around to learn the price for making one is [[spoiler:by design because the Stone is used as a tool to draw people into Father's personal [[TheIlluminati Illuminati]]]]. And since [[spoiler:Father's Homunculi offspring were the ones giving Marcoh's research team their marching orders to create the stones they did]], it only fits that the good doctor would connect enough dots to know this on some level.
162* In episode 61 of ''Brotherhood'', Pride attempts to [[spoiler:take over Ed's body to replace his own, which is slowly crumbling.]] Given that he thinks rather lowly of humans, this seems rather dishonorable for someone named ''Pride'', and it is. But that's the thing; he represents the '''sin''' of pride, not the virtue.
163* During the hilarious scene where Ed and co. walk in on Winry changing and chaos follows, throughout the scene, part of the chaos is provided by Den constantly barking in the background. Note that the whole time, Greed is holding onto Den, which is probably why the dog is barking—[[EvilDetectingDog animals go crazy when in the presence of homunculi]].
164* The Amestrian flag has the Alchemical Dragon (the same on Xerxes' stone circle, also shown in the book Ed an Al are reading with the 'Perfect Being' foreshadowing; the one devouring the sun: both the Philosopher's Stone and the 'dragging god to earth'. Amestris' flag is saying "Citizens of Amestris, you are all going to die". Talk about hiding in plain sight.
165* Ed and Al have a lot in common with Scar and his brother. Ed sacrificed his right arm to bring his brother back. Scar's older brother sacrificed his right arm to save Scar.
166* After Scar is rescued from being [[spoiler: attacked by Lust and Gluttony]], he stays incredibly still and asks stuff like where he is and how he got there. Besides the obvious reasons for asking, from what we know of his backstory, he would definitely want to double-check every single fact of his rescue so he doesn't [[spoiler: make the same mistake he did with the Rockbells.]]
167* Being a Japanese work set in the West, it explores the fears prevalent in Western society. First we have the seven homunculi, who represent vampires, being that they are souless, not restrained by human rules or morality and drink "red water" made of human souls which grants them power and immortality - an obvious allegory for blood. [[spoiler:Wrath even dies when hit with sunlight (it blinds him suddenly, giving Scar an opening). Given that vampires are seen as those who have rejected god and thus cannot walk in the sunlight (the sun is used as a metaphor for God in the first episode) and it even occurs while Wrath lectures Scar about there being no god.]] And in the first anime, they are literally the undead. The Chimeras represent werewolves, being humans with the power, abilities and (to some extent) instincts of beasts. The mannequin soldiers are zombies, no explanation needed. Finally, Father represents our more modern (and equally ridiculous) fears, namely both aliens (he comes from beyond the gate) and artificial intelligence (he was created by human scientists). Today we are afraid of slightly human yet more powerful beings disregarding our worth and killing/enslaving us, such as AM in ''Literature/IHaveNoMouthAndIMustScream'' and Skynet in ''Terminator'' and basically every alien invasion story in existence.
168* There is a reason as for why Hohenheim's plan to destroy Father's body (implanting in Father the souls he himself possesses in order to destroy him from the inside) did not work as planned. When he sheds his "skin", we see eyes appearing in the darkness that covers the ceiling. Father's own lair is his emergency container for when he doesn't have a proper body. This reflects how Pride is able to move his shadow freely in the tunnel underneath Amestris but he's restricted near his "container" Selim when outside.
169* Sloth ''can'' move fast—he usually doesn't, because he's lazy.
170** Also, part of Sloth's laziness is that he just doen't like doing more than necessary. So apart from the most obvious reasoning, Sloth rarely moves fast because he usually doesn't ''need'' to. In other words, Sloth is a perfect example of BrilliantButLazy!
171* During Chapter 21 of the manga, on the train ride to Dublith, Sig and Izumi talk about why she accepted the Elrics as apprentices. Then Sig states that there's no room for them, to which Izumi replies that it's not needed ''yet''. The reason Izumi deserts the boys on Yock Island for a month was not only to train their minds and bodies, but also to give her time to make room for them, because she could innately tell that they would succeed in figuring out her riddle.
172* In the beginning, Lust tells Gluttony he can't eat Cornello as that kind of trash would make him sick. In actuality, she needed his body intact so Envy would be able to impersonate him.
173** However, we do see Envy impersonating Cornello in one early scene when he meets up with Gluttony and Lust. We also know they can turn into people they've seen pictures of (as evidenced by [[spoiler:them turning into Gracia after seeing Hughes's family photo]]), so if there were any pictures of Cornello around, that could work if they didn't have access to an intact body. On the other hand, maybe having a physical body as reference would make things ''easier'' for Envy?
174* [[http://adventuresofcomicbookgirl.tumblr.com/post/83159675629/how-winrys-heroism-helped-inspire-ed-to-choose Winry's unknown inspiration to Ed's choice in the finale.]]
175* The only thing that can break the law of equivalent exchange is a Philosopher's stone. Edward is one, according to the first point on this section. [[spoiler: Winry also broke it because she didn't expect anything for every good deed that she did. They truly deserve each other.]]
176* It's almost blink and you miss it, but during their fight under Central, both Hohenheim and Father transmute dragons at each other. These dragons both have rather specific designs, a Chinese style for Hohenheim and a more western style for Father. Fridge kicks in when you remember that Hohenheim helped found Alkahestry in the Oriental based country of Xing and Father brought Alchemy to the very much Western and Central European based Amestris.
177** Additionally, Eastern dragons are generally benign and have much more positive symbolism than traditionally evil Western dragons. Makes sense that Hohenheim would use the former and Father the latter.
178** Also related to the above, Xingese Alkahestry is a counter to Amestrian Alchemy; Ed describes the way Scar uses it as stopping Alchemy at the second phase of destruction. Makes sense when you find out that alkahest is an alchemical concept also known as the universal solvent, capable of destroying anything. Bonus points for Funimation coming up with the name: in the original Japanese, Xing's alchemy is called ''rentanjutsu'' as opposed to Amestris' ''renkinjutsu'', the ''rentan'' reflecting the real-life goal of ancient Chinese alchemy, the elixir of life, as well as its overall greater concern with medicine than gold compared to European alchemy. Something like the universal solvent would have great medicinal uses. Furthermore, the man credited with inventing the concept of alkahest? Paracelsus, AKA the real-life von Hohenheim. Thus, the Alkahestry name keeps the same motif, as well as adds to the Hohenheim vs. Father element within the story.
179* Olivier's dislike of her brother and Roy makes a lot more sense after she disdainfully refers to Roy as the Hero of Ishval, as well as calling her brother a coward. It's not only noted that she actively chose Miles because him being Ishvalan and Amestrian (among others), but prevented him from being recalled to Central along with the rest of the Ishvalan members of the military. From Olivier's perspective, Roy and Alex both went along with the genocide that she was going against the best she could, and when Alex realized how truly horrific the war was, he didn't turn on the members of the military who were gleefully killing Ishvalans (which even he considers his greatest failure).
180* Why are there so many Ishvalans still alive in spite of the genocide? [[spoiler:Because the nationwide transmutation circle only required people to die ''in Ishval''. The conflict probably would have been sufficient for the blood crest if it hadn't turned from a regional uprising to a war throughout the southeast. If it had gone on for longer the high command could have been distracted from Father's plan (and recruiting all those State Alchemists was a bonus for cultivating sacrifices). Thus, Wrath no longer needed to enforce the order, leaving local authorities to either execute it themselves or turn a blind eye to refugees]].
181** This is supported later in the series when Kimblee tells Ed to "carve a bloody crest into Briggs." Ed refuses, mostly since he hates killing if he can avoid it, but also because he knows why they need it at this point. [[spoiler:Kimblee's solution is to seemingly defect to Drachma and let their soldiers in, all of whom are promptly curbstomped by the Briggs brigade. So, there was still enough bloodshed to count, [[LoopholeAbuse even if it wasn't the Briggs soldiers themselves]] [[ExactWords who were used for the "bloody crest"]]]].
182* Ling latched onto Edward pretty quickly all things considered. But then one remembers that Xing has tales of an Immortal Sage with golden hair and eyes. So of course someone from Xing seeking immortality would zero in on Ed.
183* When Ling is [[spoiler:going to hold the gate,]] he rips the sleeves off of his shirt. Why? Well, aside from looking [[RuleofCool cool]] and [[spoiler:showing off the full body shield, it also makes sense if you consider that the first Greed wore a vest]]
184* It’s taken for granted that alchemists who perform human transmutation have an important aspect of their body stripped away from them in a manner that works as a form of irony. Mustang was blinded so as to not see the future he wanted to create, Izumi was made infertile so as to never be able to have another child after the one she attempted to resurrect. But the Elric brothers’ always struck this troper as overlooked. In the earliest parts of the story, we hear Ed talking about how a young woman, who worshippped a corrupt priest, “At least [still has] legs to stand on.” Seeing as Edward lost his leg before his arm, this would imply his original ironic punishment was that, being the older brother in a family without a guardian, he’s no longer able to stand on his own two feet—and this carries through with his relationship to Winry as his automail mechanic. Edward’s limbs are constantly being broken and in need of repair. He’s quite literally dependent on others and is forever incapable of being self-sufficient. Meanwhile, however, for Alphonse, the punishment always felt disproportionate. Alphonse lost his entire body while Ed only lost one limb per transmutation. It felt like the Truth treated Al as a pawn. Him losing his body functioned more like a punishment for Ed as the elder brother than one for Alphonse himself. Edward endangers his brother by committing a taboo in order to bring back someone in his family, then he winds up with no family left. Until it hits that the explanation Al gives for wanting his mom back is to be able to hug her and feel her warmth again. The Truth knows that Ed will bring his brother back into the mortal realm via proxy. So the Truth orchestrates it so that when Al returns to the mortal realm, he isn’t able to feel ANYTHING—not even the rain falling down on his armor. The interesting thing about this is that, comparatively, Alphonse is safer. The Truth deals Al a raw deal psychologically; but strategically, as a little brother to an already young State Alchemist, Alphonse is made functionally bulletproof. In equivalent exchange, the Truth steals Al’s body as a punishment to Edward but also enables Alphonse to have greater agency and protection that his older brother never provided. Finally, the last piece of the perfect puzzle—in order to bind Al’s soul to the armor, Ed loses his right arm... the thing necessary to perform alchemy without a transmutation circle. After receiving this unique gift as a result of the knowledge he’s acquired, it’s immediately taken away from him. The irony of this punishment? Ed has to give up his access to alchemy in order to bring back Alphonse. [[spoiler:Guess how he brings back Alphonse in the end.]]
185** That’s right, everyone! That was the irony behind Ed losing his arm. [[spoiler:It showed how he could’ve gotten Al’s body back from the very beginning.]]
186** Related to losing his leg, [[spoiler:when Ed sacrifices his Gate to retrieve Alphonse, despite both Alphonse and Ed's leg being taken from as a result of the human transmutation, only Alphonse is taken back while Ed's leg is forever lost to him, despite also being sacrificed at the same time. Given the lesson Ed learned was that relying upon others, its likely Truth kept the leg to symbolize the lesson Ed learned: he may forever be lacking his physical leg, but like with giving up his alchemy, he could always keep standing as long as his friends were there to support him.]]
187
188* With human sacrifices being so important to their plan, it seems strange that the homunculi allow Ed, someone who they know opened the gate and is a perfect candidate, to just wander the country and land himself in danger. After all, he did fake an attack on the Führer so they could have used that as an excuse to imprison him somewhere and then discretely move him to where they need him. But alchemists on the needed level don't pop up every day. On the actual day, they still needed to force someone to perform human transmutation. So by letting Ed wander around, there was a chance that he would lead them to another potential human sacrifice. Which is how they found Izumi.
189
190* A minor one but Ed tends to be rather surprised whenever he sees how good his friends are at drawing, while his own skills seem rather mediocre compared to what he makes with alchemy. Sure, for Armstrong it's [[RunningGag a skill that has been passed down his line for generations]] but what about Al? Not actually surprising when you consider your average state alchemist will be drawing transmutation circles and diagrams fairly regularly as part of their work. Ed on the other hand has been performing transmutation without a circle since he was eleven. That's four years of not needing to draw on a regular basis. His rendition of Xiao Mei was crude compared to Al's likely because he hasn't had the incentive to keep up his skills at drawing for several years.
191** It should also be noted that Edward was right-handed before he lost his right arm, and in early episodes of FMA (2003) we see clips of Ed's research written in a flowing cursive hand. Contrast this with the letter he writes Winry [[spoiler:after passing the State Alchemist exam]], where there are several balled up pieces of paper on the desk, and he is evidently concentrating very hard to scrawl even simple words with his left hand. Later in the series, Pinako comments that she hasn't received "even a postcard" from the boys, further demonstrating that Ed finds writing to be a truly difficult chore (and that he never sent that letter to Winry). Ed has probably given up on ever being able to write (or draw) well ever again, giving him a disproportionate admiration and appreciation of others' abilities.
192* Hohenheim's name. His full name, Van Hohenheim, is derived from the famous real life alchemist known as Paracelsus. Real name "Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus **von Hohenheim**". Further solidified in that [[spoiler: Father]] offered up the name "Theophrastus Bombastus" or "Theo" first before it was rejected in favor of his current name.
193* While it's made a point early on in the series that Alphonse is physically unable to cry (or feel anything for that matter), there are some scenes in the manga and Brotherhood where Al oddly sounds like he's out of breath after running, or even crying when he's upset. However in episode 20 of Brotherhood, Al covers his face and audibly sobs as he expresses his thankfulness to Ed for [[spoiler: confirming that they didn't end up bringing back their mother, thus also not killing her a second time]]. After that, when Al admits to his brother how afraid he is of his armor body failing him and his reason for wanting his body back, reflections of light can be seen on his helmet that look like ''tears falling down his "face."'' [[SandinMyEyes Don't worry, this troper will be okay.]]
194[[/folder]]
195
196[[folder:FridgeHorror]]
197
198* In Episode 1 of Brotherhood, the ice alchemist, Isaac [=McDougal=], [[spoiler:is trying to kill Bradley for what he did to Ishval. He's trying to protect the world from him. When we learn about the conspiracy and the homunculi, his actions suddenly make perfect sense.]]
199** Upon re-watching the first episode after the conclusion of the series, it's hard to tell which is worse; [[spoiler: that Isaac (who at the time came off looking and sounding like a raving lunatic) was right all along, or that even if his plan ''had'' succeeded, in the long run, it would have been, ''at worst'', a major inconvenience. The military would've been lost their main base...and that's about it. Even then, this assumes that the damage wouldn't be easy to reverse after the fact with alchemy. Either way, it would have done very little, if ''anything at all'' to hinder Father's plan, and Bradley himself would have undoubtedly survived the destruction of the base, thus rendering Isaac's goal useless since Bradley was his target in the first place.]]
200* The [[spoiler: cycloptic flesh golems which eat people]] are pretty gruesome, but if you take a good look you will notice that [[spoiler: they have ''all flat teeth'']]. Ow.
201* The Amestrian commanders and scientists aren't portrayed as much else than crazy human stooges for the Homunculi. But given how Father and his "children"(sans Wrath) have been around before they were even born, there's a very strong possibility these poor bastards were groomed and indoctrinated to serve as disposable pawns for "the good Gentleman". The Gold Toothed Doctor isn't even in it for immortality, just blindly committing crimes against humanity because Father tells him to. In that sense, he might not be much different from Bradley and the men he raised as disposable weapons.
202* During the "Miracle at Rush Valley" storyline, Paninya [[AfraidOfBlood freaks out at the sight of blood]] when Winry delivers Mrs. LaCoulte's baby. She's even [[TroubledFetalPosition huddled in a corner]] in what's otherwise an uplifting scene. Given Paninya lost both her legs and parents in a horrible train accident, she quite likely has PTSD and just glimpsing blood was enough to trigger an anxiety attack. Thank Truth she has good people taking care of her.
203* The fifth ED from FMA Brotherhood is clearly from Hohenheim's POV and addresses Trisha. At one point, the lyrics, "I watch as the shards of memories disappear one by one; the memories of when you were still with me." The image while this is being sung? Hohenheim's house. Which Ed and Al burned down. Now we know what he was thinking when he returned home after all those years. This is also perhaps why he took the family photo—he was worried Ed would destroy that too.
204* The [[MixAndMatchCritters chimeras]] are regular animals alchemically combined. Some chimeras [[TalkingAnimal talk]]. [[spoiler: A talking chimera indicates one of the animals used to make the chimera was a ''human'']]. Long after the horrifying revelation this inevitably led to, the military went on to [[spoiler: display talking chimeras of their own, ''better'' talking chimeras, that were in fact basically still the human but with animal form and enhanced instincts]]. What Shou Tucker did gets even worse on one of two different levels now: either it was completely avoidable as well as pointless [[spoiler:and the military let him go ahead with it to keep their own secrets]] or they performed an autopsy on the first [[spoiler:dead]] chimera and found out [[spoiler:it had been human, thus kickstarting the whole human-chimeras plot]]. In either case, they also noticed that Tucker was an untalented idiot (thus also unfit for human transmutation), so they kept him in the dark while putting the gold-toothed doctor in charge. [[spoiler: Nina only suffered because the military didn't trust Tucker enough to get him involved.]]
205* Creating Chimeras requires a transmutation circle, unless you visit [[GateOfTruth the Gate.]] The DC hero B'wana Beast has similar abilities to create hybrid-creatures, minus a circle. Now remember that part of Grant Morrison's ComicBook/AnimalMan where he suffered a nervous breakdown [[DespairEventHorizon from the murder of his ape Djuba]] and [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge went on a rampage]], turning several innocent animals and people into chimera-like monsters, until Buddy talked him down? Just imagine someone like [[TheSociopath Shou]] [[MadScientist Tucker]] coming back from the Gate with power like that.
206* It is implied that the souls inside the Philosopher's Stone suffer from incredible pain; this is worse once you consider that the souls inside of Father and Hohenheim have been Philosopher's Stones for more than 400 years. Thankfully, half the Xerxians are in body of [[MessianicArchetype Hohenheim]].
207* It is shown in the manga and in the second anime that [[spoiler: Marco has found a way to destroy the Philosopher's Stone and that one's soul could act as a stone as is shown later; that means he would be able to destroy your soul.]]
208** Pretty doubtful. When [[spoiler: Marco does get around to using that reaction on Envy, it doesn't destroy the homunculus and leaves Envy with exactly one soul in the body, enough to keep existing in the pathetic true form. This probably means Marco cannot kill the body this way and thus can't destroy your only soul. Also, destroying the Stone is hardly the same as destroying souls - even using the Stone simply exchanges bits of people's souls with the Gate/Truth, and we have no idea what happens to them afterwards. Marco's alchemy probably just set them free to pass on to the afterlife (which might actually be the Gate anyway), thus destroying the Stone that was binding them together.]]
209* Since [[spoiler: Father was made of Hohenheim's blood]], that means Ed and Al, are related to the homunculi, [[spoiler: being Hohenheim's sons and parts of Father respectively]]. The horror fades, though, when you imagine them having a family reunion, and since Ed, Al and [[spoiler:Father]] are of the same generation, that means Ed and Al are the homunculi's UNCLES! One of the bonus comics acknowledges this. The Homunculi ask their uncles for money.
210* At one point, Lust and Greed have a kind of flirtatious (in a threatening way) conversation. If you think about it, that's an odd combination of BrotherSisterIncest and {{Selfcest}}.
211* Episode 48's second commercial card depicts Gluttony looking panicked. At first you might think it references the fact that he has just been getting his chubby butt handed to him by Lan Fan, then about five minutes later [[spoiler: Pride, his older brother, devours him]]. May also double as FridgeBrilliance.
212* So Hohenheim has about 536,329 souls in his body (not including his own, obviously), that are all conscious and fairly aware of what's going on around Hohenheim, meaning they probably see and hear most if not all of what he hears, so there's a good chance that 500,000+ people were there in his head, even during intimate moments with Trisha. Also bathing and changing clothes with that many people in your head might have been a bit weird... no wonder Hohenheim is such a CloudCuckoolander.
213** He also states that he has spoken to and had gotten to know ''each of the individual souls'' inside him during his long life. This implies that he probably spent ''a lot of time'' pacifying the souls that were forcibly put inside his body and most likely had received some form of retaliation from some guy who clearly didn't find the experience pleasant. Also, some souls in him were probably those of criminals (He outright names one who stated how that particular person would like to kill Father/Dwarf in the Flask one day) and would want to take over his body, especially now that Hohenheim has been turned immortal. In short, Hohenheim's life had not been an easy one.
214* A small one for shippers. Ling mentions that the Emperor has 50 wives and that they bear all his children. At the end, [[spoiler:when Ling becomes Emperor, he gets 50 wives and none of them are Lan Fan.]]
215** Then again, one has to remember that [[spoiler:Lan Fan specifically asked Ling to end the 50 clan feud. This would subsequently make having one wife per clan unnecessary.]]
216** Also, even if it takes a while for Ling [[spoiler:to end the clan wars]], Lan Fan refers to the Yao clan as "''our'' clan," and May calls her a "dog of the Yao clan" or something similar while they're at Dr. Knox's place. So even if Ling ''does'' end up having to take concubines, Lan Fan could still count as his wife from the Yao clan.
217** Furthermore, it's never confirmed that [[spoiler:Ling gets married, only that he becomes Emperor. He owns a Philosopher's Stone, and assuming he uses it on himself, it means he no longer needs to have children to further his bloodline.]]
218* When the Homunculi die, they turn to dust which in turn stain people's clothes or worse enter everyone's lungs. Nothing more horrifying than having [[NightmareFuel/FullmetalAlchemist those particles of Homunculi inside your biological system]].
219* So if [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Sheska/Schieska/Scheska]] was buried under all those books, unable to dig her way out under her own power...what would've happened had our heroes not stumbled across her apartment when they did?
220* If Father became [[AffablyEvil affable]] after reabsorbing Greed due to the latter representing his desire for friends, then how must he have been before expelling Wrath? Could Greed’s departure from the group have been an attempt to escape from the wrath of a demigod?
221** Considering that Wrath is the most recent Homunculus, Father must have been pretty wrathful for a ''really long time''. It makes you wonder how the rest of the Homunculi dealt with it, too...
222* At the end of Chapter 58 of the manga, during the flashback of the Ishval Civil War, the Ishvalan members of the military are imprisoned. Remember why the Elric brothers went to the Fifth Laboratory? Because ''condemned prisoners are used as Stone ingredients there, being the easiest people to "disappear" with little to no questioning''. At the start of Chapter 59, the first Ishvalans are used in experiments to create a philosopher's stone. If you look closely, sure enough—the imprisoned Ishvalan Amestrian soldiers and the first Ishvalan Philosopher's Stone victims are one and the same.
223* The PhilosophersStone is said to grant an alchemist the power to violate the laws of EquivalentExchange. With TheReveal that the Stone [[PoweredByAForsakenChild imprisons souls and converts them into high energy]], this statement seems to be proven as technically false. However, the show's motif about the value of the human soul still applies when it comes to the Stone—the transmutations are still governed by natural law, they can still be undone by other transmutations, and even the Stone's brand of immortality can expire depending on how frequently the souls are used up. To create and use the Stone is to destroy human souls for a superpower battery with incredible yet ultimately finite power. It's both a technical violation and an ethical perversion of EquivalentExchange.
224* The "Dwarf in the Flask" didn't just absorb the souls of Xerxes' humans -- we can see some horses dying as well. He killed ''everything'', plants included, which explains why Xerxes turned into a complete desert.
225** If you watch when Father [[spoiler:"gives birth" to the Xerxian souls]], you can see ''a baby'' crawl up to Izumi. This means that he also absorbed ''infants and children'' without a second thought.
226* A more realistic take to when [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Aang]]/[[WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2 Po]] finds out that his people were brutally massacred, and you have Scar. Plus there was no one around to comfort him as his brother sacrificed himself to save him.
227* The nationwide transmutation circle requires mass bloodshed at each point where lines meet. Father and the Homunculi spent centuries building up Amestris so they could turn it into that circle, but how could they guarantee that there would be a substantial population at each of those points so that they could be slaughtered? Did they go out of their way to ''create'' some of the cities they would later destroy so that they could have the massacres needed for the ritual?
228* Central has quite a few abandoned buildings to be conveniently destroyed in fights, doesn't it? And no signs of homeless people, that I remember. How many souls did the military need for the mannequin soldiers?
229* The first philosopher's stones created by the military were created by using five people at most. The reason that souls inside Father and Hohenheim got crazy was because of how many were in the same place at the same time and pain. Would five people go crazy inside a philosopher's stone or would they be aware of everything happening around and how the stone was being used? People using the stones include Father Cornello and Kimbley.
230* To be a soul inside a philosopher's stone. Specifically, to be a soul inside Hohenheim as he transmutes. As we know with Ed, one doesn't need to spend the full power of a single soul for transmutation but it shortens ones lifespan. Hohenheim knows all of his souls by name. It is probably a delicate balancing act to never use enough power of a single soul to destroy it (Father and the Homunculi just don't care and their souls are in eternal torment anyway). Then you realize that Hohenheim put hundreds if not thousands of his souls into the soil over several years, to countermand Father's transmutation circle. Imagine being that soul, fully sentient, spending years unmoving in the dirt and waiting for The Promised Day.
231* In Episode 56, an old woman bearing the appearance of Dante from the 2003 anime is seen as one-half of an old couple in Central. [[spoiler:Everyone in Amestris gets their soul sucked out by Father's Nationwide Transmutation Circle a few episodes later—and that presumably includes the old couple]]. Thinking back to the 2003 anime and remembering that Dante [[spoiler:has been surviving for centuries through forced alchemical body-swapping]] can only lead to one conclusion: [[spoiler:both Father AND Dante used alchemy to rip this woman's soul away from her own body]].
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233[[/folder]]
234
235[[folder:FridgeLogic]]
236
237* After Xerxes, isn't Hohenheim transformed into a homunculus? He's basically a cross between Wrath and Father, so how can he have children?
238** Even if his soul is fueled by the thousand of others and his biology messed up by his new status as Philosopher Stone, he was originally a human, so he still had the genetic material necessary to produce children.

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