The homunculi of Fullmetal Alchemist aren’t simply memorable for the heinous acts they commit throughout the series, but because they’re also well-written, multi-faceted characters with a lot of depth beyond simply being evil for no reason. This applies even to characters like Envy who originally seem like they simply derive pleasure from human suffering for no reason, but is later revealed to do so because of a deeply-rooted jealousy of never being able to have the meaningful relationships that humans can.
This makes complete sense, as in the canon version of the series, they were each born from a different, incredibly human trait from Father. They aren’t pure evil, as Greed states that all humans have some form of sin inside their heart that comes out in their own way, and that doesn’t always have to be a negative thing.
10 HEROES: The First Greed Created A Place Where Other Social Outcasts Like Him Could Have A Family
Although the original Greed wasn’t present in the series for long, he still made quite the impact. Anytime homunculi were shown before this, it was typically Lust, Gluttony, or Envy plotting against humankind, but Greed is remarkably different.
Greed’s entire team was made up of people who were experimented on to become chimeras, humans combined with animals. They didn’t really have anywhere else to belong, and Greed was more than happy to offer them a home. Even if he tells others like Bradley that he simply viewed them as possessions, it’s clear that he values those close to him.
9 VILLAINS: Lust Killed The Slicer Brothers, Paralyzed Havoc, & Almost Killed Mustang
Although Lust dies early on compared to many of the other homunculi in the series, it’s hard to dispute her impact. Her villainous nature truly shines in the Fifth Laboratory, where she kills the Slicer Brothers when they were about to reveal top-secret confidential information to Alphonse.
Not only that, but she paralyzes Havoc from the waist-down, though thankfully he’s able to rise back up and find a way to still be useful to Mustang’s team despite not being able to be a soldier. She also nearly kills Mustang, but her mistake was leaving him to bleed out slowly, as it gave him time to figure out how to sear the wound shut to save his own life.
8 HEROES: Envy Carries Edward Out Of The Fifth Laboratory, Effectively Saving His Life
Envy has a general disdain for humanity and takes great pleasure in both insulting the Fullmetal Alchemist and inflicting pain on him. However, they’re still bound by Father’s rules, so they have to make sure that Edward doesn’t die before their plans can come to fruition.
This leads to Envy’s most heroic act in the entire series, which is carrying an unconscious Edward out of the crumbling Fifth Laboratory and warning the others that he needed to be taken to a hospital immediately. Maria Ross tries to ask Envy who they are, but they vanish without a trace just as quickly as they’d appeared.
7 VILLAINS: Envy Adores Toying With Human Lives, Such As When They Killed Hughes & Started The Ishvalan War
Envy absolutely revels in the moments where they get to see sheer, unadulterated terror on the faces of their victims. After killing Hughes and confessing to Mustang about being the culprit, they couldn’t help but laugh maniacally as they recounted how he couldn’t lay a finger on Envy after they assumed the form of his loving wife.
This cruelty doesn’t just apply to adults, either. Envy had absolutely no problem smiling in a child’s face while disguised as an Amestrian soldier before pulling the trigger on them point-blank and beginning the Ishvalan War of Extermination.
6 HEROES: For A Long Time, Bradley Is Able To Maintain The False Dynamic Of Being A Loving Husband
Although Bradley’s feigned humanity falls apart in the end and his wife begins to question his loyalties, he’s able to keep up the guise of being a loving husband for quite a long time. She simply sees him as a hard-working and kind man who puts the safety of his country and family above all else.
Due to how stubbornly she believes this, it’s quite painful whenever she finally realizes that this may not be true. It is implied that both Bradley and Selim, despite being homunculi with feigned identities, ended up feeling something akin to human emotions of love and affection toward Mrs. Bradley.
5 VILLAINS: Pride Has No Problem Sacrificing Even His Fellow Homunculi If It Makes Him More Powerful
Pride believes himself to be above all other beings, even the other homunculi, which perfectly fits in line with the nature of his sin. While he originally works together with Gluttony during their fight in the forest against Ed and Greedling’s group, it doesn’t take Pride long to figure that Gluttony is becoming a nuisance.
Pride was incredibly desperate in his weakened state and didn’t hesitate for a moment to take Gluttony’s life to reinforce his own strength. Gluttony shows human emotions for one of the first times in this scene as well, screaming that he was afraid to die and didn’t want Pride to kill him.
4 HEROES: At The End Of Everything, Envy Admits They’re Jealous Of Humans
In one of the most humanizing acts in the entire series, Envy takes their own life after being reduced to their sniveling true form yet again at the hands of Mustang. Edward stops the Flame Alchemist from killing them and calls Envy out for being jealous of humans deep down.
They try to stubbornly deny this truth at first, but eventually relent and question how a lowly pipsqueak of a human could see through to Envy’s true nature. Envy begins crying for the first time on-screen and wishes Edward luck with his plans before shattering their Philosopher’s Stone with their own hands.
3 VILLAINS: Bradley Killing All Of Greed’s Subordinates Without A Shred Of Hesitation Or Remorse
The first indication viewers get that Bradley might have more going on underneath the surface is when he kills all of Greed’s subordinates down in the sewers. This applies even when they weren’t an active threat to him, such as Martel, who was stuck inside Al’s armor for her own safety.
He had no problem stabbing right through and killing her even though she was inside of Alphonse’s armor, with no consideration to how traumatized that might have made the young armor-trapped boy. He actually attempts this again with Mei Chang when she’s hiding inside of his armor, but she’s luckily small enough to have remained unharmed.
2 HEROES: Greed & Ling Ended Up Becoming Genuine Friends Who Cared For One Another
Although the power dynamic between Greed and Ling starts out rocky, the two form one of the most genuine bonds in the entire series. Ling’s own avarice and ambition is something that the incarnate of avarice himself takes note of, and he lets Ling take control of their body if it’ll give them the edge in combat, like against Pride in the forest.
Greed even ends up telling the only lie of his life to Ling — that the two of them would fight Father together — before forcing Ling to let go of Greed’s soul, because Ling would’ve also been hurt or worse if he hadn’t. Greed was then killed, re-assimilated by Father, and he made sure that Ling wouldn’t be harmed in the process.
1 VILLAINS: Bradley Had No Qualms With Reminding Edward That Winry Was His Permanent Hostage
Once Edward and Alphonse discovered the true nature of the military, King Bradley realized that he’d need some way to ensure that the brothers wouldn’t try to slip information to anyone. He does this by consistently reminding Edward that he knew how close Winry was to him- and where to find her if need be.
Bradley does this with Hawkeye as well, appointing her as his personal secretary. This gave him an extreme upper hand over Mustang, as he can keep a constant watch on her to ensure they can’t meet freely, and also ensures that Mustang won’t try anything. He never injures either of these girls directly, but threatening someone’s life in front of another to keep them quiet is still a despicable tactic all on its own.
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