Did you recently finish watching Full Metal Alchemist and want to know who some of the strongest characters are, who can’t be trounced, and who could be in this popular shonen anime series? We are here for you guys. Today we will rank the top 36 strongest Full Metal Alchemist characters with their abilities, special powers, and weaknesses.
In case you don’t know, Full Metal Alchemist has been unofficially crowned the King of All Shonen anime series. Alchemy is the science that allows one to create nearly anything in exchange for something with parallel or equal value. People that can use this science are called Alchemists. They can remodel cars, develop weapons, and even flames, ice, and water by harnessing the world’s power.
There is one fundamental restriction of Alchemy, one that two brothers, Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric, crossed. They try to bring back their dead mother, while in the process, their bodies are stolen from them, and they venture out into the world to find the Philosopher Stone, the only thing that can bypass the principle of equivalent exchange and get their bodies back.
Throughout the show, we got German influences, like their names Alphonse, Olivier, Homunculi, and Führer. Ishvalans are proud people that barely scrape by to retain their culture and religion. Those from across the eastern desert, called Xingeses, are extremely loyal to their houses and will do anything to find the origin of immortality. Ling Yao and Mei Chang come to the country for that exact reason.
Xing swells with authenticity and culture, which makes the world much more believable when the author cares and is amazed by how diverse Europe was during the industrial revolution. Characters are the most dangerous tool in storytelling. Alex Louis Armstrong had no idea serving his country would mean becoming a tool of indiscriminate death. Alex runs from that fate until he realizes that the only way he can atone for what he did in Ishval is to help Al, Ed, and the rest of the world.
Edward and Alphonse, their whole deal is that they want their bodies back, but as they dig deeper and deeper, they uncover a mountain of conspiracy that makes them question the ethics of their journey, is it right to pursue this thing when people around them die left and right!! The characters constantly evolve and adapt to the story in every episode. This was a brief introduction to Full Metal Alchemist. Now let us jump into our main part and rank the top 36 strongest Full Metal Alchemist characters.
36. Barry the Chopper
Barry the Chopper is one of the two guards who were ordered to kill any intruders at the Fifth Central Alchemical Laboratory by Homunculi. He is an armored guy, also known by the name Number 66. Before encountering Homunculi, he was a serial killer and then became a human test subject in the alchemical experiments of the military.
Similar to one of the protagonists, Alphonse Elric, he has his soul bound in a suit or armor. He has the advantage of an immortal body made of metal, but anyone with his similar rank or above wouldn’t have much trouble tearing him apart. You can witness Barry the Chopper in both manga and anime, but he appears rather a different character in each.
35. Father Cornello
Father Cornello, with the help of his philosopher’s Stone, made powerful weapons that can be turned into a giant who should be able to crush anybody below him. He is a minor antagonist in the series and the founder of a church in the small desert town of Reole in the Eastern part of Amestris, Leto.
Father Cornello builds up a legion of followers in his town. He acts as a type of cult leader by practicing different divine miracles with the help of the Philosopher’s Stone and by devoting a great deal of time and effort to the building.
34. Paninya
Paninya was agile enough to avoid Edward’s Alchemy and could kick right through metal due to her auto-mail leg, which can also double as a cannon. She was first introduced as a thief in Rush Valley. She is an orphan as her parents died in a train accident when she was a child. In the same accident, she also lost both of her legs and an arm. In Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood, they didn’t plot her loss of an arm, though.
She was taken by Dominic, who is a popular mechanic in her town, and took care of her like her own daughter. He also gave her fake limbs with the help of her skills in auto-mail.
33. Captain Buccaneer
Similar to Paninya and some other characters in Full Metal Alchemist, Captain Buccaneer is also enhanced by powerful auto-mail that can be used as a weapon. Still, he is a bigger, more muscular, and a trained soldier of Briggs Troops and ready to put his life on the line and kill if he has to.
32. Jerso
Jerso is another person who was used as a human test subject in the experiments of the military. After the experiments, he is now a human chimera who can transform himself into a strange bipedal frogfish and toad-like creature. In the storyline of Full Metal Alchemist, Jerso is partnered with Zampano.
31. Zampano
While working together, Jerso and Zampano were able to get the edge on Skar. Zampano is a partner in the crime of, Jerso. They are the duel that fights together in every battle. Just like Jerso, Zampano has also been used as a human test subject during experiments with the military.
Similar to his partner, now Zampano is a human chimera and can transform into a strange pig-like creature with the characteristics of a hedgehog or boar.
30. Darius
Darius, also known as Mr. Gri, Mr. Gorilla, and Gorius, is one of the four human chimeras selected to guard and report to Solf Kimblee in the northeast area of Amestris during the mission of State Alchemist. In the storyline of Full Metal Alchemist, Darius is partnered with Heinkel. Through a series of occurrences, this dual ends up in the company of our protagonist Edward Elric.
Darius is a Gorilla cum Chimera. With the help of his abilities, he can transform himself into a more masculine version of himself with the addition of simian-like characteristics. This transformation gives Mr. Gorilla. Super-enhanced powers, which can allow him to tear even a large concrete wall and throw it to a long distance.
29. Heinkel
Heinkel, also known as Lion King. In the storyline of Full Metal Alchemist, Heinkel is partnered with Darius. Like his partner, Heinkel is also one of the four human chimeras picked to guard and report to Solf Kimblee in the northeast area of Amestris during the mission of State Alchemist.
Heinkel is a muscular, tall man with a long mustache, blond-haired, with glasses. And yes, after knowing his alias, you might already guess he can transform into a humanoid lion. When he gets transformed into his human-based chimera form, he gets all the characteristic features of a lion, and he gains enhanced sense, night vision, fangs, claws, etc.
In addition to this, he gains superhuman strength, with the help of which he can even crush a giant rock with only a single punch. As Darius had knowledge of Scar’s combat style, and Heinkel had the advantage of their smell in a low visibility area, making a deadly duo.
28. Roa
Roa is one of the human chimeras out of Devil’s Nest, associated with the gang of Greed. He is a large man with white hair and is combined with an ox alchemically. During the war of Ishval, he appeared as an enlisted soldier, but he was injured to the point that he had to be removed from the battlefield and later used in human testing.
With the transformation, Roa gains incredible strength by sacrificing speed. You can assume his powers and strength when he was proficient enough to hold his own against Louise Armstrong in direct contact.
27. Slicer Brothers
Slicer Brothers, like Roa, were able to take on a powerful Alchemist in the form of Edward Elric in one-on-one combat. They might actually have won if Elric didn’t use the power of destruction, which he learned from Scar. He is extremely skilled with his sword and is smart enough not to let his opponent use Alchemy. His immortal body never tires and doesn’t feel pain, which also gives him an edge over the other characters with comparative abilities.
While among them, the younger brother is exceptionally skilled with katana. However, the abilities of the older are unknown.
26. Basque Grand
Basque Grand, also known as Iron Blood Alchemist, can create powerful artillery and trap his opponents with metal walls. In the Amestrian Military, a prominent State Alchemist is one of the higher-ranking officers.
Iron Blood Alchemist was a legend of the Ishval Civil War and gained so much popularity with his doing on the battlefield. He is a large bald man with a large black pointy handlebar mustache. The abilities and powers of Iron Blood Alchemist differ significantly in manga and anime versions, but in both, he is a notable Combat Alchemist.
25. Giolio Comanche
Giolio Comanche, also known as Silver Alchemist, is a diminutive old man. The Silver Alchemist has tattoos of the transmutation circles on his palms. He has two large circles on his palm and smaller circles on the tip of his fingers, with the addition of different alchemy text and marking embedded in those circles.
He can create weapons like a Shuriken or a Sword, which he can spin around with on his peg leg like a top, becoming a whirling death machine. You can assume the strength of his powers and abilities in a fight with Scar. He was actually able to land a hit on him.
24. Sig Curtis
Sig Curtis is one of the physically most robust characters on the list, being able to launch Sloth with a lariat and help Alex beat him down until he finally dies for good. Sig Curtis is the husband caring and doting husband of Izumi Curtis.
He runs a meat shop with her wife with the name “Curtis Meats” and housed our protagonists, Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric, in Dublith, South State, Amestris, during their alchemy apprenticeship, though he is not an Alchemist.
Izumi and Sig fell in love at first sight when he was 18 years old, somewhere in the northern regions of the Amestrian. Sig is a pretty lovely person despite having a perpetually angry-looking face.
23. Olivier Mira Armstrong
Olivier Mira Armstrong is also known as Major General Armstrong, Ice Queen, Northern Wall of Briggs, or simply Sis.
Olivier Mira Armstrong is the very definition of a strong woman and is easily one of the mentally toughest characters on this list. Due to the fact she beats up her younger brother Alex and uses a sword as well as any other weapon she can get her hands on. She is very skilled with the addition of her family heirloom sword, and the General of Briggs, Oliver, has full command of the Fortress.
22. Isaac McDougal
Isaac McDougal, also known as Freezing Alchemist or Isaac the Freezer, is an original character and only appeared in the 2009 Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood series. He looks mature and in his mid-30s. In addition to that, Isaac is also a very muscular, average tall guy. He is taller than our protagonist Alphonse Elric but still dwarfed by Armstrong.
As the alias of Isaac indicates, he is specialized in controlling, freezing, and reverting water. He can even do all these things in a source with the source of water. He uses this technique for various feats, like making a path to walk on or developing different kinds of weapons to strike at his opponents with. On his bare hands, he has the power to boil and freeze water, which he can do directly to a human’s body to kill.
He was powerful enough to hold off major Armstrong for a bit, get the better of Colonel Mustang by getting him wet and turning him useless, and fight Ed and Al simultaneously, though he ended up losing to them even though he had help from a Philosopher’s Stone. Sig and Olivier may be able to beat him if they get him close enough, but his raw power and versatility give him the edge.
21. Fu
Fu is a character from the Yao Clan, the retainer of the Xing Empires. Besides that, he is also a personal bodyguard of the Prince of the Yao Clan, Ling Yao. Fu is the extremely wise and highly skilled character of the series.
With the help of his advanced combat abilities and strategic and observational expertise, he serves as a valuable asset to Prince Ling. Besides his abilities, he is fiercely loyal to the Ling Yao and his clan in some really harsh situations.
While using Xing explosives made in Xing frequently, Fu uses Xingese martial arts. Other than that, his abilities and skills in using a kunai lefts the viewer speechless. While fighting alongside the second Greed, he is skilled enough to hold his own against King Bradley.
Similar to other Xingese peoples in the series, Fu can sense the “chi ” of different peoples. This gives him a massive advantage in battles because he can sense his enemies before seeing them.
20. Lan Fan
Lan Fan is a young teenage Xingese girl. She is the granddaughter of our Xingese old man, Fu. Like Fu, Lan Fan is a personal bodyguard of the Prince of the Yao Clan and is fiercely loyal to him. She was able to give Ed a run for his money and completely eviscerated Gluttony as well in the dark, Though after gaining her new auto-main arm, Lan Fan may have closed the gap or even surpassed her grandfather in combat skills.
She mastered the Xingese martial arts in both armed and hand-to-hand styles. And, of course, she can sense the Chi of other people, which gives her a lot of advantage in the battle.
19. Ling Yao
The master and Prince of the Yao Clan, Ling Yao, is a step above both of them. Being able to hold off Bradley even while taking care of an injured Lan Fan. He travels to the country looking for the powers that will guarantee him the throne, mainly through the Philosopher’s Stone. Lin runs into Edward and Al after realizing that they know something about the Stone; Ling orders Lan Fan and Fu to arrest them.
Like many different Xingese worriers, Ling can read the flow of the Dragon’s Pulse, with the help of which he can locate, sense, and track any living being near him. In addition to this, he can also sense other spiritual anomalies like Philosopher’s Stone and Homunculus, except Wrath, who only has one soul.
18. Solf J. Kimblee
Solf J. Kimblee, also known as Crimson Alchemist, is undoubtedly one the most influential person in Full Metal Alchemist, especially with the use of a Philosopher’s Stone. A lot of people will probably think he deserves to be higher, but Kimblee has the big downfall of being terrible in close-quarters combat. Scar ended up almost killing him after only a few seconds of combat.
He even could have killed him in just a few seconds as well if he really wanted to, and low and behold. He ended up getting wounded by a character much weaker than himself due to the same reason. Any character above them probably kills him if they were blood lusted. Well, some people, even on his own tier, have a good chance of killing him if they get in close enough.
17. Mei Chang
Even though she is a little girl, Mei Chang manages to make it into the mid-tier. Just like the other characters of Xing, she can sense Chi and is an expert fighter. However, she also has the ability to use Alkahestry, which is a massive advantage over them.
It even has advantages over regular Alchemy, such as creating long-distance circles that can also be used as traps and surprise attacks. She was also able to become more substantial depending on how strong her opponent was, which allowed her to even hold off the power of Father after he absorbed God.
16. Alex Louis Armstrong
Alex Louis Armstrong, also known as the Strong Arm Alchemist, was powerful enough to hold his own against Sloth, but he did end up needing some help to finally defeat him. Some of you may want to bring up how he lost to his sister if he is more robust than her in a fight, but Alex most likely wasn’t going all-out in that fight due to his soft nature, and he didn’t use any Alchemy either.
It is pretty clear that he was the stronger of the siblings when he needed to save his sister’s life from Sloth by using his own body as a shield, and he was clearly the one doing most of the work in that fight.
15. Edward Elric
Yes! our young protagonist is not in the top 10 guys, from which you can assume how strong the characters will be in the top 10 list.
The Full Metal Alchemist Edward Elric is a highly skilled Alchemist for his age who no longer needs a transmutation circle due to seeing the truth. At the beginning of the series, he may have been in the tier below, but even then, he was skilled enough to take adult State Alchemists and even managed to counter Greed’s ultimate shield. After getting his winter auto mail, he became even faster than Skar, and as we mentioned earlier, he could have killed Kimblee if he really wanted to, which Kimblee admitted to himself.
14. Alphonse Elric
Alphonse Elric may have been the younger brother, but in our opinion, he is the stronger of the two. He was always better in hand-to-hand combat, and after gaining the ability to use Alchemy without transmutation circles, he lost his only real advantage.
Before seeing the truth, Al would be in the tier below, and while using the Philosopher’s Stone, he would be in a tear above, considering he was able to put up a fight against Pride and Kimblee at the same time.
13. Lust
Lust is the first Homunculus on the list, and like most of the other Homunculus, she is basically immortal. She also has a dangerous finger game due to her ultimate sprint ability. With this ability, she was able to casually apart Barry the Chopper and mess up Alphonse as well.
She was responsible for traveling abroad and manipulating Alchemists to create Philosopher’s Stone. When she bates an Alchemist with the power of the philosopher’s Stone, they usually do anything she wants, usually leading to their own death.
Like the other Homunculus, Lust was created from a failed attempt at Human Transmutation. Scar’s brother tried to bring his girlfriend back to life, but when it failed and showed up and constantly fed the failed creature red stones until it became Lust. Throughout the series, she constantly struggles with her loyalties and ultimately wants to become a human.
She even betrays the other homunculi to help the Elric Brothers when she learns that Dante will never help them. In the 2009s remake, Lust manifests the Father’s Lust and once again partners up with Gluttony. Here, Lust was created using a philosopher’s Stone. Because of this, she has multiple lives and is extremely hard to kill.
12. Sloth
Sloth is also known by the nickname ‘Sloth the Indolent,’ he may be lazy, but he is the fastest homunculi and extremely strong and durable. Still, he isn’t the smartest Homunculus in the Flask, and his lazy nature also hinders his fighting ability. Just like other homunculi, he was created by Father and is the Excavator of the underground tunnels. Sloth’s Extreme Super strength, Extreme Super durability, and Extreme Super speed make him one of the strongest homunculi.
The personality of the Sloth was not explored that much in the series, but considering his appearance, he always complains about how much work he has to do. In battles, Sloth uses his fists and, with the help of a chain on his wrist, comprises astonishing physical strength. He can easily crush a human body with accidental ease and is capable of crushing and tearing through steel and solid rocks.
11. Gluttony
In his base form, Gluttony is easily the weakest Homunculus, but with his False Gate of Truth, he is extremely deadly. He’s usually found eating or asking for food and is typically present in Lust’s company. In the 2003 anime, Gluttony is one of the most mysterious homunculi. He is created by Dante with the purpose of creating red stones. Out of all the homunculi, Gluttony cares for Lust the most and is willing to do anything she says.
After the death of Lust, Gluttony becomes a whiny mess wanting only to know what happened to her. Dante turns him into a mindless eating machine, but this backfires when she is later beaten by Gluttony.
In a movie of the Full Metal Alchemist franchise, Gluttony appears to have transformed into a large multi-limbed monster. He fights against Ed and seems to be a lot more potent than in the past. He can swallow up anything he touches, and anyone who fights him would need to be extremely careful, as one slip-up could mean their doom.
10. Greed
Greed is a homunculus in the Fullmetal Alchemist series but has a different story in the 2003 anime and the 2009 remake. In the 2003 anime, Greed is the second oldest Homunculus that was created by Dante.
Because it is immense averse, Greed rebelled against Dante and was in prison for 130 years. When Greed escapes, he teams up with five other lab prisoners and creates a new base of operations called the Devil’s Nest.
Greek kidnaps Al to learn how to attach his soul to a suit of armor so that he can gain that kind of immortality for himself. Greed hides out in Dante’s mansion and is drained of his red stones by Dante, using Greed’s human remains. Immediately after, Greed gets into a fight with Ed, who’s learned how to transfer Greed’s body structure and break his ultimate shield.
Even though Greed is killed by Ed, he doesn’t show any hate. In fact, he revealed how to weaken the homunculi and kill them. Greed is one of the strongest characters in Full Metal Alchemist, while in Ling’s body, he arguably gets even stronger if he lets Ling take over; they combine his ultimate shield with Ling’s skill and Chi’s sensing ability. He does have one weakness, though, and that’s the fact that Alchemy can turn his ultimate shield brittle.
9. Izumi Curtis
Izumi Curtis is a master alchemist and skilled martial artist who runs a butcher shop with her husband, Sig. Izumi also becomes a teacher to the Elric Brothers after they beg her. She teaches them both, Alchemy theory and martial arts for six months and eventually bruises to see them as her own children.
In the 2003 Anime Adaptation, Izumi is taught by another master Alchemist named Dante. Izumi tries to use human transmutations to bring back her stillborn son and unknowingly creates the Homunculus, Wrath. She was also able to Judo Throw Sloth into the air.
8. Scar
The Scar is a killer who attacks state alchemists to get his own very lethal, random justice for exterminating his people, the Ishvalan. Scars gave in an Alchemic tattoo on his right arm, which was originally his older brother’s. In the 2003 anime, Scar loses his right arm in a fight against the state alchemist Kimblee during the Ishvalan Civil War.
Scar’s brother managed to cancel out Kimblee’s powers and fused his own right arm on Scar, giving Scar his Alchemic powers. Scar doesn’t know what the symbols on his arm mean, and when he tries to learn about them in Central, Scar runs into Edward Elric.
Scar, with just the Power of Destruction, was able to kill multiple State Alchemists. He almost killed Kimblee and defeated Edward Elric at the same time. While also using the Power of Creation, he was able to hold his own against an injured King Bradley and actually won, but only due to a little help. The Scar is a lot stronger than the people give him credit for; in his true form, he is strong enough to be Ed and Ling at the same time.
7. Envy
Envy is a Humonculus in the Full Metal Alchemist series, with a different origin and role in both the 2003 adaptation and the 2009 remake that follows the manga. In 2003 anime Envy was the first Homunculus created when Hohenheim tried to perform human transportation and bring his son back to life.
Envy has the power to shapeshift for a time and pretends to be Father Cornello. One of his most significant Envy kills the murder of Maes Hughes. Envy fights against Edward closer to the end of the series, which shows what Edward’s true form looks like.
In a state of shock, Envy stabs Ed through the heart but meets up with it again in front of the gate. He learns from Ed that Hohenheim is alive on the other side of the gate, and wanting revenge, Envy forces the gate open and goes to kill his father.
6. Roy Mustang
Roy Mustang, also known as the Flame Alchemist, is the tritagonist of the Fullmetal Alchemist series. When he sees the potential of the Elric Brothers for Alchemy, he offers them the chance to become state Alchemists. Mustang takes many opportunities to teach the Elrics about how the world works and shows them the troubles they’ll face when trying to find something as powerful as the Philosopher’s Stone.
When Maes Hughes is killed by Envy, Mustang is devastated and throws himself into finding the killer. To make it worst, while staying learned that King Bradley is a homunculus and is responsible for starting the Ishvalan Civil War.
Learning of the corruption and chaos inside of Central, he gives up on trying to become fearful, instead devoting all of his time and energy to taking down the Humonculi and avenging Hughes. Mustang has his final fight with King Bradley and is insanely outmatched.
Mustang manages to get lucky when Salim unintentionally brings down the skull of the human, transmuted to create Wrath. With his signature Fire Alchemy, Colonel Mustang has some of the highest destructive power in the entire series. With it, he was able to kill Lust and defeat Envy.
5. King Bradley the Führer of Amestris
King Bradley, also known as Wrath, is a Humonculus in the Full Metal Alchemist series and is represented differently in the 2003 anime and the 2009 remake. In 2003 anime, Wrath was created in an attempt by Izumi Curtis to revive her dead son, who died at birth. When human transmutation failed, Izumi gave the baby to the gate. Wrath spent years inside the gate waiting to get revenge on his mother and to get a body.
When the Elric Brothers tried to bring their mother back to life, Wrath was given a right arm and a left leg. In addition to that, Wrath managed to open the game himself and escape but lost his memory in the process. In the 2009 remake, Wrath is one of the seven Humonculi created by Father and was created to become a Führer of Amestris.
From a young age, he was trained to be a Führer and was trained in martial arts, swordplay, and military strategy. He survived when he was injected with the philosopher’s Stone containing Father’s Wrath. When the Elric Brothers run into Greed, King Bradley sends a small army to fight him and his chimeras.
Brad takes on Greed and manages to get Greed’s Ultimate Shield using his own ultimate eye. With his ultimate eye, Wrath is able to predict his opponent’s movements and adapt to any situation perfectly. With his enhanced body, Wrath is basically a super soldier.
4. Van Hohenheim
Van Hohenheim is basically a living Philosopher’s Stone, and because of this, he has immense powers. He was able to fight Father for a bit, but in the end, he couldn’t win. He is an old and extremely powerful Alchemist and the strange father of Ed and Al Elric. Van Hohenheim disappears after the birth of the Elric Brothers to right the wrong of his mysterious path.
Centuries before the series started, Van Hohenheim created the Philosopher’s Stone, using people captured in the witch hunt and the people who were dying of the Plague. Making the Philosopher’s Stone almost killed Hohenheim, but his former lover Dante uses the Stone to attach his soul to another body.
3. Pride
Pride is the first and most vital Humonculi made by Father. Hohenheim had to run from him in their first encounter, and he admitted he didn’t think he could win in a direct fight with him. Pride’s weakness is he is powerless in complete darkness.
2. Father
Father was able to defeat Hohenheim in battle and was undoubtedly the strongest Alchemist and the most robust character in the series. Father is the Homunculus and the central antagonist of the Full Metal Alchemist series. Father is the oldest Humonculus and was known by the name The Dwarf in the Flask. Father was originally a being that existed inside the gate and manipulated multiple people, including Van Hohenheim.
After killing the King and becoming immortal, Father finds a new land and teaches the people Alchemy, planning to one day use them for his plans. He forms the military state of Amestris and even creates the Führer of Amestris, King Bradley.
After absorbing God, Father reached an entirely new level of power and became a new character called God Father. Unfortunately, we never got to see the true extent of it, as right after he gained this new power, he lost all the souls he absorbed and was significantly weakened and couldn’t properly control his new power.
Even while weakened, he was leagues above everyone else and could just casually kill people by taking their souls and blocking just about any attack that came his way while standing in place. The most impressive thing he did was shoot out a massive energy blast that looked like it came straight out of Dragon Ball Z.
1. The Truth
Now, every one of you might be wondering why Truth is Number One on our list because he is literally everyone on the list. The entire list is the truth, and if the list is true, that means our list with Strongest Full Metal Alchemist Characters must therefore be correct. This is the Truth!
Truth is merciless and cunning but fair in its rationality. According to him, disobedience of alchemy’s laws and rules result in harsh punishment, and he believes in upholding them by any means necessary.
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