Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is one of the most popular anime of all time. The show has a huge fan base worldwide, and it continues to have considerable influence. But probably the most underrated aspect of the show that makes it so unique, is the villains. It is hard to think of an anime that has such a variety of villains with contesting ideologies and unique powers. One of the most powerful and influential rogues on the show was the homunculus, Pride who was second only to the antagonist – Father.
Pride is the embodiment of the narcissism and conceit of Father. He is also one of the most deceitful and cruel villains aside from Envy. The true nature of his character is only revealed one bit at a time, and there is a sense of secrecy about him until the second half of the show. His character is therefore very intriguing and one that casts a long-lasting shadow across the entirety of the show.
Pride is the first-born homunculus and has six other much younger siblings. The 300-year-old certainly has the arrogance and confidence of a first-born, and he is quite firm in his beliefs. Although at some point, the other homunculus might have a second thought about their ideology that never happens to Pride who is very comfortable in his own skin. Unlike Envy who looks down humans in a taunting manner, Pride instead is just conceited about his superiority. He considers humans to be short-lived, weak creatures who are not worthy of any attention. This confidence usually helps him while he fights as he can be seen boasting about his ability to win and control any situation. But this confidence goes against him, as in his arrogance he does not take Alphonse, Edward and Hohenheim seriously, who defeat him eventually.
Pride might appear like a young boy, but his real body is a shadowy mass that can change its shape and size at his will. However, his abilities are limited by the fact that he needs a container to move around. The two containers that he is seen using are Selim’s body and the tunnel that was dug by Sloth. It is almost impossible to defeat him as long as he is in those containers, but in their absence, his body just evaporates, which means he has a huge weakness.
His body is covered with mouths which he can use to absorb the powers of others and eat them, while he has multiple eyes as well throughout his body which he uses to keep an eye on his victims. He can also use his body to stab or hit his enemies as he does with Lust, these extensions of his body are used like arms by him, and since they move very quickly, they are extremely dangerous. Although he is a fearless fighter, he needs an ideal condition to fight because, in absolute darkness and overwhelming lighting, he is unable to form shadows. Because of these reasons, the ideal time for Pride to confront his adversaries is during afternoon or evening when he is in full control.
Pride’s real identity is revealed much later on the show, but even before that, he has some influence. He disguises himself as Salem Bradley, the son of King Bradley who loves Edward Elric. But in reality, both Salem and King Bradley are homunculi who are serving the wishes of Father.
Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye was the first person to who found out the truth of King and Salem Bradley, but Salem is quick enough to catch on as he confronts her in the street and coerces her not to tell anyone about his true nature, but Riza Hawkeye aware of the risk is able to tell Roy Mustang about him in a way that she avoids tipping off Pride.
Even on the Promised Day, it was Pride who kept fighting for Father after Gluttony, Envy and Sloth were defeated. It was Ed against whom Pride made his last stand, but he was unable to defeat him. Ed finished Pride by turning himself into Human Philosopher’s Stone and by directly confronting Pride’s soul. After he was able to make Pride submit against his wishes, Pride’s true nature of a scared young boy was revealed. Before he fell apart, he turned into his true physical form of a tiny fetus.
In the epilogue scene, Pride is shown to be reborn with no memories of his past life. It is quite uncertain what his future is going to be like, but the people of Amestris can take a sigh of relief as they don’t have to worry about Pride’s fearsome powers and sinister plans anymore.
Ava Williams is a trained office.com/setup expert who works with the development team with feedback from customers to make it to expectations. He lives in New York and In addition to his work, he also writes for his personal blog.
