Pride is a major antagonist in the manga series Fullmetal Alchemist and its 2009 anime adaptation. He is one of the seven Homunculi serving Father and the first of them to be created. Pride assumes the dual identity of Selim Bradley, son of Fuhrer King Bradley, who is also the homunculus known as Wrath. While his "container" appears as a human child, his true form is that of an amorphous, shadowy mass featuring multiple eyes and toothy mouths.
Appearance[]
Pride appears as a male human child with Caucasian skin, straight black hair and purple eyes. His usual attire consists of a white shirt, black vest and shorts. Unlike the other Homunculi, Pride does not have any red lines with circular nodes anywhere on his body, nor does he have an Ouroboros tattoo.
Pride's human form is merely a "container" for his true form: a mass of dark, shadowy material adorned with multiple eyes and mouths, not dissimilar from the true form of Father. He can extend these shadows across surfaces and through the air, using them to observe others from a distance or attack them. However, these shadows require a source of light to be effective and are useless in complete darkness.
Biography[]
Pride was the first of the Homunculi to be created by Father, though he ironically appears to be the youngest, having the body of a small boy. It is unknown precisely when he was created, but throughout his life he has been posing as the child of one Amestrian military official or another. By the 1910's, he is posing as the adopted son of King Bradley, the then-ruler of Amestris, but in reality he is Bradley's elder and superior among the Homunculi.
When Pride first appears in the series, he is posing as Selim Bradley, the Fuhrer's son. Aside from the Fuhrer, nobody - not even his adoptive mother - is aware of his true nature. The first to discover the truth is Lt. Riza Hawkeye when she is acting as Bradley's personal assistant. After revealing his identity to the Lieutenant, Pride threatens Hawkeye with deadly consequences if she dares to tell anyone, using his shadows to keep her under constant surveillance.
As the Day of Reckoning approaches, the Elric brothers and their allies organize an attack on Central to thwart Father's plans. At this point, Pride decides to enter the fray himself as he and Gluttony attack the Elric brothers and their father, Van Hohenheim, outside the slums of a small town. Using his shadows, Pride causes a great deal of damage to the area and badly wounds Ed. However, Ed causes a blackout in the nearby slums, plunging the woodlands into complete darkness. Since Pride requires light to cast his shadows, he is rendered unable to fight. In the darkness, the Xingese warriors Fu and Lan Fan are able to attack Pride by sensing his chi.
Pride causes a forest fire that casts enough light for him to make use of his shadows once again. He then uses his shadows to consume Gluttony, absorbing his Philosopher's Stone to replenish the souls he exhausted during the fight. Gaining Gluttony's sense of smell, Pride is able to track his foes in the dark. He attempts to capture Alphonse, but the armoured alchemist then transmutes a massive dome of earth around them, trapping them inside. With no light inside the dome, Pride is once again powerless. and the dome wall is too thick for a small child to dig through.
While inside the dome, Pride and Alphonse discuss the homunculus' human feelings, revealing he is not entirely devoid of emotion and that he genuinely cares about his adoptive mother. However, during this time, Pride continuously bangs on Alphonse's severed helmet with a stick, sending a message in Morse code to Father. Solf J. Kimblee is sent to free Pride, using his explosive alchemy to blast open the dome. Another battle ensues, but is cut short when former military official Yoki rams Pride with a car and Kimblee is severely wounded and left for dead. After Al and the others have driven off to Central, Pride recovers and uses his shadows to devour Kimblee.
Pride later reappears during the attack on Central, appearing along with Fuhrer Bradley - Wrath - to confront Roy Mustang and his team inside the tunnels surrounding Father's lair. After impaling and assimilating the Gold-Toothed Doctor, he activates the transmutation circle inside the chamber, teleporting Mustang to Father. This apparently consumes a great deal of energy from Pride's Philosopher's Stone as when he appears in Father's inner sanctum, his humanoid form begins to crack and flake, revealing the shadowy essence within.
After Father has consumed the Truth, he ascends to the surface while Edward battles against Pride one last time. Ed questions Pride as to why he is fighting, stating that Father has shown no concern over what happens to him. Although clearly hurt at the obvious truth, Pride states that this is human logic, and that it doesn't matter. As a result of his body rapidly disintegrating, Pride thrusts his shadowy limbs into Edward's wounds, declaring that he will replace his own crumbling shell with the body of one who, like his own father, is of Van Hohenheim's blood. However, within the Homunculus' own being, the soul of Solf J. Kimblee speaks up out of the screaming tempest of anguished animus, declaring that Pride cannot be allowed to take Edward's body. Pride expresses his disbelief that Kimblee would be able to hold on to his individuality inside the vortex of souls and demands to know why he would interfere now, but Kimblee responds that the chorus of screams is like music to his ears and that his interference is due to the fact that Pride, who speaks of "honour as a Homunculus", abandoned his convictions and honour to flee from death into the body of a human - that being which he has always considered inferior - and has therefore lost himself the Crimson Alchemist's respect.
Breaking free of his bonds, Edward takes hold of Pride's head and, turning himself once more into a single-souled Philosopher's Stone, forces his way into the Homunculus' psyche. Realizing his imminent defeat, Pride becomes terrified by the belief that Edward is going to kill him, though Kimblee informs him that Edward will do no such thing. As Edward's transmutation reaches completion, Pride's last thoughts are of his adoptive parents, Wrath and Mrs. Bradley, as he cries out, begging for Ed to stop. In the physical plane, Edward crushes Pride's skull in his automail hand and the rest of the Homunculus' body crumbles to dust and Pride is reduced to his apparent basic form, a tiny fetal humanoid with a circular mark on its forehead. Opting not to destroy his enemy, Edward rests the helpless infant on his jacket.
After Father's death, Edward hands over the body of Pride to a tearful Mrs. Bradley, who is told the truth not only about Selim but Wrath as well. Despite the harsh opposition, Mrs. Bradley decides to raise Pride from scratch so he can grow up to be a kind child. Two years later, it is shown that Pride has grown up and once again goes by the name of "Selim Bradley". He is seen acting like a regular child, caring for an injured bird and seemingly having no recollection of his life as Father's firstborn son. However, Grumman, temporarily serving as the Führer, orders that Selim continue to be monitored for a while longer and warns Mrs. Bradley that the military will have to take action if he starts showing any signs of suspicious or malevolent behaviour. Mrs. Bradley responds that she will ensure that nothing will happen, leaving Grumman to ponder if humans and homunculi will ever truly understand each other.
Abilities[]
- Superhuman Endurance - While Pride's humanoid form lacks the physical prowess of the other Homunculi, he can still endure many attacks without significant effect.
- Shadow Manipulation - The shadowy mass that is Pride's true form can be extended over great distances, allowing Pride to spy on others or attack them. He often forms bladed tendrils from these shadows which can cut through most materials easily, and the many mouths within the black mass can bite and even devour victims.
- Assimilation - By consuming victims with his shadows, Pride can gain access to their memories and abilities. The most notable example of this is when Pride devoured Gluttony, gaining his sense of smell. While he also gained Gluttony's constant hunger, his intellect and will were strong enough to resist the urge to start eating everything in sight.
Weaknesses[]
- Darkness - Pride's shadows need a source of light to function, so he cannot use his shadows in total darkness.
- Child-like body - Pride's human container only has the strength of a regular human child.
- Limited Range - Pride's shadows can only extend a certain distance from his container. He is supposedly capable of spreading his shadows anywhere within the limits of Central City and his container usually stays within the city limits. He is, apparently, unable to travel beyond the borders of Amestris.