Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is regarded by many fans as not only one of the best animated shows, but as having one of the best storytelling in history. Its themes and narrative structure are wonderfully intricate, and its characters range from lovable to terrifying. No matter what though, even the most heinous villains remain memorable, including how their stories end.
While there are more than a few antagonists in the series, the main villains are a group of creatures called homunculi that do not age, and regenerate from harm, but can still be killed. Each homunculus was created by alchemy to be an artificial human, using a Philosopher’s Stone. Of course, they aren’t exact human replicas, and there is always something missing. For what could equal the value of a human soul?
Mannequin Soldiers
In an attempt to create an immortal army, the Amestrian government experimented with creating homunculi by injecting liquid Philosopher’s Stones into soulless bodies. The result was a legion of mindless puppets, which resembled a unique kind of zombie more than soldiers.
Although they were intended to obey every command, their early activation meant they were unstable and only acted on pure, violent instinct. While the Mannequin Soldiers were able to take an immense amount of damage without dying, they weren’t completely invincible. In the end, they were all disposed of in various ways including incineration, decapitation, and absorption.
Greed the Avaricious
Most of the prominent homunculi in the show are named after one of the seven deadly sins. More than that though, they are actual embodiments of these sins, as they were created by their “Father” to purge himself of flaws. The third creation of these homunculi was Greed, and like many stories focusing on greed as a concept, he acts as a sort of cautionary tale.
After years in his father's service, he would eventually leave to pursue his own desires, wanting everything that the world has to offer. Eventually, he was recaptured by the other homunculi after trying to achieve immortality and offered a chance to work with them again. When he refused, they boiled him alive in a vat of none other than molten gold.
Sloth the Indolent
As the embodiment of the sin of Sloth, this homunculus is naturally extremely lazy and always complaining. However, due to his brute nature, he is given the monotonous task of digging a giant transmutation circle underneath Amestris. Because of this, he constantly whines about his work and how much pain he is in, trying to rest whenever he can.
However, when he becomes determined to kill Major General Olivier Armstrong, he is shown to be the fastest of the homunculi, proving him to be a deadly opponent. This only leads to his downfall though, as he over-exerts himself in the battle, and his life is drained in the process, allowing him to finally rest.
Gluttony the Voracious
Being one of the first homunculi that are introduced in the show, Gluttony’s character is seen quite a bit before the end. He is perpetually starving and has the mind of a child, allowing the rest of the homunculi to use him primarily for the disposal of their enemies. Now he isn't the first cannibal in media, but he is possibly the nicest out of them, showing a surprising loyalty and love for his family.
However, this loyalty would be the death of him. While he and his brother Pride are fighting the protagonists, they both get close to running out of regenerative power. In a ruthless and decisive move, Pride consumes Gluttony to absorb his life force and enhance his power.
Lust the Lascivious
Lust is one of the other homunculi introduced early on, although she doesn’t last as long. Still, with her cunning mind and deadly abilities, she is often looked to as a leader when the homunculi are out on missions. As the embodiment of Lust, she often uses her looks to achieve the group’s ends and enjoys killing those who she ensnares.
All of this ends though when she faces off against Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist, in a battle that reminds viewers that anime isn't just for kids. In a need for revenge for the homunculi killing his friend, Mustang incinerates Lust over and over until she can no longer regenerate. To many people, Mustang is known as a womanizer, so his murder of Lust seems very fitting. Not to mention that fire and the concept of lust often go hand in hand.
Wrath the Furious
King Bradley is the leader of the country of Amestris but is also secretly the homunculus who embodies Wrath. Being the last of the named homunculi created, he is also different in that instead of being made from scratch, he began as a human who was injected with a Philosopher’s Stone.
Close to the end of the series, Wrath battles against the Ishvalan vigilante Scar and begins to succumb to his injuries, due to his human origins. The battle ends with Scar, a man who has been fueled by nothing except rage until then, killing the King and getting justice. As Wrath breathes his final breaths, he rapidly ages and dies wearing a peaceful smile on his face.
Pride the Arrogant
Masquerading as the young son of King Bradley, Pride is the first homunculus to be created by his true Father. Like his siblings, he believes homunculi to be far superior to humans and believes himself to be superior to almost everyone.
As he nears the end of his life in his final battle against Edward Elric, he attempts to survive by replacing his own decaying body with that of Edward. The sudden realization that he has abandoned his pride to become part human allows Edward the chance to crush Pride’s skull and reduce him to his most basic form, an infant. Having no memories, he is then raised as a regular human child, completely relinquishing his “superiority”.
Envy the Jealous
The third of the homunculi trio that is first shown, Envy is one of the most complex villains, acting as an enemy at some points and an ally at others. Overall though, they are responsible for many atrocities on both a large and small scale. Although they can change their appearance, their true form is that of an enormous green monster, as horrifying as only anime can deliver. Going even further, if they suffer too much damage, they become a small, insect-like creature.
Much like their sister, Lust, they eventually become incinerated by Mustang almost to the point of death. Assuming their most basic form, they are faced with the reality that despite their attitude of superiority, they are truthfully jealous of humanity. Unable to cope with this truth, and the pity being shown to them, they rip out their Philosopher’s Stone and end their life.
Greed the Avaricious II
After the first Greed was killed and reabsorbed into his Father, a new Greed was created by being injected into a Prince from Xing named Ling. This new homunculus had none of the previous Greed’s memories at first, but slowly remembered small tidbits. Eventually, like his previous incarnation, he developed a rebellious nature and abandoned his siblings, this time siding with the protagonists.
As opposed to the first Greed, who desired everything and viewed his allies as only possessions, this one developed real friendships and became content with what he had. Not only that, but he also ended up sacrificing everything, including his quest for immortality, for those friends.
The Dwarf in the Flask
History has seen a number of unconventional father figures, but the being known as Father by the homunculi he created isn't as loving as you might expect. Father, or the Dwarf in the Flask, is the oldest homunculus in existence. He was created hundreds of years ago as a formless being and kept inside a flask. He would go on to mastermind the entire scheme behind the series’ events, driven by his goals of perfection, knowledge, and power over the laws of the universe.
Deep down, his main desire is to absorb God and be free from any constraints. In the end, he does meet God and is given unlimited knowledge, but it is a double-edged sword. As punishment for his numerous crimes in his pursuit of freedom, he becomes powerless and trapped where he came from forever.