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"In this world, humans are of little consequence."-Pride
Pride (プライド, Puraido) was the first Homunculus that Father created, embodying the cruelest, most prejudicial, yet most basic aspect of evil. He is the pinnacle of the Homunculi's homunculus-centric beliefs and contempt of humans. He is the second-in-command of the Homunculi, and can also possess the greatest overall physical strength among them (only if he is exposed to the light of sources with just-right brightness/luminosity). Pride was created in Father's image, with Pride's shadowy actual form extremely resembling Father's. Much like the Sloth and Wrath characters, there is a different version of the Pride character in the 2003 anime.
Pride inhabits a child-shaped husk named Selim Bradley.
Pride is one of the two Homunculi who possess "true forms"-physical incarnations of their deeper desires that take shape when their stones are almost completely depleted, the other being Envy.
Personality
When first introduced under the guise of Selim Bradley, Pride acts as if he has the mannerisms of a usual young boy, displaying a proneness to hero worship. He displays great admiration and respect for his "father", King Bradley, at one point writing a glowing report about him for a school project. He also seems fanatically interested in the Elric Brothers, reacting with giddy excitement upon meeting them. Sometimes he reveals part of his true personality, such as when he calls Edward "tiny" even though Pride is actually much shorter than Edward, and when he shows no shame about exclaiming loudly in the royal library.
Much of his positive traits vanish when he reverts to his Pride persona. His true personality is similar to Father's. He tries to act superior to humans by pretending them to be insects for him, filling himself with false dignity and futile boastfulness. However, whereas Father treats humans with a bored or apathetic attitude (probably because Father is slothful), Pride treats humans like playthings/slaves. He loves the honor of being a Homunculus the most, and encourages his siblings to feel contempt towards all non-homunculi. Pride is also extremely arrogant in battle. He quickly resorts to petty taunts and insults against opponents. He is also shown to be extremely cruel, as shown when he ruthlessly devoured his own brother Gluttony in order for him to absorb Gluttony's abilities for his fight against Edward.
He has great faith in his immense strength, feeling that he can overcome any opposition, no matter how powerful, and this often causes him to underestimate his opponents. He sees humans as pathetic weaklings, inferior beings "of no importance."
He is very biased, always coming up with excuses to justify his cruel deeds for the sake of not hearing insults or accusations against him or his image; for example, after he brutally dismembers and then eats Gluttony, he gave the justification that Gluttony was "originally a part of him anyway" (both Pride and Gluttony come from Father). Also, as he is about devour Kimblee, he tells Kimblee "Don't worry, you'll be alive, inside me.", completely disregarding the fact that Kimblee is likely to feel great suffering while inside Pride.
Pride wants to have pawns he can use at his own convenience.
According to Envy, Pride is so selfish and self-absorbed that he tends to show up at the wrong time and isn't there when the other homunculi need him. He cares so little about the others that the deaths of even many of them will have no effect whatsoever on his heart; in fact, he's so heartless that he doesn't even get annoyed about losing such potential "tools" of his.
Greed calls Pride a "monster," even for a homunculus such as him. Even Envy, a homunculus filled with huge sadism, dislikes and is angered by Pride's hubris, calling Pride a "bastard".
When insulted by another homunculus, Pride disguises his own evil by calling the homunculus ill-mannered and uncivilized, and uses this as an excuse to suggest that Pride deserves to inflict extreme misery and suffering on him ("What a terrible thing to say to your own brother Greed! I might have to eat you.", Pride once said to Greed after Greed insults him), even though Pride himself likes to mock the other homunculi whilst putting them on the levels of tools, objects, or garbage.
Despite all of these negative traits, it is implied that Pride, like Wrath, enjoyed the false family life he had with Mrs. Bradley. When his container body is destroyed by Edward Elric beneath Central, he experiences immense panic at the thought of dying. He recalls happy memories of his adoptive mother, and, after he has been reduced to his true form, calls for his "mama" in the nest prepared for him by Edward.
After Pride begins to age again as a normal human, he returns to his former life as Selim Bradley. He is shown to be much more kind and innocent, showing concern for an injured bird he finds. With no memories of his time as a Homunculus, Selim is able to live life as a normal child, the only thing he ever truly wanted.
Manga and 2009 anime
In the manga, Pride is the first Homunculus that Father created. Ironically though, he is the youngest looking, just as Wrath, who was the most recent homunculi (before Greed was reborn) looked the oldest. He has the identity of Selim Bradley, King Bradley's adopted son. He can be the physically strongest Homunculus, but only if a light source with legitimate brightness is present. Father seems to allow him to give orders to his "siblings", as he was seen giving orders to Sloth and Envy. He is extremely cruel, ruthless and also devoted to Father's cause, as he wishes to be one proud to have a father who has struck down God Himself.
It appears he visits the Homunculi lair very rarely since the second Greed comments seeing two rare things happening in one day: Pride coming to visit, and Father sleeping.
By revealing his true form, Pride blackmails Riza.
At first, Pride remains hidden, and only his voice is heard when he talks to (or rather scolds) other Homunculi. "Selim Bradley" confirms his identity to a suspecting Riza Hawkeye in chapter 70. He blackmails her, threatening to do something bad to her should she reveal his identity, and he begins using his shadow to constantly surveil her movement. Shortly after, he orders Solf J. Kimblee to carve a crest of blood on Briggs, before having a short fight against Van Hohenheim in the tunnel for the country-wide transmutation.
During later chapters, he personally enters the fray helped by Gluttony. On the day before the Promised Day, he captures Hohenheim's son Alphonse Elric during one of the boy's blackouts (when Al would envision himself standing before his Gate and emaciated body). Pride takes control of Al's armor with his shadows, using him to lure his own brother Edward. He and Gluttony then ambush Edward Elric, Greed, Darius, and Heinkel, with Pride engaging Heinkel and Gluttony attacking the others. When the arrival of Lan Fan and her grandfather Fu turn the tide against them, he devours Gluttony in order to refuel his powers, gaining his appetite and his sense of smell. Using Xingese flash bombs, Edward and the rest free Alphonse from Pride's grasp; Al awakens from his blackout, and seems to suggest that Pride was able to keep Alphonse trapped in his blackout, as he says Pride's contact with him "felt like he was interfering with my soul" and was "disgusting." Meanwhile, Pride overpowers the others, but he is ultimately trapped by Al, who uses himself as a distraction to allow Hohenheim to trap them both in a huge domed jail of earth.
Now unable to use his powers because of the absolute darkness in this jail, he and Al had a discussion about being human where he admits to be truly fond of his adoptive human mother. This, and his apparent closeness with Wrath seems to show that he is not entirely devoid of human feelings. Yet he may only be pretending or biased, as he shows no compassion towards Gluttony, cynically referring to him as a "part of a system" instead of a sibling. However, by banging continuously on Alphonse's helmet with a stick, Pride sent a message in Morse code to Father who summoned Kimblee to his location. There, Kimblee's alchemy set Pride free, severely wounding Heinkel in the process. This prompted another battle with Pride and Kimblee against Alphonse (with a Philosopher's Stone), Tim Marcoh and a healed Heinkel. When his opponents managed to retreat to Central in a car driven by Yoki (Yoki stating that it was his turn to shine and the Elric Brothers could not do it all themselves), Pride was left with a dying Kimblee whom he assimilated.
In chapter 101, Pride reappears in Father's subterranean lair, confronting Roy Mustang's group alongside Wrath. He rescues the Gold-Toothed Doctor from Jerso's grasp; only to stab him with his shadows shortly after. He then activates the transmutation circle, where Wrath has trapped Mustang, making the Flame Alchemist the final Sacrifice needed. In doing so, Pride apparently sacrificed a tremendous amount of the energy within his Philosopher's Stone, placing him in a much weakened state of near-death. He then faces off against Edward and Alphonse in battle, although seemingly at a disadvantage. This is noted by the Elrics when he jumps to dodge an attack, rather than use his shadows to counterattack. His face also seems to be disintegrating. It is then made clear that Pride's true form is actually the shadows he holds within what he calls his "container"—the physical body of the young boy now breaking apart.
In chapter 106, Pride engages in battle with Edward, who confronts him about his motives. Pride replies that he is simply obeying his father, as any child would, but Edward points out that Father has paid no attention to Pride's injuries and does not care for 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 attempts to take over Edward's body using his shadows, but is somehow stopped by Kimblee's soul, which, to Pride's shock, had retained its individuality. As Kimblee berates Pride for his hypocrisy in attempting to possess the body of an "inferior" human, Edward grabs Pride's essence from his container and destroys his Philosopher's Stone.
Pride's true, pure form.
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. Pride's "container" 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, ultimately pitying Pride as it murmurs for its "mama".
Selim and Mrs. Bradley, two years after the Promised Day.
After Father's death, Edward hands over the body of Pride to a tearful Mrs. Bradley, who raises him all over again despite harsh opposition. 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 behavior. 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. Memories notwithstanding, Pride is the only surviving homunculus.
Powers and Abilities
Aside from the Homunculi's standard powers, Pride's abilities lie within both a black living controllable multi-eyed and multi-mouthed organic blob (that resembles Father's true form) he creates by absorbing light, and shadows themselves.
Early on it is implied by Greed and later confirmed by Pride himself that his black multi-eyed ooze and his shadows are in fact his actual form, while the childlike body being a simple "container" for him to move around in, similar to Father's flask-contained form. Pride often shapes parts of himself into long, tendril-arm-like appendages that resemble those of Father's actual form and those of the Eye of God (which references him being a "son" of Father, who in turn was created from the Eye's essence; it may also be a reference to pride being a pathetic attempt to outwardly mimic God by causing the committer of this sin to consider themselves their own and only source of truth, thus cutting themselves off from the ideas, advice, and realities that they can get from others).
Pride can only exist within a given area: the area inside his primary "container", the area around his primary "container", and the transmutation circle (which is his secondary "container" and the same one used by Father for his main plan) throughout Amestris. Pride consumes light in order to extend his body outside his child-like container; if there is no light to absorb, any part of Pride outside his primary "container" will wither and die, and if he is exposed to a light source that is too luminous/bright, the extensions of his body will burst.
Pride can also spread his essence throughout shadows, and can sense everything around and that happens around that shadow, thus allowing him to "watch" anything through them. Pride used this ability to make sure and prevent Riza Hawkeye from spreading Selim Bradley's true identity to other people (though Riza foiled this by speaking in code to Roy Mustang).
Pride can manipulate, slice through or devour anything that comes in contact with his black ooze (which can become resistant/invulnerable to conventional physical harm, and can also move at superhuman speeds), although it can be deflected by sufficiently hard objects; Carbon-hardened objects appear particularly resistant. He can also see through his eyes and talk through his mouths wherever his shadow extend, an ability he uses to watch over the country-wide transmutation tunnel, slaughtering anyone who enters it.
Pride can control the bodies of others by inserting extensions of himself inside their bodies. He used this to control Alphonse's (armor) body and use him to attempt to trick Edward into completely falling under Pride's grasp(Greed, who was with Edward at the time, foils this by sensing Pride's presence).
Pride can consume living things and assimilate the abilities and strengths of that particular victim, along with their corresponding weaknesses (i.e. after devouring Gluttony, Pride gained an enhanced sense of smell along with Gluttony's ravenous hunger). After assimilating Kimblee, Pride gains capability of Alchemy and activates a corresponding circle with his ooze, using the Gold-Toothed Doctor as the human transmutation "material".
In chapter 104, Pride attempts to use his small size and speed to exploit Edward's weaknesses in hand-to-hand combat as Edward is used to fighting people taller than him, but has his fighting style read easily by his opponent and is bested, before Father subdues an unsuspecting Edward in order to begin his plan.
Another ability Pride seems to have is the ability to slightly change the age that he appears to be. While he is always a young child, pictures of him taken in the past show his apparent age fluctuating by about five years. Since Father had Pride living out of the shadows since he was born, this ability is likely used to make him appear human.
Pride later seems to gain the ability to genuinely age upon having his Philosopher's stone depleted of its souls and being forced into his true form. Over the two years after the end of the series he managed to grow from his original fetus-like form to a child form resembling his "container" used to hold his shadows.
In the 2003 anime
Main Article: Pride (2003 anime)
Pride in the first anime series.
In this anime, Pride is the true identity of King Bradley, the "Ultimate Eye". His eye, usually covered by an eye patch, allows him to see everything, even the air in a room. This allows him to have amazing reflexes and speed, as he is able to see what his opponent is planning and where they will move. His weapon of choice is the sword, which he wields with great proficiency. Because he ages like a regular human, Dante considers him her greatest creation, a title he is very proud of. Because the Homunculi cannot reproduce he was given a family to keep up appearances: his son, Selim Bradley, and a wife. Pride's identity was first confirmed in the 40th episode when the snake-chimera Martel attacked him to prevent Bradley from turning Reole into another Ishval. During this clash, his eye patch was sliced off, exposing his identity. Pride proceeded to kill Martel, but not before she was able to pass on this truth to Al.
Later, when Roy Mustang learns from the Elrics that Bradley is a Homunculus and verified it, Pride gives Selim the key to a safe where Pride keeps the skull of his true body. When Selim unknowingly brings the skull back to him during his battle with Mustang, he is severely weakened by its presence. Out of anger he strangles Selim and snaps his neck before Roy stops him, but this weakened state allows Mustang to kill him by repeatedly setting him on fire, similar to how Roy killed Lust in the manga. Pride was the fourth of the Homunculi to die in the 2003 anime, because Selim Bradley, the manga's Pride who survived in the manga and 2009 anime, is innocent and fully human in the anime.
Trivia
- Pride's child-like form may reference the literal meaning of "homunculus" ("little human").
- According to the second official Fullmetal Alchemist guide book, Pride is the first Homunculus to be created by Father, created before history was even recorded. However, given the context of the actual story, this makes little sense. Father could not have created Pride any time before acquiring his Hohenheim container in Xerxes, which has been confirmed to have been 400 years prior to the 1900s, putting it around the late 1400s or early 1500s. History was recorded long before even those ancient times. It's possible, however, that the guide was referring to Amestrian history and not history in general.
- In some senses Pride's black blob is an amalgamation of all the other Homunculi's abilities. His shadow can pierce or cut through almost anything (Lust), can consume or devour relatively large objects (Gluttony); is invulnerable to conventional physical harm (Greed), has great strength over physical objects and moves at superhuman speed (Sloth), can see things far beyond the range of his main body's human eyes (Wrath), and can assume many forms or even possess the bodies of others (Envy).
- The Pride's multiple eyes, discounting the two on his child-like container, may be a reference to the false eyes on a peacock's tail and to the peacock being a symbol of pride.
- Pride has two different voices for each of his identities. When acting as Pride, he has a metallic sound to his voice, and when he is Selim, he has a normal child's voice.
- Selim, like Hohenheim and Scar, is one of the few characters to have both new Japanese and English Voice Actors from 2003 to Brotherhood.
- The name Pride reflects that his true body was made in the image of Father's (pride is also Father's most prominent trait according to Van Hohenheim).
- Ironically, Pride is the oldest Homunculus at over three centuries old. However, he retains the youngest appearance, while Wrath is the youngest Homunculus (roughly 60 years old), but has the oldest appearance.
- Interestingly, the youngest and oldest Homunculi are the only Homunculi to share a close, yet fake, father-son relationship with one another. Moreover, when Ed defeats Pride, his most present memory is that of King Bradley and his wife, implying that despite him being much older, he truly thought of Bradley as a father figure, opposed to Father, whom, in Ed's words, had forsaken him for his goals.
- The chapter where Pride and Alphonse are buried under a pile of rock may be a reference to Dante's Purgatory, where the proud and vain are forced to carry boulders to learn humility.
- In chapter 106, Pride attempts to take over Edward Elric's body. This is very similar to the goal of Wrath in the 2003 anime, who, as a child Homunculus, is Pride's equivalent.
- Pride can grow as large a country since he can extend himself throughout the nation-wide transmutation circle
- As of chapter 106, Pride's True Form makes him the smallest Homunculus - even smaller than Envy's True Form.
- Pride's true form has the most resemblance to actual Homunculi of historical alchemy concepts than any of his siblings.
- Pride appears to be the only Homunculus who does not bleed, this is most likely due to his "container" body. He is also the only Homunculus without an Ouroboros mark, instead having a circular mark on his true form's forehead.
- In the Volume 27 omake, pressing the node on Selim's forehead switches him to his former persona as Pride.
- Selim Bradley, the body container of Pride, slightly resembles Suan, a character from Arakawa's Shanghai Youma Kikai, the discontinued manga series Arakawa wrote earlier before the Fullmetal Alchemist manga.
- Pride ranked 21st place in a recent fan poll, making him the third most popular Homunculus.
- Pride is the last remaining Homunculus alive.
- Despite Pride (King Bradley) in the 2003 anime being the only Homunculi that ages, there is never any reason given as to why he can age, while none of the others can. It is known that Dante created him to keep up appearances, and considers him her greatest work, but it's never explained how she made it possible for him to age and yet still be as invulnerable as the rest of the Homunculi.
- Pride might reference Damien from the British/American horror film, The Omen, being a child of great evil. It could also explain why his Ouroboros might be hidden, since Damien in the film had the numbers "666" hidden underneath his hair.
- In the manga, the teeth of Pride's shadows are flat until he eats Gluttony, whereupon they become sharp and cone-shaped. In the anime, he appears able to manifest either flat or sharp teeth before and after eating Gluttony; the change is instead marked by his eyes turning purple.
- After Pride is defeated by Edward and raised by Mrs. Bradley, his eyes are shown to have gone back to their original black color.
- Pride's "container" body is noticeably different in the manga and subsequent 2009 anime series. In the manga, when Pride reveals himself to Hawkeye and his shadows leave Selim's body, the container remains lifeless, almost as if a mere shell, while in the anime, Selim keeps all vitality during that scene, and the "container" body is never shown lifeless in the series.
- Pride's defeat by Edward Elric seems to give off a symbolic meaning, for it is hinted that Ed's main vice is his pride (mainly from his failure at human transmutation). This works in a similar manner to how Scar defeated King Bradley in the same 2009 anime (Wrath is Scar's vice as well as Bradley's title).
- Both Pride and Wrath were also defeated by deterioration.
- Pride's devouring of Gluttony is frequently mocked in manga extras. In volume 21, Gluttony's extreme sense of smell becomes a weakness as Darius takes advantage by farting, causing Pride to beg for the smell to leave, falling back covering his nose, leaving him completely vulnerable. In a next extra, he devours Gluttony, but gains Gluttony's weight as a result, leaving his shell body, Selim, obese. In another extra, Gluttony is instead merged with Lust, resulting in Lust gaining considerable weight and Gluttony's face.
- In both anime series, Pride is the last Homunculus to be revealed.
| Homunculus |
|---|
| Father |
| Lust | Gluttony | Greed | Sloth | Wrath | Envy | Pride |
| 2003 Anime Exclusive |
| Wrath | Sloth | Pride |