Envy

Envy (Japanese: エンヴィー Envi) is a genderless (though is referred to as 'he' as well as 'it') homunculus who has the ability of shape-shifting. It uses this power to assume the form of any person and even copy their voice.

Envy is most comfortable in the "adorable" and "beautiful" form of an androgynous teenager. It usually serves as a spy, but its abilities are also extremely useful for assassinations, as demonstrated by the murder of Maes Hughes. Envy's most frequently used assassination technique is to impersonate someone whom the target loved or cared about, and use the target's hesitation as an opportunity to kill him or her. Envy may not be as smart as some of the other Homunculi, but is by no means un-intelligent. In fact, it can be just as good a puppet master as Lust. But this is overshadowed by its cockiness and bad temper. Its temper can easily be set off by insulting its large and delicate ego, causing it to make mistakes.

In the manga & 2009 anime
Envy was the fourth Homunculus created by Father, though often referred to as a 'he' Envy is apparently genderless and can take almost any form it chooses. Referred to by Lust as the most cruel or sadistic of the Homunculi, Envy shows the most open disdain of humans and relishes in any opportunity to hurt, humiliate, or insult them. It is also quite vain and short tempered and dislikes anyone insulting its appearance. Beneath this cruel exterior however Envy is secretly envious of humans' inner strength and the mutually beneficial friendships that they share, as most of the Homunculi show little real concern or emotional support for each other.

In addition to the standard regeneration, longevity, and apparent immortality of the Homunculi, Envy can also shift its form into anyone or anything, even changing parts of itself into multiple different being or objects simultaneously. Although already formidable in human form it can assume a much larger monstrous shape with a long tail, elongated face, long black mane, four arms and four legs, and a multitude of human bodies and faces protruding from its flanks and shoulders. These are physical representations of the dozens of souls of Xerxes within its Philosopher's Stone, all saying independent things which Envy uses to distract and unnerve its opponents. However Envy can only change its size and shape but not its mass, therefore it weighs much more than a normal sized being and often creates cracks or deep impressions in the ground that are easily followed. If it suffers too much damage, Envy is reduced to a tiny parasitic lizard-like form resembling a fetal version of its full sized body. In this state it can merge with and control other organic beings, and in the case of lesser Homonculi (i.e. Father's artificial soldiers) it can absorb them and their Philosopher's Stones, completely reforming its original body. Envy's fighting skills are questionable, however. While it does have great physical strength and some fighting ability, it was easily beaten down by Lan Fan and Ling when it fought them. It seems to be unable to deal with skilled fighters in general, and is usually not used for combat purposes. In its monstrous form it can inflict and resist a great deal of physical damage, but is still extremely weak to certain attacks (like Mustang's flames). It uses its shape-shifting well in combat, but even then its skill is lacking against stronger opponents (though this is possibly more due to its sadism to physically or emotionally torment its opponents rather than directly fighting them as well as its anger and frustration clouding its judgment). Envy operates mainly as an assassin and manipulator, using its shape-shifting abilities to impersonate and manipulate unsuspecting humans. Parading as a State soldier, it shot the Ishvalan child that started the uprising which lead to the Ishval massacre. While masquerading as Gracia Hughes, it also shot and killed Lt. Col. Maes Hughes when he discovered the secret of the founding of Amestris, an act which earned itself the unknowing hatred of Roy Mustang. After Lust's death it replaced her as Father's messenger.

Envy's unleashed, monstrous form was first revealed when it, Ed and Ling Yao were all swallowed by Gluttony, who was in a rage knowing that Roy Mustang, the killer of Lust, was near. Thinking that the situation was hopeless, Envy figured it would do no harm and it could have a bit of fun. Envy almost killed Ed, swallowing him alive, but then Ed saw the Philosopher's Stone at his core, giving him an idea. Ed managed to placate the monstrous Envy and let it allow him to use its Philosopher's Stone to open Gluttony's fake Doors of Truth to pass through the true doors back to the real world. This drained many of the souls from Envy in the process, but evidently not enough to kill it.

Envy later released Solf J. Kimblee from jail and asked him to work for the Homunculi, giving him an extra Philosopher Stone to supplement the one he had kept since the Ishval Massacre. Later, the chimera Zampano pretends to betray his comrades to lead the Homunculus into a trap and Tim Marcoh succeeds in destroying most of the souls in Envy's Philosopher's Stone, reducing it to its tiny parasitic form. After an unsuccessful attempt to hold Yoki hostage, Scar gives it to May Chang and tells her to bring it to the Xingese Emperor. Yet Envy convinces her to bring it back to Central instead by telling her to help her friends. There, it directs her into Father's subterranean lair where it frees itself from the bottle and absorbs enough lesser Homunculi to return to its normal state.

Soon after Envy is confronted by Mustang, revealing to him that it was was the one who murdered Hughes. The two begin a ferocious battle, however Envy is at a huge disadvantage since his new body is highly flammable, and the revelation drives Mustang into a furious desire for revenge. Envy attempts to catch Mustang off guard by transforming into Hughes, but this only enrages Mustang further. After fleeing again, Envy makes an attempt on Riza's life, but is quickly found out and shot repeatedly with her many weapons; though Envy does manage to catch hold of her, Mustang reappears and continues the decimation of Envy's new body until it's reduced back to its parasitic form again.

Envy is saved from execution by Mustang's hands through the combined actions of Riza, Scar and Edward, in order to cease Mustang's quest for vengeance. After unsuccessfully trying to tempt the group into fighting each other, Envy is enraged and dumbfounded by how former enemies can put aside their hatred and work together. Edward then suggests that Envy is in fact envious of human friendships and ability to support each other. Moments later a tearful Envy commits suicide by pulling out and crushing its own Philosopher's Stone, ashamed that only Ed knew how it truly felt. As its decaying body fades away, it whispers 'Good luck' with tears in its eyes. Envy was the third Homunculus to die.

Last Words: "Bye bye....Edward...Elric."

In the 2003 anime
In the first anime, Homunculi are based on failed Human Transmutations intended to bring the dead back. Because of this, Envy, being based on Hohenheim's dead son, is a 'he' and not an 'it'. Whether Envy is male or genderless in his typical Homunculus form is unknown.

Envy is first seen at the end of episode 2 of the 2003 series, where he starts to impersonate the tarnished Father Cornello. Envy is not seen in his preferred form until the beginning of episode 14, and he does not reveal his original form until episode 50. As the oldest Homunculus, Envy claimed that he had forgotten what he originally looked like; this was a lie stemming out hatred for his father, Hohenheim. This was because Hohenheim was the one who created Envy, trying to bring back his first son (who died of mercury poisoning around the age of eighteen). Envy hated all humans and followed Dante mostly for the opportunity of killing as many people as he could. This was what drove Envy in all that he did; unlike other Homunculi, Envy did not care about the Philosopher's Stone, nor about becoming human. His most prominent murder was that of Maes Hughes: after his cover was blown while he impersonated Second Lieutenant Ross, Envy transformed into Hughes' wife Gracia, using Hughes' hesitation to fatally shoot him. Envy was also key in imprisoning Greed, against whom he had a long-standing grudge, within the 5th Laboratory. It is notable that Envy had no love for his homunculi brethren, antagonizing his first "brother", Greed, and quickly turning upon Gluttony, Wrath, and even the higher ranked Pride. The only character that posed the possibility of a relationship with Envy was Dante herself. Envy was usually Dante's enforcer, carrying out her whims more directly than most of the sins, and he was apparently more comfortable in her presence than the others. However, Envy also lashed out at Dante with particular intensity when she impeded his ambition of death and revenge. Well aware of the power that Dante held over him, Envy was at once the most uncontrollable and the most reliable member of Dante's legion.

Envy's true form, from "Death", is revealed in the penultimate episode of the 2003 series that Envy was created four hundred years ago by Hohenheim in an attempt to resurrect the son he and Dante had, who had died from mercury poisoning when he was eighteen years old. Envy held a great hatred toward Hohenheim for never being acknowledged as his son and for abandoning him and Dante. As a result, he also hated his younger "half-brothers" Edward and Alphonse as they obtained the fatherly love that Envy himself never received. When learning from Dante that Hohenheim was gone, Envy snapped at being denied his wish to kill him. The fact that the Elrics possessed the stone and would gain back all that they had lost made Envy more envious of the Elrics and more intent on making them suffer as he had. However, Edward managed to see through Envy's disguises and tricks until the Homunculus revealed his true form (an imitation of Hohenheim's deceased son with Dante) and his connection to Hohenheim. That stunt was all it took for Envy to successfully kill Edward, as the distraction gave Envy enough time to pierce Ed through the heart. Envy is then transported to the gate by Alphonse, meeting up with Edward again. Upon learning Hohenheim still alive on the other side of the Gate, Envy was able to successfully open and make his way through the doors. Once inside the gate, the creatures attacked him, but he fought them off by transforming into Edward, then, just before finishing his demand to see his father, he changed once again into his original human form, probably as a way to get the creatures in the gate to take him to Hohenheim faster, which might explain the Edward transformation. By the time he made his way through to the other side, Envy became a serpentine dragon.

Conqueror of Shamballa


During the two year gap between the end of the TV show and the movie, Envy was captured by the Thule Society. With Envy in his massive serpent form, the Society intended to use Envy as a literal Ourobouros to open a physical Gate and transfer their soldiers to the other side, to "Shamballa". Hohenheim was imprisoned and offered to Envy as a sacrifice; a human chew-toy to keep the "Great Serpent" calm as they formulated their plans. Around the time of Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa, Envy escaped and took shelter in an abandoned castle, only to cross paths with Edward once again. In their ensuing fight, Envy was attacked on all sides by the Thule Society, who recaptured him and managed to get a small regiment of soldiers to the other side for a short time. In the end, it was Hohenheim who took his own life using Envy as his means, enabling Ed to return to his own world in a final act of redemption for his sins, using Envy as material to create a gate between the two worlds. He was the seventh and final Homunculus to die in the anime.

Trivia

 * Envy was the only Homunculus to commit suicide, as opposed to being killed in battle.
 * During its final fight with Roy Mustang, Envy's eyes are repeatedly boiled away by Roy's flames. This bears some similarity to the second terracce of Dante's "Purgatorio", in which the envious are cleansed by having their eyelids sewn shut.
 * Out of all the Homunculi, Envy bears the most cruelty toward humans, and is repeatedly described as a sadist. Despite that and having no notable positive traits, Envy is an incredibly popular character and comes in 6th place in the latest poll, making it the most popular of the Homunculi.
 * Interestingly, it is revealed in the game Fullmetal Alchemist: Dream Carnival, that Envy enjoys chocolate parfaits.
 * Envy's power to shapeshift, as well as having no positive gender, is very similar to the physical traits of Loki, Norse god of Trickery (sometimes referred to as a demi- or anti-god), who can change his shape to anything, including women. Envy's instigation methods are similar to the actions of Eris, the Greek goddess of discord, who took delight in making mortals fight among themselves and eventually brought about the Trojan War.
 * Despite having the same powers and preferred appearance, Envy's fighting styles, personality, and even the reason for its invidiousness, are extremely different between the 2003 anime and his manga counterpart.
 * Envy possibly has the most souls in his Philosopher's Stone than any of the other Homunculi. This is evidenced when Ed transmutes Envy in order to escape from Gluttony's stomach, yet Envy seems unaffected. It is also evidenced in Envy's encounter with Marcoh, despite draining Envy of all of his power, he is unable to kill the Homunculus entirely.
 * In many scenes during the second anime, Envy's hair has a greenish tint to it. This is likely referencing the first anime, where Envy's hair is green instead of black like in the manga. It, and its overall green skin color could also be a subtle nod to the phrase "green with envy".
 * Envy seems to share a close bond with Lust, as she is one of the few Homunculi he regularly converses with in a friendly manner. After Lust is killed by Colonel Mustang, Envy protests Wrath's decision to let Mustang and his subordinates live, saying that they killed Lust and made fools out of the Homunculi (suggesting that it is genuinely upset by Lust's death).
 * In the 2003 anime, Envy is said to be the first Homunculus ever created, making him the oldest in that continuity. Furthermore, Envy's true form somewhat resembles Father's third, "perfect" form - both resemble young Hohenheim who they were born of.
 * Both the Japanese and English (2009 anime) voice actors for Envy voice a character in Claymore called Irene.
 * It is a mystery as to why Envy's true form in the 2003 anime looks anything like Hohenheim, as Hohenheim is in the body of a different man whom Envy would bear no resemblance too.
 * In the 2003 series, Hohenheim and Dante's son, Envy, died of Mercury Poisoning at the age of 18, possibly giving a nod to the fact that Mercury was once believed to be the elixir of life, and so the main ingredient for being immortal. This could show that maybe Dante or Hohenheim was giving their son Mercury in order for him to live an immortal life with Hohenheim and Dante without using up any of the Stone's power. Also, it could be that the mercury poisoning came from Hohenheim and Dante's alchemical experiments, whether it was to create another Philosopher's stone for Envy to be immortal or not, is not specified. As a further note, in the 2009 series, it is mentioned that 3 generations of Xingese died of Mercury Poisoning because they wanted to achieve immortality by ingesting mercury, though they obviously didn't know of its fatal affects. It is probably a subtle link between the Envy of 2003 and the Xingese royal family of the anime and manga.