Homunculus

Homunculus (Latin for "Little Human", plural Homunculi) refers to the mythological concept of an artificially created human, presumably brought into existence by way of alchemy. Though a common concept, well known and understood by alchemists in Amestris, the idea of homunculi is regarded as no more than a farce or faraway fantasy as no individual or group of alchemists has come anywhere close to successfully creating such a being in officially recorded history. Even so, alchemists have been forbidden by the Amestrian government to attempt or research in the transmutation of humans and State Alchemists have such a restriction as part of their creed.

However, off the official record, not only one, but several of these creatures have been created in arcane, sinister secrecy. In the most relevant sense of the word, "Homunculus" refers to seven individuals who make up the main antagonist group of the Fullmetal Alchemist series. These created humans, named for the seven deadly sins (Pride, Lust, Greed, Envy, Sloth, Gluttony and Wrath), are beings with incredible longevity, astonishing regenerative properties and a host of varied superhuman abilities. The Homunculi usually carry the mark of the Ouroboros upon their bodies and are identified as such by said mark.

2003 anime
Because of the tangent the 2003 anime took, the origins, identities and secrets of Homunculi differ between the manga and the first television series.

In the 2003 anime, Homunculi are said to be created each time an alchemist attempts a Human Transmutation. While the transmutation itself is a failure in that the person intended to be revived does not return as expected, a new existence is brought about. The result of failed Human Transmutation is a grotesque, vaguely humanoid monstrosity that retains some of the memory, as well as the genetic material, of the resurrected. The "failed" Homunculus generally remains this way until it comes into contact with a Philosopher's Stone. Only then will they reform into an exact replica of the entity that was attempted to be resurrected. The Homunculi in the first series are notable for being incapable of performing Alchemy.

The alchemist known as "Dante" finds these Homunculi and feeds them Red Stones so as to power their growth into full artificial humans, in which state they exist as exact physical duplicates of those upon whom their bodies are based. As a result, they gain unique supernatural powers and a state of immortality that can only be reversed by presenting the false human with the remains of the original (bone, hair, et cetera). Proximity to these remnants will weaken a Homunculus to the point that he or she can be killed by ordinary methods, in which case the remainder of Red Stones are expelled and the body is destroyed.

Manga and 2009 anime
In the manga and 2009 anime, the seven Homunculi are the spawn of Father (who himself was the earliest known Homunculus, birthed inside a flask in the ancient country of Xerxes). After having used half the population of Xerxes in the creation of his body, Father himself became a Philosopher's Stone of sorts and became able to siphon off smaller stones from his body to create minions he calls his children. Each Homunculus, as a former part of Father's body and consciousness, is said to have been made up of a different emotional vice - corresponding to their name - and carries that vice as a part of their personality or identity (with Greed being greedy, Pride being proud, Wrath being irascible, and so on).

These Homunculi have physical compositions similar to those of humans but consider themselves superior due to their heightened strengths and abilities. They boast human intelligence and emotions, taking pride in their existence as higher beings, but feeling humility and gratitude toward Father for having given them life. As a result, these Homunculi are largely devoted to the completion of their Father's grand plan (with the exception of Greed, as he defects twice). Each of the seven Homunculi has a Philosopher's Stone as its core, fueling its life, regenerative ability and other abilities with a multitude of souls. Each Homunculus can be damaged to the point of death, even to the point of having his or her entire body disintegrated, but can only truly be killed when the Philosopher's Stone heart is either destroyed or runs out of lives to use as power. Envy and Pride have proven capable of absorbing the lives from other Homunculi into themselves to lengthen their lifespans, but it is unknown whether or not this is a trait shared between all seven.

Though the original six Homunculi have bodies that were built around the Philosopher's Stone, for the sake of his plans, Father began experimenting with a new method of Homunculus creation. A new set is created by injecting one of Father's stones into the body of a living human being. The souls in the stone and the soul in the body clash for supremacy, often destroying the body entirely, until one consciousness takes control. Homunculi created in this manner are able to age - a property of which their Stone-based brethren are incapable - and do not give off the "Homunculus' Aura" detectable by certain people.

Mannequin Soldiers


In Chapter 80, it is revealed that the Amestrian government, presumably under the supervision of Father, has created an army of lesser Homunculi whose soulless bodies are stored beneath Central Command. They are injected with Philosopher's Stones,which give them life. These "Mannequin Soldier" Homunculi are white and red, skeletally thin, hairless humanoids with one eye in their foreheads and green "blood". They lack intelligence and appear only to follow base instincts toward feeding and destruction, similar to the souls within the Philosopher's Stones who have long since forgotten their true identities. Envy, at one point, describes them as mere puppets injected with Philosopher's Stones. Their main attack is to try to eat their victim, since they lack the thought processes to do anything else. Envy also uses their bodies and their souls to recreate his original body after being reduced to a small lizard from having his own Philosopher's Stone drained. They do not regenerate as Father's children do, but are able to keep functioning even if their heads are grievously damaged, making them similar to zombies in a way. They seem to make similar vocalizations to the souls of the people of Xerxes trapped in Envy (crying out for help or relations and complaining that they are in pain), but they seem to want to get rid of their 'pain' by eating everything except each other.

They are awakened in Chapter 90 by one of the Generals of Central Command in an attempt to quell the insurrection going on in the city. For this foolish act, he is devoured by the monsters, who have no sense of loyalty or authority. From there, these Mannequin Soldiers begin to spread about the Central Command grounds, devouring anyone they come across. Major General Armstrong manages to remove several of them as a threat by severing their heads at least at the upper jaw, leaving them mobile, but unable to eat anyone. Colonel Roy Mustang devises his own method of incapacitating them by burning off their legs with Flame Alchemy (in the 2009 anime version, he instead incinerates them completely to ash).

Trivia

 * The seven Homunculi are named after the Seven Deadly Sins. Interestingly enough, these sins are part of the evils in the Greek myth of The Pandora Box, just as Alchemy was from Greece.


 * The body suits that most of the Homunculi wear have a slight brownish-red tint in the 2009 anime. In the 2003 anime, they had a dark green hue to them. Occasionally, though, in both series, they will look more black, akin to their color in the manga.


 * The deaths of the Homunculi in the 2003 anime greatly differs from that of the manga versions. While the manga has them disintegrating into black dust, in the first anime, after death, their bodies seem to go into extreme rigor mortis before melting down into a puddle of Red Water (presumably the Red Stones that is their make-up).


 * The details of exactly why the Homunculi are named after sins is never explained in the 2003 anime. It's inconsistent that some (typically the ones exactly the same as in the manga) have such strong traits of the sins they're named after (Greed, Gluttony), while the others have next to none. It's also never explained what would happen if there would happen to be more than seven at a time, as they're created from Human Transmutation, so more than seven would technically be possible.


 * Most of the Homunculi have red nodes connected by lines, which seem to incapacitate them and/or cancel out their powers when pierced, e.g. Lust in the 2003 anime and Greed when he is captured by Wrath in the manga and 2009 anime.The only Homunculi who do not have apparent nodes are Pride (manga), Father (in his humanoid form), and possibly Wrath (manga). Wrath and Sloth in the 2003 anime also seem to posses the nodes and lines as well.


 * The permanent deaths of the Homunculi occur in almost the exact opposite order as the levels of the mountain of Purgatory in Dante's Purgatorio, the only exceptions being that Pride didn't die and Envy and Greed's places were switched (Envy dying after Gluttony and Greed dying after Wrath).


 * While a homunculus' memories can be 'wiped' in transferring their Philosopher's Stone to a new body or host, they cannot be completely taken away. Rather, the memories will be pushed down in the mind of the homunculus, often only resurfacing during a powerful emotional event. This is seen in the case of the Second Greed, who remembers his friends after killing Bido.
 * Many of the deaths of the Homunculi in the Manga and 2009 series have similarities to the punishments that are said to be suffered by those who commit those sins, in Dante's Divine Comedy. Some exemples are the deaths of Lust, who's killed succedingly through "winds of fire", of the first Greed, who's "boiled in hot oil" and of Wrath, who is dismembered.
 * In an omake, Father scolds the lesser homunculi for not having any underwear on.