Wrath


 * For the anime exclusive character, see Wrath (2003 anime)

"Everything from my name to my rank and power was given to me by my superiors. My wife, however; she was someone I chose of my own free will"

- Wrath

Wrath (ラース, Rāsu) in the Fullmetal Alchemist manga and 2009 anime series is a Homunculus, revealed to be Führer King Bradley and the embodiment of some of Father's wrath. In the 2003 anime, Wrath is revealed to be a different character, while Bradley is depicted as Pride in that series.

Personality
Despite the violent nature of the sin he embodies, Wrath is actually one of the calmer of the Homunculi and rarely bickers with them, but when he is angered he unleashes his sin in all its truthfulness. He has a slightly strange sense of humor and has a habit of doing rather odd things for someone of his status, such as joking with his subordinates, dressing up as a tourist while visiting Dublith to meet Izumi Curtis, giving melon bread as a gift to Edward Elric, ditching work to meet the brothers in the hospital, and jumping out of a window to get away from his attendants. He is also more lenient towards humans than his siblings, likely due to having lived among them for a long time. He also appears to secretly enjoy the complications that the Elrics and their friends have brought to Father's plans since he has lived a life where everything has been planned, controlled, or predicted, even at one point amusedly remarking to Mustang, after admitting his amazement at Human adaptability, "You Humans sure piss me off." However, he still shows some annoyance towards humans, sometimes referring to their constant meddling as bothersome, even admitting to being greatly frustrated with a little girl because of her crying at a military funeral (where he believed everyone should be respectfully quiet). He is also scornful of the idea of fealty or sacrificing one's life for others, believing only that the strong should survive and that the loss of one life can only be balanced by the loss of another. Another aspect of his personality that would seem counter-intuitive to his ascribed trait is his ability to love. Due to having had everything in his life planned out, he took satisfaction in his marriage, as it had been one of the few choices he had made himself, and symbolic of his own free will, and thus he loved his wife quite dearly.

Powers and Abilities
Enhanced Physiology: He possesses strength, speed, reflexes, stamina, durability, senses, agility, coordination, willpower, intelligence, and instincts superior to any human.

Superhuman agility: Wrath has flawless coordination, equilibrium and dexterity. He can jump and run along falling debris. He can manipulate all his bodily rotations, including spinning, turning, rolling, etc., allowing him to move his body in any way or direction, allowing to him escape any hold, dodge any attack, or attack from any direction. He can perform any physical act without difficulty.

Superhuman reflexes: Wrath reaction time is lightning-fast. It allows him to react to danger and events far faster than others. When shot at by multiple machine guns and a tank's artillery shell at point-blank, Wrath dodged, deflected, and sliced through them all with incredible ease, all while continuously charging forward.

Superhuman momentum: Wrath can concentrate/focus his body's acceleration/inertia/motion/speed to any point of his body, such as arms, hands, feet, legs, fingers, toes etc. This allows him complete and sudden acceleration from any point on his body, which lets him attack or dodge anything without warning or time to react, this also grants him perfect reflexes. Wrath can generate great amounts of physical force through kinetic energy, even in a stationary position. His speed lets him channel the force into powerful strikes, Wrath can swing a blade with enough force to slice a wall and still cut clean through a person.

Ultimate Eye: It grants him tremendously accurate vision as well as the minute details and movements of his general surroundings. But the eyes true ability is that it allows Wrath to automatically perceive and understand all cause and effect relations, deducing the path leading to any effect, allowing him to instantly plan, analyze, and take action with absolute efficiency without any effort. He can adapt perfectly to all factors achieving maximum efficiency in offense, defense, and strategy, ensuring optimal success as long as there is the slightest chance. He can always achieve optimal results (depending on the means at their disposal), perfectly anticipating all variables and his opponents' every move. A simple glance at anything would be enough to learn it's nature, strengths, weaknesses, etc. In short, the eye makes wrath a flawless tacticians. He understands everything, and is always several steps ahead of everyone else, nearly impossible impossible to catch off-guard, and always allows him to automatically achieve the best possible results.

Being a human-based Homunculus, Wrath has the ability to physically age, which enabled him to pass off as an average human, allowing him to assimilate within the general population without suspicion. Despite being a Homunculus, Wrath's unique creation has resulted in the fact that the Philosopher's Stone which makes him inhuman is comprised of only one soul - his augmented physical abilities such as his remarkably high strength, speed, and agility are all his own, rather than being a product of the stone. However, due to the fact that his Philosopher's stone contains only one soul, he does not have the immortality and regenerative abilities of his monstrous brethren. A formidable opponent in battle, Wrath strongly favors using swords, which he wields with deadly proficiency thanks to his unique gifts and lifetime of training, to the point where he can wield five blades simultaneously. Already a supreme swordsman and martial artist, he is made even more dangerous by his Ultimate Eye, which he conceals with his distinctive eye patch. Additionally, he has pointed out on multiple occasions that, while his eye is capable of reading any situation, his own aging body is often unable to keep up with the projected courses of action that his sight ability proposes to him. Wrath apparently has the highest level of skill when it comes to the art of swordsmanship among all the characters; capable of easily fighting against both the second Greed and Fu simultaneously using only two daggers as well as being able to defeat the first Greed with ease. And even after being severely injured by Buccaneer and Greed/Ling, he proves himself to be more than capable of fighting evenly and even overpowering Scar, almost killing him twice, with Scar himself admitting if he had fought Wrath uninjured, he would have stood no chance. He has also demonstrated himself to be extremely intelligent and skilled in military weapons, as he was able to destroy a Briggs Tank with only a sword and a hand grenade.

History
Wrath is the secret identity of King Bradley. He was originally "Prospective Führer Number 12" amongst hundreds in a secret program created by Father and the Amestrian military to find the perfect ruler of Amestris. The process involved gathering male infants from their birth and secretly raising them up. In makeshift classrooms, they were required to master certain subjects, some of them namely as Political science and Humanities. When old enough, they would begin training with swords and would duel against one another in matches with everyone watching. Every candidate used the same type of sword.

After their training was complete, the doctors would then inject the Philosopher's Stone bearing Father's wrath into the candidates, the ones before Number 12 dying as the stone destroyed their bodies in rejection. When the Philosopher's Stone was injected into Number 12, his soul fought against the numerous souls in the Philosopher's Stone, draining it to only one soul. He ended up as the survivor of the process, becoming the first Homunculus with the ability to age and was given the name King Bradley. He wonders whether his soul is his original human soul or not. He quickly ascends to the position of Führer (around the year 1894) through his combat prowess and apparent dedication to the military ideals of Amestris.

At one point, he met a woman who met all the qualities he was looking for in a wife and married her; as Wrath would note, this was the only real decision he made his entire life: marrying Mrs. Bradley. Some years later, Pride was assigned to protect him under the guise of his adopted son Selim Bradley.

The Ruler of Amestris
He first appeared visiting the Elric brothers in the hospital shortly after the Laboratory 5 incident. Here, Bradley subtly implies he suspects there may be traitors among the military's high echelons and orders the Elrics, Lt. Colonel Maes Hughes, and Major Alex Louis Armstrong to watch their backs. Later, he is then seen in the military funeral of Maes Hughes, after the Lt. Colonel was murdered. Next, he travels to the South for a military inspection and personally leads the attack on the Devil's Nest after Alphonse Elric is kidnapped. His true identity is then revealed during his battle against Greed, revealing the Ouroboros tattoo on his left eye. He swiftly overwhelms his older sibling and personally kills many of his chimera underlings. He captures Greed and takes him back to Father, and reports to the Homunculi that the Elrics and Izumi Curtis would also be ideal sacrifices for Father's plan.

Throughout the story, Bradley maintains control over the constant strife in the military and manipulating the various players of Father's plans into their appropriate positions. However, the Elrics and their various allies slip out of his grasp or play their own games in secret, plotting variously to either top Father's schemes, overthrow Bradley, or seize control of the country back from the Homunculi who created it. When they finally strike close to the "Appointed Day", General Grumman has the Führer's train blown up and Bradley's apparent death throws all the top brass into chaos.

The Return of the Führer
Bradley finally reappears after men from Briggs have seized control of Central City. He then effortlessly disposes of all troops and a tank in his way, severely wounding Buccaneer in the process and is about to kill Vato Falman when he is confronted by the renegade Greed, who earlier had himself inside the body of Ling Yao. They start fighting, and Wrath is unfazed by Greed's attacks and sustains no injuries whatsoever. Greed uses tips that Ling gives him, but still cannot seem to truly damage him. Greed on the other hand sustains several small injuries, each of which heal. Some of the Brigg's soldiers watch from nearby and decide to help, shooting at Wrath. However, this is not only pointless but leads to their immediate slaughter. Buccaneer then rises and in rage attacks Wrath, yet again only to be easily defeated, this time impaled by his sword through his stomach. However, Buccaneer uses this and uses his tight abs to pull the sword from Wrath. Wrath calmly picks up two combat daggers, stating he won't be as efficient. Greed savors the chance and fights Wrath, with his new advantage. Wrath can no longer harm Greed, but he is still capable of defending himself perfectly. Then, Fu joins the fray and instantly begins his assault on Wrath. Wrath however is yet again undamaged. Noting this, Fu asks Greed the identity of Wrath. Upon learning it was the man who nearly killed his granddaughter and cut off her arm, Fu angrily readies himself for battle.

The battle starts yet again, 2 on 1, Wrath still keeping up, uses his strength to disarray his enemies attacks. He manages to stomp down his dagger into Greed, subduing him, and then focuses on Fu. He uses his other dagger to disarm Fu's sword and then throws the dagger at Fu. Fu catches it, saving himself. However, now Wrath has a sword once again, and has made himself much more dangerous. He slices at Fu, cutting his dagger, headband, and forehead. Fu jumps back, but he is not able to keep up as Wrath slashes him and thrusts him into the air. This awakens Ling, who decides to protect Fu. Fu however, realizing he is just getting in the way, tells Ling to be a good king as his parting message, ready to make a great sacrifice. He knocks Ling down, and asks Greed to begin hardening Ling's body to protect him. Greed does so, to Ling's surprise. Ling then watches as Fu runs towards Wrath, setting afire four sticks of dynamite. Wrath however in one stealthy cut removes the firing tips of the dynamite, and slashes Fu powerfully across his midsection. As Fu begins to fall, feeling pathetic as he couldn't do anything, Wrath ends up impaled in the stomach.

Buccaneer stabbed through Fu's back into Wrath's stomach (hence he could not be seen by Wrath, making the move unpredictable), injuring him for the first time shown in the series. Buccaneer says that now he and Fu can take Wrath to hell together. Fu agrees, and happily thanks Buccaneer for letting him play that vital role. As Buccaneer begins bleeding relentlessly and as Fu suffers from his own injuries, the two are kicked back by Wrath. An enraged Ling with Greed's arms lunges at Wrath. Wrath blocks with his sword, but the sheer force was enough to break the sword, and he took the attack to the side of his head. Lan Fan watches in shock from above, horrified by her grandfather's ordeal, and quickly joins the fray.

Final Battle
Wrath's Ultimate Eye was soon damaged when Greed-Ling struck it and broke his sword. This is also noticed when Wrath throws his broken sword at a Briggs soldier, but ends up slicing his left arm instead of killing him. Wrath falls into the water below Central's gate. This, however, does not kill him, as he made his escape through a pipeline he found. Arriving underground, near the sewer, where Colonel Roy Mustang's group was, Wrath picked up the Philosopher's Stone intended to be used by Roy to save Lt. Riza Hawkeye. May Chang, having lost Envy's Philosopher's stone, tried to grab it, but was picked up by Bradley instead. Pride and Wrath then declare that Mustang is to be the fifth Human Sacrifice. After Pride performs a Human Transmutation, both Pride and Roy vanish. Dying and having fulfilled his role in Father's plan, Wrath then asks who among everyone present wants to go down in history as the person who finally manages to topple his regime. Scar and Wrath eventually face off in their final battle, and, as the battle commences, Wrath, piqued by Scar in every way asks his name, to which Scar replies he doesn't have one, having long discarded it. Wrath is heavily amused at it mirrors his own life; finally he can enjoy a final battle, to the fullest of his abilities with another nameless warrior, basically mirror images of one another. As he fights Scar, Wrath progressively becomes weaker, but is still able to fight evenly against the latter. As he pins Scar to the floor and readies to deliver the fatal blow, he is suddenly caught off guard when short pillars of spikes incapacitate his right arm, much to his surprise and confusion. Scar then reveals to him that he can now use the power of reconstruction on his left arm, thanks to his brother's research. After knowing that Scar can now use the power of reconstruction, Wrath is both amused and annoyed as he asks Scar if he and the other humans will ever give up in their pointless struggles. When Father activates the Nationwide Transmutation Circle, Scar and Wrath are then consumed in a massive black sphere, though they are unharmed. Wrath continues his battle with Scar. Wrath wounds Scar and questions if he has turned his back on Ishvala and the teachings of Ishval. But Scar replies that in Wrath's mind and soul, there is only one answer: "There is no God!". Despite Wrath gaining an upper hand in the fight, he is momentarily blinded by the sudden appearance of the sun, and Scar seizes the opportunity to use his Arm of Deconstruction to destroy Wrath's arms. Before he can fall, Wrath grabs the blade of his sword with his teeth and stabs Scar in the midsection.

Severely wounded and on the brink of death, Wrath says that even though he never believed in God, he wonders if this is what it is to be "forsaken by God". When Lan Fan arrives, Wrath correctly presumes that she plans to avenge her grandfather. She asks Wrath if he has any last words, to which he says no. Lan Fan means to injure him further before he can die, stating that his life was truly sad and asks if he has ever truly loved anyone. Wrath tells Lan Fan not to utter such words when she knows so little. He tells her that his wife was chosen by him, and as such, he truly cared for her. When asked if he wanted to say something to her, he states that she doesn't need to know about him because "that is how it is between a king and his partner." After he breathes his last words, he passes away as his body seems to age, with his face having marks of alchemy, and his hair turning grayish-white.When Greed/Ling tries to follow Father, he sees Lan Fan and Scar, along with Wrath's corpse lying on the floor, smiling, to which Greed replies that he really "pisses him off" for looking so satisfied. When Olivier's group rejoins the three and the more powerful members leave to fight Father, Olivier finds the body of Wrath. Scar tells her that he had been wounded by someone earlier, which was the only reason why Scar was able to survive. With this, Olivier correctly deduces that Buccaneer had been the one who wounded him.

After the death of Father, the resistance group spreads the word of Bradley's death. According to them, the members of Military Central Command had been plotting to overthrow Bradley and turn all the citizens of Amestris into a gigantic Philosopher's Stone. Though they are reluctant to lie, they know that if they told the truth about Bradley, the people would never trust the government or the military ever again. Brigadier Generals Clemin and Edison are framed for the alleged coup, and Bradley is portrayed as martyr defending his country, thus preserving the people's love of Bradley and his honorable image as a hero. Wrath was the fifth Homunculus to die.

In the 2003 Anime
Main Article: Wrath (2003 anime) The Wrath seen in the 2003 anime series is greatly different from the one seen in the original manga storyline. Whereas the Wrath from the manga is a Homunculus agent created by Father, the 2003 anime Wrath is an accidental Homunculus created by Izumi Curtis's failed attempt to resurrect her stillborn son by way of Human Transmutation. At the Gate, Wrath received Ed's right arm and left leg. As a result, Wrath is the only Homunculus able to use alchemy.

The manga version of Wrath can be compared with the 2003 anime version of Pride, who is the true identity of King Bradley in that anime.

Trivia

 * Wrath's English voice actor, Ed Blaylock, shares a common last name with James Blaylock, the author of 1986's science fiction comedy novel, "Homunculus".
 * Ironically, he is the youngest Homunculus (at 60-years-old), despite being physically the oldest-looking. This is the opposite of Pride who is the oldest (over 3 centuries) Homunculus, despite having the youngest physical appearence.
 * Interestingly, the youngest and oldest Homunculi are the only Homunculi to share a close, yet fake, father-son relationship with one another.
 * Despite his old age, Wrath is able to fight better than a normal human thanks to all his training.
 * Likely thanks to his body being rebuilt when being turned into Wrath, he has greater endurance and seems to unable to feel pain unless it's severe.
 * Wrath bears a resemblance to General Keiro from Hero Tales, another publication of Hiromu Arakawa's.
 * Interestingly, both anime series, including the movie connected to 2003 series, have the Homunculus named Wrath be the fifth one to die. Also both incarnations have died peacefully.
 * Wrath, as Bradley, was voted the 28th most popular character in a recent fan poll, making him the sixth most popular Homunculus.
 * Wrath's loss of his arms might be a reference to Dante Alighieri's "Inferno", where the wrathful have their limbs ripped off the body.
 * The way that Wrath was defeated by Scar is rather ironic to Wrath's beliefs. During the Ishvalan War, Wrath criticized the Ishvalans that declared that God would strike Wrath down, to which Wrath asked how many lives he had to take and how long it would be before their God would do so, before criticizing the notion of God. And in the final battle with Scar, Wrath declared that there was no such thing as God. However, it was at this point that the sun revealed itself and blinded Wrath long enough for Scar to sever Wrath's hands, defeating him. This indicates that it was an 'act of God' that defeated Wrath, and on the very day that Wrath was created for, the Promised Day, which the victory enabled Scar to remove Father's alchemy barrier that allowed everyone to be able to use their alchemy to their full potential.