Pride

Pride (Japanese:プライド, Puraido) was the first Homunculus created. Much like Sloth and Wrath, the role of Pride is two different characters in the 2003 anime and the manga.

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Contents
[show]*1 In the manga and 2009 anime ==In the manga and 2009 animeEdit== 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 is the most powerful of the Seven Homunculi and seemingly the highest ranked, as he is seen giving orders to Sloth and Envy. Thus, he is generally respected by the others, as well as feared. He is extremely cruel, ruthless and devoted to Father's cause. He refers to his enemies as "mister (plus a nickname)" in mocking respect and often makes big smiles and casual talks before attacking. He has also proven himself to be very clever and resourceful.
 * 2 Powers and Abilities
 * 3 In the 2003 anime
 * 4 Trivia
 * }

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.

At first, Pride remains hidden, and only his voice is heard when he talks to (or rather scolds) other Homunculi. "Selim Bradley" reveals his identity to Riza Hawkeye in chapter 70. 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 a newly reborn 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 engage a fight against Ed, Greed, Darius and Heinkel, and soon joined by Lan Fan and her grandfather Fu, during which he devours Gluttony gaining his appetite and his sense of smell. Using the Xingese flash bangs, 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 engaged another struggle with Pride and Kimblee against Alphonse (with a Philosopher's Stone), Tim Marcoh and a healed Heinkel. When his opponents managed to flee, Pride was left with a dying Kimblee whom he devoured.

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 very 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 "true", shadowy form), but is instead invaded by Edward himself, having transformed his body into a Philosopher's Stone. Pride is also shocked to notice that Kimblee has retained his own sense of self, and has been "living" in Pride ever since he was absorbed.

Realizing his imminent death, Pride thinks of his adoptive parents, Wrath and Mrs. Bradley, as he cries out for Ed to stop. Pride is reduced to his apparent basic form, that of a humanoid baby (reminiscent of a fetus) small enough to fit in Ed's hand with a circular mark on it's forehead (similar to that of the Mannequin Soldiers). Opting not to destroy his enemy, Edward rests the helpless infant on his jacket, ultimately pitying Pride as it murmurs for its "mama".

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. Pride is the only surviving homunculus.

Powers and AbilitiesEdit
Aside from the Homunculi standard powers, Pride's abilities lie within his shadow, which resembles the original flask-contained form of Father although much larger and more formidable with multiple slitted eyes and sharp toothed mouths. The shadow can take on a variety of shapes, from sharp spikes to tendril-like hands (similar to those seen within the Gate of Truth).

Pride can manipulate, slice through or devour anything that comes in contact with his shadow and it appears invulnerable to conventional physical harm, although it can be deflected by sufficiently hard objects (Carbon-hardened objects appear particularly resistant). He can also see and talk through his shadowy eyes and mouths wherever his shadow can extend, an ability he uses to watch over the country-wide transmutation tunnel, slaughtering anyone who enters it. It is implied by Greed early on (and later confirmed by Pride himself) that his shadows are in fact his actual form, with the child-like body being a simple "container" for him to move around in, similar to Father's flask-contained form. This is supported by the shadows limited mobility, only being able to appear in the immediate surroundings of his human body (Selim) and in the circular transmutation tunnel around Amestris. It also cannot appear without a light source and can be harmed when light becomes too bright.

Pride's shadow 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 the Gold-Toothed Doctor, Pride gains knowledge of human transmutation and activates a corresponding circle with his shadows.

However, after Pride had forced Roy Mustang to perform human transmutation and teleport to Father's den, he is assumed to have weakened his ability to use shadows because instead of counter attacking the Elrics' attacks, he dodges them and later he only uses them to fight in close combat. Edward states that this is because Pride's skill of forcefully opening another's gate carries that high risk.

In chapter 104, Pride attempts to use his small size and speed to exploit Edward's weaknesses in hand-to-hand combat (being 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.

In the 2003 animeEdit
In this anime, Pride is the true identity of King Bradley, the "Ultimate Eye". His eye, usually covered by an eyepatch, 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 skull of his original body to be kept safe. 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.