Alex Louis Armstrong

**Alex Louis Armstrong**, also known as **Major** and **Strong Arm Alchemist**, is a character from the *Fullmetal Alchemist* series.

## **Charactah Account**

Alex, also known as the Strong Arm Alchemist, is a State Alchemist and officer in the Amestrian State Military. The scion of the illustrious Armstrong family, Alex is a remarkably caring commander and friend as well as an invaluably skilled ally to Colonel Roy Mustang and Edward Elric.

Despite his towering presence and intimidating physique, Alex is decidedly softhearted and almost comically emotional, quickly bursting into tears of sorrow, compassion or joy in most situations. He is a particularly caring individual, who goes out of his way to offer aid to people in need and takes great pains to look after his friends, allies, and subordinates - though his great propensity for giving hugs frequently does unintentional harm to those unfortunate enough to be embraced by his powerful biceps.

With a rather boisterous demeanor, Alex appears rather fond of loud, grandstanding speeches and dramatic comments, can be unwittingly pushy in his attempts to help others and is particularly protective of youths like Edward, demanding that they eat, sleep and exercise well in order to grow healthy and strong. Proud of his own physique and believing it to be a supreme work of beauty and art, Alex frequently removes his shirt to show it off in both welcome and unwelcome attempts to buoy the spirits of those around him. He will take off his shirt on many occasions, whether it is to partake in labor, confront someone in battle, to cheer someone up, to show off and boast, or feeling an extreme emotion of any kind.

## **Appearance**

### **Anime**

* Fullmetal Alchemist
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - 4-Koma Theater
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Premium Collection
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Reflections
* Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shamballa
* Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos

### **Video Games**

* Crash Fever
* Full Bokko Heroes X
* Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir
* Fullmetal Alchemist 3: The Girl Who Succeeds God
* Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Daughter of the Dusk
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Dream Carnival
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Prince of the Dawn
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Sonata of Memories
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Stray Rondo
* Fullmetal Alchemist: Trading Card Game
* Monster Strike
* Unison League

## **Trivia**

* The text on his gauntlets "*Froh, / wie seine Sonnen fliegen / Durch des Himmels prächt’gen Plan,/ Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,/ Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen*" is a line from Friederich Schiller's poem *An die Freude* ("Ode to Joy" in English) which translates to "Happily, / as His suns fly / Through the glorious plane of Heaven, / Run, brothers, your course, / joyfully, like a hero going to victory".
* Like nearly all military personnel in the Fullmetal Alchemist series, the Armstrong family is named after a military vehicle, vessel or weapon, in this case, the **Armstrong Whitworth Whitley *(A.W.38 Whitley)***, a British bomber from early WWII. It is also possible that the weapon namesake to him is the **Armstrong Gun**, a British rifled cannon with examples measuring up to 100 tons.
* Alex was placed as the 11th most popular character in the recent popularity poll.
* It is possible that Alex Louis Armstrong may also be named after Louis Armstrong, a popular singer and jazz trumpeter.
* According to Arakawa, Armstrong was the easiest (human) character for her to draw.
* The English dub fails to apply the French accent to his middle name, pronouncing it like "Louise" rather than "Louie" as it was intended.
* Armstrong's appearance is likely, though not confirmed, to have originated from the design of a character which shares its name with the anime/manga from which it comes from, Kinnikuman, who Hiromu Arakawa has cited as one of her major influences in her artwork.
* Armstrong's appearance is likely, though not confirmed, to the real fighter Ivan Poddubny.
* Armstrong shares the same English and Japanese voice actors as Garland from "Dissidia: Final Fantasy" and many different characters from "Dragon Ball Z", including Vegeta.
* According to episode 16 of the 2003 anime, and episode 6 of the 2009 anime, he has an obvious gift for drawing.
* In the 2003 anime, Armstrong was promoted to a Lieutenant Colonel, but in Conqueror of Shamballa, everyone still refers to him as "Major."
* Alex's appearance is reused as the gym teacher in Arakawa's manga series *"Gin no Saji"*, including the Armstrong sparkles but adding hair to his head in place of the spitcurl.
* In the 2003 anime, Armstrong's sparkles are pink, while in the 2009 anime, the sparkles are orange.
* All alchemical creations have slight cracks/lines on them that reveal their crafted nature. Major Armstrong's creations however are **always** blemish-free and expertly crafted, seemingly sculpted by hand rather than synthesized on the fly.
* Whenever he fights, he always announces his technique comes from the Armstrong family line
* His State Alchemist title Strong Arm, is his family name Armstrong with the words that comprise it switched around.

## **External Links**

* Alex Louis Armstrong at Fullmetal Alchemist Wiki