King Bradley

**King Bradley** is one of the main antagonists of the manga Fullmetal Alchemist, written by Hiromu Arakawa.

## Background

The nameless man who would one day become known as Fuhrer of Amestris spent his early years training diligently in a secret military academy. Though all the subjects tried, only one would succeed (and survive) in becoming the host of a mysterious serum. This man would be given the name King Bradley, Fuhrer of Amestris and the embodiment of Father’s Wrath. Father, a Homunculus, had plans to obtain godhood by consuming the souls of an entire country, and thus founded the country to serve as that exact meal.

As Father’s subordinate, Bradley carved a reputation out for himself on the battlefield, eventually becoming the Fuhrer-President of Amestris. In order to further Father’s goals, the Fuhrer ordered a military genocide on the Ishvalan people, who had rebelled against Amestris for indiscriminately killing an innocent Ishvalan child. Even when begged to stop by the Ishvalans’ religious leader, Bradley would only scoff at the notion. If there was a God, why had he not stopped Bradley from killing so many Ishvalans? Nothing mattered but the path he had been set upon by Father. The extermination would continue.

Eventually, the Promised Day of Father’s ascension arrived, and Bradley aided his master in securing the human sacrifices needed to reach God (it’s a long story). Even though he had to mow through a coup of his soldiers, foreign ninjas, and a fellow Homunculus to do so, Bradley’s old boomer body had enough gas in the tank for one final battle - and what better opponent than an Ishvalan, one he had personally ordered a manhunt against, no less? The Fuhrer and the man known only by his Scar faced off, and it seemed even this battle was Bradley’s to win. Scornfully, the Fuhrer of Amestris mocked the idea of a God that would forsake the Ishvalans, a “God” that could not possibly exist.

And yet, in what could only be described as a miracle - an act of God, perhaps - the Sun, eclipsed, let forth a shine so bright it reflected off Bradley’s own blade, blinding him in the heat of combat and leaving him vulnerable enough for Scar to land a decisive, fatal blow. In the end, though, it wasn’t the irony of his defeat or being unable to see Father’s plan succeed that hung in the fallen Fuhrer’s mind; it was satisfaction. He had lived out the life that had been planned for him, and had been able to experience it alongside humans. Whether it was the folly of worship, the stubborn will to rebel against oppression, or his own wife, the sole thing Bradley had ever chosen for himself in his life, humanity had proven to be more interesting than the Fuhrer had ever expected. Bradley may have been the embodiment of Wrath, but in his final moments, perhaps it was Pride he felt instead.

## Powers & Abilities

* **Combat Skill:** As one of the candidates to become Fuhrer of Amestris, Bradley spent essentially his entire life training in swordplay, martial arts and military combat. As such, he’s one of the most skilled fighters in the entirety of Fullmetal Alchemist. His combat ability far outshines even soldiers who did nothing but train for battle for 60 years straight. Just looking at his own years of experience, Bradley became Fuhrer in his forties, which, when combined with what we know of him experiencing wars, would imply he spent at least 40 or so years in active military service. Bradley’s combat ability has allowed him to fight off the combined might of Greed (Ling Yao version) and Fu at the same time. He has demonstrated superb adaptability to disadvantageous situations, able to disarm foes to gain a more favorable weapon or pin troublesome enemies down to buy himself time. He also wastes no time capitalizing on weapons he finds lying around. With his preferred blades in hand, Bradley combines his speed and power to opt for an overwhelming combat style. He uses many rapid, piercing thrusts, mixing in powerful swipes to force his opponents to constantly remain on the defensive. When his swords aren’t available, Bradley resorts to CQC, particularly grapples and throws.
* **Intellect:** As part of Bradley’s intense training to become Fuhrer, he studied academics, including political sciences and the humanities. Not only is he well-studied, Bradley has plenty of tactical knowledge when it comes to military strategy. He’s also a skilled manipulator, able to sway military generals and high-ranking officers into secretly doing his bidding for Father. Bradley was even able to read the subtle tactical plays made by Roy Mustang, and countered them by removing Roy’s subordinates from the Flame Alchemist’s direct command.
* **Homunculus Physiology:** After becoming the Homunculus Wrath, Bradley’s body became physically superior to that of any human. Indeed, Bradley’s domination in fights stems not just from his insane skill and efficiency, but his raw strength and unbelievable speed as well.
* **Ultimate Eye:** After becoming the host of Father’s Wrath, the Philosopher’s Stone granted Bradley the unique ability known as the Ultimate Eye. While it’s usually covered up by his eyepatch for cool reveal moments, Bradley’s left eye is capable of enhancing his perception beyond what is humanly possible. Even with his eyepatch on, Bradley possesses keen observational skills and intuition, as shown when he was able to hone in on Roy Mustang amidst a crowd, and from a single glance, understand Roy’s ambitions to usurp him as Fuhrer. He also identified Riza Hawkeye (admittedly, not in the greatest disguise) within a brief moment as she was driving by, and was able to maneuver out of a falling train to safety by charting a path amidst the descending rubble (basically this). Without the eyepatch, it’s hard to say exactly how much more Bradley benefits from the Ultimate Eye, but he’s relied on it for important battles to dominate the likes of Greed (both versions). It’s likely the Eye simply makes him ultra-aware and perceptive of his opponent’s movements, which, when paired with his unbelievable combat skill, makes him a frightening foe to face. However, Bradley’s body differs from that of his Homunculi brothers and sister in one key way; his body ages like a normal human being. While the superhuman strength, speed and endurance is certainly useful, Bradley himself has noted that these boons have waned with age, indicating that he is no longer in his prime.

## Equipment

* **Swords:** The Fuhrer’s weapon of choice is the blade. He comes strapped into battle with four swords at the ready, using two at a time. While he seems to prefer dual-wielding, he’s also proficient in single-bladed combat, and apparently, mouth-bladed as well. Bradley’s swords seem to most closely resemble the historical British Spadroon, but unlike the real thing, these swords are not useless and can inflict some serious damage. They’re tough and sharp enough to cut through people, artillery shells, tank tracks, Alchemy constructs, and Northern Automail without so much as a scratch. Not to mention, the blades make for effective projectiles that Bradley can launch with deadly force. They are still normal swords, though, and can be shattered with sufficient force… not that doing so would particularly slow Bradley down.
* **Knives:** He may not be as proficient with dual-wielding knives as he is with swords, but Bradley’s still more than comfortable enough with them to body anyone in his way, including experienced ninjas. They work about how you’d expect, though Bradley has shown some remarkable skill in throwing knives from afar.
* **Hand Grenade:** Bradley briefly carried around a single hand grenade in his storming of the Amestrian military. Specifically, this appears to be a Model 24 Stielhandgranate, which is a real weapon used by the Germans in World War 2. As you’d expect, it makes things go boom real good.
* **Eyepatch:** Yes, really. Bradley’s eyepatch isn’t particularly special or unique, but it does have a functional use outside of just looking cool. Since Bradley’s left eye is important, he wears an eyepatch to protect it from, say, a flashbang grenade, and to keep his trump card close to his chest until the time is right to reveal it. Simply wearing his eyepatch has led Bradley’s opponents to assume certain strategies against him, such as staying on his covered-eye’s side in combat. Of course, they’re none the wiser to what Bradley has up his sleeves, and that’s all thanks to the eyepatch. (No, seriously, that eye needs protecting more than you’d think)

## Feats

### Strength

* Severely injured and overpowered Scar in their fight
	+ Scar should be physically superior (or at least comparable) to his brother by the end of the series, who survived Kimblee’s Philosopher’s Stone blast (33.278 kilotons of TNT)
		- Philosopher’s Stones are stated to be powerful enough to wipe towns “off the map” by Envy
* Could cut through Alchemy constructs
* According to Roy, Bradley seemed confident that he could defeat Edward, Alphonse and Roy himself all at once in a 1v3 fight with a single sword
	+ Roy could destroy giant ice walls created by Isaac McDougal (0.42 tons of TNT - 2.27 kilotons of TNT)
	+ Ed and Al could contend with Atlas, whose Alchemy could create giant ice structures
	+ Ed could create a giant stone golem with Alchemy (9.17 kilotons of TNT)
* Pierced through Alphonse’s armor with his sword
	+ Alphonse was durable enough to (somewhat) withstand a blast from Father that destroyed part of a building (4.213 kilotons of TNT without accounting for surface area)
* Sliced through parts of a tank, as well as an artillery shell from that same tank
* Shattered Captain Buccaneer’s Northern Automail arm
* Kicked Greed through a brick wall
* Killed Roa the Chimera with ease
	+ Roa was able to fight Major Alex Louis Armstrong on even footing, who himself would later go on to fight and help defeat the Homunculus Sloth.
		- Sloth was so sturdy that tank shells literally just bounced off his body.
		- Sloth could break through the ground of Fort Briggs (0.353 - 3.527 tons of TNT)
* In FMA 2003, dominated Roy Mustang in their fight
	+ ‘03 Roy scales to Edward, who created a massive wall surrounding an estate on a mountaintop (1.79 kilotons of TNT)
		- Worth noting that in FMA 2003, Alchemy explicitly places a bodily strain on the Alchemist, indicating they physically scale to the energy of their Alchemy constructs to some degree
	+ ‘03 Roy should be comparable to Izumi Curtis, who triggered an earthquake, resulting in a fissure

### Speed

* Speed-blitzed numerous soldiers before any of them could react (Mach 3.23 - 12.94)
* Sliced a polearm apart so quickly that a young Edward Elric didn’t even perceive him drawing his sword, and should still be comparable to or faster than Ed later on
	+ Ed could dodge and block electricity from Atlas, and fought Wolf Chimera who could do the same
	+ Ed reacted to Father’s weather-based attack, which could (very arguably) involve lightning
* Through his enhanced physiology, is likely faster than Hohenheim, who has admitted he’s not much of a fighter
	+ Hohenheim reacted to and blocked a blast of electricity from Father
* In what looked like a single stroke, performed many sword strikes
* Can parry and dodge gunfire with ease
* Was fast enough to escape an exploded, falling train mid-descent
* Sliced off Greed’s arm faster than he could react
* Dodged Roy’s Flame Alchemy
* In FMA 2003, appeared to move as fast as a blur

### Durability

* Withstood the process of becoming Wrath, which involved having his body repeatedly deconstructed and reconstructed from the inside out
* Withstood his face and eye being slashed by an enraged Greed
* Withstood the impact of an Alchemy construct created by Scar
* Took physical blows from Scar
* Was stabbed through the torso by Captain Buccaneer’s sword and kept fighting
* Bradley’s body is superior to humans like Scar’s brother, who survived Kimblee’s Philosopher’s Stone-fuelled blast
	+ Scar’s brother died later, but as a result of transferring his arm to Scar after already having been severely wounded. He still survived the actual blast created by Kimblee.
* In FMA 2003, got blasted by Roy Mustang’s Flame Alchemy and mostly just had his clothes messed up

### Skill

* Defeated Roy Mustang, Lan Fan, and the Amestrian Military
* Killed Isaac McDougal, Roa, Dolcetto, Martel, Greed (many times), Fu, and Captain Buccaneer
* Succeeded in maintaining a war of extermination against the Ishvalan people
* Partly responsible for forcing Roy Mustang to perform human transmutation, resulting in the final human sacrifice Father needed
* Came up with the title “Fullmetal Alchemist” in-universe
* Skilled enough to take on two experienced fighters at once and win
* Threw a knife with enough precision to throw off a gun aimed at him
* Sliced the fuses off of dynamite perfectly in order to safely diffuse them
* Survived many battlefields and conflicts over the years thanks to his Ultimate Eye

## Weaknesses

* Unlike his fellow Homunculi, Bradley is uniquely disadvantaged in that he has no regenerative capabilities. His body is prone to age and deterioration like an ordinary person would be, so his physique isn’t necessarily always at its peak either. This basically means that for as much as an absolute beast Bradley is, he’s simply not immune to being worn down and damaged over time. Any fatal wounds landed on him may not immediately incapacitate him, but he will go down eventually.
* Bradley’s Ultimate Eye also requires, y’know, sight. Any attack that inhibits his sight will also prevent him from putting the Ultimate Eye to use. Naturally, surprise attacks are also a problem for him, as demonstrated by Captain Buccaneer stabbing him through and from behind the body of Fu.
* Additionally, Bradley’s equipment is all finite, of ordinary origin. Swords, knives, and grenades can all be destroyed or used up, and Bradley’s reserves on a good day go about as deep as two spare swords and that’s it.