Pride Al

"There is no wrath, or lust, or sloth, or greed, or gluttony, or envy, such emotions have fled from my father. My name is Pride."

## General Information

### Roles[1]

* Muscle[2]
* Support[3]

## Pride Al

Pride Al is Alphonse Elric (アルフォンス・エルリック *Arufonsu Erurikku*?), but was also known as Al. He is the deuteragonist of the *Fullmetal Alchemist* series. Pride Al is the result of one of the 7 homunculi, Pride, possessing Alphonse.

## Backstory

Alphonse Elric had already suffered a tragedy when he and his brother, Edward, tried resurrecting their dead mother using Alchemy. Alchemy, however, cannot be used to bring back the dead. The result of their ritual resulted in a dying monster in front of them.

In addition to witnessing the birth and death of a tortured monster, the Elric brothers had to pay for their use of Alchemy.

*“In order to obtain or create something, something of equal value must be lost or destroyed”*

-The Law of Equivalent Exchange, (等価交換 *Tōka Kōkan*)

What the Elric brothers lost was part of their physical forms. Edward lost an arm and a leg, while Alphonse lost his entire body. Edward quickly linked Alphonse’s soul to a nearby suit of armor, using a Blood Seal, so that his brother wouldn’t die.

### Later in Life, or the Second Bad Ending

In episode 48 of Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood*, "*The Oath in the Tunnel," the Humonculus Pride took over Al's armor with his shadow tentacles, taking the identity of Pride Al. In the original episode, the group was able to save Al with a Xingese flash bomb. However, in this AU, Pride Al was able to beat the Fullmetal Alchemist and all those who were traveling with him, but was stuck in Al's armor, as he overused his power in the fight.

## Appearance

Pride Al has the appearance of Al’s armor, but if you look close, you’ll find it has a bunch of red, beady eyes inside of it, which is a part of Pride’s shadow. In his steel armor body, Alphonse is often the tallest on-screen, even when compared to giant men in the series, such as Major Armstrong. In comparison to his younger brother, he is absolutely huge. Due to his full-armor body, he is often mistaken for the famous "Fullmetal Alchemist." In reality, his younger brother Edward bears the title. On occasion, he is also mistaken as the older brother. Alphonse's "head" is toothy with a horn protrusion and hair coming out of the back.

On the left shoulder of the armor is a red Flamel, signifying Alphonse's tutelage under the master alchemist, Izumi Curtis.

## Personality

What’s interesting about Pride Al is that he is two conscious characters present in one body. Both of these characters have contrasting personalities and goals, so the only way this character could exist is if one had dominion over the body.

**Pride** is...well, prideful. He is arrogant, and is aware that he is better than almost anyone. He looks down on humans because of this. He acts with dignity, and is boastful. He is cruel to his opponents, and taunts them as he destroys them. He is the one controlling Al.

**Alfonse,** on the other hand, is kind, calm, and passive. He is compassionate, patient, and selfless. He experiences distress when people are hurt. He is the one under Pride’s control.

## Abilities

**Pride**, the possessor, is a Homunculus. This means he is nigh immortal, (self-revival, regeneration, limb regrowth, etc...) as long his philosopher's stone has power. Being a Homunculus grants him superhuman strength, resilience, and speed.

Pride can also use his shadow as a means of attack. He can use multiple multi-eyed, multi-mouthed (sometimes multi-handed) tendril-things to pierce, puncture, stab, slash, whip, etc.

**Alfonse**, the possessed, has a body that is a metallic shell, so physical attacks, such as punching, kicking, and combustion (to some extent) has little effect on him. He also can’t be disabled like a normal creature, as he doesn’t have muscles or tendons to cut or destroy.

### Weaknesses

* Ironically, one of Pride Al's biggest weaknesses is complete darkness, as he needs a source of light to create and use his Shadow. This weakness is canon in *Fullmetal Alchemist.*
* Another canon weakness is Al's Blood Seal. If it is damaged or destroyed in any way, Al's soul will fade from the suit, rendering his armor lifeless. However, Pride will still remain.

## Trivia

* Other than some of the BEF's like the ones from pokemon, Digimon, and mega man, Pride Al is the first anime BEF to be on the site for a long time.
* Pride Al doesn’t appear in the original 2003 anime.
* This character was originally suggested in 2018, but was finally added in 2020.

## Where to Watch

If yore interested in watching the show, you can watch it on these websites:

* Netflix
* Hulu
* HBO Max
* Amazon Prime
* Crunchyroll
* Funimation