Alex Louis Armstrong

**Major Alex Louis Armstrong**, also known as the **Strong Arm Alchemist**, is a State Alchemist and officer in the 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, as well as the newly formed Team Heroes.

## Physical Appearance

Alex Louis Armstrong is a large man who absolutely towers over most of the other people, making him an imposing figure in most situations he is in, and has an exceptionally-sculpted and well-defined muscles developed over many years of enthusiastic physical training. While his physique is usually barely hidden beneath his uniform, it seems he need only flex all his muscles at once to tear his garments to threads and leave him shirtless and bulging - a carriage he seems to generally prefer.

Alex has a bald head save for a single lock of curly blond hair. He has no eyebrows and a prominent brow, he has a thick blond handlebar mustache, which commonly hides his mouth. He also has a cleft chin and blue eyes. He commonly wears a general Amestrian military uniform with the marks of major and long coattails.

## Personality

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, courageous and stalwart 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 extreme emotion of any kind.

As a member of the illustrious Armstrong family, Alex takes his honor very seriously and proudly wields his great strength of body and character for the military he believes exists to serve the people of Amestris. As such, he is very respectful to his superiors and an adamant protector of others on the field of battle. Alex is very seriously affected by the deaths of innocents, friends, compatriots and even enemies, freely shedding tears when faced with another human's untimely demise. As such, Armstrong dislikes violence and, while always ready to fight, prefers to settle disputes peacefully despite the known fact that his softheartedness and unwillingness to kill have kept him from receiving a promotion in all his years of military service. Alex has also shown himself to be particularly perceptive, as he was the first to recognize that The Scarred Man was using alchemy in his serial murders and is quite skilled in delivering and deciphering surreptitious messages.

As a result of his failure during the Ishval Civil War, Alex silently carries a personal sense of shame and strives toward exemplary fulfillment of his duty in an attempt to redeem himself.

## Abilities

**Master Hand-to-Hand Combatant**: Major Armstrong is a master at hand-to-hand combat and fighting on equal grounds with State Alchemist Serial Killer Scar and the Chimera Roa, as well as a Homunculus like Sloth. Due to his large frame it is assumed that he would move slow, this is actually misleading as he is quite fast and agile then he appears, this is evident in the way he dodges and maneuvers during close-combat. Even when cornered, he can maneuver with relative ease and deliver counterattack blows when his opponent is wide open.

**Immense Strength**: Major Armstrong is extremely strong almost to the point of being inhuman. He can easily land a punch that can send the incredibly large Homunculus like Sloth flying several feet away. He was also shown capable of using his strength alone to effectively block the large homunculus from crushing his sister. He is strong enough to easily pick up and swing a large chain with one hand. His punches are able to easily plow through solid surfaces and his strength is able to nonchalantly move large and heavy objects out of the way.

**Immense Endurance**: Major Armstrong possesses extreme endurance and resilience bordering on inhuman. He can withstand blunt force trauma to a tremendous degree. He can effectively take the physical assault from the super strong Homunculus Sloth without being crippled, rendered unconscious or critically injured.

**Enhanced Speed**: Despite his bulked up size, Major Armstrong has shown a high degree of physical speed, able to dodge Scar's destruction alchemy when the latter attempted to aim for the former's weak-spot, as well as showing amazing agility to dodge superfast opponents in unarmed combat.

**Multi-Talented**: Major Armstrong is talented in a multitude of fields. Including: portraiture, tracking, cross-country running and wood-chopping, taking the time after each of these extraordinary feats to remark that his skills have been "passed down the Armstrong line for generations."

**Immense Chi Power**: As a State Alchemist, Armstrong boasts an immense amount of Chi power.

### Alchemy

**Armstrong Traditional Combat Alchemy**: Major Armstrong practices a form of alchemy that has been passed down the Armstrong Family line for generations. It is a mixture of alchemical formula and combat, utilizing his physical strength. Armstrong uses two metal gauntlets strapped to his fists, they feature the transmutations circles used in his alchemy. He commonly utilizes this technique by taking pieces of stone and/or concrete and using a combination of the kinetic force and alchemical energy produced to transmute the material into large stone dart projectiles. He also has shown the ability to punch the ground and create a torrent of large spikes toward his target. This style of transmutation is incredibly fast and versatile in its application. This allows him to act as a one man heavy artillery launcher. He can specifically create unique objects, by punching an object he can transmute it into a small statute representation of himself. His ability is significant that by punching the ground and generate a large wall roughly 2 stories tall. He has shown skill in creating rising platforms that take the form of ornate pedestals to elevate him and a group to higher levels.

## Relationships

### Friends/Allies

* State Military
	+ Col. Roy Mustang (Close friend)
	+ Lt. Riza Hawkeye (Close friend)
* Elric Brothers
	+ Edward Elric (Close friend)
	+ Alphonse Elric
* Winry Rockbell
* Curtis Family
	+ Izumi Curtis
	+ Sig Curtis (Best friend and Partner-in-combat)
* Ling Yao
	+ Greed
* May Chang
* Lan Fan
* Scar (former enemy)
* Chimeras
	+ Darius
	+ Heinkel

### Enemies/Rivals

* Ryuha Armament Alliance
	+ Toza
* The Homunculi
	+ Father
	+ Sloth
* Central Command