Envy (FMA 2003)

In Fullmetal Alchemist franchise, Envy’s manga and 2009 anime counterpart was pitiful. The 2003 anime version, however, is a malevolent sadist who gets his fun out of ruining people's lives.

He crosses the Moral Event Horizon with Hughes' murder and then follows it up with a string of murders and mind games that end with his killing Ed. He's got a story of being abandoned as a Freudian Excuse, but it doesn't come close to justifying his homicidal mania, and he ultimately undermines it when he kills his father rather than trying to reconnect with him.

Personality
This Envy is drastically different than his manga counterpart, where instead of being envious of humanity as a whole, He is particularly jealous of the fatherly love that Ed and Al received, and is known for his unhealthy grudge towards his "father".

He is extremely cruel, causing all forms of suffering, whilst showing no remorse whatsoever. Because of that, he has absolutely no love for anyone (including his homunculi brethren), and has clashed with his own allies (with the exception of Dante herself, due to the power she has over him).

His animosity towards Hohenheim, stemmed from both lack of acknowledgement (in regards to being his son), and being the abandonment he suffered (the reason why he rejects his true form). In fact the resentment was so great that he willingly threw himself into "The Gate" to personally kill him (while completely disregarding Ed's advice). In the movie, he was still bent on revenge, with Dietlinde Eckhart exclaiming that Hohenheim was the only means of soothing him, and was later satisfied in killing his "father", despite knowing that he would also be transmuted along with him in the process.

Unlike most of the other homunculi, Envy has no desire whatsoever to become human.

Powers and Abilities
Envy has the ability to shape-shift, he can even change his limbs into a weapon. He uses this power as a form of infiltration or to taunt enemies (i.e. playing on their weaknesses). He also have the typical homunculi strength, speed, and resilience.

Unlike his manga counterpart, this version of Envy is more skilled in combat, his attacks range from simple punches and kicks to Capoeira-like techniques. He is also very gymnastic, able to do somersaults with grace, as a form of evading his opponents attacks. As a testament to his might, he knocked down Pride (an opponent who is implied to be more deadlier than himself), and had to be distracted for Ed to land a hit on him.

As a dragon in the movie, Envy attacks using both his jaws and his massive body (quickly overpowering Ed in their fight), he had also used his tail to fell one of the planes used to capture him. Furthermore because he traveled through "The Gate", his body was used as material to open it (evident when his body was glowing with alchemic marks, after Dietlinde Eckhart touches him).

History
In the 2003 anime series, Envy is the first Homunculus created. As in this (radically different) storyline homunculi are created after a human transmutation, which only produce and alchemic "clone" of the deceased one, he was created almost 400 years before the beginning of the series by Dante (this storyline's main villain) and Hohenheim, in an effort to revive their late son who died of mercury poisoning.

Envy holds a staunch grudge against Hohenheim (who abandoned him and Dante after realising that their son would never truly return) for not recognizing him as a son. He is also extremely jealous of the protagonists of the series, Edward and Alphonse Elric the sons of Hohenheim (for receiving the parental love that he never got). His hatred is so strong that he never assumes his true form (which looks a lot like Hohenheim and the Elrics) pretending to have forgotten it. He harbours a fierce hatred for humans, wanting to kill as many of them as possible, and would stop at nothing to kill his "father" and "brothers".

Envy remains by Dante's side all along, carrying her dirty work for the sole pleasure of seeing humans die and suffer. After his final battle against Edward Elric in which he reveals his true face to distract Edward and severely wounds him, he later met Ed at the gate, forces his way in by transforms into Edward, his true form, and lastly, a huge snake-like dragon and goes beyond the Gate of Truth into the real world, where Hohenheim has been banished.

During the two year gap between the end of the anime and Conqueror of Shamballa, Envy was captured by the Thule Society. With Envy in his massive serpent form, the Society intended to use him as a literal Ouroboros to open a physical Gate and transfer their soldiers to the other side, to "Shamballa". Hohenheim was imprisoned and offered to Envy as a sacrifice; a human chew-toy to keep the "Great Serpent" calm as they formulated their plans. Around the time of Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa, Envy escaped and took shelter in an abandoned castle, only to cross paths with Edward once again.

In their ensuing fight, Envy was attacked on all sides by the Thule Society, who recaptured him and managed to get a small regiment of soldiers to the other side for a short time. In the end, it was Hohenheim who took his own life using Envy as his means, enabling Ed to return to his own world in a final act of redemption for his sins, using him as material to create a gate between the two worlds. Thus, Envy finally realized his sole desire to kill his father, ultimately at the cost of his own life. He was the seventh and final Homunculus to die in the series. It is not known whether or not Envy forgave Hohenheim before his death, though it is not likely.

Trivia

 * The 2003 Envy and the 2003 Pride is the only two Homunculus of 2003 anime whose personality is a lot more horrid and disturbing than their original counterparts.
 * In Conqueror of Shamballa, Envy lost his shape-shifting powers and remains stuck in his dragon form, due to the lack of alchemy in that world. However, he can still speak as a dragon, but cannot move his mouth in the form of human tongue.
 * Envy is a male in the 2003 version, due to him being based off of Hohenheim's son, unlike his manga counterpart.
 * He is referred to as "The Great Serpent" in the movie, only Ed and Hohenheim referred to him as Envy. Furthermore, his dragon form is a reference to the Leviathan (being the sin of Envy), interestingly the Thule Society's plans were to use him as a literal Ouroboros (designed just like the tattoo on each homunculi).