Pride (FMA 2003)

"You are foolish, all of you, even my own son."

- Pride, before killing Selim. King Bradley/Pride is an antagonist in the 2003 anime version of Fullmetal Alchemist. Not to be confused with the manga and Brotherhood version, this version's Pride was a completely different character. However, King Bradley was also a character in the manga version but under the identity of Wrath.

He was voiced by the late Ed Blaylock.

Story
King Bradley's role is very similar to that of the manga version. As Pride, he is the strongest of the seven homunculi, and also the only homunculus who has the ability to grow older. He was created by Dante many years before the events of the series and considers Pride as her ultimate masterpiece.

As the Führer of Amestris, Bradley is a charming family man in public but harbors a deep hatred for humanity underneath this persona, much like his master. It is later revealed that Bradley organized personally the Ishval Civil War (it was Envy in the manga version) in order to create the Philosopher's Stone for Dante. Later, during the events of the series, he re-enacts the Civil War in Reole for the very same purposes, leading his own nation to destruction in order to serve Dante properly.

Bradley's true identity is revealed when Martel ambushes him in a surprise attack and knocks off his eye patch, revealing an ouroboros tattoo in his left eye. Martel escapes and manages to tell this to Al, but is killed by Bradley's sword as a result.

In the final act of the series, Colonel Roy Mustang encounters Bradley in the wine cellar of his mansion and reveals his cruel plans for the country and role behind the genocides. During an intense fight, Bradley wounds Mustang critically and rants about being a soldier of God. Eventually, Bradley's son Selim enters the cellar and brings his father the "treasure" he kept behind a safe (which is the skull of Bradley's former body and his only weakness). Enraged, Bradley snaps Selim's neck and claims that even his own son is as foolish as other humans. Mustang then kills Bradley for good with his fire alchemy, using the skull of his former body as a barrier.

Powers
Much like in the manga version, Bradley had the Ultimate Eye which gave him the ability to foresee his enemies' movements. This combined with excellent swordman skills and amazing agility made Bradley a very dangerous opponent, capable of inflicting heavy damage on his opponents in a short time, while keeping his defense up at the same time. He is also implied to be the strongest of the homunculi (although, when Envy learned from Dante that she killed Hohenheim and Pride taunted Envy about "missing his father", Envy does manage to knock down Pride and pin him to the ground, and Pride not fighting back) and Dante calls him her "masterpiece". However, unlike in the manga version, Bradley could also regenerate his lost body parts, much like other homunculi, which practically made him even more dangerous than his manga counterpart.

Personality
Bradley shares most of his personality with his manga counterpart, including deep hatred for humanity and the ability to act charming in public (although his friendly facade is only skin-deep and he lacks the jovial nature of his manga counterpart). However, this version was far more sadistic, which was proven in his fight against Mustang, clearly enjoying to play a cat and mouse game with him. Bradley was also completely stripped of his redeeming qualities, proving him to be an irredeemable monster when he murders his own son for unknowingly bring his "personal treasure".

While the other homunculi stated whether or not they want to become human, Pride never does - although this could be attributed to his aforementioned contempt for humanity.

Trivia

 * Pride along with Envy are the only homunculi that are far more horrid than their manga counterparts.
 * Pride's death is similar to how Lust dies in the manga (as they were both killed by Roy Mustang himself).
 * It is implied that Pride himself is even more dangerous than Envy, despite the latter being the first-born homunculus.
 * King Bradley in this version openly considers himself one of God's guardian angels, wheras his manga counterpart found flaws in in the logic of those who believe in God.