Pride

Pride is a major villain in the Fullmetal Alchemist manga and second anime series. He is the first homunculus created by Father. (the primary antagonist of the series) He lives with the homunculus Wrath, (the ruler of the country of Amestris, known by the population as King Bradley) posing as his adopted son Selim, to create a facade of benevolence. He is the most powerful of the Seven Homunculi and Father's second in command. He pretends to be a sweet, nice child, but is in actuality a ruthless, intelligent and resourceful killer, blindly devoted to Father's cause. Fighting seems to be something natural for him, as he often casually talks with his ennemies and smiles at them, even sometimes feigning respect and calling them "mister" something.

Pride's arrogance, cruelty and extreme scorn toward humans mirror that of Father, who shared a grat deal of personality with his first born creation. He states that a child must listen to everything their parents tells them and dismisses parental love, or thinking for oneself as "flawed human logic." Yet, without really having conscience of it, he is touched by genuine attentions.

Powers and Abilities
Like the other homunculi, Pride's source of power is the Philosopher's Stone from which he was created, which serves as his core. The thousands of human souls sacrificed to create the Stone, and imprisoned inside it, are linked to his own. This Stone grants him enhanced strenght, speed, reflexes and stamina, as well as near-limitless regenerative abilities. Pride also seems impervious to normal weapons, given that the lion chimera Heinkel's claws didn't even scratched him; and that he states than a gun would be useless against him. Being the strongest homunculus, he has the most dangerous power among them. This power lies in his huge, demonic-looking shadow, which is in fact his real body, is harder than every mineral and impervious to any conventional harm.

Pride control his shadow like his limbs; and he can extend or reshape it to form tentacles, tendrils or jaws. The shadow includes many eyes and mouths that Pride uses to see and talk wherever the shadow can extend. A useful ability when it comes to covert observation and to give orders where he isn't actually present; which gives an impression of omnipresence. Pride can slice, cut, and destroy anything that comes in contact with his shadow. His shadow can also manipulate everything it touches or grabs, as with actual arms, but with incredible strenght, much above that of Pride's child-like body, and fill anything empty to manipulate it like a puppet.

Pride can also devour people with his shadowy mouths and assimilate his victims' power and characteristics. When he devoured his fellow homunculus Gluttony, he gained his extraordinary sense of smell, his ability to devour anything, his Philosopher's Stone, his ravenous appetite and perhaps even his fake Door of Truth. (An eye which fires a huge energy blast, that absorb anything it touches into a dimentional void.) When he devoured Solf J. Kimblee, the psychotic Crimson Alchemist, he became able to perform alchemy and to activate transmutation circles. However he hasn't yet used Kimblee's explosive attacks and the real extend of his newfound alchemic abilities is not known. Despite being large enough to cover the entire nationwide transmutation circle or the whole Central City, Pride's shadow cannot extend infinitely. It also cannot appear without a light source and can be harmed when light becomes too bright.

Appearance
Pride appears as an innocent young boy with short dark hair and dark eyes, to disguise his true, evil nature. It is revealed that his child-like body is in fact a mere shell which contains his real shadowy body. His shadow resembles a huge, black, shapeless figure with enlongated tentacles, tendrils with clawed "hands," grinning mouths and piercing red eyes.

In the manga and the 2009 anime series
Pride was created by Father very quickly after the destruction of the country of Xerses, around 350 to 400 years ago. Since the fundation of the country of Amestris, he always pretends to be a human boy, who is part of the close family of the country's several puppet leaders. (whom Father chooses and gives order to) He seldom appears in public though, in order not to raise any suspicion. Since Amerstris' fundation, his role is to watch over the nationwide transmutation circle, forcing the homunculus Sloth who is digging it to keep working, and slaughtering any intruder who discovers it. He also gives order to the others homunculi and serves as Father's spokeperson.

At first Pride is only mentioned, and sometimes heard talking with others homunculi, but only a figure can be seen. "Selim Bradley" makes several appearances and even meet the Elric brothers, posing as a nice and friendly child. His shadow first appears after the Elric brothers have discovered the nationwide circle, where he slaughters the soldiers who came to explore it. Shortly after, the lieutenant Riza Hawkeye meets "Selim" and sense his evil aura, prompting him to reveal his true identity and to threaten her not to tell anyone.

Then he orders Solf J. Kimblee, a deranged alchemist who works for the homunculi to "carve a blood crest" on Briggs, the mountain in the north border of Amestris; as the homunculi need high-scale slaughters in various points of the border, (which follows the nationwide transmutation circle) in order to enact Father's goal. He later engages a short fight against Hohenheim, an extremely powerful human Philosopher's Stone and the father of the Elric brothers, in the nationwide transmutation circle.

Pride latter personally enters the fray, helped by his fellow homunculus Gluttony. He kidnaps Alphonse Elric and possesses his armor with his shadow, and later engages a fight against Edward Elric and his allies. Pride devours Gluttony to gain his powers and his remaining lives, but Hohenheim utltimatelly traps him alongside Alphonse Elric in a gigantic dome of earth, where the total absence of light renders him powerless. Alphonse and him then starts a conversation where he confesses a surprising fondness for his human stepmother. (Despite this, he holds his stepmother in much lower regards than Father's cause.) By banging continuously on Alphonse's helmet with a stick, Pride sends a morse code to Father, who orders Kimblee to go to free him. After another struggle, Alphonse and his allies defeat Kimblee (whom Prides later devours) and manage to flee.

In the latest chapters, Pride returns to the homunculi's subterranean base of operations, joining his "stepfather" ("King Bradley", the homunculus Wrath) in his fight against the colonel Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist. Pride uses his shadows to activate a transmutation circle, sending Roy Mustang through the Door of Truth. (the source of all alchemic power and knowledge) He later reappears with Mustang inside Father's throne room.

However, Pride has been affected by the Door of Truth as well. It absorbed a great amount of his power and put a considerable strain on his child-like container, which is slowly disintegrating, beginning with the right side of his face. The Elric brothers notice it when they engage a short fight against him, before being captured by Father.

Father captures the Elric brothers, their father, their master Izumi Curtis and Roy Mustang; (all of them having been through the Door of Truth) and he uses their power to activate the nationwide transmutation circle. By doing so, Father absorbed the souls of every citizen of Amestris, which he uses as a power supply to devour the Truth itself and become the very embodiment of all the alchemic power in the world. Hopefully, Hoheneim manages to free all the Amestrian souls, rendering Father unable to fully control the Truth inside him. Following Hohenheim's words, Father dedicates all his strenght to keep the Truth's power within him, but this strenght will soon be depleted, like a balloon on the verge of bursting.

Having figured this out as well, Father goes to the surface to absorb humans and replenish his strenght, immediately followed by everyone. Everyone save for Edward Elric, whom Pride captured with his shadowy tentacles. When Edward mocks the homunculi for being "brainless zombies unable to think for themselves," and remarks Father's complete lack of regard for Pride's state of near-death; Pride angrily tosses Edward on the ground saying that this is but "flawed human logic." (Despite clearly realizing the truth in these words.) Pride then states that his child-like container will soon vanish entirely, and he attempts to take over Edward's body as his new vessel. But Pride is distracted by Kimblee's soul, whose psychotic liking for torment enabled him to retain his self-awareness, among the thousands of tortured other souls inside Pride's Philosopher's Stone.

Kimblee mocks Pride for his desperate attempt to seize the body of a human he so strongly despises, allowing Edward to revert the processus and invade Pride's own soul, destroying Pride's child-like container and shadowy body for good. As the helpless homunculus begs Edward to stop, thinking of his stepfather and stepmother, he is reduced to his basic form: a tiny foetus-like infant with a circular mark on his forehead. Edward lays the defeated Pride, who is calling for his "mama," to rest on his jacket while he joins the final battle against Father.