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The King of Xerxes is a major antagonist in the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise. He was the last monarch of Xerxes before its destruction and the master of Hohenheim when he was a slave.
He was voiced by the late Takkō Ishimori in the Japanese version, who also voiced Franklin Bidan in Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam and Sengoku in One Piece, and by Bill Jenkins in the English dubbed version, who also voiced Sebas Tian in Overlord.
Personality[]
The King of Xerxes is a cold-blooded tyrant willing to kill thousands of people if it meant he could hold onto his own life and power for a little longer. He is a self-serving villain with little regard for any human life, and while he did bring some people to the center of the transmutation circle with him, it was likely only because he wanted some useful allies during his immortal reign.
While the king has no redeeming qualities in the anime (and is actually more heinous due to being aware of everyone on Xerxes dying in the transmutation ritual), the manga's version does have one moment of humanity where he appears sorrowful about all the lives he ended in his pursuit of immortality, showing he isn't a total monster. It's also implied he wanted to stay alive to continue keeping peace in Xerxes and looking after his citizens.
Biography[]
The king was by far the most powerful person in Xerxes, possibly the most powerful person for miles outside Xerxes, yet as he got older, he began to want more. He feared his impending death so sought to uncover the secrets of immortality. This caused him to resort to seeking counsel from the Homunculus, known at the time as the Dwarf in the flask.
The Homunculus informed him that he would be required to draw out a huge transmutation circle around all of Xerxes, crossing several villages in the process. His next action would be to murder and butcher every citizen of the villages the circle touches, allowing for the toll of immortality to be paid in bloodshed. After that, the transmutation is ready to commence.
The king brought Hohenheim, the Homunculus, and some of his most trusted advisers to stand in the center of the transmutation circle before commencing the process to give himself immortality. However, the Homunculus had deceived him and actually lied about the location of the transmutation circle's center, causing everyone aside from itself and Hohenheim, including the king, to suddenly fall dead. This was because the real center of the transmutation circle was where Hohenheim was standing while holding the Homunculus.
With the power it was gifted by the transmutation, the Homunculus now took on a form that looked exactly like Hohenheim, leaving Hohenheim in a state of shock and horror as he was left with the corpses of his fellow citizens.
Many centuries later, the Homunculus (now called Father) decided to bring some of the Xerxes citizens back to prove a point that he could create life as well as take it away. The king was amongst the crowd and believed the transmutation to give himself immortality had worked due to his new life. However, in the anime, he was immediately murdered by Father along with everyone else he had brought back. In the manga, his body simply deteriorated as he was merely an imitation of a human as opposed to the real thing.
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 Villains
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Manga & Brotherhood 2003 Anime 2017 Movie | ||