So there’s a mini, joke chapter at the end of Fullmetal
Alchemist Volume 3 called “Flame vs. Fullmetal” –if you’ve watched FMA 03, you’ll
remember they adopted aspects of this into the semi-joke episode, episode 13—Anyway,
the premise is that people have started musing about the timeless question, “Who
would win in a fight?” between Ed and Roy. And for the hell of it, Ed and Roy
agree to an all-out alchemist battle to settle the matter.
Fast forward through the battle a bit, Ed’s lured Roy out
with a decoy and seizes the opportunity to jump the Colonel from the smoke.
In classic Roy fashion though–
–he’s prepared. “You sliced up my right glove but psyche I’ve
got a second one that does the exact same thing.”
And Ed’s toast. Rip Ed.
This whole sequence is pure humor, all jokes and snark and
the satisfaction of watching Ed and Roy try to beat the shit out of each other.
But something about it seemed…familiar. Something that finally clicked.
In this silly little sequence, Ed chose disarmament of his enemy over victory. He chose securing his
position of power by using his automail weapon to slice through his enemy’s
transmutation circle rather than actual violence. And his foolish trust in passively subduing a powerful opponent is what gets him well and truly burned.
And then, well there’s his fight against Kimblee. Chapter 76
Ed spent a long chunk of the lead-up to this battle arguing that he does not want to kill Kimblee. He gets into a fight with the Briggs soldiers about this, and they never quite convince him that Kimblee is better off murdered.
So when it comes down to a fight between the two of them, Ed chooses mercy. He chooses Kimblee’s life. He separated Kimblee from his philosopher’s stone, and slices out the transmutation circle on Kimblee’s palm.
And just when he’s let his guard down, convinced he’s
passively won–
–Kimblee, rather than Roy this time, pulls out his trump card.
It’s…nigh identical. Ed sees an opening, uses it to disarm, then is taken by complete surprise that his opponent has a second transmutation circle…a second philosopher’s stone.
In Flame vs Fullmetal, Ed is just sort of…comically blown
away. His weakness was exposed and his pride suffered for it. Against Kimblee.
Well–
–he does not get away in tact.
And it hits as such a…dark piece of continuity. A trueness
to this being Ed’s weakness, and a stark, cold, harsh reality in the fact that
there are bigger, scarier things out there than Mustang, yet things just as manipulative, powerful, tactful. Things which will kill
Ed at a moment’s notice, that do not deserve his mercy.
Ed lives, but he sacrifices his own life-force for it. He
surrenders years off the end of his life to pull through. This is an unforgiving consequence shown to
naivete. And the parallel exposed in a joke
chapter from volume 3 is just…
…well, chilling.
WAIT. HOLD THE FUCK UP.
the REASON ed even survives this fight at all is because of his mercy.
remember these guys?
kimblee’s mooks, darius and heinkel? who ed also refused to kill moments before the throw down with kimblee? these guys are the reason ed even made it out of the mine shaft. ed spared darius and heinkel, saved them actually, cus they were stuck in that mineshaft too. and you know how they repay him for the kindness? for his MERCY?
they save his life.
like ok, ed being merciful got him impaled. but ed being merciful also saved his ass AND the world, cus darius and heinkel stuck with him all the way to the end.
mercy isn’t ed’s weakness. mercy and compassion are ed’s strengths and it’s why i fucking love this guy and this whole series. it would have been so easy to make FMA grimdark and everyone could’ve been out for themselves but Arakawa said fuck that noise and gave us a story where the heroes are constantly making the active choice to DO GOOD. to do BETTER, to be merciful and compassionate and it fuckin works.
tora42's nonsensne 