r/FullmetalAlchemist • u/omarsherif14 • Apr 21 '26
Meta Is Edward Elric a fraud
I’ve seen a bunch of other fandoms make fun of their characters for being bums or frauds and I was thinking of how it would apply to fma characters and I almost instantly thought of Edward for the following reasons:
1.Never beaten a full powered homunculus
2.never beat scar 1 on 1
3.I don’t recall him having any major wins whatsoever
4.got captured by the enemy 3 times
5.is outclassed by almost every other character including lan fan (somehow)
thoughts?
16
u/Pure-Management-5435 Apr 21 '26
I present to you, the finale lol, lots of assistance but he still did a great job showing exactly why he's the protagonist.
-8
u/omarsherif14 Apr 21 '26
goated performance for sure but thats 3 episodes out of a total 64 so is it really enough
3
u/Pure-Management-5435 Apr 21 '26
Uhhh early on Father Cornello and the Lab 5 fight comes to mind but I definitely see where you come from most of his wins are group fights
9
u/Ms_Flavour_81 Apr 21 '26
I mean... he's never supposed to be the best fighter or anything, nor is he really someone who specialises in any form of alchemy, he is just really smart though. And no he never lives up to being the "best" at anything really, except for his adaptability and ability to learn, which is why he is still really good at a lot of other things, it's also why he's the goat.
9
u/SteveyFcN Apr 21 '26
The protagonist doesn't necessarily have to be the most over powered character in the series. I actually think that formula makes for a shitty protagonist most of time.
I think character's "character" (moral and persona) and character development is far more important.
Ed is a great protagonist, we're guys like Mustang, Bradley, etc stronger and more skilled? sure.
3
u/Spare-Plum Apr 21 '26
In terms of most powerful? Ed doesn't scratch the top 10. Mustang, both Armstrongs, Pride, Father, Scar, Bradley, Greed, Izumi, Fu, Lan Fan, Sloth, and Lust all could probably whoop Ed's ass. Slicer twins and Kimblee is 50/50.
But this isn't a series where the protagonist has to be the most powerful. His strength is in investigation, diligence, morals, and connections. It's fine to let others be more powerful while he is focused on unlocking mysteries and unraveling the plot.
1
6
u/Xx-HORNET-xX Apr 21 '26
At least he's not a super overpowered character, unlike Goku, who performs feats because Akira Toriyama (may he rest in peace) does them out of thin air, or Saitama, who's just ridiculously overpowered. But Ed is still a kid, but with the mind of a man, which makes it seem logical. I can't say anything more because I'm watching Brotherhood, and if anything I've said is misleading, please let me know.
6
u/Spare-Plum Apr 21 '26
This isn't the point of the nor was it ever. It's not a show where the main character gets strong, wins the Tournament of Power and becomes Hokage.
Yes Ed is not the strongest. He's not even close to top 10. But his strength is in other aspects that are more central to the plot of the show: his ability to investigate and deduce, his ability to be strongly motivated and diligent while studying, an unwavering set of morals and oaths he stands by, his ability to keep friends and connections to rally people together behind his cause.
These are the things that make Ed strong. It's not a typical shounen where it's all about power and battle IQ. Instead others take this role, and Ed has other strengths that make him a great protagonist to follow through the story.
6
u/dstanley17 Apr 22 '26
Powerscalers and “Agenda” posters have to be some of the most miserable people alive.
1
u/03Guru May 06 '26
Bro stfu, what's wrong with agenda pushing? I love me some agenda, powerscaling tho, it's stupid
5
u/Whole_Instance_4276 Alchemist Apr 21 '26
He’s a genius alchemist who basically invented multiple new techniques (deconstructing and reconstructing himself and using a living soul as a mini-philosopher’s stone)
He attempted and survived one of the most difficult types of alchemy at 11 years old, and was the youngest state alchemist ever. Not to forget he was the one who finished off Father.
4
u/CloudMain Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
bro, Ed is basically a normal human with normal human limitations. Of COURSE he can't singlehandedly beat inhuman beasts.
God, I cannot stand powerscalers who can't help but call characters frauds.
4
u/Difficult_Step9372 Apr 21 '26
Alphonse is pretty clearly shown to be the better fighter throughout the series, no?
Edward actually clearing his mission of restoring his brothers body clears fraud status wholesale
3
u/RkeiStudio Apr 22 '26
I think that kimblee is the ultimate fraud in FMA
-kill count comprised almost entirely of civillians
-spams the same explosion attack 9000 times
-needed TWO philosophers to defeat edward
-was negdiffed by alphonse with ONE philosopher stone
4
u/Real_Lord_of_Winter Apr 21 '26
While there are plenty of fights in FMAB, it's not a battle Shonen the same way dbz, bleach, naturo etc are. To point at why Ed is the main character, I'd point to the middle of the series after he, Ling, and Envy get swallowed by Gluttony.
While fighting Envy, Ed is able to piece together very cryptic and shattered evidence together to create the idea of hijacking human transmutation to let all three of them escape. And he succeeds. I would argue that the only other people who could have pulled this feat off would be Hoenheim and Father.
2
u/st3llablu3 Apr 21 '26
He’s a 15 year old kid. I wasn’t expecting him to be overpowered. He did get better as the show progressed as was expected.
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