SOLF J. KIMBLEE
SJ
The Crimson Alchemist. Arrays on both palms, targeted explosions, imprisoned after Ishval for conduct that stood out even in a war full of conduct worth imprisoning. The distinction is that Kimblee enjoyed it and made no effort to disguise that. Brotherhood gives him a philosophy the 2003 anime does not: a coherent position about the honesty of owning your own choices and their weight, delivered with a calm that makes it more unsettling than anger would. His arc with Edward in the north is the series' best deployment of him and the confrontation between their opposing positions is one of Brotherhood's better ideological arguments.
SOLF THROUGH THE ARCHIVE //
THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE //
Open page →A perfect tool for somebody already comfortable with the cost
Kimblee uses Philosopher's Stones to amplify the destructive alchemy he already enjoys.
The Stone does not corrupt him into becoming someone new. It removes practical limits from somebody who already accepts that other lives can be spent for his purposes.
The Stone does not corrupt him into becoming someone new. It removes practical limits from somebody who already accepts that other lives can be spent for his purposes.
Why it matters
Kimblee is useful precisely because he prevents Brotherhood from blaming every atrocity on magical temptation. Sometimes the tool finds a user who agrees with it.
AMESTRIAN MILITARY & ALCHEMY //
Open page →Solf J. Kimblee — The Crimson Alchemist
Open →Explosion alchemy · a State Alchemist who embraced the job
Kimblee uses the arrays on his palms to create explosive transmutations, turning his alchemy into an exceptionally destructive combat style.
The more important distinction is psychological. Ishval does not haunt Kimblee the way it haunts Mustang, Hawkeye, Marcoh or Armstrong. He enjoys the clarity of destruction and does not need the military to invent a moral justification for him.
The more important distinction is psychological. Ishval does not haunt Kimblee the way it haunts Mustang, Hawkeye, Marcoh or Armstrong. He enjoys the clarity of destruction and does not need the military to invent a moral justification for him.
Why it matters
Kimblee is what the State Alchemist system looks like when the institution finds a person who genuinely likes being used as a weapon.
BROTHERHOOD COMBAT LEDGER //
Open page →Central Command Outskirts · Alphonse Tactical Victory
Equipped with a Philosopher's Stone supplied by Heinkel, Alphonse used circle-less alchemy to combat both Pride's shadows and Kimblee's explosive alchemy simultaneously.
The Breakdown
Alphonse trapped Pride inside a dirt dome to block shadow light sources, while Kimblee was mortally wounded by Heinkel biting his throat. Kimblee's dying consciousness was absorbed by Pride, later intervening from within Pride's soul to help Edward win.
Northern Rail Train · Decisive Scar Victory
The Ishvalan avenger Scar confronted the Crimson Alchemist Kimblee atop a speeding train bound for Briggs. Kimblee attempted to use his palm-drawn transmutation circles to detonate the train cars, but Scar's high-speed close-quarters combat closed the distance before Kimblee could weave his hands.
The Breakdown
Scar used his right arm's Destruction alchemy to shatter Kimblee's transmutation alchemy array and impale Kimblee through the side with a steel pipe, leaving Kimblee mortally wounded on the snowy tracks until the Homunculi retrieved him.
ISHVAL & THE WAR OF EXTERMINATION //
Open page →Solf J. Kimblee does not need the military to convince him that mass killing is necessary. Ishval gives him a sanctioned environment in which destruction is rewarded, and a Philosopher's Stone lets him push that destruction far beyond ordinary limits.
Why it matters
Kimblee is useful because he removes the comforting idea that every perpetrator is secretly horrified. Brotherhood places sincere remorse, rationalization, obedience and enthusiasm side by side.
STORY & ARC GUIDE //
Open page →Episode 30 and the history surrounding it
Brotherhood spends time inside the Ishvalan extermination because too many present-day choices depend on it: Scar's revenge, Mustang and Hawkeye's guilt, Marcoh's research, Kimblee's record and Winry's parents.
The later conspiracy adds another horror. Large-scale bloodshed also serves Father's nationwide design.
The later conspiracy adds another horror. Large-scale bloodshed also serves Father's nationwide design.
Why it matters
A political atrocity does not become less political because a supernatural conspiracy exploited it. Father benefits from human institutions already willing to carry out the violence.
