GREED
GR
The rogue homunculus. Broke away from the others and set up his own operation in the underground of Dublith, running a gang of chimera outcasts called the Devil's Nest. Ultimate Shield hardens his skin into a carbon surface that stops almost anything. Wants everything: money, women, power, immortality, freedom. The most upfront about what he is and what he wants, which makes him the easiest of the homunculi to read and paradoxically one of the more interesting ones to watch. His arc in the 2003 version is short and deliberately so.
GREED THROUGH THE ARCHIVE //
HOMUNCULI - 2003 //
Open page →Greed explains the rule after Ed kills him
A Homunculus can be weakened when confronted with the physical remains of the human connected to its creation. Their regeneration and control break down enough that the being can finally be killed.
The Breakdown
The weakness is perfectly suited to 2003's version of the Homunculi. The thing that hurts them most is evidence that the original human existed, died and is not actually the being standing in front of you.
Breakaway Homunculus · Episodes 30–34
Greed is the first Homunculus to make the faction's internal problem obvious. He has already left Dante, gathered his own group and built an identity around wanting everything precisely because he refuses to belong to anybody.
His claim that he wants immortality is almost redundant. What he actually behaves like he wants is independence.
His claim that he wants immortality is almost redundant. What he actually behaves like he wants is independence.
Why it matters
Greed proves that Dante's Homunculi are not extensions of one mastermind. They can defect, hate one another, make friends and choose goals Dante did not assign them.
LABORATORY 5 //
Open page →The rogue Homunculus is already a containment problem
Greed has broken away from the other Homunculi and is held beneath the laboratory rather than simply destroyed.
His eventual escape introduces a fact the brothers do not yet understand: Homunculi can rebel against the people directing them.
His eventual escape introduces a fact the brothers do not yet understand: Homunculi can rebel against the people directing them.
Why it matters
Lab 5 contains the first visible fracture in the enemy faction before Edward even knows enough to call it a faction.
STORY & ARC GUIDE //
Open page →Episodes 30–34
Greed has already broken with the other Homunculi and wants freedom from the system that controls him.
His death gives Edward a crucial piece of information: a Homunculus can be weakened by the remains of the human connected to its creation.
His death gives Edward a crucial piece of information: a Homunculus can be weakened by the remains of the human connected to its creation.
Why it matters
Greed is the first major crack in the idea that the Homunculi all want the same thing. From here on, their individual desires matter as much as the conspiracy using them.
2003 ALCHEMY MECHANICS //
Open page →Failed human transmutation · Red Stones · a life that should not exist
The 2003 Homunculi are tied to failed attempts to bring dead people back. The result is not the original human restored, but a new being carrying the body, memories or emotional traces of the person the alchemist tried to recreate.
Dante uses Red Stones to stabilize and control these beings, while the physical remains of the intended human can weaken them and interrupt their regeneration.
Dante uses Red Stones to stabilize and control these beings, while the physical remains of the intended human can weaken them and interrupt their regeneration.
Why it matters
This makes every major Homunculus conflict personal. They are not merely monsters named after sins; several exist because somebody loved a dead person enough to break the taboo.
COMBAT LEDGER //
Open page →Episode 34 · Dante's mansion · Result: Edward kills a Homunculus for the first time
Greed's Ultimate Shield initially makes Edward's attacks useless. Edward eventually realizes the shield is carbon-based and changes its structure through alchemy, creating an opening.
The Breakdown
Ed wins by understanding the material instead of trying to overpower it. The more important lesson comes immediately afterward: Greed reveals the weakness created by a Homunculus's connection to the remains of the person it resembles.
WHY IT MATTERS:
The fight gives Edward both a kill he did not emotionally expect and the rule he will later need against Sloth.
WHY IT MATTERS:
The fight gives Edward both a kill he did not emotionally expect and the rule he will later need against Sloth.
