... : Fullmetal Alchemist
Age: 15 year old (through most of the series), 11 years old ( Towarsds the beginning of the series)
Height: 4'11" source: height chart), 5'5"(ncluding boot and hair ) (source: manga)
When Edward and his brother
Alphonse were just boys, their mother succumbed to a sudden illness. Seeing no other alternative, the two of them attempted to revive
their dead mother using what they knew: the science of alchemy. However, alchemy still obeys the principles of nature. The
most basic principle of alchemy is that of Equivalent Exchange: for everything, there is a price. You cannot create something
from nothing.
Edward and Alphonse knew of Equivalent Exchange and thought they had everything figured out. What they learned--disastrously--is that some things
just can't be measured. Edward gave of his own body in the attempt, losing his left leg up to the thigh. His right arm was
lost in a desperate move to prevent the soul of his brother (who lost his whole body in the attempt) from being lost forever.
After the incident, Edward was fitted with an automail arm and leg (automail is a special bio-mechanical
prothesis that can move at the wearer's will, enabling virtually full function). Recovering from his failure, Edward pushes
forward with his pursuit of alchemy with a new goal: undoing the damage wrought upon himself and his brother. Just about a
year after the accident, at the age of 12, Edward became the youngest certified State Alchemist in history. Though Edward
is reluctant to join the State Alchemists (which is essentially part of the Army), he becomes one so he can research the Central
archives for a possible solution: the Philosopher's Stone. The stone is the holy grail of alchemy. With it, it is said, one's
power over alchemy rises to divine levels, allowing one to bypass the limitations of alchemy, including Equivalent Exchange.
It's Edward's wish to find the stone and use it to restore his limbs and Alphonse's body. Obviously, Edward is a top-notch alchemist now at the age of 15. Because he wears automail, he was given the title
"Fullmetal Alchemist" by Fuhrer King Bradley when he became a State Alchemist (all State Alchemists are given such titles). Besides his incredible skill for his age and
proficiency with weapons, Edward has one other secret that shows his genius. He is able to perform alchemy without the help
of a Transmutation Circle or Array: normally a requirement (it was in fact that feat that made him worthy of the State Alchemists).
As a result, he has amassed a reputation throughout the land, and this notoriety becomes a potential liability because people
start gunning for him: not necessarily because of his identity but also because he's a State Alchemist (or "Military Dog"
as some state-haters would call him). Edward answers to Lt. Col. Roy Mustang, and in exchange for answering to him and following his orders, he searches for the Philosopher's Stone in between his assignments
and reports on his findings.
Because he's always in the company of his brother Alphonse (who is now just a suit of armor), people sometimes mistake Alphonse for the Fullmetal Alchemist. The problem is compounded by the fact that Edward is short for his age, so some people think
he's younger than Alphonse (when he's actually a year older).
In addition to his alchemy skills, Edward can also kick serious butt. His tough automail arm and leg can
deal some serious damage and can provide nice protection from physical attack. In addition, Edward can transmute his prosthetic
arm into any of an assortment of weapons to suit the occasion.
If there's a weakness in Edward, it's in his naivete. Being so young, he still hasn't seen the depths of
human depravity, and each new dive into the dark side of humanity frightens him. In time, he develops a sense of sarcasm to
try to fight the fear.
Editor's Note: Several sites (notashrimp.com and DRIFTER, for example) say that Ed's birth date is October 11, 1899 (and I'm also told this is from some book biography), and another
(Official FMA Fan Site) states that his birthday is February 3, 1899. However, in the episode "The Alchemy Exam", Edward, Alphonse, and Nina are seen playing outside in the snow sometime after Christmas when Maes Hughes then comes up wishing Edward a happy birthday (this was the same day Hughes's daughter was born, and occurred just before Ed went to take the exam, thus making him 12 at that time). So it seems like
his birthday would be in late December. Also, someone pointed out that when Ed arrived in our world, it was 1921 and he was
15, thus indicating that Ed would have been born in 1906. Of course, since our world and Ed's world are two different dimensions,
the year might not correlate between the two. If you have any official source of information about his birth date, please
contact me.