< Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)

Fullmetal Alchemist (manga)/Awesome


  • Edward Elric
    • Using Scar's destruction technique to defeat the Slicer Brothers.
    • Figuring out how Greed's "Ultimate Shield" works and breaking it.
      • He does it in the first anime too, and it's still awesome.
    • Managing to find a way out of Gluttony's stomach. Did I mention the fact that Gluttony's stomach is an entire freaking dimension unto itself?
      • From just before the Gate is opened in that episode of the dub. "I'm sorry, but I have to use you." You don't notice at first, but then you learn that Hohenheim says this before using the souls of Xerxes to create a transmutation circle to protect all of the souls in Amestris. His father's son indeed.
    • Defeating Darius and Heinkel with dynamite. No, not by blowing it up, but by transmuting the ammonium out of the nitroglycerin to overwhelm their heightened senses. That is thinking outside the box.
    • "I'm back and tearing full-throttle!" Honestly, just read the entire sequence, especially when he transmutes the car into a more "badass" shape to avoid detection.
    • Figuring out that, to render Pride powerless, all he has to do is turn out the lights. And when the lights come back on, he blocks Pride's attacks using Greed's Ultimate Shield technique with his automail!
    • Later, he responds to Envy's trying to goad him into killing everyone in the room by verbally handing him his parasitic hinder on a plate, essentially reading him perfectly, at which point Envy realizes that his entire existence has been a sick joke and destroys his own Philosopher's Stone.
      • Just for comparison sake, the above has no action, no real fighting, just Goddamn words! Being able to take down an opponent in a total beatdown? Awesome. Being able to take down said opponent without a freakin' blow? CMoA.
    • In Brotherhood, Ed manages to one-up the manga at the end of episode 26. During in the scene where he travels back from Gluttony's stomach, he sees Al's body, but is dragged back, struggling, as the Door closes. beat. He then punches open the DOOR OF TRUTH to say "Alphonse! Someday, I swear I'll come back for you. Just you wait! Just you wait!" The Manga has almost exactly the same scene, and the same lines, but what it doesn't have is Ed PUNCHING OPEN THE DOOR OF TRUTH.
      • What does it for me is the close up on Ed's face with his automail hand pointing at Al's body while the door is closing. Heck, you can taste the sheer willpower in his eyes. Not only that, the scene is backed up by Let It Out. For me, that scene is one of (if not the) higher points of the series.
      • The idea that it's actually the Truth in Al's body makes it slightly depressing. But thinking it over, this makes The Truth's response downright fascinating. You could say it ruins the feeling that Ed is talking to his brother, but the look of shock on 'Al's' face when Ed bursts through the Gate of Truth is just so awesome. He can't believe what he's seeing. I think that was the point at which the Truth knew that he had created a monster. An incredible, devoted, passionate, badass monster. Many people probably saw Al looking down with a smile, assured he'd eventually be freed. This troper sees the Truth going "You know what, Alchemist? ... I don't even doubt it." And by the end of the series, he keeps his word.
    • "I KNOW EXACTLY HOW SHORT PEOPLE FIGHT!"
      • You'd better believe it.
    • When Kimblee blows up the ground to escape from a fight in episode 41, Ed falls through to a mine and wakes up impaled with a metal pipe. He's saved the lives of two of Kimblee's chimera soldiers, who free themselves from the rubble and go over to Ed to see if he's alive. Ed asks them to pull the pipe out so he can transmute his life to stem the flow of blood. When they do, it hurts even to watch, but it's pretty damn amazing once you realize how much pain he was in.
      • Which is exactly why that scene hurt so much to watch. Ed's desperate screams while he struggles to hold his mind together and focus enough to transmute his own soul caused this troper enough sympathy pain that she was immensely glad when it was over, awesome or not. (For the record, it was awesome, just hella painful.)
    • The ending of Ed vs. Pride, complete with Your Head Asplode. Strangely doubles as a crowning moment of heartwarming, when Ed not only lets Fetus!Pride live, but takes off his jacket to place him on, despite what the psycho just attempted. Ed is pretty much the ultimate Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
      • Considering the havoc that Pride has wrought throughout the series, this troper would like to nominate Ed for sainthood.
      • Also, his method to take out Pride: Using his soul as a Philosopher's Stone to force his way into Pride's consciousness and suppress his stone, severing his contact with the souls that support him. Basically, he takes out Pride by possessing him, something that until recently, only homunculi could do.
    • And then in Chapter 107/episode 62, Ed pulls off the ultimate CMOA by engaging Father/God in a fistfight and literally punching out God.

"Get up, third-string. I'm gonna show you just how out of our league you are!"

      • Made slightly more awesome by the fact that he's echoing something he said to Father Cornello way back in chapter 1.
    • Actually no, he pulls off the ultimate CMOA in the next chapter where he pulls Alphonse from out of the Gate, WHOLE AND UNINJURED (bar some malnutrition), with no injuries to his own person. Do you understand? EDWARD HAS DONE SOMETHING THAT WAS CONSIDERED IMPOSSIBLE FOR OVER 107 CHAPTERS WITHOUT THE HELP OF A PHILOSOPHER'S STONE AND HE MANAGED TO DO IT WITHOUT GETTING SOMEONE KILLED!!!
      • The best part? The nonchalant and fair (and sometimes cruel) in-universe God laughting in joy about Ed's offer.
  • Alphonse Elric:
    • He manages to evade capture from the chimerae for a time by using his form to his advantage, by running away from them, planning to tire them out.
    • When he Took a Level in Badass by figuring out how to transmute without a circle.
    • Al defends a BSOD'ing Hawkeye from Lust.

"NO! I'm sick of watching people die, and I can't just sit back and take it anymore! I won't let anyone else get killed! Not when I can protect them!!"

    • Trapping Pride using himself as bait. Also overlaps with Hohenheim's CMOA, see below.
    • The entire Al vs. Kimblee and Pride battle is pure win.
    • And in chapter 102 he refused to get his body back, since that weak flesh and blood body cannot be used properly for combat, and he needs to be able to fight in the Final Battle. Yes, it's much more awesome and emotional than it seems.
    • "Mr. Tucker...if you keep talking, this time I'll shut you up."
    • Al shines on more than one occasion, but his comeback against Kimblee and Pride is probably the one where he is most badass.
    • In chapter 107, Al first shielded May from Father's Wave Motion Gun, critically damaging his blood seal. Then, when he saw that Edward was pinned with Father about to kill him, he asks Truth for a refund by transmuting his own soul for Ed's right arm. The last part also qualifies as a Tear Jerker.
  • Colonel Roy Mustang:
    • After Lust tears a water pipe and drenches Mustang, he reveals he isn't so useless with water. After all, his transmutation circle moves oxygen. And water has plenty of oxygen in it. And Havoc has a lighter. See where I'm going with this? KABOOM!
      • Actually it seperates hydrogen from oxygen which if you have ever done that, and then tried to light it, it makes a HUGE explosion. Which is what happened to not so poor Lust.
        • Fire, or, rather, the process of combustion, is essentially the process of oxygen binding itself superquickly to just about everything it can reach. Water doesn't burn because it's H2O, or Oxygen that has already been joined to a pair of Hydrogen molecules, hence, already-burned hydrogen. So, with all that water in the room, Mustang simply slices the bonds between the oxygen and hydrogen in the water and has Havoc use his lighter to start the Combustion process and rejoin them. All at once.
      • Then Lust stabs both Havoc (paralyzing him) and Mustang and tears up Roy's gloves, leaving them both for dead. Later, with Hawkeye BSOD'ing and Al struggling before her, a sudden blast of flame blows Lust off her legs. We see Mustang, revealing that by using Havoc's lighter and his specialized circle that he carved into his own hand he was able to cauterize both their wounds. He then incinerates Lust, proclaiming that no matter how many times she regenerates he will kill her, and keeps blasting her over and over until her Philosopher's Stone runs out and she dies. With her finger-lance centimeters from his face, I might add. It looked awesome!
        • Yes. Yes it did. I can see what Lust meant by, "It's not too bad to be killed by a man like you."
        • The most awesome part of that fight, when Lust asks how he can still move with his wound: "I sealed it with fire!". BAD. ASS.
      • To add more: after medical assistance arrives, he insisted them to treat Havoc first. Then, later, he chides Hawkeye for her BSOD, stating that she is the last person he expected to behave like that.
      • What makes this scene so impressive is that it is the first major victory the good guys have that cannot be somehow twisted to help the villains. This is so apparent in the scene where Envy chews out Wrath for letting Roy live, it's clear Lust's death was like a slap to the face of the Homunculi, making them think "Oh shit, we're not invincible after all!"
    • When he killed Maria Ross by burning her alive, everyone hated him. Then we found out that he actually saved her by faking her death and smuggling her to Xing.
      • Not only that, he practically made a whole, fail-safe scheme to get her off the hook on the fly. He even convinced Dr. Knox to fake the autopsy!
      • Might I add: Maria Ross's parents and former partner aren't in on the plan. To them, Mustang is still the revenge-seeking bastard who burned to death an innocent woman. So, he also has to shoulder the role of villain, even though it's really the opposite.
      • It actually was more of a Batman Gambit. Knox wasn't in on the plan either, but when saw that the corpse actually wasn't Maria Ross he knew that Roy was up to something, and decided to support him. Roy never directly spoke to Knox until after the autopsy report was filed.
    • Mustang owns Ed and Scar by defeating the Cyclops Army with a single snap of his fingers. What they both couldn't manage in a couple of chapters, he did in one panel. Ed's expression of complete disbelief was absolutely priceless. Also, making Riza blush should be considered an impressive feat.
    • Mustang's response to finally finding the person who killed his best friend: "There's no need to say anything more, Envy. The first thing I'm gonna turn to ash is your tongue." He then proceeds to fuck Envy up fifty ways to Sunday, including, but not limited to: evaporating the fluid in his eyes twice, thanking him for turning into his monstrous true form because it makes him a bigger target, blasting his lower jaw off to shut him up (just like he promised), and torching him while he looked like Hughes.

Envy: (burning alive) What's wrong with you!? You didn't even hesitate to incinerate your best friend!?!
Mustang: Maes Hughes is dead. That's a fact. And you invoke his image? You must be a glutton for punishment!! (snaps his fingers again)

  • Riza to a disguised Envy: "When we're alone, the Colonel always calls me Riza.". Then: "Just kidding. Thanks for blowing your cover."
    • And goes Guns Akimbo to Envy (emptying two handguns and a rifle clip) while Envy can't do a shit about this. Envy can only turn the table by using his tentacle to pull Super Rug Pull.
    • To clarify, she twigs that something's up, then acknowledges and subverts the UST between Roy & her to trick Envy. Awesome.
    • Snapping Mustang out of his Roaring Rampage of Revenge by telling Mustang that after she kills him then she will kill herself so that the knowledge of flame alchemy dies with her.
      • Not to mention that this is also a little scary, seeing as she almost outright states that she wouldn't hesitate to kill her superior officer/love interest if she thought it was necessary, even if she'd commit suicide afterwards.
      • Yes, but back when he made her his aide, he told her to kill him if he ever "strayed from the path"; so she's following his instructions.
    • Earlier, during her "love conversation" with Mustang, Gluttony appears behind her. Her response? Calmly saying "I'm sorry. It seems that a nagging customer has come for me." then firing her rifle to stop Gluttony, with help only from Black Hayate and Fuery. Then later, she chides Mustang for nearly blowing his cover and endangering the whole mission, despite the fact that he saved her ass.
    • Her dog-disciplining method is this and Crowning Moment of Funny.
    • Chapter 107. Revenge of the Meaningful Name, as Hawkeye acts as Mustang's eyes to roast Father.
  • "Don't worry, we have eyes of hawk watching over us."

Other Characters:

  • Marcoh revealing to Envy that since he knows how to make Philosopher's Stones, he knows how to destroy them. Since Homunculi are created from Philosopher's Stones, Envy is in trouble, to say the least. And by "in trouble", we mean "Marcoh blew his giant monster body apart and reduced him to a tiny, cowering tadpole-thing, with one transmutation. Doubly awesome given that Marcoh is possibly the least threatening character in the story (Besides Yoki. BUT SEE BELOW). Turned him into one of this troper's favorite characters, that did.
  • Dr. Knox shows us that doctors should not be messed with. When May Chang and Lan Fan wake up in the same room, their first respond is... to try to take out each other. Even Al can't stop them. Right before the situation became grim, the doctor appears, hitting and yelling at them both and asking them to stay in beds like the good patients they are. When they refuse, the doctor yells at them even louder, then reminds them that nasty things can be done to them as a doctor. Nevertheless, they complied. Also a Crowning Moment of Funny.
    • A miniture CMOA hidden here: May Chang - Badass Adorable Alkhestris with an miniture army of knives and can do long range alchemy AND knows the xingese martial arts, is going against Lan Fan Handicapped Badass with just a knife and an arm that's been in a hospital bed. Lan Fan is clearly outmatched but is going to go against her anyways. That takes GUTS. CMOA right there.
    • Actually, May Chang is not in better condition, since she got high fever.
  • Two different Awesome Moments one right after another: Ling Yao gets his fighting King Bradley in a sword fight while holding Lan Fan after Bradley has grievously injured her. While escaping, Lan Fan tries to kill herself so that she can no longer be a burden to Ling, while Ling tries to stop her. Bradley, following her trail of blood, sees her arm attached to a dog -- Lan Fan had cut her arm off, and escaped into a sewer.
    • "A king is there for his people. Without people, there's no King!" Then "Yes, a king cannot exist without people. But without king, people will lose guidance".
    • Ling Yao finishing the fight against Gluttony by shoving a grenade into his mouth, blowing it, then quickly tying him up while he's regenerating. All in less than 5 pages.
    • Lan Fan gets another one when she reveals that she has fulfilled her promise to get an automail arm, and be back in fighting condition in 6 months, in time to help the rebellion by stopping Gluttony, just as he was about to go into "devour everything" mode.
      • Okay, let's give Lan Fan the credit she deserves here. She doesn't just stop Gluttony. She utterly owns him. Ed, Greed/Ling, and Darius are standing in a dark forest, totally unable to see what Gluttony is doing, about to be devoured, when BAM, someone sprints out of the forest so fast that at first it seems that Wrath is attacking Gluttony. The new arrival attacks Gluttony so quickly they are literally a blur of sword-strokes, and Gluttony falls backwards, spasming as all of its wounds start to crackle with regenerative energy that just cannot keep up with the amount of damage it just took. And then the figure turns around and: SHE'S BAAAAACK! Easily one of the most awesome entrances on the show.
  • Wrath's utter pwnage of Greed, giving him no time to shield himself and repeatedly calling him pathetic, ultimately paralyzing Greed by skewering him with his swords.
  • Father's would be when he stamps his foot, and Ed, and Al can no longer perform Alchemy until Father wishes it. The idea that the Big Bad is so powerful that even the best alchemist from Amestris are helpless against him is chilling.
    • That scene did double duty. The fact that Father managed to stop the Elric brothers' alchemy was frighteningly awesome... the fact that Scar and May Chang shocked everyone, Big Bad included, by still being able to transmute was a more traditional variant of awesome.
      • Oh it wasn't just the Elric Brothers. He shut off the Alchemy of EVERY SINGLE ALCHEMIST IN THE VICINITY, IF NOT ALL OF AMESTRIS.
      • This troper finds Scar's Unstoppable Rage to be a CMoA in itself. "No. I will not send you to God where my fellow countrymen of Ishval reside. Think of yourselves as undeserving of rest or redemption!" as he forces Gluttony out of his way in about two seconds.
      • Then Scar going for the kill for Father. Father's response: "A destruction alchemy... interesting." Without. Moving. A single. muscle. Scar's realization of his failure, and either Father's counterattack or his own failing alchemy backfiring on him are pure awesome.
  • Pride eating Gluttony was a Kick the Dog moment and Nightmare Fuel, sure. But it also went to show how Badass and deadly he is, as did his epic fight with Kimblee against Al.
  • In a flashback, after being ordered by his ridiculously vile superior to execute an Ishvalan peace envoy, Basque Grand informs him that many of the highest-ranking soldiers who died in the Ishbalan genocide were killed, not by Ishbalans, but by their own disgusted soldiers. Grand then walks up to his superior and does exactly that. Just thinking about it gives this editor chills.

Basque: I AM BASQUE GRAND, THE IRON BLOOD ALCHEMIST! IRON AND BLOOD! MIGHT AND MANPOWER! IF I DON'T LEAD THE ATTACK, WHO WILL?!

"If that the case, then I'll give him something more painful than fire."

"I'll show you the Briggs Way!"

"You can hibernate there until spring, you big lummox."

    • She continues her habit of killing members of High Command after one of the Generals holds her at gunpoint. She stabs his arm, causing him to drop his gun, and then in one smooth motion, she picks up the gun and points it at a second General. She then points out that their cause is not noble, nor is she like Mustang -- and shoots him in the head.
      • She then takes the first General as a hostage, holding him at both gunpoint and sword point and orders his subordinates to call off the men defending Central. When they don't comply, she stabs his foot. After all that, the General then pulls off his own moment of awesome, telling his men not to comply with General Armstrong's orders. While General Olivier Mira Armstrong holds him with both a sword and a gun. That takes guts.

Close the north, south, east, and west gates of the Central Command Center! Do not let a single one of Briggs or Mustang's soldiers inside!"

    • And when they revealed that they can hold her as hostage, she said, "You don't understand, do you? Our motto is 'survival of the fittest'. If I had to die here, then it's just proves that I didn't have what it takes to survive." This is what happens when you mix Social Darwinist, Determinator, and Mama Bear.
    • Then she manages to convince the Central soldiers to work with her against the Cyclops Army. Though it's granted that Central Circle is Bad Boss in general....
      • Then, after all the crap they gave to him, Sloth finally focusing his attack toward Armstrong siblings. Alex realizes this, and telling the soldiers... "Stay back. We are the targets". And what they do? These soldiers, who are less than 3 chapters before are ready to kill Olivier and Armstrong without a single thought, instead pull a You Shall Not Pass to Sloth. These siblings are so awesome, their awesomeness turns the opposition.
    • The Briggs soldiers, taking out the head command, when the commander is about to commanding the civilian area bombardment. And then...

Izumi: When people ask, I say "I'm a housewife!". It does make sense. But today, I've shed that particular disguise. I AM AN ALCHEMIST!!

Major Armstrong: COURAGE RAISED A HUNDREDFOLD! MUSCLES RAISED A THOUSANDFOLD!!!

  • Cute Bruiser May manages to clock the utterly surprised Elric brothers in tandem and rescue Scar from military police capture with a powerful combination of long-range alkahestry and wicked martial art skills.
  • The four chimera introduced in the Mt. Briggs arc have already gotten some even though they were recently introduced, and are minor characters:
    • Zampano and Jerso manage to defeat Scar through careful study of his observed tactics. Later on, Zampano tricks Envy into a trap by pretending to betray the Elrics. Both of them then help Scar and May fight him.
    • After Pride has captured Al for a second time its revealed that Al doesn't have the Philosopher's Stone... but Marcoh does, and he's used it to heal Heinkel. Pride then notices that the wind has changed and tries to warn Kimblee, but it's too late as Heinkel chomps down on Kimblee's neck.
  • Hohenheim: "Don't EVER insult my son." Seriously, don't insult his son.
    • Hohenheim destroys Father's container by letting Father absorb some souls from him. How did that destroy Father's container? Hohenheim had gotten to know each and every person within his body. Whereas Father saw the Philosopher's Stone only as a bundle of energy, Hohenheim like Al saw that the Philosopher's Stone contained people. Who were really pissed off at Father for ripping their souls out of their body and stuffing them in Hohenheim for over 500 years. The souls then rip Father apart from the inside. Too bad Father no longer needed his container.
    • Chapter 105, holy goddamn hell. HE CAUGHT A GENERATED SUN. A FUCKING SUN. WITH HIS HANDS.
  • Chapter 89 is pretty much nothing but awesome. In short order:
    • Mustang and his crew (that's FIVE people) begin a guerilla war against the entire Central Army. After they are surrounded, the opposing Captain tells his men to kill everyone but Mustang (including the captive Mrs. Bradley), and just when it looks like the end, the soldiers are shot by Mustang's old platoon from Ishval who had already sent King Bradley into a river.
    • Mustang and crew do all this without killing anyone. SIXTY injuries, NO fatalities.
    • After a large number of troops are sent to take down Mustang's forces, and the High Command of Central declares that they will defeat Mustang even if they have to use their secret weapons, Olivier tells him "Right on cue. You're nothing but bait for the bears of Mount Briggs. I wonder if your precious dolls will be able to stand up to them?" The bears of Mount Briggs then proceed to attack. They had hidden in the Armstrong mansion while it was being renovated. Magnificent.
    • Roy foreshadowed this in chapter 85: "'Large' doesn't even begin to describe this mansion. In fact... I think you could fit a company... maybe even a full battalion here."
    • Riza's friend Rebecca shows up with new weapons, an armored Ice Cream truck, and Maria Ross. Mustang's mysterious benefactor calls him, saying "Serving the community for 80 years, this is Havoc Sundries. From underpants to armored cars, we're your one-stop shop for anything and everything! AND we deliver!". He's even grown a Badass Beard.
      • Also, the look on Roy's face is absolutely priceless.
      • "Second Lieutenant Maria Ross, returning to active duty without permission, sir!"
  • Kimblee gets a crowning moment of psycho-awesome when, as he's being escorted out of prison, he thanks the warden for his "kindness" with a friendly smile and a handshake... transmuting the man's watch into a bomb, resulting in general terror and panic before everyone realizes it's a fake. "Just a toy, my dear warden. A gift for your children."

Al: Why are there only two options? "Save yourself and abandon everyone else" [or] "Give up on returning to normal and save the world." Why are those the only two options? Why can't I choose "Save the world and get our original bodies back"?

Kimblee: I see. Experiment thoroughly enough, and you may discover new laws [besides Equivalent Exchange] that the world must then abide by. That would mean there is a fourth option: "You lose your chance to return to normal, and fail to save the world."

    • For me his crowning moment is his Hannibal Lecture to Roy and the others in the Ishval War.
    • And his fight with Ed, who knows that destroying Kimblee's transmutation circles is pointless while Kimblee still has his Philosopher's Stone. So Ed disarms him of the stone, cuts Kimblee's circles, and declares victory. Kimblee simply laughs and calls Ed naive, saying something to the effect of "It never even occurred to you... that I might have another Philosopher's Stone, did it?" And he proceeds to bomb Ed, nearly killing him.
    • And then, just when we think he's died in an anticlimactic, but fitting way, he's back for one more EPIC gloat in 106. Helping Ed pwn Pride? T'was awesome.
      • How about the fact that he survived out of all the souls in Pride because, as he put it, "Howls of anguish...are like lullabies to my ears!" Along with that, the last we see of him is him waving goodbye, holding his hat in the air, and in a perfectly white suit. That has got to be one smooth criminal.
        • It's also worth bearing in mind that he was perfectly willing to let Pride kill Ed because he simply wanted to see how Humans v. Homunculi would legitimately play out. What pissed him off was that Pride cheated. The man may be an acknowledged and completely self-aware psychopath, but he's no hypocrite... For this troper, CMoA of the entire series.

Pride: Why are you interfering, Kimblee?!
Kimblee: Eh, well, if you had just stuck to your convictions and fought, I wouldn't have done anything. But in the same breath that you boasted of your "Pride as a Homunculus," you ran screaming to steal the flesh of one of the humans you look on as inferior to escape your predicament. You are...hideous.

  • Sloth reveals that he is in fact the fastest of the Homunculi when he has to exert himself, attacking both Armstrong siblings, hitting them constantly before they have time to react. Also hilarious when the Armstrong siblings are shocked and pointing in different directions.
  • When it looks like Sloth has killed Olivier it's revealed that Alex, using nothing but pure strength, is holding back Sloth, and then punches the ground to collapse the floor to save his sister. Bear in mind that Sloth was barely perturbed by a tank crashing into him.
    • "Some minor broken bones" was pretty awesome too.
    • And when Alex finally trashes Sloth in one strike, using his alchemy. Harming a Gentle Giant's older sister (even an ungrateful, foul-mouthed, much-more badass than he sister) is really a bad, bad, bad idea.
    • Dear God chapter 95. When Sloth finally manages to pull the spike out of his mouth, he delivers Alex another beatdown, ending in Alex's arm being pulled out of its socket. Alex's response is to let Sloth beat him up even more, ultimately knocking his arm back into place, then punches Sloth full of holes and then drives a spike into each hole!
      • Best part of that moment? Alex's line immediately after doing it (at least in Brotherhood): "This artistic muscular and artistic alchemic collaboration..." And at this point we expect him to say the ever famous "Has been passed down the Armstrong line for generations!" But no, he instead follows it up with: "...is excellent and elegant!" In other words, that technique hadn't been passed down the Armstrong line for generations, Alex was just badass enough to trash Sloth with his own power, skill, and ingenuity. Truly awesome.
      • Lampshaded by Olivier. "Forget him! My brother is trained well enough to survive a few of those lovetaps!"
    • A minor one, during chapter 57.

Alex: The military's methods were unconscionable, of that I was certain. But I deserted. I turned my back on on my soldiers. I should have remained on the battlefield and fought this wrong!! Ever since I fled from the Ishvalan front, Not a day has gone by that I felt ashamed of straying from my values and giving up. And now that I am on the battlefield once again. How can I put my tail between my legs and flee!?

      • Which he brings up again in chapter 96.
  • Yoki gets a Crowning Moment of Awesome when he rams a car into Pride. In his own words: "I'm tired of you guys hogging all the cool parts! Let me be in the spotlight for once, dammit!". Keep in mind that in the matter of under 10 seconds, he blocks an attack on Marcoh, rams a Cosmic Horror and liberates Al from it, and brings in an escape vehicle to get away from said Cosmic Horror and towards the bigger battle.

"I ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING! I ACTUALLY DID SOMETHING!"

  • "It's not like they have tanks."
  • Nobody has bothered to post it, but IMO, Ed using himself as a Stone to heal his life-threatening wounds from the battle with Kimblee (basically exchanging long-term life for short-term life) = Awesome. Determinator to the max.
  • A bunch of bit characters get a moment of sneaky badass in chapter 94 when they throw off the Central military bosses by claiming to be hostages, while in reality, they're gleefully working with Mustang's crew to broadcast 'the most amazing scoop ever'.

"NO ONE CAN SILENCE THE MASS MEDIA!"

  • The end of the Sloth fight gives us two CMOA:
  • So, Riza and Roy sit down at a table together during lunch -- keep in mind that Riza is now Wrath's bodyguard as a way of keeping Roy's crew away from him -- and have an innocent conversation about old friends and stuff like that. Later on, Roy goes into a bathroom stall, pulls out a pen and paper and from memory recites all the persons she named in the conversation chronologically, writes the first letter in their name down, and gets this message: SELIM BRADLEY IS HOMUNCULUS. I bet no one saw that coming.
    • It wasn't from memory, though. He was actually writing down the names as he pretended to do paperwork. Still awesome.
  • The return of King Bradley. All of it. He makes his first appearance announcing that he's going to stop the coup, he then attacks Briggs head on telling them that "What need is there for a king to enter his OWN castle through the back door?", then destroys the tank by himself in a Curb Stomp Battle. He then defeats Buccaneer and demands that Falman open the door.
    • With a sword. He destroyed the tank with just his sword.
      • He did finish the tank off with a hand grenade.
        • If anything, Brotherhood makes it EVEN MORE BADASS, as he slices a Tank shell in half, cuts through an entire brigade to get to the Tank, which is backing up the passage to Central Command, while firing at him. Sweet lord.
    • Falman refuses Bradley's order, raises his gun and gets ready for Bradley to chop him to pieces. Falman has balls.
      • Despite crying like a little girl. But it's not like we can blame him.
      • "Don't cry like a little girl when acting like a man!!"
      • Okay Gurren Lagann fans, raise your hand if you made the obvious Actor Allusion during this.
    • Buccaneer gets one immediately after this by standing up and announcing that he can still fight even with his automail arm destroyed and having suffered numerous slash wounds.
    • And then, as Bradley scoffs at their futile effort to resist, asking if that was what humans called "bravery in the face of death." The one who answers his question isn't Buccaneer or Falman, but Greed/Ling, setting up for a hell of a rematch.
  • Buccaneer's abs are stronger than a tank! King Bradley stabs Buccaneer, but he can't pull out his sword, forcing him to fight with combat knives.
    • Which is a CMOA for Bradley, too. "Dear me. I guess I'm not quite as proficient with these..."
  • After finding out the truth about what High Command planned, the Central Soldiers who fought with Olivier become so disgusted they rip off the Amestris Insignia and drop them at the Brigadier General.
  • Let's not forget Fu, who in addition to taking out all the guards so quickly you can't even see him also manages to avoid a point blank stab from Bradley and chip one of his combat knives. It's obvious he's not happy to see the man who cut off his granddaughter's arm.
  • Izumi is full of this.
    • Survives 6 months in Briggs, beat the crap of soldiers there (not just any soldiers, they're Briggs Bears, for god's sake) and stealing their supplies, and, when she found that his supposedly teacher is not an alchemist teacher, beating the everloving crap out of him, despite his martial artist status
    • Storming Devil's Nest, filled with Chimeras, just to chew her late-came-to-home students.
      • She makes her entrance dragging the unconscious body of a man she probably beat up outside, and ignores the dozen or so Chimeras and one Homunculus who just kidnapped her student, and instead throws the unconscious man at her aforementioned student.

Izumi: HOW THE HELL COULD YOU LET YOURSELF GET KIDNAPPED?!
Al: I-I'm sorry!

    • Lampshaded with Ed:

Fuhrer: I find this your teacher interesting. Shall I enlist her as a State Alchemist?
Ed: Nah, that's bad idea. Unless you ready to lose a whole army.

      • Which, later, he tries. He sends the army to start looking for her somewhere around chapter 74, and they never find her. In chapter 93, almost 20 chapters later, she turns up at Briggs of her own will, adding another moment to the list.

Soldier: Point P, respond! What the hell are you fighting?!

Izumi: A housewife!

  • Fu orders Greed to armor up to prevent Ling from moving, then announces his resignation and tries to commit a kamikaze attack on Bradley, only for Bradley to instead cut the fuses off the dynamite, and take Fu out. Buccaneer then takes out Bradley's sword and impales Bradley by going through Fu as Bradley can't see past Fu's body. Buccaneer than tells Fu that he's going to accompany him on his journey to Hell.
    • But Bradley survives, though. And Lan Fan and Ling don't take it well. To give you the details, Ling is so outraged that he manages to override Greed's mind, uses Greed's diamond-hardened fist to break through Bradley's sword, and destroys King Bradley's Ultimate Eye.

Greed: Anyone who has a family, a lover, or just doesn't want to get hurt, get outta here now. Women too! I prefer not to hit girls!

      • T-100, you can eat your gun. Now.
      • Upon reading that page, this troper grinned from ear to ear (and in fact was going to post that moment here herself, but was glad to see that someone else aGREED). Or should I say, "Greened?" "Greedened?" Aw, never mind. You get the idea.
      • This troper can't be the only one who heard Disturbed's "Indestructible" playing in his head when this happened.
      • "Hey, daddio, hand the center of the world over, wouldja?"
  • Roy's response after Riza's throat being sliced, and being toyed with by that mad doctor: "I understand, lieutenant. I WON'T do a human transmutation."
    • The Chimeras are back!!
    • With May Chang as well!!
      • And she chooses the lives of comrades an "ally" over the philosopher stone! Thank you very much, now, Riza is saved!!
    • What about Riza herself? "I won't die. I've been ordered not to die."
    • And Bradley is back too! And Se...lim... bloody hell, that's not good at all.
      • Given that Pride and Wrath are not only the last Homunculi, but the strongest out of the seven, and that saying they're pretty much pissed off at that point is an understatement, I'd bet it is quite troublesome, yes.
      • "Now, you all have seen my condition. Who shall be the one who gets the honor of finishing me? The Chimeras? The foreigner? Mustang's loyal dog? Or perhaps... you all want your shot for immortality?" This troper feel shivers on his back.
        • Not to mention that Bradley is bleeding and blind in one eye and not even in his prime as a fighter, but as one of the pretty Badass Chimera's said, that even with Bradley walking around already beaten up he's terrified of fighting him.
      • "A battle to the death between two nameless warriors... I like it."
        • Alphonse is given the opportunity to take his original body back, but refuses, because that body, weakened and underused, would be useless in the final battle.
  • Chapter 103. Scar and Wrath are fighting when Wrath finally manages to trip up Scar and put him on the ground. He stabs Scar's right arm and is about to impale him with his other sword...when the ground erupts in spikes, sending Wrath flying. He looks at Scar with a look of complete surprise on his face, as Scar stands up and reveals that while his right arm has the power of deconstruction, his left has the power of reconstruction. Wrath's face pretty much says it all.
    • This has the benefit of being both pretty darn awesome in it's own right, but also demonstrating just how much Character Development Scar has gone through.
  • From Father: "I believe this is yours."
  • Maes Hughes figures out what's going on ages before anyone else. Too bad he gets Killed Off for Real for his trouble.
  • Father eats the countries of Xerxes and Amestris, then finishes with the God/Eldritch Abomination the Truth. Keep in mind that Father started out a wisp of black gas inside a flask, which would cause his death if broken.
  • Chapter 105 is full of this. It might as well be called a Crowning Chapter of Awesome.
    • Hohenheim (with May helping to protect the rest) is able to return everyone in Amestris their souls back.
      • What makes this even more amazing is the way he does this. He hid some of the souls that conformed the Philosopher's Stone within him in strategic points of the Earth's soil that he knew would have the effect of releasing the Amestrians' souls from within Father's body. And then he completed the transmutation circle with the shadow cast on Earth by the Moon during the solar eclipse. And he'd been planning this for years. It's not only a HUGE and ridiculously risky Plan, it might be the mother of all Crowning Moments Of Awesome. EVER.
      • He later manages to deflect a blast with the power of a sun when Scar activates the Alkahestry circle.
    • Scar is able to finally defeat King Bradley by removing his arms, but Bradley is able to weaken Scar by slashing him with the sword in between his teeth.
    • Ed and Al going to help and encourage Hohenheim while he's deflecting Father's attack is both this and a Crowning Moment of Heartwarming, especially considering Ed hates his dad.
      • "I may have been a terrible father, but at least I can show my boys something cool!"
  • King Bradley showed up to observe the joint training exercises of the Northern and Eastern armies under General Grumman personally. The problem? Grumman, Mustang, and General Armstrong are planning to take that army and attack Central with it. So Grumman deliberately leaks their plans to the enemy. If Bradley stays where he is, Central is left undefended. If Bradley goes back to Central, his train gets blown up by a bomb planted by their allies... and Central is left undefended. His smile just says it all. And in the anime, the closing theme starts up right there, making it even better.
  • Scar's Brother figured out what Father has kept hidden for 400 years. He placed a buffer under the Earth's crust so that he could control when Amestrian Alchemy worked, then purged all knowledge of Alkahestry so no one could figure out what he had done. Scarbro got the knowledge from caravans from Xing which allowed him to learn it and fashion a counter.
    • The man is obviously Ishval's very own version of Maes Hughes. The glasses should've been a clue.
    • Let's also remember that during his lifetime, while he was doing this research, Scar's bro was the only Ishvalan that didn't hate alchemy. Which makes Scar and the other Ishvalans' use of this counter to free the Amestrians' use of some of the same alchemy that pillaged them from Father's control that much more beautiful to see.
  • In Chapter 106, Father deliberately creates Nightmare Fuel for the sole purpose of freaking out his opponents long enough to let him blast them all while they're distracted. Unspeakably horrible (but when is he NOT?) but very awesome indeed.
    • What about everything else in Chapter 106? Ed having a standoff with Pride, to the point where the Homunculus attempts to take over Ed's body, claiming it's possible due to his lineage connected to Hohenheim and therefore Father. Who shows up to help him, of all people? Kimblee, who had been assimilated by Pride earlier in the story, which allows Ed to release all the souls inside the homunculus and put Pride back in his original form: a baby fetus, of all things. Mein gott.
    • To go further in depth on Kimblee's resurfacing? He managed to maintain his sense of self amongst thousands of wailing, pained souls simply because he's so batshit insane. "Screams of agony are like lullabies to my ears!"
  • And what about the time Winry kicked two soldiers, two chimeras, and a homunculus out of her room? Ed's expression in the anime was priceless.
    • Her first Moment of Awesome was delivering Satera's baby in episode 11, and later earning enough respect from Dominic for him to recommend her to Garfiel.
  • CHAPTER. 107.
    • Roy using circleless alchemy, with Riza to judge the distance.
    • Al transmuting his soul for Ed's right arm, also a HUGE Tear Jerker. And he does this as he's already falling apart because he shielded May from Father's psycho Beam Spam. The poor kid never stops giving.
    • After getting his right arm back, Ed GOES TO TOWN on Father; with the chapter ending on the same words he gave Cornello in chapter 1!
    • Also, the Briggs soldiers. In an attempt to provide some support to the protagonists, they unload everything they have from small arms and mortars. Their response when Father doesn't even seem to be phased by their attacks? They keep shooting.
    • The cover pic is likely the best one we're going to get. For bonus points, check around the edges, especially the upper right corner.
      • OH MY GOD. How the HELL did this troper miss that?!
  • Doesn't the author herself, Hiromu Arakawa, deserve a mention for her story-telling? She took the concept of revenge, and clearly defined it, something that Masashi Kishimoto is still working on in Naruto, and shows it through Roy Mustang and Scar as the story progresses.
    • That, and that she keeps managing to up the ante. Seriously, pretty much every chapter from about 85 or so on is listed under CMOA, CMOH, Tear Jerker, or Nightmare Fuel, and often more than one.
    • This editor must also give her props for her impressive use of Foreshadowing. You know your story is well-planned when the shape of a certain hallway turns out to be important.
    • You know what?...I'm just gonna say it. Fullmetal Alchemist is a Crowning Moment of Awesome for anime and manga as a whole.
      • Let's call it Crowning Manga Of Awesome.
        • For something even more awesome about this entire storyline that Arakawa has concocted, let's seriously pay attention to The Illuminati trope and conspiracy theory and list off a number of ways that the Amestrian conspiracy can be said to be similar. We're talking about a shadowy cabal few people know exists secretly ruling all facets of how this country operates, engineering bloody wars and conflicts for its own sinister purposes, working for a being that could in so many ways be called the series' version of Satan himself, all to fulfill this being's purposes of not only ruling this entire world, but taking over the seat of God, and all believing that they will share in this being's glory. This work, at its core, beyond the remarkable science-based superpowers and further enhanced by the terrific story mechanics and beautiful characters, is about an ever-growing group of willing and capable human beings (and even a Noble Demon), all scarred by the deception in some form or another, waking up to the truth and coming together to DEFEAT THE ANCIENT WORLD-DEVOURING CONSPIRACY. Whether you believe in this sort of thing or not, you have to admire the way Arakawa tackles the theoretical issue, with a story that entails all the pitfalls of a world at least partially dictated by such an organization while still insisting that they can be beaten.
  • 108. Greed does a Heroic Sacrifice. Enough said.
    • While Greed is sacrificing himself, Father asks why he's disobeying him. Greed replies with, "I have finally reached that rebellious age, father!" Awesome.
    • Ed punching Father through the chest, Truth giving Father his long-awaited comeuppance, and let's not forget Ed sacrificing his own ability to do alchemy by transmuting his Gate (and in the process impressing Truth). Hell, Truth gets his own in that scene with his Famous Last Words:

Truth: The back door's...over...there...

      • Ed's probably one of the only people to EVER accomplish this, as he needed to use Al's gate to get back
      • Even more awesome in the anime, as Truth jawdrops.
      • This Troper thought Ed and Truth got another one with Ed's reply to Truth's query as to if he was actually willing to give up all that power. Ed tells him that he still has his friends, and so he would still be all right. What does Truth say in return but by laughing out "THAT IS THE CORRECT ANSWER!", basically confirming that Ed just found the Meaning of Life.
        • Hearing and seeing this scene in the English dub of episode 63 only drives it home even further that this was God here, clearly celebrating the fact that someone finally got it right. ESPECIALLY with the twist on Truth's voice during that scene (see Funimation's crowning moments a bit lower on of the page).
    • And of course, seeing Father, now back to his original form as Homunculus, getting punished by all the shit he pulled thorough the series is very satisfying. Specially when Truth says it is exactly what he wished for...

"What gives you proper despair for so that you do not become boastful, is truth. And so, I shall give you despair, as well. Despair for those who have become boastful. That is the outcome you desired."

    • What about when Lan Fan cuts off Father's arm after Greed makes a Heroic Sacrifice?! That was AWESOME.
  • When Gluttony attacks Scar from behind and Scar doesn't even turn around, just reaches behind him and manages to grab Gluttony's head and toasts it.
  • Oh god NO LOVE FOR LUST?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?! She's one of the most Badass characters in the series. She blows things up. Nearly oneshots Roy's ENTIRE team (sure she may have failed but she gets points there). Hell, she fuelled the awesome during her battle with Roy. She also attacked Scar and nearly killed him, sparing the Elric brothers. And winning against Marcoh and threatning him. She was a walking CMOA when she existed.
    • Of the homunculi, Lust's death could be argued to be the catalyst for the breakdown of the organization as a whole. Gluttony and Envy are fairly useless without her leading them. Additionally, she only ever fails due to her arrogance caused by 250 years worth of her own badassery, rather than a lack of power. Mustang's just lucky that she wanted him to suffer before dying, that's all I'm saying.
  • Barry the Chopper barging into the prison and swatting people aside (and terrifying them!) in order to bust the innocent Maria Ross out of there.
    • Also, cottoning on to Mustang's girlfriend-code-talk right away when Mustang implies that he needs to use a safer telephone line to speak, was this and a Crowning Moment of Funny.
  • FUNimation earns a CMOA for reuniting nearly the ENTIRE ORIGINAL CAST for the Brotherhood dub. Even those that are not playing who they played in the original are back. ( Aaron Dismuke playing Young Hohenheim, Monica Rial playing May Chang, Troy Baker playing the second Greed).
    • They also earn an extra CMOA for actually accentuating a moment that's already been mentioned. Specifically, it involves Truth. Whereas in the Japanese version Truth's Voice of the Legion would be an accentuated form of whoever's voice Truth was speaking to at the time, Funimation had Truth strictly voiced by Luci Christian. Except during Truth's shout of approval as Ed sacrifices his alchemy in episode 63 - Maxey Whitehead and Vic Mignogna took over as Truth right at that point in the conversation, creating the effect that Truth broke into a legion voice of Ed and Al out of sheer pleasure at seeing Ed's selflessness!

"YOU'VE DONE IT! THAT'S THE RIGHT ANSWER! GOOD JOB! YOU BEAT ME! GO AHEAD! TAKE HIM HOME! THE BACK DOOR IS RIGHT OVER THERE! GOODBYE, EDWARD ELRIC!"

  • Scar killing Shou Tucker. For this troper, who prayed that it would happen in the first anime, seeing it actually happen, and seeing the evil prick offed in the same episode he turned poor Nina into a chimera, it was beyond awesome.
  • Where's the love for Isaac McDougal? Sure, he shows up and dies in the first episode, but he STILL nearly destroys the military's headquarters, which we later find out is the home of the bad guys! And he does it all by himself.
    • And he didn't just happen to target and nearly destroy the home of the bad guys. He knew EXACTLY what was going down. Albeit in cryptic language, he essentially said as much, and Ed figured out what he meant halfway through the story. Pretty awesome for a filler character, eh?
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