WRATH SPOILER!
WR
The youngest. A child, visibly and in behavior, volatile and desperate in the way children are when they have been given no stability. Wrath is unique among the homunculi in this version for reasons the show earns the right to explain on its own schedule. What he is and where he came from is one of the 2003 anime's most original and painful creations, tied directly to Izumi Curtis in a way that recontextualizes her arc entirely. The fury in the name is real and it is not simple.
WRATH THROUGH THE ARCHIVE //
HOMUNCULI - 2003 //
Open page →A failed transmutation that survived the Gate
Wrath is tied to Izumi's attempt to resurrect her child, but his body also contains Edward's missing arm and leg.
He wants the rest of Edward's body because his sense of self is tangled up with pieces that never originally belonged to him.
He wants the rest of Edward's body because his sense of self is tangled up with pieces that never originally belonged to him.
Why it matters
Wrath turns the Gate into a place where separate human-transmutation failures can collide. He is Izumi's grief and Edward's toll occupying the same body.
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.
2003 EXCLUSIVE VAULT //
Open page →Izumi's failed child · Gate remnant
Wrath is the result of Izumi Curtis's failed attempt to bring back her dead child. He survives within the Gate and later emerges carrying Edward's missing arm and leg.
That makes his body a collision of two different human-transmutation failures: Izumi's grief created him, while Ed's toll helped complete the form he eventually uses.
That makes his body a collision of two different human-transmutation failures: Izumi's grief created him, while Ed's toll helped complete the form he eventually uses.
Why it matters
Wrath forces Izumi and Edward to look at consequences they would rather classify as past mistakes. In 2003, the Gate does not keep those mistakes politely on the other side.
STORY & ARC GUIDE //
Open page →Episodes 29–32
The strange child from Yock Island is eventually revealed as Wrath, born from Izumi's attempt to restore her dead baby.
He also carries Edward's original arm and leg after surviving within the Gate.
He also carries Edward's original arm and leg after surviving within the Gate.
What changed
Human transmutation is no longer only about the body parts the alchemist lost. The failed result can have a life, anger and agenda of its own.
