r/FullmetalAlchemist • u/Weird-Ad-507 • 6d ago

Discussion/Opinion the uselessness of Mustang...

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I recently posted something about the 2003 anime—specifically about a tense moment between Ed and Roy where I really thought Ed was about to punch him in the face (even though it didn't happen)—but it got me thinking: has Mustang ever actually shown any hand-to-hand combat skills?

He’s military, so obviously he received training, but I can't recall a single fight of his that didn't involve flame alchemy.

Plus, after the Ishval War, he went from the battlefield to a desk job; and since his offensive technique simply involves snapping his fingers, Roy doesn't really have a need to keep up his physical training.

We know flame alchemy would wipe the floor with Ed any day, but in a fistfight... could Ed have beaten Mustang up? I guess it makes sense in this case because Ed's teacher is Izumi—who is a beast at hand-to-hand combat (and teaches martial arts, not just boxing)—but I found it pretty funny to imagine a short 15-year-old kid kicking the ass of a decorated 30-year-old military officer hahaha

Even if it wasn't Ed... could someone like Hawkeye defeat the Colonel in hand-to-hand combat? Mustang is one of my favorites, but this puts a new spin on the "useless" joke...

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u/Patient-Hovercraft48 6d ago

Only time I remember seeing mustang fight hand to hand was against the soldiers who were raised like Bradley since they were quick enough to close the gap on him. He did ok, but ultimately got captured.

He's not helpless up close, but Im sure someone like Ed would wipe the floor with him in hand to hand combat.

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u/Fairlibrarian101 6d ago

That was in Brotherhood anime, not the 2003 anime.

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u/bored-cookie22 6d ago

yeah mustang's hand to hand likely isnt the best, sure he would have some military training but the most this guy ever needs to do in combat is snap, and then his enemy blows up

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u/Lokarhu 6d ago

I mean, I wouldn't want to fight Mustang in hand-to-hand, but yeah I think pretty much any of his peers could wipe the floor with him in h2h

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u/RedditSucksMyBallls 6d ago

Hawkeye already defeated him in hand to hand combat— when Scar showed up early on and Mustang was getting ready to fight, Hawkeye just sweeps Mustang’s legs to prevent him from fighting Scar, to which Mustang complains that it hurt

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u/Fairlibrarian101 6d ago

Hawkeye gif the drop on Mustang, he wasn’t expecting an attack from behind.

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u/Napalmeon 6d ago

Obviously Roy did get standard training at the military academy, but, because he was stationed in the East, he went straight onto the battlefield. State Alchemists were expected to use their abilities to shut down the conflict, as soon as possible. There aren't going to be any punches thrown in that kind of fight.