The rule of Equivalent Exchange is law in the world of Fullmetal Alchemist. If you want something, you have to sacrifice something else of equal worth. When the Elric brothers lost their mother at a young age, they tried to offer up the bring her back by offering the biochemical components of a human body.

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Their offer got rejected, Edward Elrich lost his right arm, and Alphonse Elric lost his entire body! To save his younger brother, Ed sacrificed his left leg to bind Al to a suit of armor. Since then, the Elric brothers have searched tirelessly for the Philosopher's Stone, enduring many trials and tribulations along the way. Being a sentient suit of armor has its pros and cons. These are ten things Al could do that Ed couldn't during his time as a genuine 'Fullmetal Alchemist.'

10 Rock The Headless Horseman Look

Head will indeed roll whenever Alphonse hits the scene. As a direct result of being bound to a suit of metal armor, Al can manipulate his body in several ways that the average person can't. It's not uncommon for the younger Elric brother to take off his helmet/head and let others peek at his hollow insides.

If Al wanted to, he could stride around without his head on a whim. The caveat is that he'd expose Ed's Blood Seal—the only thing that keeps his soul tethered to the armor in the first place. So Al could pay tribute to The Legend of Sleepy Hollowhe'd just have to be extremely careful with his cosplay.

9 Get Tickled By A Machine Gun

Another benefit of Alphonse's armored form is that it's partially made of iron, making it incredibly durable. Al could tank blows from heavyweights like Captain Buccaneer, Sloth, and Gluttony without so much as flinching! The average fighter has to worry about potentially breaking their bones or rending their flesh during a skirmish. But Al can press on with reckless abandon, more or less.

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Should the Elric brothers find themselves facing down a firing squad, Alphonse's body can provide another useful service: it can deflect low caliber bullets with ease! All Al needs is a cape, and he can reenact that famous scene from Superman Returns.

8 Start Extreme Fasting Without Incident

Big or small, rich or poor, all humans need food and water to survive. In the direst scenarios, we can forgo the former for three weeks and a latter for about one. Even super soldiers from the Marvel Universe can't go without food forever. If you're Alphonse Elric, however, you can live without food or water indefinitely!

Thanks to lacking a digestive system, Al doesn't need to eat or drink. The downside is that Alphonse can't taste food while he's stuck as a suit of armor. Still, at least he'd be able to complete an Extreme Fasting routine without risk of injury. The average person, on the other hand, should consult medical specialists and nutritionists before committing to this type of program.

7 Run A Marathon (Forever)

According to the Good Book, it'd take genuine divine intervention for the average person to run without tiring. Whenever you physically exert yourself and find that you're out of breath, you can thank muscle fatigue for exhausting you. And you actually should thank that bodily feature, as fatigue keeps us from hurting ourselves in the long run.

Still, wouldn't be cool not to worry about any of that? Alphonse Elric certainly doesn't have that issue; no musculoskeletal system means that there's no need for regulation or restraint! Al's locomotion is powered by his immutable soul. Al could genuinely run all day long and never grow tired, like a DC Universe Speedster but much slower.

6 Kiss Flu Shots Goodbye

In the human body, the first line of defense against sickness is the skin. If a foreign pathogen makes it past that, then the rest of the body's immune system tells your antibodies and cells to get to work! Leukocytes and phagocytes then proceed to wage war on your body's would-be invaders. If your immune system wins, you don't get sick! If it loses, however, you could become terminally ill.

To help combat potentially dangerous pathogens, most of us eat vitamins and get vaccinated. Alphonse Elric's got it easy in this department; his armored body can't get sick or poisoned by any means at all! The guy could jog through an infirmary and come out unscathed.

5 Stash An Umbrella Inside Himself

After reading this far, it probably sounds like having a suit of armor for a body is the greatest thing ever. But in the world of FMA, there's a price for everything as well as substantial drawbacks. Aside from his inability to experience sensations related to the five senses, Alphonse possesses another glaring weakness.

If Edward's Blood Seal is broken or damaged at all, Al will be in major danger! Liquids of any kind could erase the seal, making an otherwise harmless bout of rainfall potentially fatal for Alphonse. Since his armored body is hollowed out, Al could stash an umbrella in his chest cavity for emergencies.

4 Act As An Alchemical Amplifier (2003 Anime)

Fullmetal Alchemist received its first anime adaptation in the wild and wondrous year of 2003. Around that time, the manga was still in development, meaning that the show would eventually eclipse its source material. Rather than order a series of filler arcs to stall for time, the showrunners trucked on and took the series in a different direction.

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Numerous changes were made to the narrative, ultimately resulting in Alphonse becoming a Philosopher's Stone! This allowed the younger Elric brother to perform all sorts of crazy alchemical feats as well as bolster the abilities of others. For a time, Al was a pretty OP character in the 2003 series.

3 Split His Soul Into Pieces (2003 Anime)

By the 2003 series' end, Alphonse gets his body back, and Edward is pulled into our world—Munich, to be specific. From there, the Conqueror of Shamballa film takes place, serving as an end to 2003 anime series. We won't spoil this movie too much, as we think it's worth a watch and is a fantastic anime film.

However, we will say that Alphonse's experiences have given him new insights into the world of Alchemy. In the movie, Al possesses the ability to split his soul into fragments. He can then use those fragments to animate golems made of inanimate materials like stone, wood, or iron!

2 Serve As A Living Literary Reference

FMA fans know the in-universe reason why Alphonse was stuck as a suit of armor for years, but we wonder if they know that Al's a walking and talking homage? Series creator Hiromu Arakawa is a huge fan of literature from all around the world. A book called The Nonexistent Knight caught her eye back in the day, so much so that she largely based Alphonse on the novel's main character Agilulf.

Just like Al, Agilulf must live as an enchanted suit of armor. Agilulf also is very kind, noble, and gentle—just like the younger of the two Elric brothers. All of these traits combine to make Al and Agilulf two of the coolest characters in fiction.

1 Transmute Matter Without Touching It

Keeping in line with the idea of Equivalent Exchange, Alchemists can't make things poof out of thin air. It takes years to understand how to properly comprehend, deconstruct, and reconstruct matter. And even when a person gains that knowledge, they typically still need to draw a transmutation circle before they can perform Alchemy.

Both of the Elric brothers have found ways to circumvent the various limitations associated with Alchemy. Edward can clap his hands together and instantly transmute matter with a touch. Alphonse, on the other hand, can perform Alchemy without directly touching his transmutation circles! This allows Al to set up devious traps for opponents that he can set off discretely.

NEXT: What You Need to Know About Fullmetal Alchemist's World