Hiromu Arakawa's hit animated series Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is an action fantasy franchise set in a steampunk world, where the entire world hangs in the balance as Father The Homunculus plots domination. He has many minions at his beck and call, but the heroes are ready to stop him at any cost. Prominent among them are the brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric, and later, Scar joins the fight against Father, too.
We want to ask: is Edward the best fighter of the show, or does that distinction belong to Scar? As for what makes a great fighter, that's counting not only strength and battlefield effectiveness, but also creativity, reasons to fight, and how many powerful enemies a fighter has taken down, and more. So, let's pit Ed vs Scar to see who's the best warrior!
10 Edward: Power Of Science
Ed looks a bit like a disheveled professor here, doesn't he? Ever since he was a child, Ed was a genius scientist, and he and Al figured out all sorts of experiments and theorems beyond their years. This gives them a serious edge where alchemy is concerned.
Edward knows what sort of ingredients or elements are found in everyday objects, from pencils to dynamite to the human body, and he can use this to his advantage. He released a noxious gas from damp dynamite, and he realized that Greed's Ultimate Shield was made of hardened carbon. So, he made it as soft as pencil lead via alchemy.
9 Scar: Tough Guy
While Edward has some serious skills, he's a little guy, and his stamina is fairly low. Greed exhausted him during their fight and wounded him, and Ed was running out of time. Scar, by contrast, is a hulking giant of a man, and all that implies.
With his great stamina and strength, Scar can take on any opponent, and outlast them, too. His excellent health and bodybuilding, compounded with his destructive alchemy, means that he can hit his opponents like a freight train.
8 Edward: No Transmutation Circles
Alchemy requires the presence of carefully drawn transmutation circles with arcane patterns, symbols, and messages on them to make the alchemy work correctly. If those circles become smudged or damaged, no more alchemy.
Ed doesn't have this weakness, though. Even the likes of Roy and Kimblee need transmutation circles, but Ed just has to clap his hands together to fire up his alchemy, and this often takes his opponents by surprise. He just needs two functional hands to enter the fray.
7 Scar: Ruthless
Is a warrior fearsome and impressive because they are a berserker, or because they have elegant restraint and precision? There is an argument for each, but Scar makes a good case for the bloodthirsty style of fighting.
Scar has no mercy, and when he faces an opponent or a target, he will go right for the vitals and destroy them in one blow if he can. He takes his enemies by surprise with his sheer ruthless tactics, and he'll quickly push any advantage he can find. Don't expect any quarter from him!
6 Edward: Restrained Power
Now for the other half of that equation. Scar is a berserker, but Edward can get similar results from fighting with precision and elegance rather than smashing everything apart. True, Kimblee once took advantage of Ed's restraint, but that's an exception.
Edward does not like to kill or maim, and it's remarkable that he can take on such powerful opponents and escape bad situations without drawing a lot of blood. It also reflects positively on him as a person. He can keep his principles and survive a fight, if not win it.
5 Scar: Targeting Alchemists
You can measure the strength of a fighter based on the types of enemies they take on and defeat in combat. Scar is driven to take on all of the State Alchemists as revenge for the Ishval Civil War, and that's saying a lot.
State Alchemists have all earned their silver pocketwatches, but Scar has burned a trail right through them, taking them out one by one and surviving with hardly a scratch. Whether the alchemists make fire, weapons, walls, or spikes, Scar can take them all on. Not just anyone can do that.
4 Edward: Martial Arts
Edward and Alphonse got their training at the hands of Izumi Curtis, herself a powerful alchemist and an excellent hand to hand fighter. At first, she didn't want to take on apprentices... but then she relented.
Ed and Al learned about the philosophy of alchemy from her, and they got all kinds of melee training, too. Now, Edward is a nimble and precise fighter, able to evade all kinds of enemy attacks and deliver counter-attacks through any openings his opponents create. Not even Greed's minions stood a chance against him.
3 Scar: Fought Wrath
Not only can Scar take on the State Alchemists, but he fought the most skilled homunculus of them all: Wrath. On the Promised Day, the surviving homunculi all stepped onto the field of battle, and Wrath took on many Briggs soldiers and the Xingese assassins... and slaughtered them.
Still, Scar stood up to this menace, and it was a duel to remember. Despite facing a monster like Wrath, Scar stood his ground and dealt some serious injuries to his opponent, and kept fighting despite his mounting wounds. Who else could push Wrath that far?
2 Edward: For A Better World
A hero in an action series like Fullmetal Alchemist is venerated not just because of their combat skills, but why they fight. Edward has the power of science, martial arts, and advanced alchemy on his side, and the principles to keep all of that in check.
He never fights for selfish reasons, or to harm others or exploit them. Edward is determined to create a better world and ease the pain and suffering of others, and when he faced Father for the final time, he beat Father senseless not out of revenge or the love of fighting, but to prove that humanity, and all its goodness, will always prevail over evil.
1 Scar: Letting Go Of Hate
At first, Scar was the total opposite of Edward, in the sense that he fought for selfish reasons, and he looked forward to spilling blood and adding more misery to the world. But doing that only perpetuates the cycle of hatred and revenge, meaning that everyone loses.
Scar eventually learned this, and he stopped using his powers for wicked ends and instead turned his fierce power on Father and his scheme to abuse humanity and become a god. Envy was aghast that Scar had let go of his hate since revenge and war sustained Father's plans. But they say that misused strength is no strength at all, and Scar learned this vital lesson not a moment too soon.