The hit steampunk fantasy anime Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is a fan-favorite in the anime community, and it's one of several animated series to get a live-action remake (which is also on Netflix). It's the story of the Elric brothers and their quest to fix their mangled bodies, only to get involved in a huge conspiracy with homunculi and mass murder.
The archvillain is Father, and he has an elite squad of seven homunculi to enforce his will. One of the first ones whom we meet is the burly Gluttony, whose powers are based on his appetite and his big mouth. Arguably, he's the least scary of the seven homunculi, but he's an important character all the same, and there's plenty to know about him. Let's go into further detail.
10 He's Childlike
This is evident both from Gluttony's body language and overall personality. He is not cunning or ambitious like Pride or Wrath are, and he's not sophisticated like Lust. Instead, Gluttony is a simple and happy creature.
He mostly thinks in the short term, and is easily distracted and preoccupied while the other characters do the talking. He's also prone to throwing tantrums when his opponents get the better of him.
9 He's Innocent
Well... relatively speaking, that is. Gluttony has blood on his hands, and he's not afraid to deal serious bodily harm to his enemies. And he's a loyal agent of Father, making him a villain. But he's just following orders.
Due to his childlike disposition, Gluttony has no concept of deceit, and he takes everything at face value and thinks in straightforward terms. He struggled to come to terms with Lust's death, and he was utterly shocked when Pride ate him during battle. It seems that Gluttony himself would never do such a thing, even in dire circumstances.
8 He Needs Partners
Here are Gluttony and Lust from the live-action movie, side by side in Liore. Although the seven homunculi are kin and are all a team, they don't always operate together. Greed has long since gone his own way, and Sloth is never seen on-screen with his fellows (unless you count Father).
By contrast, Gluttony is never seen operating alone. He needs instructions and backup for any mission, and at first, Lust was his big sister, and they were a fine team. After that, Gluttony started tagging along with Wrath (as we saw in their battle against Ling and Lan Fan), and lastly, Pride (and we all know how that turned out).
7 He Dies Very Often
With the exception of Wrath (who has just one soul in his Philosopher's Stone), the homunculi can regenerate and heal their bodies rapidly, even after suffering fatal injuries. Greed willingly demonstrated this to Alphonse when they met.
Gluttony, meanwhile, has been regenerating like crazy, since he has difficulty protecting himself in battle due to his slow movements and simple techniques. He died completely, only to be reborn... and die many more times! He even complained out loud about his repeated deaths.
6 He Didn't Truly Die
When you're a homunculus packed with human souls and you can regenerate your flesh, do you really "die"? All seven homunculi meet their end in this anime, but Gluttony's demise was more like him being recycled.
Upon his first permanent "death," he was really just returned to Father as a weak Stone, and gained his body back. Later, Pride ate him, but since they come from the same source, Gluttony was just being sent back where he'd come from. As far as Pride is concerned, the seven of them are the same entity in different bodies. Pride didn't "kill" Gluttony in that regard.
5 He Symbolizes Dante's Inferno
The entire Fullmetal Alchemist franchise is packed with symbolism and literary references, and that includes the seven homunculi and Dante's famous epic poem series The Divine Comedy. Where does Gluttony fit into this?
Gluttony's behavior, and his bizarre appearance in the Conquerer of Shamballa movie, represents how the gluttonous must wallow in foul mud while constantly under threat of Cerberus, the three-headed dog, trying to eat them. Gluttony, as pictured, once showed up as a giant three-headed monster.
4 He's A Failed Experiment
When Gluttony is pressed, he will show off his most fearsome power: the huge portal in his belly! He used this to try and devour Ling, but he accidentally "ate" Edward and Envy, too. Then the portal sealed up.
Father wanted to make a portal that would circumvent the Truth, but he couldn't do it. Instead, Gluttony led to an empty void plane, and over the years, Gluttony filled it up with all kinds of things, from Xerxes ruins to a steam train to Hawkeye's car.
3 His Symbolic Appearance
To put it politely, Gluttony is not a very bright individual, and as mentioned earlier, he needs Lust, Wrath, and Pride to give him directions and tell him when to activate his powers. He's like a cannon that has to be put in position and aimed before use.
So, Gluttony has a blunt appearance with big hands, a simple face, and a large nose. His eyes are small and white, and thus unexpressive. Lust's and Envy's eyes are much more expressive, since they are cunning, but Gluttony doesn't do much thinking. The same is true of Sloth.
2 He Also Symbolizes John Of Beverly
The symbolism runs deep with this hungry character, doesn't it? Gluttony is perfectly symbolic of The Divine Comedy, but he also represents a medieval legend about Jon of Beverly. In it, an angel demands that John choose between Gluttony, Wrath, and Lust.
John considered Gluttony the least of the three and chose it, but surprise: it also came with its lustful and wrathful side! What is more, gluttony is considered a "gateway" sin, and indeed, Gluttony the homunculus has a gateway in his body.
1 He's A Tracker
Gluttony is slow and clumsy, but he has his uses, and the other homunculi keep him around for a reason. His chest portal is a terrifying weapon, but his strong nose is another valuable asset for the homunculi to use.
Like a bloodhound, he can sniff out nearly anyone, whether human or homunculus, and this is the main reason why Pride ate him. During that poorly lit forest battle, Pride needed a new way to track his enemies, and Gluttony's keen olfactory senses were the key.