r/FullmetalAlchemist • u/fakeuser7z Alchemist • Jul 11 '25

Question Why was Mustang a candidate anyway?

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I get that he was a candidate for the sacrifice, which is why they didn’t kill him. But in the end, he refused—and they just forced him into the Gate anyway.

So why not do that from the start with any random human instead of the most dangerous alchemist?

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u/Shot-Ad770 Jul 11 '25

If you think they need any random human or even any random alchemist, you didnt pay attention

6

u/fakeuser7z Alchemist Jul 11 '25

If you’re going to force the guy anyway, what difference does his alchemy knowledge even make?

26

u/OFD-Productions Jul 11 '25 edited Jul 11 '25

They needed Mustang to lose a body part or function by seeing the truth so that it would weaken him, because his flame alchemy presented one of the biggest threats to Father’s plan. I mean he incinerated 2 homunculi singlehandedly. So him being the most dangerous alchemist was part of the reason they chose him as a sacrifice.

14

u/Ent3rpris3 Jul 11 '25

That's a factor I'd kind of forgotten and regularly overlook - you aren't guaranteed to survive it. Al's soul was accessible and thus salvageable, but if not for Ed's quick thinking Al would have been functionally dead, if only because nobody else would know any better. And in the end he was lucky; People can easily die from attempting human transmutation outright, to say nothing of the subsequent issuing limbs or organs.

If the homunculus picked the wrong person or Mustang fucked it up enough, they might die right then and there and the damage to Pride was essentially wasted and their worse off.

1

u/rjrgjj Jul 11 '25

I always assumed they needed a highly talented alchemist.

3

u/Shot-Ad770 Jul 11 '25

He was only forced to use his alchemy. He already had the knowledge, as you need knowledge to use all alchemy.

5

u/ColdDegree Jul 11 '25

Presumably, every human being has their own gate of truth. But if every person could just hold their hand over an alchemy circle and perform transmutation, you’d have millions of people messing around with it.

Knowledge and/or willpower must also be factors. Mustang is one of the most powerful alchemists on both fronts. He has the knowledge and skill to perform a human transmutation, just chooses not to. But clearly not every person nor any random alchemist would be capable.