Many shonen anime have a main foe the hero is pitted against who fans cannot help but become fascinated by, but few can compare to Father, the overarching villain of Hiromu Arakawa's Fullmetal Alchemist. From Ryomen Sukuna of Jujustu Kaisen to the League of Villains in My Hero Academia, every foe has an important connection to the main hero, or even one of the supporting protagonists. For instance, while Dabi of the League of Villains is indeed a foe of protagonist Izuku Midoriya, he actually has a more important (and shocking) connection to his friend, Shoto Todoroki.

Regardless of how the main villain (or one of the main villains) relates to the protagonist, the very best of the worst are the ones who remain iconic to the anime industry. Although there are indeed many popular antagonists in modern anime, Father remains the most iconic anime villain. Like every other antagonist, Father has an important connection to the story's heroes, Edward and Alphonse Elric. However, , as it relates to their own parents as well.

During Ed and Al's time, many have heard of the ancient kingdom of Xerxes and its citizens who suddenly perished one day. It is only later on in the narrative that the heroes learn the truth about this lost empire, and how it actually relates to their own family. Eons ago, Xerxes was a flourishing nation, with a shining palace and legends of their innovation, especially in the alchemical field. One fateful day, an alchemist working for the king himself used the blood of a slave for an experiment, . This being, known simply as the Dwarf in the Flask, began to speak to the unnamed slave one day, promising to teach him everything he knew.

Under the strange creature's tutelage, the unnamed slave not only learned how to read and write, but about alchemy itself. The Dwarf in the Flask was also the one who suggested the name Van Hohenheim to his pupil, which he kept years after their first meeting. Over time, Van Hohenheim became a renowned alchemist himself and earned his freedom. However, not all was to be peaceful for the young alchemist for long, as his former teacher had a trick up his sleeve.

The greedy king of Xerxes sought immortality, and had heard about the Dwarf in the Flask's knowledge. As such, he followed the Homunculus' instructions in order to perform an alchemical ritual, one which took a long time to prepare. However, when the experiment began, Van Hohenheim could only watch in horror as the souls of every person in Xerxes, the king included, were stolen away. These souls were placed inside of Van Hohenheim, giving him the power of immortality. The Dwarf in the Flask, in the meantime, was able to obtain a human-like vessel of his own, one identical to his former pupil.

After the fall of Xerxes, Father and Van Hohenheim went their separate ways. Van Hohenheim would travel the world aimlessly in search of a cure for his eternal life, learning more about the world and alchemy itself during this journey. His travels would one day lead him to Amestris, where he later married Trisha Elric, a young woman with an optimistic perspective that changed his life. The couple would later settle down in Resembool and start a family of their own. Ed and Al, two brothers a year apart, were the final straw that led Van Hohenheim to truly search for a way to rid himself of his immortality, so he could live a proper life with his loved ones. While Van Hohenheim bid his family farewell, Father continued to work on his plan of surpassing God, beginning with the Amestrian government.

Even if Ed and Al never reunited with their father during the events of Fullmetal Alchemist, . After all, their fate was set in stone because of Father, and how the being once known as the Dwarf in the Flask had cursed their own father to be cursed with the "gift" of immortality. Van Hohenheim, driven to find a way to live a normal life, left his wife and children. Trisha would work very hard to raise her children, even though Ed and Al knew how much she missed their father. This awareness later drove the two boys to study alchemy in order to make her smile.

Though it was for their sake, it was ultimately not wise (nor compassionate) to abandon his family, even if he would return someday. Their father's estrangement is what led Ed and Al to try and revive their mother, not willing to lose their remaining family. This failed experiment, an event famous in the anime industry to this day, would cost Ed a leg and Al his entire physical form, causing Ed to give up an arm in order to transmute his younger brother's soul into a suit of armor. In order to find a way to restore their original bodies, Ed would become a State Alchemist for the country's military, as he would gain access to files most would never know about.

All of these events, whether Van Hohenheim crossed paths with his sons once again or not, would likely lead to the Elric brothers' discovery of the true nature of their government. However, reuniting with Van Hohenheim did prove beneficial, as the ancient alchemist was able to aid them in the end and provide information they may not have known about without him, especially about Amestris itself. Although they are already well-aware of how corrupt it is, they would still discover its true darkness due to their ties to the military, a reign under Father that most were unaware of.

The leader of Amestris, King Bradley, was a human selected by Father to become Wrath, the final Homunculus born from Father's sins. Though Ed and Al are initially adamant about only focusing on finding a way to get their bodies back, all while trying to do as little work for the military as possible (a feat made very difficult thanks to Colonel Roy Mustang, their superior officer), the two nevertheless have a strong sense of justice which leads them to fight against Father and his followers. This is especially made clear when the brothers realize Father's plans will not just affect the government, but their loved ones back home in Resembool, a reality neither alchemist wishes to see come to light.

Father's goal of becoming a being even greater than God acts as his main ambition throughout the story, and , under the catacombs of the country. The being once known as the Dwarf in the Flask also wished to be greater than humanity, a species he saw merely as insects and pawns for his ambitions. As such, he used alchemy to create beings out of his human sins, creating the seven other Homunculi. Though King Bradley was a human-based Homunculus, the other six were not.

These individuals were nearly immortal in their own right, able to live for centuries without aging. Most of the Homunculi saw humanity as mere pawns, just like their creator. Save for one, the Homunculi loyally followed Father's orders, more than happy to watch the chaos that unfolded thanks to their actions. Envy, one of the most well-known Homunculi, was especially determined to create as much suffering as possible, as they truly were jealous of humanity.

However, the Homunculus Greed was the one creation that even Father could not control. Some time before Ed and Al left Resembool, Greed betrayed Father and his fellow Homunculi by deserting them, wanting to create a life for himself. As his name implied, Greed wanted everything that the world had to offer, whether it was money or power. However, the "belongings" that Greed appeared to care about the most were his allies, especially after they were murdered by Bradley in combat.

Greed was later captured and killed by Father, only returning as a new form of Greed later in the series. Even then, Greed was still searching for something he could not name, likely only able to truly find his answer by meeting the Elric brothers and Ling Yao of Xing. Out of all the Homunculi, even Father, Greed was the only one to ever truly forge unbreakable bonds, realizing that what he truly wanted most of all were friends. Where Greed obtained what he desired most, Father ultimately failed to do so, leaving behind a complex legacy surrounding the first Homunculus and his later creations.

As many anime fans know, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, alongside its original source material (and the 2003 anime, even though the main storyline later diverges from the manga) are some of the most speculative pieces of fiction in anime history. At the very start, the viewer is introduced to the concept of equivalent exchange, a price the Elric brothers learn the dark side of as they try to revive their deceased mother via human transmutation. This concept remains one of the main elements of the series, even in relation to Father, who at first appears to be able to act without the same laws that humanity must work with if they wish to partake in the alchemical arts.

It is later revealed, both in the backstory of Xerxes and via Father's present-day plan, that he is only able to achieve this power because of equivalent exchange. The souls of those killed in the ancient alchemical ritual became the key to Father gaining even more power than before, and even a humanlike form. His later scheme, to absorb all the souls in Amestris, is so that the being once known simply as the Dwarf in the Flask can achieve godhood, or perhaps an unknown state above it.

However, one of the reasons why Father ultimately fails in his plan is not only his own pride (alongside the other six sins Father failed to completely rid himself of) but also his inability to acknowledge human relationships. Every character in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood is connected, after all, and how several characters are united by a common goal of defeating Father and his loyal Homunculi is something Father fails to fully understand. Like the Homunculus Pride, Father can only see humans as lowly, unintelligent beings beneath him, like minuscule insects. This lack of understanding, alongside his own vanity, soon drives Father to encounter a force far greater beyond him right after fighting the Elrics and the many allies they have gathered throughout their journey.

Interestingly enough, many of these allies were only met because of their shared curioisty in the Homunculi and the Philosopher's Stone itself. It would be unwise to forget that, in a very strange way, in battle, albeit indirectly. Aside from that, the first Homunculus is also one of the key sources that ties together many of the series' most introspective themes, and though he tries to become greater than humanity, Father is one of the biggest examples of how truly dark human nature can be.