Barry the Chopper is a minor supporting character from Fullmetal Alchemist. Appearing in both the 2003 series and in the 2009 Brotherhood series, he was once a butcher who became a maniacal serial killer. He is human when he first appears, but later on he is reduced to a soul alchemically anchored to a suit of armour just like the series deuteragonist Alphonse Elric.
Japanese Voice (2003): Kentaro Ito
Japanese Voice (2009): Hideyuki Umezu
English Voice: Jerry Jewell
History[]
2003 series[]
Barry began his murderous career when he murdered his own wife. No longer content with just cutting up cows and pigs for meat, he began targeting women throughout Central City. For years, he continued his disturbing practice without the authorities ever gaining a lead on him. By the time he was finally caught, he had murdered no less than 23 women throughout Central.
First appearing in the eighth episode "The Philosopher's Stone", Barry had taken to disguising himself as a woman as he made meat deliveries to the military headquarters' mess. By chance, his latest victim was to be Winry Rockbell, an automail mechanic from Resembool and a close friend to the Elric brothers. Winry noticed the butcher's refrigerated truck and took a closer look, only for Barry to shove her inside and drive her back to his butchery. Edward Elric, aware that there was a killer on the loose, discovered a number of clues leading to the butchery. Sure enough, he found Winry, but Barry then feverishly attacked him. Barry was stopped by the timely arrival of Alphonse and the military police who then took him into custody.
Barry would reappear several episodes later, though no longer as a human being. While Edward investigated inside the seemingly abandoned Lab 5, Alphonse waited for him outside only to be suddenly attacked by a stranger in a suit of armour. Alphonse and "Number 66", as he called himself, fought and as they did so revealed their true natures: they were in fact human souls that had been bonded to armour suits via alchemy. It was then that Number 66 revealed his true name and explained how he had been sentenced to execution for his crimes, but instead the military had kept him as a guinea pig for their alchemical experiments. During their fight, Barry tormented Al and convinced him into believing that he wasn't a real person, just an amalgamation of fake memories crafted by Edward. After the sudden arrival of Scar, Barry fled the scene and disappeared.
Some time later in the 24th episode "Bonding Memories", Barry returns in the company of a group of mercenaries acting under the guise of State Military who are hunting down the remaining Ishvalans in Central. He confronts the Elric brothers one final time, but Scar uses his destructive alchemy to tear Barry's armour in half. This damages the blood seal that anchors his soul to his armour and ultimately destroys him.
2009 series[]
In Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Barry is already an armour-bonded soul by the time he meets the Elrics, who had nothing to do with his incarceration. He was tasked by Lust with guarding Laboratory 5 and fought against Alphonse. Like in the manga and 2003 series, he manipulates Alphonse by making him doubt his memories. After Lust and Envy blow up the laboratory, Barry runs away.
Some days later, Barry takes to the streets once more, ready to start a new killing spree. Unfortunately for him, his first would-be victim is Lt. Riza Hawkeye who easily overpowers and captures him. Impressed by Hawkeye's strength and her beauty, Barry is immediately smitten with her. After finding out that Barry had previous contact with the Elric brothers, Hawkeye informs Col. Mustang. Barry is then taken to a safehouse where Warrant Officer Vato Falman holds him in custody. After a lengthy interrogation, Barry's identity is confirmed. The armoured killer also reveals the details of his soul-binding and how he had been recruited by Lust and Envy.
While Mustang continues investigating both Maes Hughes' murder and the conspiracy within the military, Barry remains at the safehouse where he passes the time playing chess with Falman. When Lt. Maria Ross is falsely imprisoned over Hughes' murder, Barry is tasked by Mustang with breaking her out of jail. He invades the east end penitentiary where Ross is being held, not killing anybody. Before finding Ross, he frees Ling Yao, a young prince from Xing who had entered Amestris illegally. When Barry finally breaks into Ross' cell, he is glad to see someone shocked by his presence, and states that he remembers her as well - every time he notices the bullet holes in his right hand. Ross regains her strength after Barry mentions the rumours that she had killed Maes Hughes. He believes her vehement protests, saying that she hasn't the eyes of a murderer, but shows her the newspaper headline announcing her conviction and informs her that, since the trial has already been skipped, her execution will be immediate. Barry gives her a choice - either stay where she is and allow herself to face a firing squad for a crime she didn't commit, or escape with him on the spot. She chooses the latter and the three depart the jail, hurrying through back streets toward the rendezvous point in the warehouse district where Mustang is waiting.
Several days after the jailbreak, Barry and Falman are once again holed up in their safehouse when a strange man in a mask breaks through the window and attacks them. The attacker behaves in a savage, animalistic manner with no signs of human intelligence. Barry is stunned to realise that the attacker is actually his own body, which was apparently preserved after his soul was transferred to his armour. Given the body's feral behaviour, it seems that an animal's soul was transplanted into it. The body flees and Barry chases after it, wanting to kill it. Mustang, Hawkeye, Lt. Havoc, Falman and Alphonse Elric follow Barry all the way to the military's Third Laboratory where the maniacal killer bursts into the building, yet doesn't bother killing any of the staff there, only concerned with butchering his own body.
Barry finally catches up to his body in a large white room before a set of giant doors. Without its original soul, the body has rapidly decayed and died before Barry could have his way with it. Alphonse and Hawkeye catch up to him, but they are then met by Lust, who is disappointed by Barry's betrayal. Barry, having wanted to kill Lust since meeting her, charges at her. However, the sultry Homunculus extends her fingers into blades and slashes Barry's armour to pieces, seemingly destroying him, but the piece of metal upon which his blood seal was scrawled remains intact.
After Lust is destroyed by Mustang and he, Riza and Alphonse leave, Barry is left as nothing more than a single piece of metal. As it turns out, however, his original body is still just about alive and picks up the metal fragment Barry's soul is anchored to. Barry's body is enamoured by the blood seal and rubs its fingers over it, wearing it away. In doing so, Barry's soul is unbound and passes into the hereafter. Upon the departure of his soul, Barry's body then suddenly falls dead to the floor.