King Bradley, also known as Wrath, is the Führer of the Amestris military and a central antagonist. His public identity is that of the nation's supreme leader, a charismatic and seemingly benevolent ruler who commands all State Alchemists. Concealed beneath this facade is his true nature as a homunculus, one of the seven beings created by the entity known as Father. Bradley is unique among his siblings as he was originally a human. Before becoming Führer, he was an orphan without a name, designated as the twelfth candidate in a secret government program. These candidates were raised and rigorously trained in politics, military strategy, and swordsmanship from childhood. Upon reaching the peak of their physical condition, each was injected with a Philosopher's Stone infused with the sin of Wrath. The process killed all the other candidates, but the twelfth survived, his body and soul fusing with the stone to become a homunculus capable of aging and living as a human would.

His personality is a study in duality. In public, Bradley presents himself as a calm, amiable, and even eccentric leader. He is known for performing odd actions unbefitting his status, such as joking with subordinates, dressing as a tourist, and escaping his own office by jumping through a window. This jovial, fatherly demeanor makes him both respected and deeply unpredictable. However, this kindness is a performance. As the homunculus representing Wrath, he possesses a core of immense fury and violence, though he rarely loses his composure. He is portrayed as a man who has a deep-seated contempt for humanity, viewing them as foolish and driven by meaningless struggles, a perspective born from his own manufactured existence. Yet, having once been human, his emotions are more complex and varied than those of other homunculi, allowing him to genuinely experience things like the love he holds for his wife, the one true choice he ever made for himself.

Bradley's role in the story is to act as Father's primary agent in the mortal world, orchestrating the nation of Amestris from his seat of power. He is the architect of the country's warmongering policies, all meticulously designed to carve the massive Transmutation Circle into the land and prepare for the Promised Day, when Father will sacrifice everyone within its borders to become a god. Bradley personally oversaw tragedies like the Ishval Civil War, using the conflict to generate a Philosopher's Stone. He also serves as the primary enforcer and obstacle for the protagonists, using his authority to monitor Edward and Alphonse Elric, holding their loved ones as hostages, and personally eliminating threats to Father's plan.

His key relationships are defined by his dual allegiances. His ultimate master is Father, the creator of all homunculi, for whom he feels a profound but calculating loyalty. He interacts with his homunculus siblings as an equal, often showing more patience for their schemes but never hesitating to enforce Father's will. Unlike many of them, he has a genuine family: an unnamed wife he chose for himself and an adopted son, Selim, who in the manga and Brotherhood continuity is secretly the homunculus Pride. His relationship with his wife is a rare point of authenticity in his artificial life. For the series' heroes, he is a formidable adversary, respected and feared by figures like Roy Mustang, who admits he cannot fully understand Bradley's motives. His primary antagonists in combat include the Ishvalan warrior Scar, the homunculus Greed, and the soldiers of Briggs.

Unlike the other homunculi, Bradley undergoes little emotional development; he remains resolute and unwavering in his purpose to the very end. However, his death provides a moment of complex reflection. After being mortally wounded by Scar, he does not lament his fate or curse his enemies. Instead, with his dying breath, he expresses a quiet satisfaction in the life he lived, particularly his choice of a wife, implying that even a living weapon created for a terrible purpose can carve out a small piece of genuine existence for himself.

Bradley is one of the most dangerous combatants in the series, possessing abilities that make him a near-unstoppable force. His most famous power is the Ultimate Eye, which grants him superhuman visual perception. This allows him to predict his opponents' movements with incredible accuracy, react to bullets, and find the single safe path through any chaos. Despite his age, his physical capabilities are immense, granting him superhuman strength, speed, and agility. He is a peerless swordsman, able to wield his curved blade with such speed that his cuts are invisible to the naked eye, and can use multiple swords simultaneously or even fight with the blade in his teeth when his arms are incapacitated. Crucially, he is not like his fellow homunculi; he possesses no regenerative abilities and ages like a normal human. The Philosopher's Stone within him grants him his immense power but not immortality, making his body vulnerable to fatal wounds and exhaustion, a flaw that ultimately leads to his defeat.