Anime all-stars · Superhuman
Roy Mustang vs Venom
A symbiote that fears fire meets a man who can snap his fingers and set the air ablaze.
Tale of the tape
| Fullmetal Alchemist | Universe | Marvel |
|---|---|---|
| Superhuman | Tier | Superhuman |
| Flame alchemy: a snap of his fingers ignites the air itself | Strength | A symbiote that shapeshifts, heals and outmuscles |
| Useless in the rain | Weakness | Sonic and fire weaknesses |
| 1–0 | Record on Versus | 1–3 |
The Arena
A black, glistening monster had been terrorising the warehouse district of Central City for three nights, eating criminals and leaving their shoes behind. The military sent its best. Colonel Roy Mustang arrived on the fourth night in his blue uniform and white gloves, checked the sky, and smiled. Not a cloud.
Venom dropped from the rafters of a warehouse, enormous and grinning, his tongue lolling between rows of teeth. “More food,” he rumbled. Roy pulled his gloves tight. “You must be the one eating people in my city.” Venom laughed. “Only the bad ones. We have rules.” Roy raised his hand. “So do I.”
He snapped his fingers. The air between them exploded into flame.
Round One
The fire hit Venom full on, and the symbiote shrieked, a horrible high-pitched sound that shattered windows down the street. The black mass peeled back from Eddie Brock’s face in places, writhing in agony. Venom staggered away, smoking, and dove behind a stack of crates.
Roy walked forward calmly, snapping again. Each spark became a precise burst of flame, guided by the oxygen he controlled with alchemy. Venom fired tendrils from cover, trying to grab Roy’s hands, and one wrapped around his arm and hurled him into a wall. Roy rolled up, coughing, his shoulder dislocated.
He popped it back into place with a grimace and snapped again. The tendril that had grabbed him burned away to nothing.
The Turn
Venom learned fast. He tore open a water main beneath the street, and water erupted into the air, raining down on the district in a cold spray. Roy’s gloves began to soak. His next snap produced only a damp click and a tiny puff of smoke. Venom laughed, a deep wet sound. “Not so scary now.”
He charged across the flooded street and hit Roy with a blow that broke two ribs and sent him sliding through the water. Roy lay there for a second, wet, hurting, and thinking. Then he reached into his coat for the spare pair of gloves he always carried in an oilskin pouch, because a man who is useless in the rain learns to plan for it.
He also noticed something else. Venom was standing in a puddle of water, and water is made of hydrogen and oxygen.
The Finish
Roy pulled on the dry gloves and slapped his palm against the flooded ground, using alchemy to split the water around Venom into its elements. Hydrogen and oxygen rose around the symbiote in an invisible cloud. Venom paused, confused, sensing something was wrong but not knowing what.
Roy snapped. The cloud ignited in a roaring explosion of blue-white fire that engulfed Venom completely. The symbiote screamed and ripped itself away from Eddie, flailing through the air, burning, before collapsing in a smoking, shivering black puddle on the cobblestones. Eddie fell to his knees, coughing and gasping.
Roy limped over and stood above the shivering symbiote, one hand raised. Eddie held up his hands. “Please. He only eats bad guys. I’ll take him home.” Roy looked at them both for a long time, then lowered his hand. “Go home,” he said. “And next time, stay out of Central.” He walked away, holding his broken ribs and muttering about the paperwork.
The verdict
Roy Mustang wins
Venom is stronger and nearly wins after flooding the street, but fire is the symbiote’s greatest weakness, and Roy Mustang is a master of flame alchemy who plans for the rain.
- FireRoy’s flames hit Venom’s oldest weakness.
- PrecisionAlchemy lets Roy control exactly where each flame appears.
- PreparationSpare gloves and a clever use of water turn the flood against Venom.
How the rematch could go differently: In a real rainstorm with no dry gloves, Roy would be in serious trouble against a symbiote that hits like a truck.
Who do you think wins?
Who would win in a fight between Roy Mustang and Venom?
Roy Mustang wins. Venom is stronger and nearly wins after flooding the street, but fire is the symbiote’s greatest weakness, and Roy Mustang is a master of flame alchemy who plans for the rain.