Old Man

The Old Man is patient, compassionate and protective of the displaced people around him. He has endured the destruction of Ishbal without adopting Scar's belief that vengeance against State Alchemists should define the survivors' future.

His authority is informal but meaningful. Refugees listen to him because of his age, experience and willingness to care for people rather than because he holds a military or political office.

He is also capable of correcting younger Ishbalans when grief distorts their understanding of the past. His explanation of Rick and Leo's mother's condition helps the brothers confront a painful misunderstanding they have carried since the war.

The Old Man has no established alchemical or supernatural abilities. Ishbalan religious tradition generally condemns alchemy, and he adheres to that prohibition.

His principal skills are practical rather than combative. He provides shelter and medical care to Scar after serious injuries and helps organize refugees as they move between settlements.

His importance within the Ishbalan community comes from experience and leadership rather than physical power.

In the manga and Brotherhood, the Old Man and the unnamed boy later called Rick in the 2003 adaptation discover Scar after his battle with Lust and Gluttony. They hide him in the East City slums and tend his wounds while the military searches for him.

The 2003 anime expands his role considerably. He travels with Rick, Leo and other Ishbalan refugees, shelters Scar and helps preserve the community after mercenary attacks force them to move south.

He also explains the truth about Rick and Leo's mother. After Rick's locket opens and reveals medicine for blindness, the Old Man confirms that their mother was losing her sight and did not deliberately abandon her sons during the attack on Ishbal.

Rick is the Old Man's grandson in the 2003 anime. He helps raise and protect Rick after the destruction of their home.

Leo is likewise his grandson in the 2003 continuity. The Old Man helps Leo understand the truth about his mother's apparent abandonment.

Scar repeatedly receives shelter and treatment from the Old Man. Although the elder does not necessarily approve of Scar's violence, he continues to care for him as a fellow Ishbalan.

Rick and Leo's Mother is part of the Old Man's family in the 2003 continuity. He knows about her failing eyesight and later explains the truth to her sons.

The Exile represents a very different relationship with Ishbalan tradition. The Old Man's community observes the religious prohibition against alchemy, whereas the Exile was ostracized for practicing it.