Levi Ackerman VS Roy Mustang (Attack on Titan VS Fullmetal Alchemist)
Levi Ackerman, humanity’s strongest soldier.
Roy Mustang, the Flame Alchemist.
In the face of humanity’s greatest threat, these two soldiers stepped up to the challenge to lead the way and destroy their enemies. But in this battle of nations at the brink of destruction, it’s only inevitable that one of these commanders can survive this fight. It’s time to analyze their weapons, armor, and skills to find out who would win… a DEATH BATTLE!
Before We Start…
This blog will contain spoilers for both Attack on Titan and Fullmetal Alchemist; you have been warned.
For Roy, the 2003 anime will be used as a research point, much like it was for Edward in Aang vs Edward Elric.
Research for this blog was completed on March 16, 2024.
Background
Levi Ackerman
“Whether I trusted myself or the choices of my dependable comrades, there was no telling how things would turn out. So, just do the best you can and choose whichever you'll regret the least.”
The lone child of a prostitute in the underground, Levi Ackerman was found next to his mother's body by her brother, Kenny. In a rare showing of compassion from the serial killer, he raised Levi and taught him how to fight for himself despite the belief that he was not a good father figure. After many years of training and brawls, Kenny left Levi to fend for himself, having taught the young boy everything that he could have to survive on his own.
Levi grew up to become a common thug alongside his best friends Isabel Magnolia and Furlan Church. One day during a heist, all three were captured by the Survey Corps. Impressed by their skills with the vertical maneuvering gear, Erwin Smith gives them the choice of either getting turned in to the Military Police, or to join the Corps; the three chose the former as a disguise to kill Erwin and steal a document in his possession.
This plan goes awry however; on an expedition where they decided to make their move, Isabel and Furlan are both brutally murdered by an Abnormal Titan, which Levi promptly kills at an incredible speed in a blind rage. When Erwin shows his face, Levi immediately attempts to attack him, only for Erwin to grab the blade and reveal that his plot was for naught; the document they were after was fake and the real one was already on its way to the commander-in-chief. Erwin tells Levi that the deaths of his friends were not his fault; rather, it was the Titans. After this ordeal, Levi joins the Survey Corps for good, becoming wildly popular in the process as "humanity's strongest soldier."
Roy Mustang
“Nothing's perfect, the world's not perfect, but it's there for us, trying the best it can. That's what makes it so damn beautiful.”
Orphaned at a young age, Roy was adopted by Chris Mustang, his father's younger sister, who brought him up with the intention of making him into a fine gentleman. Presumably in his teens, young Roy discovered an affinity for alchemy and took basic instruction in the craft from master alchemist Berthold Hawkeye in the hopes of becoming a source of strength and knowledge for the people of Amestris.
However, faced with the increasing frequency of border wars, Roy eventually left his teacher's charge and enrolled in the State Military Academy with the intent of becoming a State Alchemist and devoting himself to the protection of citizens caught in the crossfire of international struggles. While at the military academy, he became friends with fellow cadet Maes Hughes, with whom he often discussed his idealistic dreams for the future of the country.
In 1905, at the age of twenty, Roy returned to the decrepit Hawkeye estate hoping to both acquire the higher echelons of Master Hawkeye's unique alchemical expertise as well as persuade his revered teacher to join the State Alchemist program so as to share his brilliance with the world. Berthold, however, refused the offer and further expressed his doubts that someone so eager to become a military lapdog was worthy of attaining the pinnacle of his research. Unfortunately, Master Hawkeye died of an unknown illness in Roy's arms that very day, leaving as his dying wish that Roy inherit his secret research notes from his daughter Riza under the condition that he look after her and vow to never use the power hidden within for ill.
At Hawkeye's funeral, after Roy revealed to Riza his own dreams of strengthening the government and protecting the people with his own strength, she in turn revealed to him that her father's secret research had been encoded in a tattoo on her back. Impressed by Roy's intentions, she entrusted her back to him in the hopes that he would use its secret to create a happy future for the people. Deciphering the code, Roy mastered Hawkeye's innovative flame alchemy and went on to pass the State Alchemist certification exam, earning the symbolic moniker "Flame Alchemist" and the military officer rank of Major.
Equipment
Levi Ackerman
Omni Directional Mobility Gear
The ODM Gear is the standard equipment used by all military regiments in Attack on Titan. Taking the form of a harness encompassing the user’s body, it provides its users the ability to “fight in a three-dimensional space.” In layman’s terms, it provides incredibly potent air mobility; perfect for fighting a race of beings several times your size.
There are several moving parts that allow the ODM Gear to function. Most notably, the dual gas canisters on either side of the wielder are able to emit incredibly powerful bursts of air, allowing for immediate forward movement. This movement can be controlled via the body’s own movements in addition to the usage of the grappling hooks installed within the handles. In addition, below the gas canisters are holsters for Ultrahard Steel Blades: 12 in total, with 6 on each side.
Capable of moving at upwards of 227 mph, the ODM Gear is a vital asset to Levi’s fighting style, as he’s incorporated it into his moveset nearly flawlessly.
Ultrahard Steel Blades
These lightweight blades are standard issue for the military, made from a special type of high carbon steel only seen in Paradis. Specifically designed for combating titans, these blades are sharp enough to pierce through their skin and slice open titans’ napes, their universal weak point.
Don’t be fooled by their intended purpose, however, as they are still fully functional swords in their own right, capable of cutting through humans and titans alike in whatever way the wielder chooses.
While the blades are strong, they still possess quirks in their designs that are designed to make their failure much less damning. The blades are segmented, allowing the blades to still be fully operational in the case of a fracture, and, in a situation in which the blade remains unsalvageable, the ODM Gear comes equipped with a dozen spare blades.
Anti-Personnel Vertical Maneuvering Equipment
Originally used by the Military Police, the Scout Regiment gained a hold of these after defeating the squad led by Kenny Ackerman, Levi’s uncle. Functionally, it’s similar to the ODM Gear. Some differences include gear placement, which is on the shoulders down instead of on the hips, and the use of a pistol instead of the swords.
Levi isn’t known to use this equipment, but seeing as it’s standard service by the events of Liberio, it’s unreasonable to assume he wouldn’t at least be in possession of a set.
Thunder Spears
An explosive device made by Hange Zoë, this absolute beast of a firearm was created to bypass the hardening abilities of even the toughest Titans, such as the Armored Titan with its naturally tough carapace. They’re essentially handheld missiles, able to be thrown like spears with rocket propulsion. One clean shot can fell even the tallest and mightiest of titans.
The catch? The explosion is lethal, especially for the user. Any attack made will almost certainly backfire if the user is too close within the blast radius, so it’s best to use these at a distance, though trained soldiers have pushed the boundary a good bit and emerged unscathed.
Mikasa has been seen carrying up to eight at a time, and it can be assumed Levi can carry just as many. Multiple Thunder Spears can also be used in conjunction, amplifying the power of the explosions.
Flintlock
Levi holds what appears to be a flintlock-type weapon while threatening Pastor Nick. He’s not seen with this at any other point in the series.
Roy Mustang
Gloves
Roy wears a pair of these gloves at all times, which contain the transmutation circle that he needs to use Flame Alchemy. He also carries spares in-battle if his gloves are to ever be damaged.
Lighter
A generic lighter, which can be amplified thanks to Flame Alchemy. In one particular instance, Roy cut a transmutation circle into his hand, then used Jean Havoc’s lighter to use his alchemy after his gloves were ruined, therefore giving him his abilities back and allowing him to burn Lust to death.
Pistol
For his neutral special, he wields a gun. Roy carries the standard issue pistol around with him, though he doesn’t need to use it to be effective in combat.
Matches
If Roy is ever soaked, he carries matches around him that still let him use his alchemy. (16:48)
Abilities
Levi Ackerman
Swordsmanship
Levi is extensively trained with his swords, much like any other soldier. In his case, Levi holds his right-hand sword in an unusual upside down position, which allows him to perform rotating attacks with ease while not expending too much of his strength and stamina.
Knife Combat
Thanks to Kenny, Levi has been extensively trained in knife combat since he was a kid, frequently getting into brawls and coming out on top prior to being captured by the Scouts. This is probably where he gets his habit of holding one of his swords in reverse-grip from.
Paths “Awakened Power”
Described by Levi as “knowing exactly what needs to be done”, the Ackerman clan appears to have a special ability resulting from apparent experimentation on Subjects of Ymir. The holder is granted all of the battle experience from past Ackermans (kind of like the Avatar State) along with the strength of a Titan without needing to transform, seen when Mikasa cracked the handle of a knife, the floorboard, and then killed one of her kidnappers in one stab.
Roy Mustang
Flame Alchemy
Roy has mastered the ways of Flame Alchemy, taught to him by what remained of his master’s research. Thanks to his gloves with a simple snap he can create a spark, allowing him to change the oxygen density with alchemy and create pathways of oxygen to make not just flames but explosions. Which he can not only control to change it’s path however he likes, but also aim it with pin-point accuracy or use it in more specific ways, like for example:
Create massive flaming dragons (that look very cool)
Firearm Proficiency
Since he’s a soldier of Amestris, Roy is obviously trained in using a firearm. As mentioned before, he carries a pistol around with him, but he doesn’t usually need to use it.
Truth Alchemy / Transmutation
After he was blinded and saw the Truth, Roy is now capable of performing alchemy without needing a Transmutation Circle. Roy hasn’t shown much use of these abilities (mostly because he only gained them near the end of the series, though he has trained in basic alchemy), but much like Edward before him, he can now create walls from the floor to block incoming attacks. He’s also shown to use it to create spikes and a barrage of arrows.
Feats
Levi Ackerman
Overall
Widely considered to be humanity’s strongest soldier
At least 89 confirmed Titan kills by himself, almost certainly more
Escaped an ambush from Kenny’s Military Police squad and left several members dead
Defeated the Beast Titan, who was often regarded as one of the strongest titans, on three separate occasions
Was still capable of fighting even after being significantly crippled by a Thunder Spear explosion
Power
Physically
Frequently uses the ODM gear
It takes a user of ODM gear to be able to lift at about 7.1x their weight; Levi weighs 65 kg / 143 lb, meaning he can lift about 461.5 kg / 1017 lb
ODM gear propels the user at 101 m/s, and many Survey Corps members can come to a full stop against hard surfaces (324 kilojoules)
Threw a chair outside of a window so fast it made someone think it was him
Survived a Thunder Spear erupting beneath his feet, though it nearly killed him
With Swords
The Ultrahard Steel Blades are capable of maiming abnormal titans, most often in Levi’s possession
With Thunder Spears
Thunder Spears are capable of breaking through the Armored Titan’s defenses, which is stated to be the strongest Titan defensively
Hange took out several Wall Titans via the usage of Thunder Spears, who should be comparable to Colossal Titans and hence more durable than their activations (395 kilotons of TNT)
A Colossal Titan’s explosion is often likened to a nuclear bomb, and a collection of Wall Titans was seen as an apocalyptic event
Thunder Spears were critical in the final assault against the Founding Titan, the uncontested strongest Titan
The Founding Titan is comparable to Rod Reiss’s Titan, who created a massive cavern via unearthing itself (88 kilotons - 1 megaton of TNT)
Levi can carry eight at once, and Thunder Spears can be stacked in order to accumulate more damage (upwards of x8 multiplier)
Speed
ODM Gear permits the user to move at about 227 mph, or 101 m/s
Can dodge gunfire. Pre-timeskip sidearms as shown in the panel are generally inspired by old era muzzleloaders like the flintlock, which has a muzzle velocity of about 304.8 m/s (Mach 0.89).
Cut a shotgun shell mid-air (131 m/s, or Mach 0.38)
The Military Police’s variation of the Anti-Personnel gear use what appear to be shotguns, or at the very least hand cannons, judging by the impact left by their shots
These rocks create sonic booms as they fly through the air, meaning they were moving faster than sound (Mach 1 - Mach 12.5)
Scaling
Humans
Levi is the strongest Attack on Titan human, so logically it would make sense for him to scale to many, if not the strongest human characters in the series.
Mikasa Ackerman - Mikasa stands out in this regard; both her and Levi are Ackermans, meaning they have access to the Paths and would logically be on the same level of strength and experience as each other. Levi would have a slight advantage over Mikasa, as he’s been with the Scouts for much longer and as such, has more experience and Titan kills.
Utterly destroyed a group of Yeagerists without breaking a sweat
Seeing as they’re giants, one would get the impression that Titans are naturally slow, but the Female Titan has shown many instances of catching some of the best soldiers before they can do anything, such as when she killed Squad Levi.
Eren Yeager - Levi makes it pretty clear early on in the series that he’s more than capable of killing Eren without breaking a sweat. Even while in his Attack Titan state, Eren should still be on par with Levi due to the Paths.
As a human, Eren breaks Bertolt out of the Colossal Titan
As a Titan…
Titans
Levi’s also tussled with his fair share of titans, proving thoroughly that his Awakened Power is no mere hyperbole.
Beast Titan - While Zeke Yeager’s Beast Titan is seen as an overpowering threat across the course of the series, Levi has consistently been capable of taking it down on his own, cutting through its arm like butter and routinely dodging its attacks.
Throws a cluster of large rocks at mach speeds, devastating several houses (0.29 - 46.3 tons of TNT)
These rocks are able to reach the village before their sonic boom dissipates
Pulverizes a large boulder in the palm of his hand (0.4 tons of TNT)
In their third fight, he tore off a Titan’s head and then ripped its body in half ass first
Armored Titan - While Levi’s never come to blows with the Armored Titan directly, he possesses weaponry capable of shattering the Armored Titan’s defenses. Outside of its armor, the Armored Titan should be relatively comparable to other titans Levi is more than capable of taking down.
Roy Mustang
Overall
Promoted to Brigadier-General at the end of the series
Due to his service in fighting in the Ishval Civil War, was nicknamed the “Hero of Ishval” (he didn’t like that last part very much)
Even without flame alchemy, was capable of taking down several failed Bradley candidates by his own
With the help of Riza, was able to adapt to his blindness
Defeated Envy, Lust and Pride (2003 Bradley!) in another continuity
Power
Physically
Should be somewhat comparable to various homunculi
Gluttony can destroy a bridge (0.49 tons of TNT)
With Alchemy
Creates explosions the size of buildings
Obliterated a massive rolling boulder (FMA 2003) (8.5 - 73.5 tons of TNT)
Blew up a giant cannon that Edward Elric created (FMA 2003)
Destroyed a giant ice wall early in series (Brotherhood) (0.4 tons - 2.2 kilotons of TNT)
Wiped most of the Immortal army to the point of incinerating them with no trace left
Speed
Able to dodge King Bradley’s swings
Was quickly able to create a wall with Alchemy to block a redirected flame from Father
Scaling
Edward Elric - Roy is Edward’s superior, both in rank and power. By the end of the series, Roy has access to Truth Alchemy, much like Edward before him, and should be capable of the same things he can do. The two also have fought alongside and against each other several times before, so it should stand that Roy should scale.
Erected a barrier in time to block machine gun fire (Mach 0.6 - 1.2)
Erected a massive wall around a manor and mountaintop (2003 anime) (1.8 kilotons of TNT)
Pride’s shadow tendrils can move fast enough to go from the tunnels under Briggs to Central City in a short timeframe (Mach 25.2)
Can survive being in close proximity of Father’s alchemy splitting clouds, though is clearly outmatched and could only defeat a massively de-powered Father on his own (1.5 - 2.1 megatons of TNT)
Solf J. Kimblee - Kimblee was widely considered to be one of the best soldiers during the Ishvalan War. Flame Alchemy is stated to be the strongest type of alchemy in terms of raw power, so Roy should undoubtedly be able to compare to Kimblee.
With a second Philosopher’s Stone, Envy stated that Kimblee could have wiped out a whole town.
During the Ishval Civil War, was able to create a massive blast with a philosopher stone (33.3 kilotons of TNT)
King Bradley - While Roy and Bradley’s encounter didn’t exactly fall in Roy’s favor, he was able to hold his own for an extended period of time, dodging his attacks. As such, his reactions should be somewhat comparable to Bradley’s sword strikes.
Weaknesses
Levi Ackerman
Despite his strength and skill relative to the rest of the human characters in Attack on Titan, Levi is still a human and is susceptible to normal attacks that would kill most people. After Levi defeated Zeke, the Titan shifter managed to set off a Thunder Spear that blew up the cart they were on, which Levi took on point blank and would’ve died from, had Hange not performed surgery on him. Note that this does not mean that he’s fodder, as he’s shown to still be capable of combat even while disabled. Besides, Thunder Spears are nothing to scoff at.
ODM Gear is also not flawless; it relies entirely on objects to grapple on, gas can run out with extensive use, and at most Levi can only carry 14 blades (2 on hand, 12 stored in the ODM gear) which can be broken easily if more than enough force is used per target. Spares don’t come easily.
Roy Mustang
Though he’s a competent fighter on his own, Roy’s effectiveness is greatly reduced without his Flame Alchemy. All it takes is a simple splash of water on his gloves to render him nearly ineffective, which is why Riza usually carries around spares for him. However, since he’s seen Truth, Roy no longer seems to be affected by this.
Roy also has a habit of “more bark than bite”; he’s overconfident and frequently calls shots that he can’t back up right before they come back to screw him over.
Verdicts
Violet
This blog took a little longer than I would like to admit, but I think the end result was more than worth it.
I am obsessed with this matchup. These aren’t the only reasons for me liking a matchup in particular, but having my favorite character(s) and being a close battle are something that particularly draws me towards something. In this case, Levi and Roy are among my favorite characters in their series (which are among my favorite anime/manga by extension), and to my surprise, this matchup yielded results far closer than what I was initially expecting. There’s the argument of the fight dynamic of course, which turns plenty of people off from this matchup; a guy who is very mobile vs a guy who mostly just stands around snapping his fingers to make it go boom. I see the argument, but to be honest I don’t exactly see any other matchup serving any better for Roy when the issues mostly result from him. He worked pretty well in his DBX (even though Zuko is an entirely different fighter from Levi), so I’d have more than full confidence in the writing team to cook up good choreography here.
To start off with Levi, he takes the edge in strength and mobility. Mobility’s the obvious one here; Levi’s footwork on the ground is already impressive enough, and the ODM Gear just straight up lets him traverse across several city blocks in seconds. In comparison, Roy has never really needed to be anything but stationary, as his snaps do essentially all the work for him. With strength, Roy’s ability to combat homunculi like Bradley is impressive, but he never does it on a consistent scale the way we see Levi do with titans. Levi lifts just over 460 kg by flying through the air with the ODM Gear alone, and he’s capable of kicking and slicing up Titans with ease. If Levi gets in close, Roy would probably be manhandled in an instant.
If he gets in close. Let’s get into Roy’s advantages here, and his base firepower compared to Levi is basically unrivaled. Roy’s alchemy is devastating enough to neutralize basically anything in its path. Cannons, immortal mannequins made out of Philosopher’s Stones, boulders, you name it. The level of destruction that Roy can cause is controlled too; his precision with his flames allows him to burn out the fluid in someone’s eyes or their mouth while they're talking, and even make paths with his fire to target specific victims, which means he can in theory catch Levi while he is in the middle of moving around in the air. If he is feeling particularly threatened, he can also just make a giant explosion. With this firepower also comes with range, and since Levi is more akin to melee combat rather than ranged (seeing as how he doesn’t use the Anti-Personnel gear), Roy takes the edge in ranged combat.
Ultimately, this fight comes down to speed. Both of our fighters here are glass cannons, which means that one good hit from either character will mean death for their opponent. Can Levi close the gap fast enough to defeat Roy, or would Roy be fast enough to react to Levi’s mobility? And I believe the likelier answer is that Roy is fast enough to catch up to Levi. The absolute top speed that the ODM Gear can go is 101 m/s, or Mach 0.3. Which is definitely impressive mind you, since Roy’s running around like a normal person, but Roy’s reaction speed has him beat. Despite ultimately losing the battle, Roy fought against King Bradley, someone who speed blitzed multiple soldiers aiming down on him, which would get up to about Mach 13. The difference is clear as day. Not to mention, the ODM Gear is a pretty big target for Roy to hit, meaning that Roy can combust the gear and Levi’s speed advantage would be gone in an instant since he’s just about a normal melee fighter on foot.
Earlier I mentioned that Roy’s base firepower was superior to Levi’s, and you might notice that I’ve yet to talk about the Thunder Spears. Sure, the Thunder Spears are powerful and they’d almost certainly be more than enough to kill Roy instantly given their track record. But I believe Levi using the Thunder Spears would be an incredibly unlikely scenario. Levi never actually carries these at the start of a fight, let alone would he use one against a singular person, and not a gigantic Titan. And what’s stopping Roy from blowing it up himself? Roy wouldn’t know what it does immediately, but it’s pretty easy to realize it's an explosive with how long it takes to detonate, and Roy can just summon a wall up from the ground to protect him from the blast. Once that happens, he could just make another target out of those spears, and boom, there goes Levi. Levi’s not stupid either; he’d already have realized what Roy can do, so why would he bring something that could easily backfire on him if he isn’t quick enough?
To put it simply, this is an incredibly close bout, and I don’t mean that in the derogatory sense. Both fighters have significant advantages over the other to the point where one small difference would make the case for this fight. But in this fight, I believe Roy Mustang’s superior firepower and reaction speed would be able to overcome Levi’s overwhelming physical capabilities.
It’s a terrible day for rain. For it to be raining Levi’s ashes, that is.
T0m
Hey guys, let me first thank Violet for giving me the opportunity to join the blog. I admittedly had some interest in the mu as Fullmetal Alchemist is one of my fav anime, so i went like “why not?” and decided to ask to sate my curiosity, though i haven’t read AOT fully. I think I can make a good judgment from what’s shown here.
Speaking of Levi first, without stats I think he has plenty of decent advantages to give his opponent trouble and is a beast in his own right. Like being a much better and experienced physical fighter close to close in comparison to Roy, who prefers to stick at range and funnily enough has struggled against dual blade wielders(as shown when Bradley similarly defeated him) damaging his gloves. As well as the ODM gear showing much more mobility and flexibility than Roy would ever have on foot, so he could definitely dodge his Flame Alchemy for a time. If Levi were to figure out the gimmick or weaknesses behind Roy’s gloves and get the chance to jump on him, he would certainly take the win. Especially thanks to the Thunder Spears, which would be enough to possibly fuck up Roy himself if they ever landed.
However, I think this is where Roy starts taking the important advantages himself. While he may not be the most physically capable or combat skilled and doesn’t have the crazy strength Levi has, he is no slouch himself. Having held his own against the Gold Tooth Doctor’s failed Bradley candidates who also were specialized on dual wielding and are also basically super soldiers, fought against several opponents who have tried to close in on him like Ed, Lust or Envy and his service on Amestris as an officer. Mobility outside, I feel like Levi is nothing new to Roy, especially when he’s always playing into his favor by playing up-close with his straight-foward approach.
It’s also no surprise that Levi wouldn’t be tough enough to take Roy’s flame alchemy either even with the fraction of a titan’s power, being superior to alchemy that can wipe out entire towns or villages. Levi certainly isn’t walking out of those ones unscathed, especially with Roy’s great area of effect(rain down projectiles, create building sized explosions or create wall of flames) and deadly precision that lets him shape his alchemy. Being able to ignite his eyes to leave him blinded, target his mouth or very easily destroy the Thunder Spears. Especially considering their speeds, Levi can dodge bullets while Roy scales to characters who can dodge/react to bullets or minigun fire. Allowing him to keep up if not even outright surpass him when you consider scaling him to the crazy speeds of Pride’s shadows crossing those tunnels.
And while sure, Levi’s paths do technically give him more experience, a slight boost in strength and he can certainly get a plan of attack to abuse Roy’s weaknesses. Roy has had several back-up plans to quickly re-use his powers, like use spare gloves, cut up an alchemy circle into his hand or even use outside sources like lighters or matches. Hell, even at the beginning of the FMA Brotherhood anime he was still able to use his flame alchemy for a bit even when soaked.
Overall, it’s not a mind-blower that Roy Mustang would take this victory.
KingCorporeal
Hey guys, it’s your favorite boney bastard back at it again. Shoutout to Violet for having me on here; FMA is one of my favorite anime in recent memory, and although I’m not nearly as familiar with AoT, I’m more than happy to learn the basics on it in order to talk about this matchup which, in all honesty, gets a lot more hate than it should.
But let’s not dilly dally. Who wins between Levi Ackerman and Roy Mustang?
Let’s start things off the way we always do: stats. When it comes to raw firepower, Roy generally has Levi beat. Even without scaling to Kimblee’s amped explosion, Roy is still able to break into the kiloton range, while Levi’s sword slices (and as such durability) are at best 75 tons via scaling to Reiner. However, Roy likely doesn’t physically scale to his own flame alchemy, as there is no way to dictate that there’s any sort of force being applied to him by the attacks. Therefore, Roy’s physical statistics would likely not be enough to compete with Levi’s physical statistics, should his flame alchemy be neutralized or otherwise outplayed.
So that means this debate really boils down to one thing: speed. The Mobility Gear lets Levi travel at a consistent subsonic speed, which tracks with his bullet timing. At his absolute peak, he’s capable of dodging the Mach 12.5 attacks of the Beast Titan, which is certainly impressive. But, even then, Roy still has him beat. Roy reacting to Bradley’s sword strikes is of a similar speed to that of the Beast Titan’s rocks, that being Mach 12.94, likely meaning that Roy would be able to react to many of the things Levi would be able to do, given that the two are on equal footing.
(For the record, I don’t believe that the interaction that we have with Pride’s shadow in Briggs Tunnel gives us enough information to get a concrete speed for it. There’s very clearly a fade to black, implying the passage of time between the two events. Even with its most liberal interpretation, that being taking it literally, Roy would only be two times faster, which isn’t enough to make a notable dent in the dynamic.)
But, there’s one thing that Levi has that Roy doesn’t: maneuverability. And I think that’s the key here.
Roy’s fought speedier characters like King Bradley before, albeit struggling to keep up, but he’s never fought anyone with as much open environment movement as Levi. His ODM gear lets him basically fly circles around Roy, who’s only ever fought at his maximum potential while stationary, or at best jogging. Roy’s explosions are strong, but Levi would likely be able to use superior maneuverability to avoid them. After all, Roy’s speed advantage is strictly reaction-based. The actual speed of his alchemy is up in the air, and given the fact that he has to snap in order to create explosions, it’s likely that Levi can see this coming and quickly change directions before the explosions occur. While Roy’s alchemy can change directions mid-flight, this has only ever been done to worthwhile effect on stationary targets, meaning that Levi, with his superior battle sense from the Paths, could likely predict and evade these fire blasts, much like he did with opponents firing projectiles of similar speeds, such as the Beast Titan.
Additionally, Roy’s alchemy has been altered by disruptions in the air current before. The ODM gear, which specializes in pressurized blasts of air, would likely throw off Roy’s alchemy just enough for Levi to find a moment to close the gap.
From that point, it’s just a matter of disarming Roy of his gloves. While he can still perform alchemy without them, he’d be at a severe disadvantage, as he’d have to clap before every attack. While he does have a pistol that he could pull out as a last ditch effort, so does Levi. Not to mention Levi has experience dodging and countering bullets.
While you could argue that Roy could scale to Edward enduring Father’s cloud-splitting alchemy, allowing him to easily endure Levi’s sword strikes, I believe this is likely an outlier, as Father was seen as an infallible being at this point in the story, and Edward, someone comparable to Roy in power, could only hold his own against a massively de-powered version. Besides, even with this high end, a few Thunder Spears could likely finish the job regardless.
Don’t get me wrong, Roy’s alchemical prowess is impressive, and he is indeed faster and more powerful than Levi in certain areas, but Levi has just the tools at his disposal needed to outplay, outmaneuver, and outmatch Roy’s raw firepower, securing a win. Though Roy thought he could win in a snap, it seems that Levi Ackerman has properly surveyed this battle’s winner.
Summary
Levi Ackerman (1): KingCorporeal
Roy Mustang (2): Violet, T0m
Ending Notes
Although she could not write her own verdict, I’d like to thank Rina Antiqua for assisting in searching for feats and calcs.
Watch the fan-made trailer that I made for this matchup, it’s very cool.
And just a reminder to support the show and everyone who works on it. With Rooster Teeth shutting down, it’s important to show your support to the crew of Death Battle in this time if you want them to continue the good work as much as they do, and also because they’re effectively unemployed and currently do not have any source of income as of writing this.
Thank you for reading this blog.
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