Alex Louis Armstrong is a National Alchemist within the Amestris Army, having the code name Strong Arm Alchemist asigned to him. He comes from a wealthy family of aristocrats who are well-known for their outstanding achievements in several artistic professions. Alex has a younger (Katherine Elle) and three older sisters (General Olivier Milla being among them).

One of said achievements is Alex's alchemy technique, which consists in reshaping solid objects by impact, via a pair of metal gloves with an array on them. Despite his enormous strengh, agility in combat and being valued by his peers, Armstrong remains a Major in the Army, having never been promoted ever since he entered the institution (National Alchemists receive the rank of Major right off the bat).

You could say Armstrong is not really suited for his job, having a strong sense of justice and strict set of morals, and being way too kind-hearted for his own good. So much in fact, his participation in the Ishval genocide ended when he was sent home due to him being mentally unable to perform his duty any longer.

Alex carries the weight of fleeing the battleground and abandoning people he ought to be protecting. Even if their actions were brutally wrong, he still believes it was shameful to leave his comrades behind and do nothing about the matter from inside. Fortunately, Armstrong has found a man he can truly believe in and a true source of inspiration in Roy Mustang and his men. He is now an invaluable ally to them and the cause they're fighting for.

Fullmetal Alchemist (Hagane no Renkinjutsushi) made its debut in the August 2001 issue of Monthly Shounen Gangan. Created by the genius Arakawa Hiromu, the series won an award in the Shogakukan Manga Awards (shounen section) in the year 2004. A delicious mixture of drama, suspense, humor, horror and intrigue, Fullmetal Alchemist is still being published every month in chapters of approximately 40 pages and then compiled into tankoubons (or volumes).