souledge

they would never get in a fight because ed is small and puny to his brother because of the suit of armor and plus alphonse is much taller and smarter than him

yea but the only reason ed dont need transmutation circles is becaus ehe is auto mail on his left arm and his left leg

r u sure about that what volume can he do that to ed his older brother

Spooked_Ninja

That why you catch him when he's coming around the corner (baseball bat style)...
it's easier... and besdies..ed is a little bit more skilled the al...
al is lacking a little...and not to mention...he not only lost his body..but his balls with it
All ed's gotta do is put on some croc tears...al will stop like an idiot...that al's major flaw

Hassun

The manga confirms that Al is vastly superior to Ed in hand-to-hand combat.
Probably due to his body (or lack of it).

__________________

Exoparadapsyphobia

Though physical strength has little to do with coming out on top in a battle that involves proffesional alchemy. All Ed would have to do is distance himself from Al to avoid physical contact and then transmute the surrounding earth into sand, and due to the immense weight of the armor Al is bound to this would seriously slow him down or completely imobilize him assuming this battle takes place on dirt; therefore taking away his physical advantage. And since Al can't use alchemy without a transmutation cirlce and you can't draw a circle in the sand there also goes his alchemic abilities. Winner; Ed. In the very first episode of the anime series Father Cornelo uses the exact same trick to immobilize Al during the battle between himself and Ed. This also solves the problem of neutralizing Al without killing him which some on this thread seem to assume would have to be done to "win".

__________________
Death is your most loyal companion, for he will never fail you.

Sazuka

Now what?

__________________

Exoparadapsyphobia

Hmm, interesting. I never knew for sure that Al managed to replicate Ed's special ability as I've never read the manga, though I've seen most of the anime. I was always wondering why Al wasn't able to use alchemy without a circle since he had also seen the gate after the brother's failed resurrection. Though this is explained by Al elaborating how the last thing he remembered after the "rebound" was his brother reaching for him as his body was being sucked inside the gate in the anime and is never able to recover what exactly happend until he gets his full body back (Conqueror of Shamballa).

And today I just started reading up on the second [volume] of the manga having finished the first yesterday so that I could get the "full" story, since I heard that the manga and anime differentiated greatly from eachother. Anyways I think it could be true about Al being better than Ed at alchemy once he regains his memory of what happened inside the Gate of Truth. It's logical to assume that he would have been shown a lot more than Ed because he "payed" with is entire body compared to Ed's arm (as you said). I think this theory is proven in the movie Conqueror of Shamballa as Al is somehow able to temporarily transfer multiple portions of his soul into suits of armor after being able to recall his full experience of the failed resurrection; something Ed could never do. Perhaps he is able to do this due to being shown more than Ed whilst inside the Gate of Truth?

Taking that into consideration I would have to tip the scales of victory in Al's direction.

__________________
Death is your most loyal companion, for he will never fail you.

SewingLifeAlchemist

you know, i don't think it mattters much. the only fight they ever get into is an argument in one of the early episodes about the realness of al's memories. it won't happen. they spar alot though, and al usually wins.

__________________
Nina...

Serenity Rose

Welllll I dont see when those two would ever fight each other to the death but Ed can use whatever he needs to kill Al... but Al does have superoir strength which can over power anyone. So it could possibly be a draw.

__________________

Honor Courage Commitment.