Out of all of the characters who start out antagonistic within the Fullmetal Alchemist universe, Scar is by far one of the most interesting and compelling. After all, he's introduced as a character committing incredibly violent acts: assassinating State Alchemists for no reason other than the title they bear.
Over the course of the series, though, he's able to begin to see the error of his ways and work towards a more constructive goal. He even ends up talking multiple other characters out of falling into the exact same cycle of revenge that he once thought gave his life meaning. He goes from an antagonist who tries to kill Edward on multiple occasions to someone who's willing to work with him when the time calls for it, both to prevent the end of the universe as they knew it and to bring about change for the better for all Ishvalans.
10 Best: He Helps Talk Mustang Out Of Falling Into The Vicious Cycle Of Revenge
After Hughes' death, Mustang loses most of his inhibition and becomes much crueler. This is especially true once he finally finds Envy, the source of all of his pain and anger, and it's not helped by the fact that Envy taunts Mustang and seems genuinely proud of killing Hughes.
It's understandable he'd want to kill the Homunculus in return, but Mustang instead decides to keep Envy alive and make them suffer by repeatedly burning them. It's actually Scar who speaks up and states that this meaningless cycle of revenge that Mustang is entering into won't help anything for anyone.
9 Worst: Killing Both Of Winry's Parents After They Saved His Life In Ishval
Winry's parents are incredibly kind-hearted doctors who save everyone they're able to. They don't discriminate, either, as they'll heal anyone they're able to, even if they're of Ishvalan descent. This ends up leading them to their deaths, though, as Scar kills them after they save his life.
It isn't as if Scar is fully aware of what he was doing. He goes into shock as soon as he realizes that his brother's arm is now part of his body and he loses it, and when Winry's parents try to calm him down, they pay the price for it.
8 Best: He Puts The Nina-Alexander Chimera Out Of Its Misery Instead Of Letting It Suffer
This may not seem like one of Scar's best moments as it still involves him killing someone, but the Nina-Alexander chimera wouldn't have had any sort of happy life. Scar states himself that there's no way to separate the two again, and if the chimera were to be kept alive, it would likely be experimented on by scientists who don't care for it whatsoever.
He first kills Tucker for being a State Alchemist, and though it's unclear if Scar knows he's actually the one who transmuted the chimera, Tucker definitely deserves it after all his cruelty. He then moves onto the chimera, which he quickly puts out of its misery in the form of a mercy kill, and he actually seems remorseful for its fate as he does so.
7 Worst: Attempting To Kill Both Edward And Alphonse On Numerous Occasions, Simply For Ed's Title
At the start of the series, Scar was content to hunt down any and all State Alchemists solely for their title. And at first, when Al steps in to try to help defend Edward, Scar has no problem attacking him as well and destroying his armor, despite Al not being aligned with the military.
After Ed says that he's not involved, though, Scar promises to only kill Edward and let his brother go, showing a shred of his kinder side. He was still willing to kill Edward when he himself didn't have anything to do with the Ishvalan War and tries to distance himself from military activities.
6 Best: He Doesn't Attack Winry And Instead Tells Her That Shooting Him Would Be Justified
When Winry overhears Ed and Scar talking and realizes that he's the one who kills her parents, she steps in. At first, Scar raises his hand as if to attack her, but Ed jumping in front of her reminds him of his own brother jumping in to shield Scar, and he pauses.
Even when Winry has a gun raised at Scar, he doesn't try to hurt her, shield himself, or grab the gun. Instead, he tells her that he believes it would be justified if she shot him, since he killed her parents without clear reasoning.
5 Worst: He Chastises And Scolds His Brother For Learning Alchemy Rather Than Trying To Understand Him
The Ishvalan War begins and it's clear that the Amestrian Military is sending their best State Alchemists to wipe them out. The Ishvalan people are understandably in an uproar, and Scar goes to find his brother, who's finishing up his research on alchemy.
His brother states that the only way they'll stand a chance against the State Alchemists is to wield alchemy of their own, but Scar shuts his idea down immediately. It's clear that his brother had been studying alchemy for quite some time, and perhaps they would have stood a better chance if Scar had instead spent time with his brother learning about it as well.
4 Best: He Becomes A Pseudo-Elder Brother Figure To May Chang, And The Two Help Protect Each Other
Although Scar starts out as a rather violent individual, he doesn't attack anyone besides State Alchemists. Even when Yoki rats out his location and nearly gets the other Ishvalan refugees there into trouble, Scar allows him to follow him afterwards and doesn't harm him.
One of the clearest examples of Scar's innate kindness is how he treats May Chang, who doesn't see any bad in him and heals his injuries. The two become rather close travel companions after this and often help each other escape from dangerous situations.
3 Worst: Despite Claiming That Alchemy Is Evil And Targeting State Alchemists, Scar Uses It Himself
Scar's actions before reforming and becoming a more peaceful character come off as, at best, incredibly hypocritical. He goes on and on about how alchemy is a heretic's art, and about how all State Alchemists need to be put down for what happened in Ishval, which is flawed for several reasons.
For one, there are State Alchemists like Edward, who have nothing to do with the war and desire peace above all else. Secondly — although Scar's brother's research is more of a combination of alchemy and Alkahestry — he still partially uses alchemy in order to get vengeance on alchemists, which is beyond hypocritical.
2 Best: He Refuses To Kill Marcoh, Even Though He's The Doctor Who Helped Exterminate The Ishvalan People
While Scar is attempting to hide from his pursuers, he comes across Tim Marcoh, who's being held captive by the Homunculi. Marcoh rejoices and asks Scar to kill him for his involvement in the Ishvalan War, as he was the main researcher in charge of the Philosopher's Stone.
But Scar — despite having no problems killing others in the name of vengeance before this — refuses. And while it was because Scar believes that allowing him to die would be too much of an easy out after what Marcoh has done, he still shows that he has a merciful side.
1 Worst: He Lets Kimblee Get Away During Their Fight, Which Allows Him To Wreak More Havoc Later On
Whenever Scar comes face-to-face with Kimblee on the train, he's clouded by rage and isn't able to keep his composure during their fight. And while this is perfectly understandable — after all, Kimblee is the reason why Scar's brother died and the Crimson Alchemist shows no remorse for this — it's still a mistake on Scar's part, as Kimblee's escape here nearly spells death for Edward later on down the line. He attacks in a fit of blind rage and deconstructs the train rather than going for Kimblee himself right off the bat.
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