In "(Fullmetal) alchemy: the monstrosity of reading words and pictures in shonen manga", Lesley-Anne Gallacher addressed how the backstory of Edward and Alphonse's failed attempt to revive their mother relate to Shou Tucker's plan to combine his daughter Nina and dog into a monster named chimera. During the discovery of this, Edward and Alphonse are given their own contrast in terms of characterization with the former showing early shock due to understanding what happened to Nina. Nevertheless, Alphonse later reacts violently too once understanding the identity of the chimera. As a result, the writer believes the story "weaken the boundaries between different realms of representation is to compromise the integrity of them all". Julie Sadlier from York University notes how complex is Edward's case of disability despite being a supercrip through his automail; despite acquiring these metallic limbs, Edward still feels at traumatized from his past and searches for a way to recover his lost arm and leg. Sadlier further commented on Edward's past, comparing it with Ishvalian's civil war who also suffered a tragic loss, most notably the antagonistic Scar who also lost his arm. Other foils noticed by the writer are Lan Fan who amputated herself to aid Ling Yao while noting that through his automail, Arakawa managed to link Edward with Alphonse and Winry.