Solf J. Kimblee is an ex-war criminal and a veteran of the Ishbal War. His alchemy title refers to his use of sulfur in the human body to create explosive fluids, turning people into living bombs.

With a far more subtle, polite approach to evil than his Anime counterpart, the Manga's Kimblee spearheaded the Ishballan Extermination Campaign, and was one of the few, if not the only, State Alchemists to utilized the full power of the Philosopher's Stones fabricated at Lab 5. His personality seems almost split in two; at times he can be polite, if curt, straightforward, rational, and "civilized." He even seemed to have a certain respect for Winry's parents because of their devotion to their duty. However, in battle he displays an uncanny and foreboding demeanor in favor of destruction and damnation (he once reprimand Riza and others for being "ununderstandable", for not accepting their role as murderers, as soldiers, despite many humans they killed), using one of his own subordinates to demonstrate his destructive powers. Kimblee's powers appear to be much the same as those in the Anime, except that he can transmute and detonate from a distance as well, using the ground as a connecting force, causing huge explosions (though probably it is because his force is imbued with Philosopher's Stone).

He was initially given a Philosopher's Stone made of Ishvalan souls, but when the army tried to confiscate it after the war was over, he swallowed it whole. Throughout the series, he is seen making himself choke it back up to get a good look at it.