w00t! 8 whole posts! well, this thread got off to a rip-roaring start 
so, in the interest of shameless self-promotion, i'll start posting chapter summaries. they'll be a handy reference for later.
VOLUME 1: Chapters 1-4
"Teachings that do not speak of pain have no meaning... because humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return."
CHAPTER 1: The Two Alchemists.
our introduction to the story as told by arakawa begins much like the anime, with a broadcast of cornello's sermon on the sun god, leto. ed and al are having a bite at a sidewalk diner in lior, and the bartender asks if they are street performers. ed tells him they are there to look for something, then asks what the broadcast is. the townspeople tell him about cornello and his ability to perform miracles. as he stands up to leave, al hits his head on the radio hanging above him, breaking it. he draws a circle, and BOOM! fixes the radio, to the amazement of the townspeople. the boys introduce themselves as the famous elric brothers, and several people recognize the name, but mistake al for being the "fullmetal".
then we meet rose, on her way to temple to make an offering. she seems so happy, all thanks to cornello, who they say has the ability to raise the dead; perhaps her dead boyfriend could be revived. ed doesn't like the sound of that. we see cornello, finishing up his sermon, and being praised by his lackeys. rose arrives, and wants to know when he will be able to... but he says it is not yet time. ed and al show up in the church, although ed says he is not religious. rose proclaims her faith, but ed refutes it, saying he'd much rather study science than wait around for god to do things.
once again, we see cornello and his "miracles", all fueled by a red stone ring. ed and al recognize it as alchemy, and wonder why he can bypass the "laws". they request an audience with cornello, who instantly suspects them. when asked if the boys should be sent away, he replies, "let's just say, they never came here." the boys enter, and a guard pulls out a gun and shoots al's head off. of course, he stands right up and clocks the guard, while ed takes care of the other toadies. rose is astounded to see that al is hollow. the boys, rose hiding inside al, enter the anteroom, where cornello is waiting. cornello reveals his evil plan to use the pstone to rule the nation. al reveals a horrified rose. cornello repeats his hollow promise to resurrect her dead boyfriend, and rose believes him. cornello sics a lion/dragon chimera on ed, and he pulls off his cloak to reveal his automail, the mark of his sin, and the reason he is called... THE FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST!
i figured he must have done it just in case someone wandered into a thread and hadn't seen the episode, and that was reason enough for me. but anything that has been released in the US (so far, up through volume 5 of the manga, and episode 45 of the anime) is okay to discuss in here.
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