The Titans were introduced as early as the first few chapters in Attack on Titan, yet there are some mysteries surrounding them that remain unanswered. For instance, we still don’t have complete information about their powers, particularly the origin and extent. Like many fans, we have come up with our own Attack on Titan theory to explain a particular Titan from the series.
Yes, there was the backstory that Ymir passed down the Titan powers, which was a canon explanation. But, the questions still remain. The Armored Titan in particular was different from all the other Titans. It didn’t have any special abilities beyond its rock-hard body. So here’s a theory that could explain everything about the Armored Titan including its purpose and lack of special abilities.
Was the Armored Titan Marley’s big experiment?
The Armored Titan was one of the first Titans to be introduced in Attack on Titan. Throughout the story, we only see it using the hardening ability. Even with that ability, Reiner was extremely inconsistent. So, it’s safe to assume that compared to the other Titans, the Armored is somewhat inferior. The perfect reason behind its weakness could be an artificial modification and that’s the theory!
According to this theory, the only ones capable of making a modification to a Titan were the Marleyans. We already know that there’s a possibility of Titans’ undergoing some evolution to gain new powers. For instance, Jaw Titan could fly, the Female Titan and Attack Titan could crystallize in addition their other abilities.
With the Armored Titan, Marley’s motivation could have been an additional advantage over the world in terms of military power. Therefore, they experimented with the Armored Titan to give it a body that could serve as the perfect shield while allowing it to move as swiftly as possible. However, the experiment probably didn’t go as planned, resulting in the Armored’s inconsistent abilities and reduced speed.
While we accepted the other Titans’ abilities as the default, they could also have been results of experiments. The only difference was Marley’s focus probably shifted from making brute force the primary weapon. If this theory was true, then the only impressive ability of Reiner was also partly a result of a failed experiment. As if Reiner already didn’t have enough existential crisis.
An extension of this Attack on Titan theory
The power of the Titans could also be correlated with their personalities or desires. As we know, Reiner’s resolve weakened at multiple points throughout the story. He constantly questioned what was the right thing to do. He was exposed to the humans as well as the Titans’ cruelty. The weakened resolve could have been the reason why his abilities or armor to be specific, was never as effective.
This suggests that Reiner was capable of better things and had a lot of unutilized potential. The lack of a strong resolve and will was probably the reason behind his weaknesses. Or his humanity was his biggest weakness. After all, he was the most humane character in the series who had experienced both sides of things, made mistakes and learnt from them.
Out of all the characters in Attack on Titan, Reiner arguably led the most tragic life. At every point, his value system was shaken and he was exposed to contradictory values and events. This theory further adds to his tragedies as he was simply a failed experiment for the Marleyans.
Attack on Titan is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
