Summary
Despite his controversial actions and personality, Reiner is one of themost popular characters inAttack on Titan.He appears as a cadet from Wall Maria territory, who quickly earns recognition and becomes successful during the training. His skill, bravery, and dedication to the cause lead Eren and other characters to see him as an inspiration and someone they deeply respect.
However, a shocking twist revealed that Reiner is in fact the Armored Titan, one of the two titans that breached Wall Maria and destroyed Shiganshina. This makes him one of the primary antagonists of the story, and his motives are incredibly mysterious. Despite his heinous acts, many people sympathized with him once Reiner’s origin as the Marleyan warrior was revealed.
8Joined The Warrior Unit
Willingly Became A Tool
Reiner’s evil deeds can be traced back to his decision to become awarrior candidatein Marley. His intentions were pure, as Reiner and his mother fought for the status of honorary Marleyans and an opportunity to reunite with Reiner’s father. Still, in doing so, he joined a terrorist unit that was at the Marley government’s disposal.
Reiner was far from the most skilled soldier, and likely wouldn’t have become an actual warrior if it wasn’t for Marcel’s actions. He tried to save his brother from becoming a titan, thus elevating Reiner in his place. As a warrior, Reiner became a weapon to bring ruin and subdue other nations and governments, including Paradis.
7Re-Invaded Paradis
Continued The Cycle Of Hatred
In season 4, Reiner has become a changed man. The operation on Paradis has damaged his psyche, and he struggles with both survivor’s guilt and remorse over all the evil he committed. Despite this change, he is loyal to Marley and follows their orders along with the remnants of the Warrior Unit, which leads to him opposing Paradis.
The invasion in season 4 is much more morally justified than the one at the start of the series, as Reiner and his allies want to stop Eren from unleashing the Rumbling and destroying their home. Still, by participating in warfare against Paradis, he further pushes its people toward Eren’s side and causes multiple deaths of innocents.
6Infiltrated The Survey Corps
Attempted To Destroy Paradis From Within
Reiner’s biggest deception takes place at the beginning of the series, along withAnnie Leonheartand Bertholdt Hoover. The three pretend to be survivors from the Wall Maria territory, and infiltrate the military of Paradis. They work to destroy Paradis from the inside and discover the Founding Titan to grant its power to the Marleyans.
This led to Reiner lying to other cadets for years, pretending to be their allies. Reiner found a way to cope by developing a split personality of his soldier and warrior identity, which helped him alleviate some of the guilt. Still, he lied to Eren and his friends, knowing that he was going to betray them one day, but Reiner didn’t stray off his path.
5Took Eren & Ymir
Attempted To Steal His Former Friends
The moment Reiner and Bertholdt revealed themselves, they immediately attempted to kidnap two of their former friends. The Warriors could reclaim the Jaw Titan by bringing Ymirback to Marley, while Eren would bring a brand new Attack Titan right into Marley’s hands. This makes the duo reveal their true identities and strike while the scouts are vulnerable.
Despite asking Eren to leave with them voluntarily, Reiner refuses to tell him anything about Marley and the world beyond the walls. With Ymir, the duo strikes when she is unconscious and, therefore, easy to claim. This led to the scouts going out into the wilderness and getting large numbers of them killed, further weakening the military.
4Leaked Information To Annie
Helped Ambush The Scouts
Part of Reiner’s sabotage mission involved leaking information. The three Warriors spread out between the Survey Corps and Military Police and shared vital information with each other. During one of the expeditions beyond the walls, the scouts were attacked by Annie Leonheart, who possessed a Female Titan.
She was an enemy that the Survey Corps hadn’t seen before, and took them by surprise. She knew a lot about their movements and assaulted specific positions, and Reiner and Bertholdt were the ones who gave her this information. They readily doomed their own friends and comrades for the sake of the mission, as they knew that many of them could die.
3Killed Scouts At Shiganshina
Continued His Ruthless War
TheReturn to Shiganshina arcwas the culmination of the pre-time skip part ofAttack on Titan, and most key characters played a part in it. Reiner remained with the other warriors and, under Zeke Yeager’s command, fought against the warriors of Paradis. He hid within the wall, waiting for a perfect moment to strike and take Eren with him.
Eventually, Armin discovers Reiner’s ruse, which causes the warrior to attack prematurely. As the Armored Titan, he killed several soldiers and wrought havoc in Shiganshina. He wounded and killed many scouts, and it took all of their thunder spears to bring Reiner down. He also gave a signal to Bertholdt that led to him transforming into the Colossal Titan and killing more people.
2Killed Marco
Left A Friend To Die
Marco’s death is one of the early mysteries ofAOT. It is initially presentedas a tragic fatehe met while fighting the Titans, but several things don’t add up. Most notably, Marco lacked his ODM gear. This is one of the clues that makes Erwin Smith wonder about saboteurs in the military.
Marco’s fate isn’t revealed until the Battle of Shiganshina in Bertholdt’s flashback. He happens to overhear the duo’s conversation with the Titans and their plans, leading him to suspect their true motives. Reiner decides to kill Marco, forcing Annie to take his ODM gear off and leave ing him to a slow and painful death.
1Breached Wall Maria
Killed Thousands
Reiner’s biggest crime undeniably happens at the start of the series. He, Bertholdt, and Annie created a plan to breach Wall Maria and inflict destruction and chaos on Paradis. Bertholdt broke the wall of Shiganshina, while Annie used her scream to summon pure titans into the city’s heart and infest the wall.
Reiner’s part came later. He emerged among the titans inside the wall andused his Armored Titanto breach the inner wall of the city. This led to the creation of the breach into the depths of Wall Maria territory and the flooding of a large portion of humanity. This caused years of despair and loss for many families, solidifying Reiner as a war criminal.
