Zeke Yeager

"If we'd never been born in the first place...we never would have had to suffer, either."

## Characteristics

### Species

Human
Intelligent Titan

## Physical Description

### Age

25 (850)
29 (854)

## Voice Actor

### English Voice

Jason Liebrecht

**Zeke Yeager** (ジーク・イェーガー , *Jīku Yēgā*?) is a main character in the fan-made series **Universal Warriors**.

Zeke was the former Captain (戦士長, *Senshi-chō*?) of Marley's Warrior Unit, assigned to take the Founding Titan from the Eldians of Paradis Island. He was the inheritor of the **Beast Titan**, and was considered to be the strongest warrior by **Reiner Braun**, contrasting **Levi Ackerman**'s title of "humanity's strongest soldier". He manipulated and deceived both sides of the war between Eldia and Marley in order to achieve his own agenda of causing the extinction of his own people, which he viewed as "salvation."

Zeke was the son of **Grisha Yeager** and **Dina Fritz**, the older half-brother of **Eren Yeager**, and a member of the royal family from his mother's side.

## Personality

Zeke was a very intelligent and curious man. He tried to communicate with Mike Zacharias in order to get information about the vertical maneuvering equipment and learn about Mike's language, though such curiosity was often characterized by a marked callous detachment.

He displayed the traits of a leader, giving orders and telling other people, sometimes even Titans, what to do. While he was talking with Mike, he told the Titan that was eating him to hold him instead of devouring him. If his orders were not followed, he did not hesitate to use brute force. This was seen when he crushed the head of the Titan that was eating Mike as soon as it disobeyed him, or when he beat Reiner to make him and Bertolt focus on acquiring the Founding Titan instead of saving Annie.  His decision to prioritize the capture of the Founding Titan over rescuing Annie, and his deduction that she was not really being tortured by her captors, demonstrates an ability to think tactically and prioritize mission objectives over sentimentality.

Zeke also seemed to be a cold, ruthless and sarcastic individual, though not explicitly sadistic. He has killed human soldiers without hesitation and let a group of Titans eat Mike when the latter had exhausted his usefulness, outwardly indifferent to the pain that he was about to endure. Instead, he mused over them speaking the same language.

However, in spite of Zeke's savage tendencies, he had been shown to take pity on the citizens living within the Walls. He had expressed that it is a "tragedy" that they continually sacrifice their lives trying to leave the Walls because their memories of the world have been taken away, viewing it as ultimately pointless. Zeke's condescending pity towards Paradis was strong enough to have driven him to outbursts of anger at times. To deal with these doubts, he often reminded himself during battle to not get worked up, and to find the "enjoyment" in life.

Zeke's views on the Eldians' prospects in society were extremely negative and nihilistic (possibly as a result of his childhood and lack of attention from both of his parents). As a teenager, he expressed his belief that it would have been better for the Subjects of Ymir to never have been born. He planned to free the world from its fear of the Titans and the Eldians from their suffering by using the Founding Titan's abilities to sterilize all Subjects of Ymir, thus leading to their eventual extinction within 100 years.

During Zeke's twenty-plus years of service as a Warrior (and later captain), he was known to be particularly efficient and ruthless. He acted highly militaristic towards the Warriors underneath him: he had no problem inflicting punishment or abandoning them if they should fail. Zeke would threaten Reiner with death if he continued his disobedience and, in the case of Bertolt, chose to simply cut his losses and left his subordinate to die in order to escape.

Outside of the battlefield, Zeke displayed a drastically different demeanor characterized by a much warmer, more affable exterior and a kind of quiet charisma, acting humble around his superiors and being prone to cracking jokes. Zeke also appeared to share a friendly relationship with his fellow Warriors, though Pieck would later remark on how duplicitous and secretive he always seemed. Ultimately, Eren seems to be the only person he truly cared about, as he feels that they were both victims of their father. Zeke promised to "save" him before, which Pieck would note as the only time she could tell that he was not lying. Zeke's affection towards Eren had since developed into a near-obsessive desire to have his sentiments validated by his half-brother to the point where he was willing to postpone the sterilization of the Eldians until Eren agreed with him. However, this affection for his brother appeared to have faded after learning the way that Eren manipulated their father through the Attack Titan's future memory ability, disgusted by the way Eren influenced Grisha to kill the Reiss family, and subsequently abandoned his attempt to try and get Eren to join his cause.

## Character Design

### Human form

In his human form, Zeke had a tall, broad, well-toned body with gray eyes, shaggy platinum blond hair, and a matching mustache that descended into his beard. He was seen wearing no shirt, loose pants, combat boots, and circular glasses. After his return to Marley, and the four-year time skip, Zeke began to sport a much more clean-cut look, contrasting his look while on Paradis Island. He had his hair cut much shorter, so that it no longer fell into his eyes, and sported a thinner beard.

### Titan form

In his Titan form, Zeke was an extremely unusual specimen, having a distinct, ape-like appearance. However, his posture was closer to that of a human's; like typical Titans, he walked bipedally. He stood at a previously unseen 17 meters in height. Dark fur covered a large part of his body, growing on his upper torso, shoulders, limbs, and groin, while also forming a beard and covering his scalp. His face, ears, extremities, and stomach were bare. He possessed pointed ears and teeth, unlike most Titans. The proportions of his upper body were similar to those of the Colossus Titan, possessing a very broad chest which dwarfed his head, as well as disproportionately slim arms. Additionally, his arms were elongated, with long fingers and very dexterous thumbs, allowing him to easily pick up delicate objects off the ground. His Titan's eyes possessed dark sclera and irises, making it difficult to determine where he was looking at any given moment.

## Abilities and Equipmemt

### Powers and Abilities

* **White Sword Soul**:

* Power of the Titans: Zeke was able to transform into a 17-meter Titan referred to as the **Beast Titan** (獣の巨人, *Kemono no Kyojin*?). He used the Titan and the power of his royal blood to transform the inhabitants of Ragako into titans and impose his will on them imperfectly. His skill in pitching transferred to his Titan, letting him throw projectiles to great distances, even destroying entire fleets using explosive shells. He retained the ability to speak even when transformed.

Some of his abilities are:

* **Communication**: Unlike most humans with Titan power, he was able to fluently speak without any issue in his Titan form, casually talking to mindless Titans and giving them orders which they can obey.
* **Titan Control**: Zeke's control was eventually revealed to be limited to those Titans that were transformed with injections directly from his own spinal fluid and a result of him being descended from the Fritz royal bloodline. However, his control over the Titans was not absolute, as one Titan continued to chew on Mike, despite Zeke ordering it not to.
* **Regeneration**: Just like all Titans, Zeke had the ability to regenerate any wound on his Titan or human body at a tremendous speed. After being fatally wounded by Levi, Zeke healed part of his face when he encounters Eren.
* **Enhanced Strength**: He possessed immense physical strength, enough to pick up a horse or even break off large chunks from Wall Rose and hurl them at a great distance away. His throwing ability was second to none, and he created a visible sonic boom when he threw rocks, effectively throwing them faster than over 700 feet per second. He also seemed to possess dexterous hands, as he managed to retrieve Mike's vertical maneuvering equipment without damaging him or the equipment.
* **Human Transformation**: Zeke possessed a scream that can transform Subjects of Ymir into Titans. These Titans, unlike the regular Titans encountered, were capable of functioning at night as long as the moon is out. In order for the human to turn into a Titan, all the human must do is to intake Zeke's spinal fluid and Zeke must use his scream at the targets, and after doing so, they turn into Titans. These Titans are connected to his Beast Titan via "paths" and obey his orders. There appears to be a range to this ability, although those out of range who are contaminated with Zeke's spinal fluid can still feel the influence of his scream, which they describe as a numbing electrical sensation.
* **Hardening**: Zeke was able to harden his Titan body at will to protect himself from attacks. However, this ability needed some time to prepare; during his brief battle with Levi, Zeke tried to harden the nape of his neck but was unable to due to Levi's increased speed and attack, not giving Zeke enough time to harden himself. While offering ample protection, it can be damaged and destroyed with the use of Thunder Spears.
* **Fighting Skills**: He seemed to be a very formidable fighter, since he was able to defeat the Armored Titan and inflict him considerable damage without sustaining any visible injury. He was also mentioned as "the most powerful Titan" in the final notes of Chapter 70. According to Reiner, while Levi is indeed powerful, the former claims that he is no match for their lead Warrior. It is unknown if Zeke possessed some combat knowledge outside his Titan form.

* **Overdrive** (オーバードライブ, "Ōbādoraibu"):

#### Skills

* **Piloting Skills**: He has excellent pilot skills and is much stronger than other pilots.He doesn't have the ability to say Ether Gear, etc., and MS controls by himself.

### Equipment

* **MSN-06S Sinanju Stein**

* **MSN-06S Sinanju**

* **NZ-999 Neo Zeong**

* **RX-0 Unicorn Gundam 03 Phenex**

* **Edens Zero** (エデンズ・ゼロ, "Edenzu Zero"): A large spaceship owned by Ziggy before giving it to Elsie Crimson so she can pass it on to Shiki.

* **Edens One** (EDENS(エデンズ) ONE(ワン), "Edenzu Wan"): A large spaceship he created to be the successor of the Edens Zero.

## Story

### Original

Zeke Yeager was born to Grisha Yeager and Dina Fritz, who were planning to overthrow the Marley government and put the Eldians back in power. Grisha was among the rebels when the Marley government announced the Warrior program, asking for Eldian children between the ages of five to seven to serve as potential Warriors, with the promise that their families would be given the title of Honorary Marleyans and be ensured freedom within the country.

 Grisha then decided to enter Zeke into the program to play the role of a spy for his cause.

At home, Zeke was routinely sent to his grandparents while both Dina and Grisha attended Eldian Restorationist meetings, with most of his visits being spent listening to his grandfather recounting stories of the Eldian race's crimes against the world. Over time, his parents' preoccupation with the Eldian Restorationists led them growing continuously distant with Zeke, with Grisha in particular showing very little investment in his son's life outside of his studies and performance as a Warrior candidate.

Initially, Zeke did not perform impressively as a Warrior Candidate, and his trouble keeping pace with his fellow candidates caused him to be ostracized by his peers and his instructor. However, he did manage to make one friend during his training: Tom Ksaver. After a day of routine training, Zeke happened to meet Ksaver while the man was in the middle of playing catch by himself. After some prodding from Ksaver, Zeke joined him in the game, and was thrilled to hear Ksaver complimenting him on his pitching skill. After returning home, Zeke tried to tell his parents about the experience, but found them in the middle of a meeting with a fellow restorationist. Zeke tried eavesdropping on the conversation, and listening in as his parents reassured Grice that he had the ability to save Eldia.

During another public training event, Zeke was once again outperformed by all of the other candidates. To his distress, Zeke observed that both his parents had come to watch, and was dismayed to see his father storm away from the field in frustration. That night, he cried in his room while listening to his parents argue over what to do about his poor performance.

After the training event, Ksaver tried to cheer him up during one of their games of catch, before joking that Zeke becoming a Warrior would be a dumb idea. Surprised to hear a Warrior slandering the Warrior Program, Zeke asked to know why Ksaver had chosen to become one. Ksaver's explanation, that he had wanted the opportunity to study the Titans scientifically, surprised Zeke but he agreed with Ksaver's assertion that neither of them were meant to be soldiers.

While cleaning the halls of the Warriors' headquarters, Zeke overheard that the Marleyan Authorities were close to discovering the location of the Eldian Restorationists. Knowing that this would sentence his entire family and himself to the border of Paradis to be converted to Pure Titans, Zeke went to his parents and begged them to stop, but was met only with their insistence that what they were doing needed to be done for the good of all Eldians. In a desperate attempt to appeal to his father, Zeke reminded him of Faye and asked if he would be okay with his own son meeting the same fate: this only managed to enrage Grisha. Terrified, Zeke tried to remind his parents that their whole family would be sent to Paradis if they were discovered, but Grisha only reiterated his previous statement that they needed to win back the rights that Marley had taken, in order to make sure that no one else met the same fate as Faye. Emotionally drained from the argument, Zeke pointed out that Faye only died because Grisha took her outside of Liberio without permission.

With no one else to turn to, Zeke revealed everything to Ksaver. Although Zeke had resigned himself to being sent to Paradis and spend an eternity as a Titan, Ksaver suggested that he turn his parents in so that only they would be punished; this would allow Zeke and his grandparents to go free. Zeke initially protested the idea but Ksaver insisted that there was no other way, reminding Zeke of all of the turmoil and strife he had experienced on account of his parents forcing their ideals on him without thought for his own feelings. After some thought, Zeke agreed and turned in his parents to secure his status in Marley's eyes as a loyal Warrior. Soon after, Grisha and Dina were sent to Paradis Island to be transformed into Pure Titans. Still not knowing the truth of Zeke's heritage, Marley sent him to be raised by his grandparents.

Despite believing he sent his father and mother to their deaths, Zeke sympathized with their goal to free the Eldian race. Thus, Zeke continued his parents' cause by operating from the shadows to secure the Eldians' freedom from Marley in his own way. Zeke continued playing catch with Ksaver regularly during his time in the Warrior program, often using the games as a time to have long discussions with him. During one such game, Ksaver revealed that the Founding Titan had the power not only to affect the memories of Subjects of Ymir, but also to change the composition of their bodies. Inspired by this, Zeke theorized that a holder of the Founding Titan might be able to use it to render all Subjects of Ymir sterile, so that they would die out within 100 years without a need for mass genocide. Noticing Ksaver not immediately tossing back the baseball, Zeke heard Ksaver reveal that he once had a family with a Marleyan woman who had killed herself and their son after learning he was an Eldian. Listening to his mentor lament his own birth, Zeke vowed to Ksaver that he would take back the Founding Titan from Paradis, and keep it out of Marley's hands to ensure that it could not be used to hurt anyone again. Soon after, Zeke was told the key in the planned euthanasia of the Eldians, the Founding Titan, must be in possession of someone who will agree to the plan and be in physical contact with a Titan descended from the royal family. Ksaver asked Zeke to find someone who is willing to go through with the plan.

At the age of 17, Zeke became the eldest of the Warrior candidates to be selected to receive the power of the Titans, inheriting the Beast Titan from Ksaver in the year 842. Zeke kept Ksaver's glasses after inheriting his Titan, as a memento of his former friend. It was subsequently discovered that through the administration of Zeke's spinal fluid into Subjects of Ymir, he would be able to trigger their transformation with a scream, and control their Titan forms afterwards, even when the moon was out. These abilities could not be explained by the Titan Biology Research Society, who were still unaware of Zeke's royal heritage.

One year after inheriting the Beast Titan, Zeke and his fellow Warriors used their Titan forms to crush an entire nation. Zeke used his Beast Titan form to bombard enemies, in the midst of retreat, with explosive ammunition. With the battle being a large success, the Marleyan army regarded the new Warriors as more effective than their predecessors. Zeke would later speak to his fellow Warriors about how the Marley government were preparing to begin the Paradis Island Operation in the next few years. It was decided that Zeke be kept in Marley alongside Pieck as a deterrent to enemy nations, while the other Warriors (Reiner, Bertolt, Annie and Marcel) were entrusted to take part in the journey to Paradis.

## Relationships

### Original

* Grisha Yeager
* Dina Fritz
* Mr. Yeager and Mrs. Yeager
* Tom Ksaver
* Theo Magath
* Reiner Braun and Bertolt Hoover
* Annie Leonhart
* Pieck Finger
* Eren Yeager
* Yelena
* Levi Ackerman
* Hange Zoë
* Colt Grice
* Armin Arlert

### Universal Warriors

#### The Universes

* Jennifer Amantea
* Natsu Dragneel
* Lucy Heartfilia
* Gray Fullbuster
* Erza Scarlet
* Wendy Marvell
* Aladdin
* Alibaba Saluja
* Morgiana
* Hakuryuu Ren
* Kouha Ren
* Sinbad
* Kougyoku Ren
* Gingka Hagane
* Kenta Yumiya
* Madoka Amano
* Yu Tendo
* Masamune Kadoya
* Benkei Hanawa
* Kyoya Tategami

#### The Another World

* Elie
* Rebecca Bluegarden
* Holy
* Feather
* Eraser
* Callum Steelford
* Lyra
* Nasseh
* Milani Lucra
* Yoh Asakura
* Silva
* Annie Leonhart
* Akihiro Altland
* Yukimura Sanada
* Nobunaga Oda
* Ieyasu Tokugawa
* Shiemi Moriyama
* Cheng-Long Liu
* Duke Hyou
* Kan Ki
* Mou Ten
* Ri Boku
* Slaine Troyard
* Elizabeth Liones
* Ikoma
* Mumei
* Biba Amatori
* Hikayu Hoshikawa
* Vladilena Milizé
* Sakura Li
* Kurogane
* Kaolan Wongsawat
* Brunhilde
* Lü Bu
* Kojiro Sasaki
* Poseidon
* Raiden Tameemon
* Qin Shi Huang
* Kei Mizusawa
* Naotora Takeda
* Tatsuomi Uesugi
* Tsubasa Tokugawa
* Soma Date
* Seiroku Inukawa
* Aijiro Inue
* Imari Inuyama
* Akira Renbokoji
* A-drei
* H-neun
* Susumu Kodai
* Shion Shishibe
* Germán Luís
* Raikou
* Tughril Mahmut
* Lelederik of Ellvaldez
* Al-Kaplan Balaban
* Nancy Schaal Bancroft
* Mischa
* Genjo Sanzo
* Alisha Diphda
* Noelle Silva
* Adele von Ascham
* Fena Houtman
* Atlee Ariel
* Zetsu Daidan
* Ren Sin
* Kyo Meiketsu
* Fine Forte
* Prax Conrad
* Virgo Fudō
* Torque
* Mora Chester

#### Family

* Yeager Family

* Grisha Yeager (Father; Deceased)
* Eren Yeager *(half-brother)*
* Faye Yeager *(aunt, deceased)*
* Mr. Yeager *(grandfather)*
* Mrs. Yeager *(grandmother)*

* Fritz Family

* Dina Fritz *(mother, deceased)*

* Ymir Fritz *(ancestor, deceased)*
* Maria Fritz *(ancestor, deceased)*
* Rose Fritz *(ancestor, deceased)*
* Sheena Fritz *(ancestor, deceased)*
* Karl Fritz *(relative, deceased)*
* Historia Reiss *(relative)*

## Trivia

* According to his Character Profile:

* Zeke's favorite subject is national language, while his least favorite subject is politics and economy.
* His favorite food is salmiak pie and disliked food is spicy food and hot's food.
* Zeke prefers big-breasted woman and he doesn't like bewitching woman by Nentou.
* His hobby is playing base ball and weaknesses is .
* His favorite music is western music.

* Zeke ranked twentieth in the Third Character Popularity Poll.
* Zeke's first appearance was in a sketch by Hajime Isayama given to the Ueno Park Royal Museum, before his first manga appearance in Chapter 70.
* Zeke's name is the shortened form of "Ezekiel," which is Hebrew in origin meaning "God will strengthen." In Biblical literature, Ezekiel was a prophet among the Hebrews exiled to Babylon who prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem and Israel's restoration.

* The katakana for Zeke's name is identical to that of the German word "Sieg," meaning "victory." This thematically fits with Grisha Yeager's intentions for his son, who he believed would lead Eldia to victory.

* Zeke's Titan appearance resembles a number of cryptids, such as the Sasquatch/Bigfoot, Yeti, and Yowie.
* In the final notes of Chapter 70, Zeke is described as "the most powerful Titan." However, this is contradictory with his stats revealed in *Attack on Titan Guidebook* where he got a 7 (of 10) in "power", being surpassed by the Armored Titan with 8 and the Colossus Titan with 11.

* On the other hand, he has an 11 (of 10) in "smart," making him the most intelligent character of the series so far along with Hange Zoë, suggesting that his true power not only relies on raw strength.

* Zeke is a fan of baseball, referring to his boulder tosses as "pitches" with the hopes of achieving a "perfect game" in the battle of Shiganshina. This stems back to Zeke's time spent playing catch with Tom Ksaver.
* Zeke seems to be a person who suffers from *cat's tongue* (猫舌, *Nekojita*?) which means that he cannot stand hot or spicy food.
* He shares the same birthday with Reiner Braun.
* In Chapter 86, a young Zeke is seen playing with a long-armed monkey toy, foreshadowing his Beast Titan form in his later life. This toy is identical to one previously possessed by Ksaver's son.
* Zeke is the second known person with the Power of the Titans to die without being eaten by a Pure Titan.
* Back Arrow says he is sometimes called "Ape" or "Boy Wonder".
* Through actions direct and indirect Zeke is responsible for many of the series main events.

* Turning in the Eldian Restorationists into the Marleyan authorities in the year 832 would result in:
	1. Most of the Restorationists being turned into Titans, and would later breach Trost District in the year 850 and devour many Garrison and 104th Cadet Corps members.
	2. Dina being turned into a mindless Titan who would later devour Carla Yeager, Grisha's second wife, after Bertolt breached the Walls in 845 and trigger Eren's desire to kill the Titans. Dina would later devour Hannes in 850 and led to Eren discovering his inherited Founding Titan power, who unwillingly inherited it from Grisha who'd slaughtered the Reiss family to obtain it.
	3. Eren's very birth as Grisha would inheriting the Attack Titan from the Eldian spy Eren Kruger and reach the Walls to reclaim the Founding Titan where he'd meet Carla.
* Zeke is responsible for the deaths of the citizens of Ragako village by turning them into Titans, including Connie Springer's family, who'd also kill many civilians within Wall Rose until killed by the Survey Corps and Garrison. This resulted in humanity within the Walls learning the origins of the Titans as humans.
* Zeke is also responsible for the near decimation of the Survey Corps in 850 having killed Mike Zacharias, Nanaba, Gelgar, Lynne and Henning during the *Clash of the Titans* arc, and later killed Erwin Smith, Marlowe Freudenberg, Dirk, Sandra, Gordon, Klaus, Varis and 49 other unnamed Survey Corps members during the *Return to Shiganshina* arc. This left only 9 members of the Survey Corps alive.
* He's also indirectly responsible for allowing humanity within the Walls to obtain the Female and Colossal Titans as he opt to abandon Annie (still crystallized within the interior) and focus on capturing Eren, and abandoned Bertolt to be devoured by Armin.

* The Beast Titan's appearance resembles several ape-like cryptids, such as the Sasquatch/Bigfoot, Yeti, and Yowie.
* The Beast Titan is the first Titan fully capable of advanced communication, speaking the human language effortlessly. It also shows greater dexterity and fine-motor control, allowing it to remove Mike Zacharius's gear without damaging it.

## Gallery

*Main article: Zeke Yeager/Image Gallery*
## References

1. ↑ *Attack on Titan* manga: Chapter 86 (p. 38-39)
3. ↑ Ueno Park Royal Museum image, Tokyo
4. ↑ Ezekiel on Wikipedia