Zeke Yeager

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

Zeke's idea of salvation

Dina Fritz (Mother Deceased)
Grisha Yeager (Father Deceased)
Eren Yeager (Half Brother)
Mikasa Ackerman (Half Sister-in Law)
Apple Bloom (Adoptive Niece)
Almanzo Williams (Adoptive Nephew-in Law)
Yeager (Grandfather Deceased)
Unnamed Grandmother (Deceased)
Faye Yeager (Aunt Deceased)
Ymir Fritz (Ancestor Deceased)
King Fritz (Ancestor Deceased)
Maria Fritz (Ancestor Deceased)
Rose Fritz (Ancestor Deceased)
Sina Fritz (Ancestor Deceased)
Rod Reiss (Realitve Deceased)
Rod's Wife (Realtive Deceased)
Uri Reiss (Realtive Deceased)
Rod and Uri's Father (Realtive Deceased)
Frieda Reiss (Realitve Deceased)
Uklin Reiss (Realtive Deceased)
Dirk Reiss (Relative Deceased)
Abel Reiss (Realtive Deceased)
Florian Reiss (Realtive Deceased)

(842-854)
(829-842)

(854-Current)

## Overview

**Zeke Yeager** (ジーク・イェーガー  *Jīku Yēgā*?) Was the secondary antagonist of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic with Reiner and Bertholdt. He 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,[17] contrasting Levi Ackerman's title of "humanity's strongest soldier."[18] He manipulated and deceived both sides of the war between Eldia, Equestria, Grogar, and Marley in order to achieve his own agenda of causing the extinction of his own people, which he views 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.

## Appearance

### 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 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 Colossal 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.

## Personality

Zeke was a very intelligent and curious man. He tried to communicate with Miche Zacharias in order to get information about the vertical maneuvering equipment and learn about Miche'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.

## History

Zeke Yeager was born to Grisha Yeager and Dina Fritz,[35] who were planning to overthrow the Marley government and put the Eldians back in power.[36] 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,[37] and Grisha 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.[38] 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.

Zeke did not perform impressively as a Warrior Candidate initially, and his trouble keeping pace with his fellow cadets 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.[39]

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 arguing 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.[40]

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,[41][42] 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 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.[43] 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.[44]

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 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 had 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.[45]

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.[47] Zeke kept Ksaver's glasses after inheriting his Titan, as a memento of his former friend.[48] 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.[49]

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.[50] 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.[51] It was decided that Zeke be kept in Marley alongside Pieck as a deterrent to enemy nations, while the other Warriors (Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie and Marcel) were entrusted to take part in the journey to Paradis.

## Story

### Clash of the Titans arc

Five years after the start of the Paradis Island Operation, Zeke travels with Pieck and a small number of Marleyan soldiers to Paradis Island to infiltrate the Walls. After arriving, the group locates a small village inside of Wall Rose, and choose to turn its residents into Titans. The soldiers release a gas laced with Zeke's spinal fluid into the air, which is blown into the village and inhaled by the villagers. Zeke then lets out a scream, triggering all the affected Eldians to begin transforming into Titans.[53]

As Zeke proceeds farther into Wall Rose in his Titan form, he is spotted by Miche Zacharias, who instantly notes the strangeness of his characteristics and mistakes him for a regular abnormal. As Miche horse races back to him, Zeke notices it and throws it at Miche, preventing the latter from escaping and causing him to lose his footing and fall into the mouth of one of Zeke's Titans.

Before the Titan can devour Miche, Zeke orders it to refrain from eating, intent on questioning the soldier about his vertical maneuvering equipment.[54] The Titan disobeys Zeke and continues to try to eat Miche, prompting Zeke to crush its head. He then proceeds to interrogate Miche, but quickly gives up when the man neglects to respond out of shock. Zeke assumes that they either do not speak the same language or Miche is too frightened to respond to him, and instead notes that Miche uses swords, indicating that the soldiers of the Walls are aware that the nape is the Titans' weakness. He removes Miche's equipment for further inspection, and takes his leave.

As he is leaving, Zeke hears Miche's cries of defiance, and allows the surrounding Titans to devour him. As Miche screams in horror and pain, Zeke notes that they spoke the same language after all before turning his attention to inspecting the vertical maneuvering equipment, ignoring Miche's screams.

Zeke is later seen wandering around outside Utgard Castle where several members of the Survey Corps have been trapped by his Titans. As his Titans surround the castle, Zeke climbs up Wall Rose and watches the ensuing battle.[56]

After the soldiers kill most of the larger Titans, Zeke begins throwing large stones at the tower, killing Lynne, Henning, and the soldiers' remaining horses.[57] He then screams, summoning more Titans to continue the assault on the castle. Afterwards, Zeke climbs over the Wall and disappears into the lost territory of Wall Maria.

Two days later, Zeke stops in Shiganshina District and exits his Titan's body, seemingly anticipating something to come.

### Gabby Gums arc

At the time Historia Reiss is crowned queen (roughly two months after both Reiner and Bertolt are exposed as traitors and escape the Survey Corps), Zeke, and Nova arrive in Shiganshina to wait for the scouts.

### Attack on Canterlot arc

Zeke throws a barrel containg Fluttershy into Canterlot

### Civil War arc

Zeke remains indifferent to the conflict between Twilight and Applejack after the CMCs are blamed for a crime caused by the Mayor

### The Lynch King arc

Zeke joins the battle as the Beast Titan.

### Journey Across Diemensions

Zeke joins Smolder in Gallaus in the world of the Seven Deadly Sins

### War For Equestria arc

Levi takes Zeke to the Titan Forest, informing him that that is where he will be staying. Marveling at the sight, Zeke asks Levi if he can show the trees to Gabi and Zofia, but is told that it depends on his own actions.[103] While Zeke is being guarded inside of the forest, he explains how he was able to transform the citizens of Ragako. Levi is bothered by Zeke's nonchalant explanation, accusing him of having no concern for human life. Zeke waves away Levi's criticisms, explaining that his loyalty to Marley would have been questioned if he had not complied with his orders. Changing the subject, Zeke requests to know when he will be able to begin experimenting with Eren's Titan abilities, but Levi claims he is not allowed to answer. Zeke claims that it would be unwise to remain inactive for much longer, to which Levi readily agrees. He later asks if there is any wine left and Levi informs him that the soldiers drank it all; Zeke sarcastically mentions that Levi comes up with the worst punishments. As Levi walks off, Zeke sees an opportunity to escape and darts into the forest. Before Levi or any of the other soldiers can stop him, Zeke lets out a piercing scream. This triggers all the Survey Corps soldiers in the camp who drank the wine to transform into Titans, which fall out of the trees around Levi.[105] Confident that Levi would not slaughter his own subordinates, Zeke mockingly states he did not want to do this but laments this is not a proper conflict; regardless, he summons three of the newly created Titans and bids farewell to Levi.[106] He ponders if the Eldians truly understand the ramifications of their surprise attack on Liberio and inwardly states that only himself and Eren truly know the costs. As he plans to have the Titans take him to the agreed upon meeting place with Eren, Zeke is stunned to see a bloodied and angered Levi appear in front of him. Zeke frantically orders two of the Titans to attack him and then subsequently transforms into the Beast Titan.[107] He immediately hardens his nape and scans the area for Levi; finding him, Zeke tears apart the final surviving Titan and throws the bloody Titan pieces towards his foe. He chastises Levi for killing his subordinates and notices many tree branches falling towards him. Zeke is unable to spot Levi among the branches, and is struck by several Thunder Spears that pierce through the hardened nape of the Beast Titan. Horrified, he only has a moment to process this before Levi detonates the spears, severely injuring Zeke

Sometime later, Zeke awakens tied up on a carriage with a Thunder Spear sticking out of his abdomen. Levi informs him that the fuse and triggering mechanism are tied around his neck and any sudden movements can set it off. While Zeke vomits uncontrollably, Levi begins to slice off Zeke's legs to prevent him from transforming, making Zeke scream in agony. Only half conscious, Zeke asks where his glasses are, before having his memories of Ksaver flash before his eyes.[109] Zeke mutters about his plan to euthanize the Eldian nation to ensure the world's safety. Levi mocks him for this, declaring that his impending death at the hands of a Titan is too merciful for the lives he has taken. Zeke weakly protests that he was saving their potential children's lives by killing them, prompting Levi to angrily prepare to cut off his legs again. Suddenly, Zeke screams out Ksaver's name and jerks his head back, pulling the pin on the Thunder Spear lodged in his stomach, causing an explosion.[110]

The explosion leaves Zeke completely mutilated, his wounds too severe for his body to regenerate from. As he begins to succumb to his injuries, Zeke recalls the meeting he had with Eren in which the two of them agreed to sterilize the Eldian race.[111] As Zeke loses consciousness, one of the Titans he created regenerates and approaches his body. Rather than devour him, the Titan tears open its own stomach and places him inside.

Zeke regains consciousness to find himself alone in an unknown location. Surprised to discover that he is somehow still alive, he notices a lone girl silently reconstructing his body out of soil. As this occurs, Zeke looks above him and notices strange patterns in the "sky." He theorizes that he has experienced a Path,[113] and that the girl before him is his ancestor Ymir Fritz.

After a short time, Zeke is released from the Titan's stomach, fully healed from his injuries.

He watches on as the Yeagerists pursue Hange, and Levi efore being approached by them with Thunderlanes trying to ask him what happened.[114] Waving off his questions, Zeke proclaims that they just have to move forward before departing with the bandtis

Zeke arrives in Shiganshina to find the district under siege from the Legion of Doom, and Marley's forces as well as Eren locked in combat with one of Grogar's monsters. After climbing to the top of Wall Maria in his Titan form, Zeke launches debris which knocks the monster off of Eren and commends his younger brother for standing against Grogar's forces, comforting him that he will now take care of the enemies.[116] Zeke throws a barrage of stones which destroy at least some of the Marleyan airships before turning his focus towards Chryisals and Magath. He manges to Kill Magath by throwing a chunk of wall maria at his head.[117] After the Marleyans forces begin to fall back, he spots the monster charging at Eren and proceeds to bombard it ,[118] as well as another when it tries to ambush Eren.

Zeke begins to gloat about how close he and Eren are to achieving their dream but is silenced after spotting the charred remains of the Cart Titan. Believing Nova to have perished in the attack, he mourns his former comrade's death, but she is alive. However, The Lynch King takes this momment to fire an anti titan gun at Zeke. Before Zeke can react The lynch king fires a round from the anti-Titan artillery damaging his Titan's nape and shearing off much of his human body. Incapacitated by this, Zeke plummets off the Wall and crashes into the ground. As Zeke comes to his senses, he sees Eren grappling with the monster and announces to his brother that he will transform the soldiers who have ingested his spinal fluid. Struggling to get to his feet, Zeke  lets out a scream, triggering all the affected Eldians to transform into Pure Titans.

Seeing Eren struggling to get away from the monster, Zeke orders one of the newly transformed Titans to kill it, which the titan does. After giving the command, Zeke is subsequently shot by the lynch king's anti-Titan artillery a second time. Exiting their Titans to make it appear that they have both been defeated, Zeke crawls towards Eren and reaches out towards his brother. However, before the two can reach each other, Eren is decapitated by a blast from an anti-Titan rifle fired by a marlyean soldier.

Eren's head lands in Zeke's outstretched hand, allowing him to activate the Founding Titan before Eren can die from his injuries.[125] Zeke arrives in the Coordinate first and is forced to wait for Eren. While waiting, he uses his time to learn more about the Founding Titan, culminating in him learning to break Karl Fritz's vow of nonaggression.

Zeke waits in chains until Eren finally arrives, along with Twilight Sparkle informing his confused younger brother, and pony that they are inside the Coordinate.[126] As Ymir Fritz approaches them, Zeke explains her presence to Eren and Twiligt, theorizing that she uses the sand in the Coordinate to create the Nine Titans and heal their users' bodies when they are injured.[127] Zeke encourages Eren to command Ymir to begin their euthanasia plan, but Eren first asks about Zeke's chains; Zeke claims that the chains are what keeps Karl Fritz's descendants from acting freely. To Zeke's despair, Eren reveals that he has no intention of following the euthanasia plan and was only using his brother as a means to activate the Founder.[128] Heartbroken, Zeke reveals to Eren, and Twilight that he freed himself from Fritz's vow while waiting for Eren, and that Ymir will only obey a person with royal blood.[129] Chaining Eren, Zeke laments that Eren has been brainwashed by Grisha, but promises to save him. Despite Eren's protests, Zeke begins showing him, and Twilight their father's memories.[130]

As the brothers, and Twilight systematically observe Grisha's memories of his time on Paradis, Zeke bitterly notes how seemingly easy it was for Grisha to move on to a new family and forget about his old one. He shows Eren how Grisha used his occupation as a doctor to socialize with nobles to try to gain information on the royal family, despite the risk such actions would pose for his family. Zeke himself is surprised to learn that Grisha apparently delayed his mission upon discovering the Reiss family's chapel out of love for his new family, coldly admitting that Grisha might have learned from his failure with Zeke. To Zeke's shock, his musings are interrupted by a scene of Grisha seemingly trying to apologize to his first son in his sleep.[131]

The two brothers along with Twiligth continue their journey through Grisha's memories, with Zeke admitting that Eren was evidently not brainwashed by Grisha. In light of this, Zeke questions Eren on why he betrayed him, and what he had planned to do with the Founder's power. Eren answers by stating he had always been this way and that the pitiful brother Zeke had wished for does not exist in him. Despite this, Zeke promises to save Eren by opening his eyes to the danger Eldia presents, deciding to do this before saving the world with his euthanasia plan.[132]

Zeke Eren and Twilight eventually arrive at the date Grisha steals the Founding Titan from Frieda at the Reiss Chapel. While watching the memory play out, Zeke notices Eren's face distorted with rage at listening to King Fritz's ideology, and is later astonished when Grisha explains the Attack Titan's ability to peer into its future inheritors' memories. Zeke is shocked once more when Grisha finds himself unable to kill the Reiss family, confused as to whether the past had changed. His shock quickly turns to angst, however, when Eren begins talking to their father, encouraging him to fight.

Outside of the chapel, Grisha, faintly aware of Zeke's presence, despairingly reveals to him that the future will not go his way but Eren's. However, he tells Zeke that when seeing one of Eren's memories from the future, what he saw was terrible. Grisha becomes fully aware of Zeke's presence and emotionally embraces him, expressing regret that he was a poor father and still loves him. Grisha ends by pleading Zeke to stop Eren.[134]

In the unknown land, Zeke breaks away from Eren, and looks at him with horror while processing the fact Eren had been the one to push Grisha to fight, and had shown certain memories to their father in order to manipulate him. Eren thanks Zeke for allowing him to access Grisha's path, thereby enabling the future he had seen within his father's memories to occur. Terrified, Zeke orders Ymir Fritz to steal the ability to reproduce from the Subjects of Ymir. As she begins walking towards the pillar of light, Zeke tells Eren that Grisha had wished to stop him, having seen part of Eren's future Eren had not. When Eren escapes his chains after a struggle, Zeke says that it is pointless, as once Ymir begins to move, nothing is capable of stopping her.[135]

Eren embraces Ymir and begs her to help him end the world with her power, to Zeke's alarm. He is even more shocked to see that Ymir has stopped moving and begins frantically trying to reach his brother and Ymir, repeatedly ordering Ymir to obey his previous command. However, before he can reach them Ymir agrees to help Eren.

Upon Eren's transformation, Zeke is evidently eaten and loses control of his body. What remains of his being is left alone in Paths until he is joined by Apple Bloom who had met a similar fate after confronting Eren's Founding Titan. After she attempt to introduce herself Zeke asks Apple Bloom, if Ymir also ate her.

Apple Bloom sits with Zeke and listens as Zeke explains his theory about the origin of life. Zeke theorizes that all lifeforms find their meaning by "multiplying" and that it was a resultant fear of death which caused Ymir to spawn her undying Titan body and escape to the world of the Path. Zeke theorizes that the reason she continued to obey the Fritz family for 2000 years was because she still felt a connection to the world and that she likely chose to help Eren because he was the first person able to understand her. Apple Bloom tries to get Zeke to tell her how to escape the Path world, but Zeke believes there is no point in continuing to fight. Apple Bloom reminds the man that their allies are fighting for the lives of innocent people, but Zeke points out that every living thing must die eventually.

Apple Bloom begins recalling memories from her childhood which brought meaning to her life despite their insignificance; Zeke looks up and is startled to see Apple Bloom holding a baseball. Taking it from her, Zeke recalls the times he would play catch with Ksaver and admits that the time was indeed precious for him. He muses that he would like to play catch again even if the game did not mean anything. Turning, Zeke sees the former Titan inheritors standing behind him, including his father and Ksaver. He stands to meet them, admitting to Ksaver that even though he still thinks their euthanasia plan was right he would not mind being born again if it meant they could play catch again. He thanks Grisha for his life and asks his two father figures to lend him their strength.

Zeke emerges from Eren's Titan and begins calling for Levi. After getting his attention, Zeke takes a moment to admire the day and laments that he did not notice its beauty sooner. He wryly admits that he did not deserve to notice given the atrocities he has committed before being decapitated by Levi.

## Abilities

### 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.

* **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.

## Relationships

* **Grisha Yeager** - As a child, Zeke could sense his father becoming distant with him and was often envious of other children who had a more positive relationship with their fathers. When the Marley government decided to recruit Eldian Warriors, Grisha forced Zeke to enlist as the Eldian Restorationists' mole. For two years, Grisha forced his beliefs and philosophy into Zeke's mind; this would soon cause Zeke to harbor resentment towards his father for using him. Around twenty years later, Zeke learned his father survived banishment and fathered another son. He later mentions that both he and his half-brother Eren are "victims" of Grisha and have been brainwashed by him, showing his continued dislike for his father. Furthermore, he has "disowned" Grisha as his father, calling him detestable. Despite having poor views on his father, Zeke eventually learned that Grisha regretted his poor treatment of his first son, greatly shocking him. When Zeke and Eren saw Grisha's past memories, Grisha was somehow able to see Zeke and tearfully apologized for making him suffer as a child and being a terrible father. Grisha embraced Zeke, who was shocked by this sudden display of emotion, and actually called him "Dad." Shortly before ordering Ymir to sterilize all Subjects of Ymir, Zeke mentions Grisha's plea to stop Eren, implying that he wanted to follow his father's wishes.
* **Dina Fritz** - It is presumed that, just like with his father, Zeke initially had a positive relationship with his mother Dina. Eventually, her commitments towards the Eldian Restorationists led him to view her in a negative light just like with Grisha. Despite this, Zeke was crestfallen to hear of his mother's demise while on Paradis Island.
* **Mr. Yeager and Mrs. Yeager** - As Zeke's grandparents on his father's side, following the arrest of his parents, Zeke was cared for by them. Zeke loves them greatly as he was seen fondly greeting them upon his return home after the conclusion of the Marley Mid-East War.
* **Tom Ksaver** - Zeke met Tom by chance as a child during his early days as a Warrior cadet and would soon view him as both a friend and a surrogate father figure in his life, often going to Tom for advice on what to do. He would soon learn of Tom's history and vow to succeed him as the Beast Titan; due to Tom's influence in his life, Zeke would also begin to develop his ideology and drive to take back the Founding Titan.
* **Theo Magath** - Magath had evidently watched over Zeke to some extent throughout the 22 years Zeke had spent in service to Marley and even was his instructor when Zeke first joined the Warrior program. While he expected Zeke to display the respect towards Marleyan authority that would be expected of any Eldian, he nonetheless openly expressed how impressed Zeke left him with his words and actions. He was willing to disclose valuable military information with Zeke, and even accepted his advice on the issues faced by such matters. Magath no longer viewed Zeke favorably following his actions during the battle of Liberio, and saw him as a threat to Marley from that point on.
* **Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover** - As a fellow Warrior, Zeke serves as Reiner and Bertolt's superior. While offering encouragement to the two Warriors, he does not hesitate in displaying his dominance as a Captain, settling disagreements he has with them through combat; a prime example is Zeke's fight with Reiner over his decision to forsake Annie's well-being in favor of waiting in Shiganshina for the Founding Titan. He is also not above threatening them, as seen when he threatens to have Reiner give up his Titan, and his life in the process, to another Warrior if he ever challenges Zeke to combat and loses again. Four years after their defeat, Zeke still seems to hold Reiner in contempt blaming both himself and Reiner for the war with the Mid-East Allies and the current situation with the Eldians. However, the two of them are still able to work together on the battlefield with Reiner taking enemy fire in Zeke's stead. After Zeke betrays Marley, any camaraderie between Reiner and Zeke is severed, and they later meet on opposing sides of the battlefield.

* **Annie Leonhart** - Zeke appears to be very familiar with Annie, as displayed by his knowledge of her expertise in kicks and his tendency to affectionately refer to her as "Little Annie" (アニちゃん *Ani-chan*?). Despite this familiarity, he made the decision to wait to save Annie until after he had received the Founding Titan, prioritizing the power over Annie. However, despite his apparent lack of care for Annie, Zeke seems to trust her abilities to an extent, explaining to Bertolt and Reiner that he believes Annie is fine, and in hiding, as she is skilled enough to avoid being captured, and her Titan powers are enough to keep anyone from attempting to harm her.

* **Nova Pieck** - Zeke and Pieck appear to share a close camaraderie. During a meeting in his office, Zeke is shown to greatly admire Pieck's intellect and ability to deduce and solve problems. Following the revelation of Zeke's betrayal, Pieck plays a role in significantly injuring him during Marley's counterattack showing that whatever camaraderie the pair shared is gone. Despite Zeke's intentions to actually kill Pieck during Grogar's Final Assualt, he laments the way she was allegedly killed by the Yeagerists.

* **Eren Yeager** - Eren is Zeke's younger half-brother. Zeke first learned of him when Reiner and Bertholdt Hoover return from their mission and understood Eren was born from his father's second family. Though their first encounter was as enemies during the Battle of Shiganshina District, by the time of the Raid on Liberio, they were already working together over their mutual goals and belief that they both were victims of their father's brainwashing. Eren trusts Zeke enough to turn against his friends at the Survey Corps and plot with him an attack on Marley behind their backs and eventually overthrow the military of Paradis, with the aid of the Anti-Marleyan Volunteers and Yeagerists.*[citation needed]* Likewise, Zeke appreciates having a younger brother whom he can be honest with and relate to, and rushed to support him by attacking his former fellow Warriors when they were trying to eat him and steal the Founding Titan. Pieck also noted that the encounter between Zeke and Eren at Shiganshina was the first time she saw Zeke being honest. Eventually, it is revealed that Eren had been deceiving Zeke and refuses to go along with his plan to sterilize the Subjects of Ymir, which shocks and hurts Zeke. At first, he believes this is their father's will and memories controlling him, but this is later proven false, and Zeke later becomes horrified when he finds out Eren used the Attack Titan's ability to send future memories to a predecessor at an earlier point in time, to motivate Grisha into slaughtering the Reiss family and stealing the Founding Titan. Despite his earlier statement of not giving up on Eren and not triggering his "euthanasia" plan until they reached an agreement, Zeke changes his mind and presumably gives up on Eren. When Eren succeeds in stopping Ymir Fritz (the source of the Founder's powers) from putting the plan into effect, Zeke becomes visibly distressed when Eren asks her to aid him in "ending the world."

* **Yelena** - Zeke saved Yelena's life during the Marley Mid-East War, after which she started to idolize and see him as a god, following his commands without question. As one of Zeke's closest followers, it is presumed that Zeke holds great respect and admiration for Yelena. He trusted her enough to reveal his euthanization plan to her, which she believed would save the world. And after Zeke was defeated and betrayed by Eren, Yelena continues to believe that Zeke's euthanization plan was the only way to do it.

* **Levi Ackerman** - As the Beast Titan and superior to Annie, Reiner, and Bertolt, Zeke serves as one of Levi's greatest enemies. In turn, Levi's status as humanity's strongest soldier made him a priority target for Zeke. During the battle of Shiganshina, Levi blinded and severely wounded Zeke. In vengeance, he told the remaining Titans to kill Levi. While trying to save Bertolt shortly afterwards, Zeke was shocked to see Levi had survived and followed him, forcing him into a tactical retreat. Four years later, when Zeke returned to Marley and reported the events, he admitted that he never wanted to meet Levi or any Ackerman again. After Levi helps lead a surprise attack on Marley, Zeke does not hesitate to order Levi to be killed. After four years, it is presumed that Zeke's hatred for Levi has mellowed to some degree as they both helped coordinate the attack on Liberio and acted civil to each other during the escape. Despite this, Zeke and Levi still share a mutual dislike for each other and do not hesitate to insult each other with Levi threatening to kill him on multiple occasions. Their animosity returns after Zeke triggers many Survey Corps soldiers to transform into Titans and tries to escape in order to rendezvous with Eren.

* **Hange Zoë** - Zeke seemed to have a cordial relationship with Hange Zoë as they were seen conversing with each other as the Survey Corps were leaving from Liberio. He initially did not see Hange as an enemy and helped coordinate the Liberio raid with them and Levi; however, after aligning with his brother and his group of rebels, it is presumed that Zeke saw Hange as an enemy once more.
* **Colt Grice** - As the candidate set to inherit the Beast Titan from Zeke, the two shared a close camaraderie. Colt greatly admired Zeke's high status and influence in the Marley military as well as his unique ability to create and control Titans. The two had a mentor and protégé relationship with Colt standing by his side in important meetings and even playing catch together. Their relationship, however, did not stop Zeke from activating his scream to transform all the affected Eldians, including Falco, although he admitted it was a pity and had a somber look in his eyes.
* **Apple Bloom**- Zeke had very few interactions with Apple Bloom, to the point that upon meeting him in the Paths, Zeke simply referred to her as "Twilight Sparkle's friend".However, the two of them converse with one another in the Paths; Apple Bloom pleads with Zeke to help find a way to escape, while Zeke asks Apple Bloom why bother fighting since death is inevitable and life is full of suffering. Apple Bloom tells Zeke memories of his past that he found to be most enjoyable and finds meaning in those moments. This strikes deep in Zeke, who remembers how much fun he had simply playing catch with Tom in his youth. Zeke is inspired by Apple Bloom's words, and manages to also discover joy and meaning in life, and agrees to help Apple Bloom stop the Rumbling.

## Killed Victims

*Directly*

Lynne

Henning

Braeburn

Babs Seed

Rockhoof

Igenous Rock Pue

Cloudy Quartz

Limestone Pie

Maud Pie

Nile Dok

Filthy Rich

Floch Forster

Lighting Dusk

Princess Celestia

Princess Luna

Tender Taps

*Indirectly*

Miche Zachiurus

Gelger

Nannaba

Gladmane

Applejack

Rarity

Conny's father

Sunny Springer

Martin Springer

Varis

Roeg

Porco Galliard

Lara Tybur

*Failed Attempts*

Levi Ackerman

## Trivia

* 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.[193]
* 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.[194]
	+ 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.[35]
* 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."[148] However, this is contradictory with his stats revealed in *Attack on Titan Guidebook* where he got a 7 (of 10) in "power",[138] being surpassed by the Armored Titan with 8[195] and the Colossus Titan with 11.[196]
	+ 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,[197] 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.[198] This stems back to Zeke's time spent playing catch with Tom Ksaver.[199]
* Zeke seems to be a person which suffers from *cat's tongue* (猫舌 *Nekojita*?) which means that he cannot stand hot or spicy food.[200]
* He shares a 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.[201] This toy is identical to one previously possessed by Ksaver's son.[202]
* Zeke and Historia Reiss are the only living people who have royal blood.