Levi Ackerman is one of the most powerful characters in Attack On Titan. Throughout most of the manga series, he was known as humanity's strongest soldier, as no other character from Paradis could defeat him. In fact, Levi proved himself to be one of the most powerful human warriors in the story. However, as the series progressed, a few characters were shown to be stronger than him,

Moreover, Levi was even surpassed by some of those who were initially weaker than him at the beginning of the manga. Nonetheless, Levi was still an incredibly powerful character, with very few being able to defeat him in a direct fight. After all, it would take the most powerful combatants to keep up with Levi and win against him. Overall, there are only three characters strong enough to take Levi down.

Updated on March 13, 2024, by Ajay Aravind: Eren Yeager might be the protagonist of Attack on Titan, but Captain Levi Ackerman quickly garnered a dedicated fan club for himself. One of the most interesting characters in the story, Levi has also acquired a name for himself as "humanity's strongest soldier." In other words, there aren't a lot of people who could challenge him to a fight and win. As such, we've updated this list with some more relevant information.

Characters Levi Ackerman Could Defeat

Erwin Smith Proves To Be An Exceptional Leader

Role

Debut

Japanese VA

English VA

13th Scout Regiment Commander

Episode 1 "To You, in 2000 Years: The Fall of Shiganshina, Part 1"

Daisuke Ono

J. Michael Tatum

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Erwin was the 13th Commander of the Survey Corps, earning the respect of his entire regiment. Although Levi hated him when they first met, they eventually became very close friends. With Erwin being brilliant and a great leader, he and Levi made a great team. However, Levi would unquestionably win if the two of them were to fight each other.

A fight between Levi and Erwin almost happened in a prequel series, Attack on Titan: No Regrets, where Levi joined the Survey Corps to kill the commander. However, by the end of the prequel, they understood each other and became the iconic duo fans know them to be. Erwin did eventually die due to a decision that Levi made, but it was one that ultimately turned out to be right.

Porco Galliard Was One Of The Last Warriors To Inherit A Titan

Porco looks grumpily to the side in Attack on Titan.

Role

Debut

Japanese VA

English VA

Jaw Titan

Episode 58 "Attack Titan"

Toshiki Masuda

Kellen Goff

Porco was one of the last warriors who inherited a Titan, obtaining the power from an unwilling Ymir. He had heard stories about Levi from his comrades who fought the Survey Corps at Shiganshina, so he already knew he had to be cautious. When the Survey Corps invaded Marley, however, Porco found out the hard way that these stories were true. He was nearly killed by Levi, proving that he was no match for humanity's strongest soldier.

In fact, Porco was shocked that the Survey Corps wasn't afraid to fight him, and though he tried his best to defeat his enemies, he was too reckless. Porco would only survive a fight against someone like Levi if he ran away. Being a Titan Shifter clearly isn't enough — even if the Jaw Titan has the most powerful bite in the world, it can't do anything against Levi.

Kenny Ackerman Actually Taught Levi How To Fight

Kenny Ackerman from Attack On Titan grimacing.

Role

Debut

Japanese VA

English VA

Military Police Captain

Episode 38 "Smoke Signal"

Kazuhiro Yamaji

Phil Parsons

After Levi's mother passed away when he was a child, he had nowhere to go and almost starved to death. Luckily, he was saved by Kenny, an assassin who taught him how to fight. If it weren't for Kenny, Levi would never have been strong, but that strength was eventually used against him. While Levi joined the Survey Corps, Kenny became the captain of the Anti-Personnel Control Squad. These two groups in the military ended up fighting against each other.

Though Kenny became Levi's enemy, Kenny helped Levi in his final moments, handing Levi the Titan serum that Levi would later use to save Armin. These two members of the Ackerman Clan were incredibly strong. Still, Levi proved that he could defeat his uncle, especially since he fought Kenny with other members of the Anti-Personnel Control Squad and lived to tell the tale.

Mike Zacharias Is Surpassed By Nobody Except Levi Ackerman

Mike Zacharias looking worried in Attack On Titan.

Role

Debut

Japanese VA

English VA

Section Commander

Episode 4 "The Night of the Closing Ceremony: Humanity's Comeback, Part 2"

Kenta Miyake

Jason Douglas

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Before Levi joined the Survey Corps, Mike was known as the military's strongest soldier. He showed how powerful he was multiple times before he died. Interestingly, Mike was known for his extremely powerful sense of smell, which allowed him to detect the presence of Titans long before they could even be seen. Further, his combat expertise made him near-unbeatable by human opponents.

When Mike encountered the Beast Titan, however, he was shocked to discover it killed his horse and that it could talk. Too scared to speak or move, Mike couldn't do much as the Beast Titan ordered other Titans surrounding Mike to eat him. Considering that the Beast Titan himself was afraid of Levi, Mike would most likely be paralyzed with fear against Levi as well.

Zeke Yeager Was Created To Be Levi's Greatest Nemesis

Role

Debut

Japanese VA

English VA

Beast Titan

Episode 26 "Beast Titan"

Takehito Koyasu

Jason Liebrecht

Zeke, the inheritor of the Beast Titan, was designed to be Levi's greatest enemy. The two have fought in many epic battles throughout the series and are very close in strength. In their first battle, Levi hesitated to kill Zeke. Although he did manage to eviscerate the Beast Titan without receiving a single wound in return, he helplessly allowed Zeke to escape when Pieck saved him.

This happened again a few years later when Levi took Zeke as his prisoner, rather than learning from his past mistake and killing him immediately. At the end of the AoT manga, Zeke learned the meaning of life and accepted his death — Levi decapitated him in Chapter 137. If Levi hadn't hesitated so much and so often, he probably would have even been able to kill Zeke much sooner.

Annie Leonhart Managed To Kill Most Of The Soldiers In Levi's Squad

Annie as the Female Titan framed against the sky

Role

Debut

Japanese VA

English VA

Female Titan

Episode 2 "That Day: The Fall of Shiganshina, Part 2"

Yu Shimamura

Lauren Landa

Annie is arguably the strongest of Marley's warriors in her human form. Not only was she experimented on to obtain the powers of the other Titan shifters, but she also proved that she could survive in a battle longer than her comrades. For example, before the Survey Corps even knew about Annie's secret identity, they tried to capture the Female Titan.

Even though the Survey Corps temporarily caught Annie, she escaped and killed most of the soldiers in Levi's squad, all of whom Levi had personally chosen to protect him. Annie was able to kill four of the strongest Scouts, in addition to countless other soldiers, proving that she was not to be trifled with. Then again, Levi actually defeated her during their first fight. Annie only escaped because of a mistake on Mikasa's part.

Mikasa Ackerman Is The Only Worthy Successor To Levi

Role

Debut

Japanese VA

English VA

Scout Regiment Soldier

Episode 1 "To You, in 2000 Years: The Fall of Shiganshina, Part 1"

Yui Ishikawa

Trina Nishimura

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Mikasa is another member of the Ackerman Clan. When she first met Levi, they did not get along, but they worked well as a team when they had to. After learning more about each other, including the fact that they were related, they became great comrades. From the moment Mikasa graduated from the 104th Cadet Corps, soldiers all around Paradis knew how strong she was. It was believed that her power had something to do with the Ackerman line.

Although Mikasa is probably the only worthy successor to Levi's claim as humanity's strongest soldier, she never ends up surpassing him. There is no way to prove this because Levi suffered debilitating injuries after a bomb blast, but it can be safely assumed that Mikasa has no chance of beating Levi in a direct fight.

Characters Levi Ackerman Would Lose To

Armin Arlert Obtains The Colossus Titan From Bertholdt Hoover

Role

Debut

Japanese VA

English VA

15th Scout Regiment Commander

Episode 1 "To You, in 2000 Years: The Fall of Shiganshina, Part 1"

Marina Inoue

Jessie James Grelle

The Colossal Titan is the most powerful of the Nine Titans, being able to destroy anything and anyone around it. When Marley tested the powers of their warriors, they saw that the Colossal Titan could cause the most damage in a nation they destroyed. In fact, even triggering the transformation created an explosion large enough to destroy an entire port, as well as the skeletal body of Eren's Founding Titan.

Bertholdt previously had the Colossus Titan before it was given to Armin, thereby saving the latter's life. Armin has the same level of power as his predecessor, so it's clear that Levi would find it extremely difficult to defeat this particular opponent. The Colossus Titan's Steam Emission ability alone would prevent Levi from getting anywhere close to it.

Ymir Fritz Was The First Person To Receive The Power Of The Titans

Ymir Fritz being blamed by multiple pointing fingers in Attack on Titan.

Role

Debut

Japanese VA

English VA

First Founding Titan

Episode 43 "Sin"

Chiyuki Miura

Apphia Yu

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Ymir Fritz was the first Titan shifter ever and arguably the most powerful, considering that she was the only person in history who had all the Titan powers simultaneously. She was able to destroy Eldia's enemies without much effort, ushering in an age of violence and dear. Even after she died physically, Ymir lived inside the Coordinate for hundreds of years, where she created more Titans.

Since Ymir loved King Fritz and always followed orders from other Titan shifters, her fight with Levi would ultimately depend on whoever she obeyed. However, if she did whatever she wanted and had all her abilities, she could easily kill humanity's strongest soldier. Levi might be able to move extremely fast and attack with immense force, but there is no way for him to win an all-out battle against the first Founding Titan.

Eren Yeager Becomes The Most Powerful Character In Attack On Titan

Role

Debut

Japanese VA

English VA

Final Founding Titan

Episode 1 "To You, in 2000 Years: The Fall of Shiganshina, Part 1"

Yuki Kaji

Bryce Papenbrook

When Levi first met Eren, he wanted him to join his squad. This was great for Eren, seeing as how it had always been his dream to join the Survey Corps. For years, Levi would have done anything to protect Eren because he gave the military hope that they could take back their land from the Titans. However, after accomplishing this goal, Eren became the Survey Corps' greatest enemy and began the Rumbling.

At that point, there was nothing that Levi would have been able to do if he had been on his own. The student had surpassed the master, and though Levi helped his comrades defeat Eren, he would have been killed if he didn't have them. That said, Mikasa was only able to behead Eren in the final episode with Levi's help, so humanity's strongest soldier ended up saving the day.

Eren Yeager in his scout uniform on the Attack On Titan Anime Poster
Attack On Titan
TV-MA

Original title: Shingeki no Kyojin.
After his hometown is destroyed and his mother is killed, young Eren Jaeger vows to cleanse the earth of the giant humanoid Titans that have brought humanity to the brink of extinction in Attack on Titan.

Release Date
September 28, 2013
Cast
Bryce Papenbrook , Yûki Kaji , Marina Inoue , Hiro Shimono , Takehito Koyasu , Jessie James Grelle
Main Genre
Animation
Seasons
4 Seasons
Studio
Wit Studios, MAPPA
Creator
Hajime Isayama
Number of Episodes
98 Episodes