Attack on Titan explores the fuzzy boundaries between right & wrong, good & bad, heroes & villains, and comes to the conclusion that there is no way to isolate even concepts that are meant to be stereotypical opposites of each other. In that sense, the Founding Titan can be found at these moral interstices, making decisions that impact an entire race of people, with or without their consent.
It serves to protect Eldian culture and society, but it does nothing to combat the Titan nightmares surrounding the Walls for a century. The Founding Titan is powered by the will of Ymir Fritz, who continues to further the testament of her dead husband without questions or complaint. This explains not only the strength of the Founding Titan but also its indomitable resolve.
10 The Founding Titan Reconfigures Memories On A Massive Scale
The Founding Titan has been meddling with Eldian memories for a long time, implying that the Subjects of Ymir are susceptible to the originator's powers.
After the Great Titan War, King Karl Fritz modified the historical memory of his people, making them believe that the entire world exists within the Walls and nowhere else. Interestingly, a few Eldian groups, such as the Ackerman Clan, are resistant to the Founding Titan.
9 It Controls Pure Titans With Its Inheritor's Voice
The Founding Titan has the ability to call Pure Titans to its aid using voice-activation, except that the holder doesn't need to enunciate anything clearly to make it work.
Eren, for example, merely screeched at the Smiling Titan while touching its outstretched palm, more than enough for nearby Titans to come bounding toward them. Annie's Female Titan is capable of something similar, but she can only draw them toward her general direction.
8 The Founding Titan Uses Telepathy To Communicate
The Subjects of Ymir are all linked to each other through "paths," which are metaphysical avenues for the import and export of matter, energy, emotions, and so on.
Since Ymir retains her youthful appearance after hundreds of years, it's clear that paths don't obey standard spacetime conventions. The Founding Titan utilizes these memory highways to telepathically transmit information to any Eldian mind it chooses.
7 It Alters The Anatomy & Physiology Of The Eldian People
The Founding Titan births every other Titan, meaning that the latter's shapes and forms depend entirely on the former. Its anatomical ambit is reflected in the sheer variety of Titans available, from Pure to Abnormal to the Nine.
The Founding Titan is also empowered with the ability to tailor Eldian physiologies, as part of Zeke's plan to avoid all-out war is to mass sterilize his people, under the assumption that it would lead to the end of the Titan era.
6 The Founding Titan Plays Around With Timelines
Like the Attack Titan, the Founding Titan can easily mold past events in such a way that the desired outcome is achieved. In addition, those who wield it lose themselves in an unpredictable sea of timelines.
The past, present, and future blend into each other so seamlessly that it's impossible for the wielder to distinguish between them. This technique is so effective that Eren employs it to redirect the Smiling Titan to Shiganshina district, a decision that results in the death of Carla Yeager.
5 It Manifests In A Variety Of Forms Depending On The Holder
Ymir Fritz's Founding Titan is one of the largest shown in the story, far taller than both the Colossal Titan and Rod Reiss' oversized Pure Titan. When possessed by Frieda Reiss, it becomes slightly smaller than the Attack Titan.
Most impressively, however, the Founding Titan transforms into a city-block-sized skeletal entity when Eren "borrows" it from Ymir. It's possible that it took on a diverse range of appearances over the past 1,800+ years.
4 The Founding Titan Summons The Nine Titans From The Past
During the climax, Eren's pals find themselves on his spiny backbone, where they attempt to stop him by severing his cervical vertebrae. The Founding Titan is obviously not going to be taken down that easily, but it's a bit of a shock when Ymir's "ghost" resurrects hundreds of different versions of the Nine Titans.
The Scouts realize that their new opponents are the long-dead holders of the Power of the Titans, but even this knowledge is barely enough to keep them alive against the flurry of overwhelming opponents.
3 The Founding Titan Contains The Source Of All Living Matter
When Ymir is punished for her act of kindness, she flees into the forest to avoid Fritz's men and hounds. Injured and exhausted, she falls headlong into a well of water, where she encounters the Source of All Living Matter.
This primal form of life, later referred to as the Shining Centipede, is almost all-powerful, a claim that is repeatedly proven throughout the story by the sheer force displayed by the Founding Titan.
2 It Singlehandedly Devastates The Nation Of Marley
Ymir Fritz combines with the Shining Centipede in a process that remains unresolved, emerging from the forest fully transformed into the first Founding Titan.
It's not a very difficult job for Ymir's Founding Titan to destroy whole armies, and she is singlehandedly responsible for the fall of Marley and the rise of the Eldian Empire.
1 All Titans Owe Their Origins To The Founding Titan
Ymir boldly sacrifices her life by turning herself into a living shield for Fritz, but instead of showing his gratitude, the king merely commands her to restore herself back to full health.
Given that Ymir forsakes her body forever, Fritz makes his children eat their mom's flesh and spinal cord raw, hoping that they would carry on his name forever. All people of Eldian descent bear a direct genetic relationship to Ymir and the Founding Titan.