In the beginning of Attack on Titan, both the characters and fans believed that the titans were the main threats in the manga series. Most of these titans were Eldians who were injected with a serum that transformed them into the predators of humanity. Most of these titans acted the same, being known as "normal titans," but there were others that acted differently, being known as "abnormal titans."
Compared to the Nine Titans, however, these "normal" and "abnormal" titans are barely a threat. Throughout the series, all Nine Titans are slowly introduced, with some of the main characters even gaining the powers of the Nine Titans. Here are nine things you need to know about them.
9 They All Come From Ymir Fritz
All of the Nine Titans, as well as the "normal" and "abnormal" titans came from Ymir Fritz. As she was hunted down by her future husband's followers, she fell into a tree, where she connected with the Source of All Living Matter, turning her into the first titan. Seeing how powerful she became, Fritz married her, and the two had three daughters. When Ymir Fritz died, her children ate her, obtaining her abilities. Ymir's descendants would continue to eat each other in order to pass her powers down for centuries.
8 They Are Not Balanced In Strength
While the Nine Titans are the most powerful beings in Attack on Titan's universe, they are not equally strong. The Attack, Colossal, and War Hammer Titan are all great fighters, so some of the other Nine Titans wouldn't stand a chance against them, such as the Cart Titan and some inheritors of the Beast Titan.
The Jaw Titan is very quick and the Armored Titan is practically a shield, so even though they could fight back, they are more defensive than offensive. The Female Titan has the unique ability of obtaining the powers of the others, which made her stronger over time. However, the most powerful among them is the Founding Titan, which could easily kill the other eight since it has the power to control them.
7 Titan Shifters Can Only Live For Thirteen Years After Inheriting One Of The Nine Titans
After inheriting one of the Nine Titans, a person only has thirteen years left to live. When their time is up, they will die and their power will be given to a newborn Eldian if they haven't been eaten by one before their death. The reason for this is that Ymir Fritz sacrificed her life to save her husband when one of his enemies tried to assassinate him. No Eldian nor titan can be stronger than Ymir Fritz, with many considering this to be the "Curse of Ymir".
6 They Lose Recent Memories When They First Inherit A Titan
Eating someone and obtaining their powers may seem like a memorable experience, but Titan Shifters actually lose their memories of that happening. This was first seen in the series when Eren ate Grisha. He knew that he was near his father, but couldn't remember much of their final interaction and would have even thought that it was a dream if he hadn't obtained the key to his basement.
This has happened many other times as well, such as how Armin needed an explanation of everything that was going on after he inherited the Colossal Titan, not knowing that he nearly died and ate Bertholdt.
5 Titan Shifters Could Obtain Memories Of Previous Inheritors
While they may not remember becoming Titan Shifters themselves, inheritors of the Nine Titans would gain memories of those that came before them. Rather than gaining them all at once, however, they would slowly remember things that happened to the inheritor that came right before them first, followed by the one that came before that.
This would also cause Titan Shifters' behaviors to slightly change, such as when Armin visited Annie more after he ate Bertholdt. The fastest a Titan Shifter received their predecessors' memories was when Porco became the Jaw Titan. Despite having it for only a few years, he was able to remember things that happened to the two inheritors before him.
4 They Were Used By Eldians To Kill People For Centuries
Fritz was obsessed with becoming powerful, which is why he married Ymir and had their children eat her, allowing his people to still be in power after he died. The Eldians did exactly what he wanted for hundreds of years, terrorizing and killing other races. The things that these Eldians did to those they didn't kill were despicable, torturing anyone that was weaker than them so they could rule over them.
3 Marley Took Seven Of Them During The Great Titan War
When Karl Fritz inherited the Founding Titan, he betrayed his ancestors, feeling terrible for all the harm they caused. He, along with the Tybur family, started the Great Titan War. During this war, the families of those that had the Attack, Colossal, Armored, Female, Beast, Cart, and Jaw Titans fought against each other, allowing the Marleyans to become more powerful than them.
Because the Tyburs were seen as heroes by the whole world, they were able to keep the War Hammer Titan. Meanwhile, Karl used the Founding Titan to bring a lot of Eldians to Paradis and used Colossal Titans to create the walls around his peaceful island.
2 Some Inheritors Were Able To Talk When Using Their Titans While Others Couldn't
One of the strangest things about the titans is that a few of them are able to speak. Some of the Nine Titans also have this ability. While the Beast, Cart, Jaw, and War Hammer Titans could talk, the Attack, Female, Colossal, and Armored Titans could not. The Founding Titan did have the power to speak with other Eldians telepathically, but could not talk to other races.
1 One Person Can Inherit More Than One Titan
Though no Eldian could become more powerful than Ymir Fritz, they can be as strong as her. If a Titan Shifter inherits another's powers, they will be able to use both titans. The person that gained the most powers was Eren, who ate Grisha in order to inherit the Attack and Founding Titans, and obtained the War Hammer Titan by eating Lara. He could have also eaten the other six titans if he had wanted to.