Zeke Yeager is one of the main characters of Attack on Titan, originally being one of the main antagonists and becoming one of the most complex characters by the end of the manga. Ever since he was born, he's made a huge impact on the series after his parents had expected too much from him, hoping that he would save all of the Eldians around the world by becoming one of Marley's warriors.
Throughout his years as the Beast Titan, his actions resulted in many terrible things happening around the world, though he always had good intentions. Here are ten ways that the Beast Titan's inheritor made a huge impact on the manga series.
10 He Revealed Who The Eldian Restorationists Were To Marley
After becoming a warrior candidate, Zeke found out that Marley was about to discover who the Eldian Restorationists were. Knowing that his parents were already in danger, he told Tom Ksaver, the inheritor of the Beast Titan before him that served as his father figure, the truth. Tom told him that if he wanted to protect his grandparents and himself, he'd need to turn his parents in. Once they did, Zeke's mother, Dina, as well as most of the other Eldian Restorationists, were injected with Titan serum, while Grisha inherited the Attack Titan and started a new life inside of Paradis' walls.
9 He Turned The Citizens Of Ragako Village Into Titans
Zeke would eventually go to Paradis himself. After the Armored, Colossal, Female, and Jaw Titans didn't return from their mission for years, Zeke and Pieck were sent there to help them. Now as the Beast Titan, one of Zeke's abilities was to transform any Eldian that had his spinal fluid inside of them into a Titan if they heard him scream. He used this power on the citizens of Ragako Village, and led the Survey Corps to figure out that the Titans they had been fighting for decades were actually people.
8 He Killed The Majority Of The Survey Corps
When the Survey Corps were finally ready to take back Wall Maria, they returned to Shiganshina and fought the warriors, with Zeke killing most of the soldiers in the battle. By trapping them, he left the Survey Corps no choice but to sacrifice themselves in hopes they could kill him as well.
Erwin was able to convince his soldiers to dedicate their hearts one last time as they charged at the Beast Titan, who threw boulders at them, resulting in many deaths.
7 He Became Levi's Greatest Enemy
While the Survey Corps soldiers died, Levi was able to attack the Beast Titan, hoping that he'd be able to avenge his fallen comrades, especially Erwin. He seemed to win the battle at first and could have killed Zeke if Pieck hadn't come to his rescue. The warriors that had survived the battle returned to Marley, and Levi vowed to get his revenge. After years of being known as humanity's strongest soldier, he found his greatest enemy.
6 He Helped Marley Win Its War Against The Mid-East Allied Forces
For a few years after returning to Marley, the warriors' enemies were the Mid-East Allied Forces rather than the Eldians in Paradis. They had an epic battle at Fort Slava, and Zeke played a huge role in helping Marley. He used his screaming ability to transform a group of Eldians into Titans that attacked the Mid-East Allied Forces, while Zeke again used his skills as a pitcher to throw boulders at his enemies' ships.
5 He Betrayed The Warriors And Helped The Survey Corps
For years, it seemed that Zeke was the most loyal warrior to Marley and they never expected that he would become one of their biggest threats. Once he was able to speak with the people on Paradis and teamed up with Eren, he finally got close to accomplishing his true mission.
In return, he and his followers helped Paradis become a stronger nation. After that, the Yeagers sent the Survey Corps to Marley, where they had an epic battle. In the fight, it seemed that Levi killed Zeke, but Zeke actually left Marley with Eren and the surviving soldiers.
4 He Turned A Lot Of Eldians Into Titans
Though Zeke helped the Survey Corps, he never actually cared about them. He was able to trick them into drinking his spinal fluid, turning many soldiers and civilians into Titans. First, he transformed the soldiers that were with Levi so he could escape the captain. However, Levi fought back and almost defeated Zeke again. Once Zeke escaped, he turned many other Eldians into Titans as Marley invaded Paradis.
3 He Was Responsible For Falco Becoming A Titan Shifter
One of the characters that was transformed into a Titan was Falco, a warrior candidate who wanted to inherit the Armored Titan. Shortly after becoming a Titan, he ate Porco and became the next Jaw Titan, but because he had Zeke's spinal fluid in his body, he also gained characteristics of a previous inheritor of the Beast Titan, such as the ability to fly. Though Falco may not have had a lot of experience as a Titan Shifter, he played a huge role in the final battle against Eren, saving his comrades as they almost fell to their deaths.
2 He Sent Eren Back In Time And Indirectly Turned Him Into A Titan Shifter
Eren and Zeke knew that in order to accomplish their goals, they would have to come into contact and enter the coordinate. Once they did, Eren confessed that he was never actually on Zeke's side. This caused Zeke to take Eren inside of their father's memories.
As they observed how Grisha raised Eren, Zeke was shocked that their father learned from his mistakes. When they got to the moment that Grisha inherited the Founding Titan, they discovered that he hesitated, not wanting to kill the Reiss children. However, Eren was able to speak to him and convinced him to fulfill his mission. If it weren't for Zeke, Grisha never would have given the Founding and Attack Titans to Eren.
1 He Helped Start The Rumbling
After learning that it was his own fault that Eren gained the powers that stopped his plan, Zeke tried to stop Eren from starting the Rumbling. However, he wasn't able to do anything about it, and though it wasn't his intention, Zeke actually helped his brother begin the Rumbling.
The majority of the human race died, including both Yeager brothers. However, before Levi was able to cut the Beast Titan's head off, Zeke learned what the meaning of life was and understood that if he was never born, then the good things he experienced wouldn't have happened. He may not have regretted his actions and still wanted to save the Eldians his way, but he accepted both his life and death.