Erwin Smith was one of the most beloved characters in Attack on Titan. He was the Survey Corps' commander throughout most of the series and was a great leader. He led his followers to many victories that they never would have been able to achieve without him and he would do anything to accomplish his goals.
Erwin has had a lot of phenomenal moments throughout the manga that show how great of a character he is. While he died back in the anime's third season, this article does contain spoilers to things that have yet to happen in the anime.
WARNING: The following article contains heavy spoilers for things that have yet to happen in Attack on Titan's anime.
10 He Welcomed Hange In The Afterlife
Towards the end of the series, Hange sacrificed themself in order to help their comrades. After they died, they woke up in the afterlife and was greeted by Erwin, as well as many of their other comrades that had passed away. Erwin let Hange know that their sacrifice was worth it as their living comrades were able to catch up to Eren and bring an end to the Rumbling.
After the Titans ceased to exist, the living soldiers were able to see their fallen friends and Erwin was proud of everything the Survey Corps had accomplished. Fans were also very happy to see him one last time.
9 He Didn't Try To Stop Historia From Killing Rod
After Rod captured Historia, he tried to convince his daughter to inherit the Founding Titan by eating Eren, so he could have more power. While it seemed like she was originally going to do as he wanted, she rebelled and proved her loyalty to her comrades. As a result, Rod, in desperation, drank Titan serum and transformed into a huge Titan that attacked his own people.
While Erwin wanted Historia to stay on the sidelines as their comrades fought her father, he didn't do anything to stop her, understanding that it wasn't his place. Historia ended up being the one to kill Rod and became Paradis' queen and hero the way that she wanted.
8 He Forced Levi & His Friends To Join The Survey Corps
Before humanity's strongest soldier joined the military, he lived in the Underground with Furlan and Isabel. The three of them were criminals. However, when Erwin, along with a few other soldiers in the Survey Corps, found them, he offered to let them get away with their crimes if they worked with him.
Needing to take the offer, Levi, Furlan, and Isabel accepted but had the intention of killing Erwin when the right opportunity came. Erwin understood how much the three of them hated him, but still had them join the Survey Corps, knowing that it would be beneficial in the long run.
7 He Welcomed Eren To The Survey Corps
Since he was a little kid, Eren's dream was to join the Survey Corps as he wanted to go outside the walls and kill Titans. After his own Titan abilities were discovered when he transformed in Trost, Erwin saw Eren as humanity's greatest weapon and fought to have Eren join the Survey Corps.
While many other people feared Eren and wanted to study and kill him, Erwin did everything he needed to in order to make sure that Eren's powers would be useful to the Survey Corps, no matter the consequences.
6 He Trapped The Female Titan
When the Survey Corps went out on a mission, they were chased by the Female Titan, who wanted to capture Eren. As she chased Eren, other soldiers tried to fight back and died in the process. While Eren wanted to transform so he could fight her, Levi and the rest of his squad insisted that Eren should just keep moving forward.
Eren listened and they were able to lead her into a trap that Erwin had set up, as he had suspected that there were Titan Shifters besides Eren who would target them after Eren's powers were discovered. While Erwin's trap did work, the Female Titan was able to break free when summoning other Titans.
5 He Was Determined To Confirm His Father's Theory For Years
When Erwin was a child, he was curious about the world around him. His father, who was also his school teacher, followed his lessons by the book in the classroom but told Erwin about a theory he had. He believed that the royal family had the ability to erase people's memories and replace them with fake ones, which is why their history was so inconsistent.
Erwin started talking about his father's theory to other students. Once the Military Police heard about this, they killed Erwin's father. Erwin dedicated the rest of his life to proving that his father was right. While the theory was correct, Erwin would unfortunately have to give his life before confirming it.
4 He Took Away The Nobles' Power
When the nobles had sent Erwin to his death, a plan of his not only saved his life but gave him more power than them. He tried to tell them what the outcome would be if the Titans broke into Wall Rose, as humans would be forced to fight each other for land and food, and that only the Survey Corps would be able to help them.
After his sentence was declared, a soldier announced that the Colossal and Armored Titans had attacked Wall Rose. Rather than showing concern, the nobles ordered the military to not protect civilians, leading the other military leaders to show their support to Erwin. With Darius, Pixis, and Nile by his side, Erwin was able to unite the military and exposed their rulers for who they really were.
3 He Saved Eren From Being Captured By Reiner & Bertholdt
After Eren had been captured by Bertholdt and Reiner, the Survey Corps did everything they could to save him. Erwin led a group of normal Titans to them. While Reiner charged through many of them, they were able to overpower him. Erwin then ordered his soldiers to save Eren.
As he did, a Titan bit him on his arm, tearing it off. Despite losing his arm, Erwin still had the Survey Corps follow his command. Once he was able to break free from the Titan, Erwin caught up to the warriors and was able to cut Eren free from Bertholdt.
2 He Convinced Levi To Truly Join The Survey Corps
When the Survey Corps had gone outside the walls with Levi, Furlan, and Isabel, Levi thought he had found the perfect opportunity to kill Erwin. However, when he left his friends behind, they were killed by the Titans.
Erwin helped Levi understand that humanity's enemy was the Titans, causing Levi to truly join the Survey Corps. Erwin and Levi would work together for years as they fought to save the Eldians in Paradis and avenge Furlan and Isabel.
1 He Sacrificed Himself & His Soldiers In Hopes That Levi Would Kill The Beast Titan
During the battle between the warriors and the soldiers in Shiganshina, Erwin, Levi, and many recruits fought against the Beast Titan, who had trapped them. Knowing that little could be done to fight back against their enemy, Erwin was willing to sacrifice his life and convinced the recruits to do the same.
As they all distracted the Beast Titan, Levi sneaked behind it. Humanity's strongest soldier fought the Beast Titan and almost won, but Pieck came to Zeke's rescue before Levi killed him. Levi dedicated the rest of his life to avenging his closest friend.