Beast Titan - Attack on Titan
The Beast Titan is one of the Nine Titans of the universe of Attack on Titan. Its first appearance in the anime series was in Season 2 Episode 1. In the manga, it is seen for the first time in the 35th Chapter of the series, which means, the 1st Chapter of the 9th Volume of the manga.
It has an ape-like appearance, covered in fur, and is a bit larger than most Titans. Currently, Zeke Jaeger is in possession of the power of this titan. The former possessor was Tom Ksaver, an Eldian researcher who was the mentor and friend of Zeke.
Abilities
The Beast Titan has several abilities that make it a very powerful Titan. It has the overwhelming capacity to throw objects with an extraordinary accuracy and catastrophic results for the enemy. Zeke Jaeger uses this ability a lot during the conflict of Shiganshina District, when he clashes with a large number of members of the Survey Corps by throwing large rocks during Chapter 79 of the manga. He also uses this power at the Battle of Fort Slava, where he eliminated the whole armada of the Mid-East Allied Forces in Chapter 92.
Similar to other Titans, such as the Female Titan, the Beast Titan also possess the ability of hardening. However, there are only two moments in the story when the Beast Titan has tried to use this skill. This was in Chapter 81, during a short fight with Levi Ackerman, but he failed when Levi cut it down before it could harden. It also tried to harden its nape in Chapter 113, but several Thunder Spears shattered it.
The Beast Titan also has unique attributes that no other Titan has. This is because Zeke Jaeger is the son of Dina Fritz granting him heritage from a royal bloodline.
One of the most dangerous abilities of Zeke’s Beast Titan is the ability to turn Subjects of Ymir into Titans. If a person coming from the Subjects of Ymir receives Zeke’s spinal fluid, he can transform them into mindless Titans that will follow Zeke’s orders. The way of using this power is with a roar, similar to the scream-based abilities of the Founding Titan and the Female Titan.
This ability can have devastating effects because of its lack of foresight. Its impact could be observed in Chapter 46, during the Wall Rose invasion and the transformation of the residents of Ragako into Titans. Also, when the Marleyan military made use of this power to toss Titans onto Forw Slava in an airstrike. According to Niccolo, a former Marleyan soldier, this is a common tactic for Marley to make mindless Titans invade an area, sneak in a few hundred well-prepared Eldians and having Zeke use this power to transform them. However, as it is explained in Chapter 119, his scream has a limited range.
Apart from turning Subjects of Ymir into mindless Titans, Zeke’s Beast Titan can also exercise some control over them. He can give and establish basic orders, like ordering them to move, refraining from eating humans and staying still. Moreover, Titans under Zeke’s control are even able to act using only the moonlight without feeling excessively tired. However, in Chapter 35, some Titans could somewhat ignore his orders. So, this would prove that it is not an infallible power.
Origins
The Beast Titan, as well as all the Nine Titans, appeared after the death of Ymir Fritz. 1,700 years after her death, one or several of the quarreled Eldian houses that were subservient to the Founding Titan were the ones that possessed the Beast Titan. After seventeen centuries, Karl Fritz, King of the Fritz family, decided to abandon the confrontations of Eldia and moved to Paradis Island. As it can be seen in Chapter 86, after relocating to Paradis Island, the nation of Marley took the Beast Titan during the Great Titan War.
In 829, Tom Ksayer inherited the Beast Titan in order to be able to research the memories of all the previous possessors of the form. During this time, the Beast Titan would stay in Marley as Tom claimed in Chapter 114 that he was not useful enough in war.
In 842, Zeke Jaeger was selected to inherit the power of the Beast Titan. Thanks to this, Zeke and his family are treated like a real Marleyan family, while Zeke acquires the title of Marley warrior.
One year later, Zeke Jaeger took the power of the Beast Titan from Tom Ksaver. As explained in Chapter 95, about a year after, when the other warriors had already inherited their respective Titans, Zeke made use of his Titan powers in a war between Marley and another enemy nation to kill the soldiers that were retreating in the battle.
When the time to execute the Paradis Island Operation came, Zeke’s Beast Titan stayed in Marley to dissuade the enemy forces.
Later on, he takes part in the capture mission of the Founding Titan. He infiltrates the Wall Rose and, after transforming into the Beast Titan, he uses his special powers to transform Ragako residents into Pure Titans.
Four years after escaping from his last encounter on Paradis Island, the Beast Titan would reappear during the final battle of the war between Marley and the Middle East at Fort Slava.