Eren Yeager is one of the primary protagonists of the popular manga and anime series Attack on Titan. His character is introduced in the first episode of the anime as a young boy living with his mother, Carla, and father, Grisha, in the walled city of Shiganshina. Eren's world is turned upside down when the city is attacked by Titans, and he witnesses his mother being eaten alive in front of him. From this point on, Eren dedicates himself to killing Titans and seeking revenge for his mother's death.
As the series progresses, it is revealed that Eren is a Titan shifter, a rare ability that allows certain people to transform into Titans. In Season 1, Episode 8, "Hearing the Heartbeat - The Battle for Trost (4)," Eren discovers that he has the ability to transform into the Attack Titan. This is a significant moment in the series, as it is the first time that audiences and the main cast born within the walls learn about the existence of Titan shifters.
However, Eren's abilities as a shifter go far beyond just being able to turn into the Attack Titan. He is revealed to be a special shifter, with the powers of two Titans, the Attack Titan and the Founding Titan. In Season 4, he inherits the War Hammer Titan as well, making him one of the most powerful and dangerous shifters in the series.
So how did Eren become such a powerful shifter? Let's take a closer look at his backstory and how he inherited his Titan abilities.
Eren Learns He Is the Attack Titan
Eren learns that he is the Attack Titan in Season 1, at the age of 15. However, he is not aware that he inherited the Titan from his father, Grisha, five years earlier. This is because the Eldians of Paradis, outside of the royal family, did not know about shifters until Eren turned into the Attack Titan. At the time, the characters assumed he was just the Attack Titan, until Season 2 when they discover that he is also the Founding Titan.
Prior to Eren becoming the Attack Titan, his father Grisha was this shifter. Grisha inherited the powers of the Attack Titan from Eren Kruger, an Eldian spy who had infiltrated Marley's ranks. Kruger turned nearly every captured Eldian Restorationist into a mindless Titan and released them on Paradis. However, he spared Grisha and revealed who he really was, explaining that his time as a shifter was nearly up because of the Curse of Ymir, which limits shifters' lifespans to 13 years. Kruger needed someone to inherit the Attack Titan, reclaim the Founding Titan, and free Eldians from oppression, which Grisha agreed to.
From there, Grisha lived within the walls, started a new family, and eventually confronted the Founding Titan after Wall Maria was breached in 845.
How Eren Inherited the Founding Titan
Grisha's mission was to find the Reiss family, the royal family of Eldia, and use the Founding Titan's power to defeat the Titans and save his family. He found them hidden in the Underground Chapel, but by the time he arrived, Eren's mother, Carla, had already been killed by the Titans.
Grisha begged the Reiss family to use the Founding Titan's power to stop the Titans, but Frieda Reiss, the Founding Titan at the time, was overcome by King Fritz's decision to renounce war. She could not retaliate against the invading Titans. Grisha's Titan fought Frieda's Titan, and Grisha emerged victorious, consuming Frieda and inheriting the Founding Titan.
While Eren inherited the Attack and Founding Titans from his father at the same time, it wouldn't be until Season 4, Episode 7, "Assault," that he would inherit the War Hammer Titan. Similar to the Founding Titan, the War Hammer Titan was kept within a specific family, being passed down to members of the Tyburs, who were the only Eldians the outside world respected. At the time of Season 4, Willy Tybur's sister was the War Hammer Titan.
The Tyburs visited Liberio, a city in Marley, in 854, with Willy planning to redeem Eldia's reputation by revealing the truth about King Fritz and proclaiming that Eren was the true threat to peace because he stole the Founding Titan from the Reiss family. He also declared war against Eren, who subsequently transformed into his Titan and ate Willy.
The War Hammer Titan was quick to jump into action, but Eren eventually grabbed hold of its user, who encapsulated herself in a nearly indestructible crystal. Eren used the Jaw Titan to break the crystal, killing Lady Tybur and inheriting the War Hammer Titan after swallowing her blood. With Eren being three Titan shifters in one, the threat he poses in Season 4, Part 2, is huge -- and this final chapter of the anime has only just begun.
