‘Attack on Titan’ Reveals How Eren Got His Titan Powers

One of Attack on Titan’s biggest mysteries has finally been solved, but as par for the course, it only leads to many more questions as the origins of Eren’s Titan power have finally been revealed.

After learning that one can acquire Power of the Titans by eating a previous user, it’s revealed that Eren once ate someone very close to him in order to obtain his own Titan transforming ability.

After being captured by Kenny and brought to a strange crystal chamber, Rod and Historia put their hands to a restrained Eren’s back and he’s flooded with all sorts of memories. This brings to his mind an image of himself as a child, while his father Grisha injects him with a mysterious substance.

This injection then leads to Eren unleashing his Titan form for the first time, and the resulting transformation has Eren’s Titan eating Grisha. Eren then wakes up from this transformation next to the gruesome remains of his attack on his father, and everything becomes clear.

This flashback clears up how he received his initial Titan ability, but what about his “Scream” power that allows him to command other Titans? This is Grisha’s doing as well. Rod explains to Historia that Eren’s father once broke into this same crystal chamber and massacred the Reiss family. This all leads to Grisha devouring Frieda Reiss, who was strong with the Power of the Titans but not used to using all of her power.

If Titan power is transferred through new Titans eating older users, then it’s possible that Eren eating his father Grisha is what gave Eren not only his Titan transforming ability, but his “Scream” power as well. Even more mysteries will be solved as the series continues, however.

Attack on Titan was originally created by Hajime Isayama for Kodansha’s Bessatsu Shonen Magazine in 2009. The series has since been collected into 23 volumes as of 2017, and it’s set in a world where the last remnants of humanity live within a walled city in order to escape the danger of the Titans, a race of giants monsters that eats humans. The lead character, Eren Yeager, ends up joining the military with his two childhood friends Mikasa and Armin after the Titans break through the wall and attack his hometown. Now Eren, Mikasa, and Armin must survive in a world where they not only have the Titans to fear, but the very humans they are trying to save.