Reiner Braun (ライナー・ブラウンRainā Buraun?) is a graduate of the 104th Trainees Squad and a former member of the Survey Corps. He ranked 2nd in the class, and was regarded by others as a charismatic and reliable big brother figure.
Along with Bertolt and Annie, he is a person that possesses the ability to transform into a Titan
and serves an as-yet unrevealed group. He comes from a mysterious
homeland outside the Walls, and was on a mission to infiltrate the
military in search of something that he refers to as the "Coordinate".
After his true identity is revealed, he becomes a major antagonist and
foil to Eren Yeager, illustrating the ambiguous nature of the enemy.
Personality
Reiner displays his personality when he states that sometimes, a soldier cannot back down
Reiner is a passionate person, with a strong sense of duty. He takes
his role as a soldier very seriously, and encourages others to do the
same. However, he is also noted to have a kind heart and a tendency to
always think of others before himself, taking on extra burdens for the
sake of his comrades. He is stated to be the "big brother" of the other
trainees.
However, he is also revealed to have serious emotional and mental
problems as a result of his actions. While still loyal to his cause, he
was unable to cope with the guilt and has begun to suppress his true
memories in an effort to escape. During these episodes, he forgets his
true identity, believing himself to be a human soldier. There appear to
be few differences between his "soldier" persona and his true self,
though his true self is more ruthless and fatalistic out of necessity.
He harbors a negative attitude towards himself, referring to himself as a
"villain" and a "short-lived killer" that only Bertolt and Annie can
understand. Even so, he continually places himself at risk in an effort
to reach out to Eren and Ymir, trusting them more than is wise.
The Armored Titan
is 15 meters tall. It has hardened plates covering the entirety of its
skin, except for muscles in its cheeks that become exposed when it opens
its jaw, as well as the muscle tissue behind its knees and elbows, and
its feet. Other than that, it does not possess any notable anatomical
deformities.
History
Reiner comes from a mysterious location simply referred to as his
hometown (or homeland), and began a mission to attack humanity in the
year 845. Little is known about his life prior to undertaking his
mission, other than the fact that Bertolt and Marcel
were his childhood friends. The exact nature of their group, and their
mission is yet unknown. It is mentioned that their goal was to
exterminate humanity, and that they are searching for both the Ape Titan and a "coordinate" which they believe may be Eren Yeager or possible to locate with the assistance of Historia Reiss.
At some point prior to the attack on Wall Maria, he was attacked by a Titan later revealed to be Ymir.
In the chaos, his friend Marcel pushed him to safety and died
protecting him. This event appears to have left him deeply traumatized,
as he flashes back to it in moments of stress and expresses an almost
suicidal desire to place himself into harms' way for the sake of others.
During his time training to become a soldier, he was considered to be one of the most adept with the 3D Maneuver Gear. When Eren
was having trouble during this training, he came to Reiner and Bertolt
for advice. As a sort of repayment, Eren worked with him in hand-to-hand
combat training. During this time, he became a surrogate big brother to
the others and instilled in them a strong sense of responsibility.
He first appears in 845 as the Armored Titan, participating in the
attack on Shiganshina. During the chaos of the initial breach, he enters
the city in his Titan form and makes his way across it to the interior
gate. Once there, he charges towards the gate and smashes through it,
allowing Titans to invade Wall Maria. At some point during the
abandonment of Wall Maria, he passes himself off as a refugee and
infiltrates human territory.
Two years later after the destruction of Wall Maria he enlists in the military and becomes a member of the 104th Trainees Squad. Noting Eren's desire to apply to the Survey Corps even after witnessing the attack in the Shiganshina District,
he reveals that he wants to go back to his home town, knowing that
there is likely nothing to return to. He eventually graduated in the top
ten of his trainee class, coming in at second, just under Mikasa Ackerman.
As part of the defensive effort of the military after the second
attack of the Colossal Titan, he eventually found himself with the front
guard. However, with the supply team stuck in the headquarters, he was
essentially immobilized with many of his teammates on a rooftop. Joining
Jean's group in the rush to the HQ, he was among the survivors. With the subsequent arrival of Armin and Mikasa, by way of rogue Titan, he helped to clear and secure the supply room.
Initially skeptical, Reiner suggested they help the rogue Titan
when it was being overwhelmed by a group. Jean was hesitant and
disagreed with his suggestion, stating they barely made it with their
own lives and refused to risk it for a Titan. However, it turned out not
to be necessary when it broke free at the sight of the Titan that
killed Tomas.
He was among the first people to know about Eren's Titan form, when he
emerged from the giants body. Later this same day, after seeing what
appeared to be Titan vapor from inside the city, he and a small group
scaled the wall to see what was happening. Over the wall they found Eren
protecting Mikasa and Armin from cannon fire, with a shield made from the torso of his Titan form.
Reiner later joins the Survey Corps, together with the rest of the top 10 alumni with the exception of Annie. During the first expedition they take part in, he teams up with Jean to save Armin from the female-type Titan after his horse runs away.
After the capture of Annie, Reiner was later seen in an abandoned mansion next to Sasha when Wall Rose supposedly got breached. He was soon dispatched to find all the survivors and tell them the news (without his 3D Maneuver Gear).
After that he and his squad went searching for the gap, though
they found nothing. They met up with another team carrying the same
orders and also didn't find anything. The 2 squads join together and go
to the abandoned Castle Utgard to rest.
Later that night he finds Ymir
searching for food, and she teases him by suggesting that he is
attempting to sneak a grope. Continuing to tease him, she suggests that
he might not be interested in women, and in response he suggests she's
uninterested in men. She agrees with his assessment, relaxing and
hearing out his request to continue distracting Connie
so he doesn't worry about his missing family. However, he becomes
suspicious of her when she's able to read the strange characters on a
can. But before he can say more, the soldiers are summed to the tower by
their superiors -- Titans have appeared and are attacking the castle
even though it is night. [2]
During the nighttime attack, Reiner and the others are ordered to
head deeper into the castle to defend against invading Titans. He
rushes ahead of the others to investigate, and barely manages to keep a
Titan from breaking into the stairwell with the assistance of Bertolt
and the others, who use an old cannon to crush it. While the group is
recovering, a second Titan manages to enter the room and attacks Connie.
Reiner pushes him to safety and is injured in the process, suffering a
broken arm before the others are able to save him. [3]
Eventually, their superiors are all killed and the unarmed
recruits are left to fend for themselves. In order to save the others,
Ymir reveals herself to be a Titan Shifter and goes to fight alone.
Reiner and Bertolt are shocked to recognize her as the Titan responsible
for killing their childhood friend, Marcel.
As Ymir fights the many Titans, Historia almost falls off the tower but is saved by Reiner and Connie,
though he doesn't let go of her foot for a few more seconds and
apologizes for that. They continue to watch the battle down below with
uncertainty, unable to make sense of Ymir's choice to allow their
superiors to die and wondering what side she might be on. Krista firmly
states she is on their side, and shouts for Ymir to tear down the tower
if necessary to save herself. She does exactly that, but climbs up to
rescue her comrades and rides the falling tower down to safety. However,
several Titans survive and continue their attack on the survivors. Ymir
is partially devoured, and Krista nearly caught before Hange Zoë's squad arrives to finally rescue the survivors. [4]
In the aftermath of the battle, Reiner crumbles under the stress,
worrying that he won't last much longer. Prompted by Eren's mention of
their hometown, Bertolt attempts to cheer his friend up by reminding
Reiner that now they are able to return home. The two briefly converse,
before approaching Eren for a private talk. Reiner confesses their true
identities as the Armored Titan and Colossal Titan, stating that if Eren
leaves with them the Walls will be safe. Eren initially plays it off as
a joke, causing Reiner to wonder about his sanity and break down.
Though deeply troubled, he accepts that he has no other options and
decides to fight. Mikasa intervenes before he can attack Eren, seriously
wounding Reiner and Bertolt. When she moves in to finish off a
critically-wounded Bertolt, Reiner throws her from the Wall before
transforming. He manages to catch Eren, who is able to transform and
engage the Armored Titan in battle. [5]
As Eren and Reiner continued to fight, he was able to hold off
Mikasa when she attempted to slice off nape of his neck in his Titan
form. Eventually, Armin was able to discover a weak link to his line of
defense because as he's protecting the nape of his neck, he suggested
that she attack at his knee caps. Reiner was taken by surprise for a 2nd
attack by Mikasa, this time he was hit at the back of his knee. As the
armor continued to break, he was able to scream and summon Bertolt to
rescue him by leaping from the wall.
The resulting explosion wounded most of the Scouts present, and
allowed him to capture Eren and escape the scene. Several hours later,
he took refuge in the Forest of Giant Trees and took the opportunity to
take Eren's 3DMG gear for himself. [6]
He informs Eren and Ymir of their intentions to provide them entry into
their homeland, but admits that he knows Eren won't come along with
them willingly. Their location has become surrounded by Titans, and so
he advises them to wait until nightfall before making any sort of move,
to avoid being devoured. Ymir guesses this means he's also too exhausted
to transform, something he refuses to answer.
However, during a conversation with Ymir about their dire
situation, he begins to behave strangely and talks about requesting
promotions. As the others look on with shock, he continues discussing
the events at Castle Utgard and claims that Krista must like him since
she's always so nice. When Eren loses his temper and threatens him,
Reiner becomes confused and asks what he said wrong. Ymir notices
Bertolt's expression, and confronts him about what they are witnessing.
He finally speaks up, informing Reiner that he is "not a soldier" and
that "we are warriors", prompting a sudden change in his behavior.
As Reiner collapses onto the branch and buries his face in his
hand, Ymir theorizes that his strange behavior resulted from repressing
his own memories to cope with extreme guilt. She guesses he became so
attached to his role as a human soldier, that his heart "broke" and his
memories were altered to suit his delusional state. When she mentions
his "earnest" personality and guesses this was the reason behind
tensions with Bertolt, he explodes at her to stop.
Eren accuses him of playing the victim, and insists that he is a
murderer that gave up being human. The two briefly argue, with Reiner
agreeing to this assessment but demanding what Eren wants from them.
Ymir interrupts their argument, and attempts to gather more information
concerning the ape-like Titan. Reiner makes several vague comments, and
suggests that Ymir should ally with them since she also knows some of
what is really going on. He insists that she is trustworthy, since they
share the goal of protecting Krista and he can ensure her future in
exchange for Ymir's cooperation. [7]
Bertolt expresses his concern over allying with Ymir,
and they recall how she once ate their friend, Marcel. But Reiner
argues that this further proves that Ymir can be trusted to cooperate
with them, since her motivations are obvious. This causes Bertolt to
question Reiner's state of mind, but he reassures him and reminds him
that Krista is an important member of a Noble family. They discuss
whether or not Eren is the "Coordinate" they were sent to find, and
decide that Krista's ties to the Wall Cult may help their mission.
The two briefly discuss accomplishing their mission and returning
home. Reiner suggests that Bertolt confess his feelings to Anne once
they return home, and bitterly notes that their crimes mean no one else
could understand them. Their conversation is cut short when they notice
signal flares in the distance, and realize that soldiers have pursued
them. He attempts to convince Eren to cooperate and go quietly with
them, but is forced to choke him into unconsciousness after a brief
struggle.
As they flee through the forest, Ymir
notices the flares and demands to be allowed to see Krista. Reiner and
Bertolt refuse her at first, but are forced to give into her demands
after she threatens them. Once Ymir returns from successfully kidnapping
Krista, he transforms into his Titan form and flees with the others
clinging to his back. [8]
The other graduates of the 104th manage to catch up to him, climbing
onto his Titan form. He ignores them until Mikasa attacks Bertolt,
cupping his hands around his neck in order to provide his partner a safe
place to hide. While the others confront Bertolt over his actions,
Reiner continues to focus on fleeing towards Wall Maria.
Commander Erwin Smith
lures a massive horde of Titans directly into his path, forcing Reiner
to make a suicidal charge. Their sheer numbers overwhelm him,
restricting his movement and eventually forcing him to begin fighting
back -- leaving Bertolt and Eren exposed. This allows the soldiers to
make a second rush, and in the chaos Armin is able to get onto his head
and confront Bertolt. He reveals that Annie has been captured, and
claims she is being tortured in order to confuse and upset the pair.
Reiner is horrified by this news, and is unable to prevent Erwin from
ambushing Bertolt. With Eren freed, the soldiers begin to retreat. In an
act of desperation, he begins to throw the Titans attacking him into
the path of the fleeing humans. [9]
This causes chaos on the battlefield, as soldiers are knocked from their horses and the Titans begin to attack them. Jean Kirstein and Armin Arlert
express horror at his actions, wondering whether he even cares anymore
about the danger of Eren being killed. His assault is only stopped when
Eren's power as the Coordinate manifests, causing the Titan horde to
attack the Smiling Titan in his stead. This shocks and horrifies Reiner, who senses the power but seems resistant to Eren's control.
He realizes that this is the worst possible situation, thinking
that Eren is the worst possible person to possess that power. Free from
the Titan horde, he charges after Eren with unknown intentions. However,
he is stopped in his tracks when Eren screams at him to stay away and
threatens to kill him. The Titan horde react to this command by
abandoning their previous kill, swarming the Armored Titan with renewed
aggression. Reiner realizes they've lost, expressing the fear that he
won't be able to keep Bertolt safe.
The soldiers take the chance to retreat, leaving Reiner to the
Titan horde. He desperately attempts to fend them off, shielding Bertolt
with one hand. Just as he'd feared, he's quickly overwhelmed and unable
to protect his partner from the Titans. But before one can kill
Bertolt, Ymir reappears and begins to fight alongside the pair.
The narration notes that the Armored Titan did not pursue the
soldiers further, leaving his exact fate unknown in the aftermath of the
battle. [10] Eren later expresses the desire to catch him and make him pay for his crimes, suggesting that he believes they survived. [11]
An epilogue reveals that he survived the battle, and returned with his allies to the ruins of the Shiganshina District.
Though unharmed, he is physically exhausted and deeply shaken by the
events of the past two days. He questions Ymir about her actions, and
tries to persuade her to escape since her fate is uncertain if she goes
with them. However, she refuses and instead expresses her gratitude
towards the traitors for their role in freeing her from her Titan form.
He is silent in response to this, expression grim as she states her
understanding for their situation. [12]
Abilities
Reiner utilizing 3D Maneuver Gear
As one of the top ten graduates of the 104th squad, Reiner is likely highly competent in the use of 3D Maneuver Gear
and respective weapons. He is also one of the best hand-to-hand
fighters amongst the recruits, having also trained other skilled
fighters such as Eren.
The Armored Titan
Like all other Titan Shifters, Reiner is able to transform into a 15 meter Titan referred to as the Armored Titan (鎧の巨人Yoroi no Kyojin?)
in the series. Reiner uses this form to break down the inner gate of
Wall Maria and actively uses it after he reveals his identity and
objective to Eren. It is unknown how Reiner acquired his powers. The
Armored Titan is capable of assuming human form at will, due to the
intelligence it demonstrates in appearing to work with the Colossal Titan
in breaching Wall Maria. As he retains his human intelligence, he uses
his hand-to-hand combat skills against other human-turned-Titans such as
Eren, which in conjunction with his armor-like skin, gives him a solid
advantage in combat.
Regeneration: Reiner, like all other Titan Shifters and
Titans, has the power to automatically regenerate any wounds sustained
and even entire limbs. This also applies to his human form as seen when
he sustained a broken arm in a scuffle against a Titan in Castle Utgard,
his arm was almost fully healed when he rejoins the Survey Corp on top
of Wall Rose. Furthermore, Reiner loses the bottom part of his forearm
when it is sliced off by Mikasa, however, he is seen with a complete
limb by the time he is in the Forest of Giant Trees.
Enhanced Strength: During the battle in the Shiganshina
District, Reiner in his Titan form demonstrated enough physical power to
smash through the inner gate of Wall Maria with a running start. While
squaring off in an attempt to capture Eren in his Titan form, Reiner was
shown to easily overpower his opponent with punches powerful enough to
blow at least half of his head off. Reiner’s tackle had enough force to
throw Eren’s titan form back into Wall Rose cracking it in the process.
In addition, he uses his unique hardened skin to supplement his physical
blows making them deadlier than those of normal-based Titans.
Enhanced Speed: During the battle in the Shiganshina
District, Reiner in his Titan form demonstrated enough speed to quickly
cross the gap to the inner gate of Wall Maria preventing cannons from
accurately firing at him. While fully armored his speed is noted to be
much slower, however, Reiner has shown that he can choose to shed
certain areas of his armor, such as joints located at the back of his
legs, boosting his overall speed. This tactic was used several times by
him successfully during his fight against Eren’s Titan form. However,
the Armored Titan form is more suited for physical combat, and performs
less well in running large distances seeing as how the Survey Corp were
able to reach him via horseback after leaving the Forest of Giant Trees.
Armor Hardening: While transforming into the Armored
Titan, Reiner's body automatically produces a hardened, armor-like skin
that covers most of his body, save for areas such as his joints at the
back of his legs. The armor is hard enough to repel concentrated cannon
fire, blows from other Titan Shifters such as Eren, as well as blade
strikes from the Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear. The durability of this
armor is enough to withstand a direct collision from the Colossal Titan
who fell from the top of Wall Rose wounding most people in the area,
incapacitating Eren's Titan form, and leaving a large crater in the
ground. As stated previously, the Armored Titan can choose to harden or
not to harden joints at will, sacrificing speed and combat ability for
protection.
Relationships
Bertolt Hoover
- Bertolt is his childhood friend and partner, working closely with him
in their mission. They are rarely seen apart, with Reiner taking the
lead most of the time. Ymir notes that his psychological issues have
caused friction between them, though it is revealed that Bertolt is
vital in helping him maintain his grasp on reality. During their failed
mission to kidnap Eren, he expresses a great desire to keep Bertolt
safe, placing himself at a major disadvantage in order to protect him.
Historia Reiss
- It has been hinted that he may have feelings for her, though it is
unclear whether this is a simple crush or something stronger. It is also
unclear whether these feelings are part of his delusions, or genuine.
Eren Yeager
- Eren was one of his closest friends, and it was stated that Eren
considered him both a "strong, capable guy" and something of a big
brother. However, their friendship turns violently antagonistic once he
reveals his true identity to Eren. Upon learning of Eren's power as the
Coordinate, he reacts with great concern and notes that Eren is the
worst person to possess it.
Connie Springer
- Connie is one of his close friends, and someone that Reiner has
repeatedly put himself into harm's way to protect. After his true nature
is revealed, Connie refuses to believe that Reiner is truly their
enemy.
Annie Leonhart
- Reiner and Annie have a somewhat strained relationship, though they
work closely towards accomplishing their mission. His efforts to prank
her or strike up conversations tend to go over poorly.
Ymir
- Their relationship is complex. They recognize quite a bit about each
others' motivations, and share a desire to keep Historia safe from harm.
He uses these feelings to manipulate Ymir into becoming their ally, but
he also expresses more trust in her than Bertolt feels is wise. Unlike
Bertolt, he does not appear to harbor any ill will towards her for
nearly killing him as a child, nor for killing Marcel. Having failed his
mission and even knowing that he cannot go home empty handed, he
attempts to persuade Ymir to save herself by escaping.
Trivia
Reiner's character design for the animeIn
a blog post on April 17th, the author revealed that Reiner's Titan
image (the Armored Titan) were actually based on Brock Lesnar, an
American professional wrestler and former Mixed Martial Artist.
In episode 2, a young Reiner and Bertolt are in the crowd when
the mission to reclaim Wall Maria is announced. This is an anime-only
cameo.
The Guidebook "Outside" states his birthday is August 1st, a
day celebrated by fans as "Yaoi Day". The number 801 is shorthand for
the genre, and may be a reference to the question of Reiner's sexual
orientation.
His name is Old Norse in origin, and means "Counseling Warrior".
Survey Corps
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