Reiner Braun

Reiner initially presents himself as steady, courageous, and protective. He helps less confident cadets, takes dangerous assignments seriously, and frequently assumes responsibility without being asked. His classmates consequently treat him as one of their most reliable companions.

He is also intensely driven by duty and the desire to prove himself. Failure affects him deeply, and he tends to respond by taking more responsibility onto himself rather than admitting weakness.

Reiner's soldierly personality is complicated by the fact that he is actually one of Marley's Warriors and the inheritor of the Armored Titan. The psychological strain of living among people he was sent to destroy causes his identity as a Warrior and his genuine attachment to his comrades to blur together.

As the story progresses, Reiner develops profound guilt and depression over the lives destroyed by his mission. His understanding of the people on Paradis overturns the simplistic image of "island devils" taught to him as a child, leaving him unable to justify his actions through propaganda alone.

Reiner is one of the physically strongest graduates of the 104th. He excels in hand-to-hand combat, possesses considerable endurance, and becomes highly proficient with ODM gear during training.

His imposing physique makes him effective in direct physical confrontations even without Titan powers. He also possesses substantial battlefield experience from both his military training and the mission that preceded his life inside the Walls.

As the Armored Titan, Reiner can transform into a roughly 15-meter Titan covered across much of its body by hardened armor plates. This armor allows him to withstand artillery, blades, Titan attacks, and enormous impacts while using his mass for devastating charges.

The Armored Titan can selectively shed or reduce armor to improve speed and can regenerate severe injuries like other Titan shifters. Reiner's extensive experience eventually makes him one of the most battle-tested Warriors in the series, although specialized anti-Titan weaponry increasingly threatens the protection his armor once provided.

Reiner enters the story as one of the most capable members of the 104th Cadet Corps. After surviving the battle for Trost, he joins the Survey Corps alongside many of his classmates.

His reliability makes him particularly valuable during the Female Titan expedition and the Wall Rose crisis. He fights to protect other soldiers and remains closely involved with the mysteries surrounding the Titans.

Reiner eventually reveals that he and Bertholdt are the Armored and Colossal Titans responsible for the attack that destroyed Wall Maria. Their mission originated in Marley, which sent child Warriors to Paradis to recover the Founding Titan.

After returning to Marley, Reiner becomes a senior Warrior and mentor figure to the younger candidates. The war eventually brings him back into conflict with Eren, but the escalating threat of the Rumbling forces former enemies into an alliance.

Reiner participates in the final battle against Eren and survives the conflict. In the postwar period, he serves among the ambassadors attempting to establish peace between Paradis and the outside world.

Bertholdt Hoover is Reiner's childhood friend, fellow Warrior, and closest partner during their mission on Paradis.

Annie Leonhart is the third surviving member of the Warrior team sent inside the Walls. Their relationship is frequently strained by Reiner's determination to continue the mission.

Marcel Galliard originally leads the young Warrior group. Marcel's death profoundly affects Reiner and contributes to his assumption of the leadership role Marcel had occupied.

Porco Galliard resents Reiner for inheriting the Armored Titan instead of him and repeatedly compares Reiner unfavorably with Marcel.

Eren Yeager initially regards Reiner as a trusted senior cadet. Their relationship becomes one of the story's central enemy parallels after Reiner's identity is exposed.

Jean Kirstein, Connie Springer, Sasha Blouse, Armin Arlert, and Mikasa Ackerman train alongside Reiner and initially regard him as a trusted comrade.

Gabi Braun is Reiner's younger cousin and a Warrior candidate who admires him. Reiner becomes protective of her and understands the psychological burden placed on children seeking Warrior status.

Zeke Yeager is Reiner's Warrior superior during later operations.

Karina Braun, Reiner's mother, raises him to pursue Warrior status in hopes that honorary Marleyan citizenship will reunite their family.