Are there Beast Titans of varying animal forms? Have we seen them already?

Eren continues to hold the spotlight of Season 4 as he inches his way to his half-brother in the wake of Marley’s war on Paradis. As Episode 18 closes on Zeke hitting rock bottom after Magath’s vengeful shot of the Anti-Titan artillery to his arm, Eldia’s future hangs dangerously in the balance.

Even though Eren is the show’s star, his half-brother is a close runner-up. Making in debut in season 2 with the world’s deadliest pitching skills, Zeke ingrained the formidability of his Beast Titan into the brains of every Scout as he claimed countless of their lives, including Commander Erwin.

However, his skill in battle isn’t as popular as the host of his Beast Titan’s unique abilities. Taking a trip down memory lane, we see that season 2’s opening got the fandom asking a flurry of questions, but the most notable being – Can the Beast Titan turn into different animals?

Chapter 135 confirms this as we see the husks of Beast Titans Shifters sporting various species of the animal kingdom atop Eren’s massive Founding Titan.

What makes Zeke’s Beast Titan special?

Although Marley monopolized control over the Beast Titan for years, how was it that only Zeke’s Titan became indispensable to them?

Zeke’s titan’s absurdly long arms, coupled with the stellar pitching skills he honed from playing catch with Tom Ksaver, allowed him to deal damage over significant distances by hurling projectiles of any kind at terrifyingly fast speeds.

We’ve already witnessed the level of destruction he can cause when he ravaged the Scout Regiment throughout Season 2 and 3 and when he decimated an entire naval fleet in the first episode of the final season.

Even though his Titan’s lethal attack is usually saved to deliver the final blow in battle, Reiner’s fatal mistake of challenging him to a duel proves his combat skills and flexibility should never be underestimated.

Although the fight was cut from the anime, the manga reveals the sheer brutality of Zeke’s Titan as he demolished Reiner’s Armoured Titan by cleverly outmaneuvering him all while landing several blows and finally pile-driving him to defeat.

Even though we missed the action, we did get to see the aftermath of it – the Armoured Titan’s battered and broken body with Reiner completely unconscious inside.

Besides throwing hands, Zeke’s Titan was also able to harden its nape like the other Shifters, though it took time and considerable effort. However, Hange’s specially designed Thunder Spears could easily break through it, much to the relief of the Scouts.

But the real reason why Zeke was the GOAT of all Beast Titan Shifters was his Founding Titan abilities, courtesy of the royal blood flowing through his veins. Not only could he transform Eldians into Pure Titans with a single scream, but he could also command them in his Titan and human form.

However, this would only work if his spinal fluid found its way inside the Eldians he wished to transform. Thus, presenting him with versatile ways of using it.

While Marley only adopted the direct approach of using injections, Zeke and the Volunteers succeeded in the sly way of spiking the wine ingested by the military and Levi’s Scout members.

But Connie’s hometown of Ragako faced the most horrifyingly effective way yet – Aerosolized Spinal Fluid, which the unassuming people of the village sadly mistook for a strange yellowish mist.

In addition to his extraordinary Titan abilities, Zeke is also a brilliant tactician. Although it failed, he spearheaded the mission to recapture Eren when Reiner and Bertholdt were still reeling from the kidnapping attempt that went awry.

With all of these powers under his belt, it’s no wonder Zeke provided Marley with an edge in battle.

What forms of the Beast Titan have we seen so far?

We got our first glimpse of the many forms of the Beast Titan in Season 2’s opening as Zeke’s Titan ran alongside several species of animals over innumerable humans below. 

Although it only lasted two seconds, we could make out an elephant, two whales, a hippo, a zebra, a crocodile, a camel, a stingray, and an ostrich. The key to figuring out these were past Shifters were in the glowing red hearts inside each of them.

But what caught the fandom’s attention was the inclusion of a T-rex and another herbivorous prehistoric creature. While they’re considered the earliest forms of Beast Titan Shifters, we’ve yet to receive confirmation from Isayama.

Finally, in Chapters 135 and 136, we get to the husks of former Beast Shifters, which Ymir called on to protect Eren’s Founding Titan. In addition to seeing Tom Ksaver’s bighorn sheep Titan, we got the rabbit, Minotaur, snake, deer, and dog Titan.

While the former two had a humanoid build and walked on two legs, the latter two were enlarged versions of the animal and walked on all fours.

Although we never get to see the entire body of the snake Titan, it did appear to have the bottom half of a snake as it hung upside down on the underbelly of the Founding Titan.

The Minotaur Titan was also a massive copy of the regular creature, sporting the body of a man and ahead of a bull. The rabbit Titan was the most comical as it had a humanoid body with the head of a typical rabbit, making it look like a buff Bugs Bunny.

Even though there was a crocodile and okapi Titan, everyone’s undecided whether to place them in the Jaw, Cart, or Beast Titan category due to overlapping features.

How are Beast Titans Shifters able to do this?

While it’s finally established that Beast Titans can have different forms, it’s still a mystery how. Is there a lottery system that cycles various species? Or is there something or someone calling the shots?

Considering the origins of the Titans are rooted in the Source of All Living Matter or the Anomaly, our answers may lie with its power.

The Source is famously known for attaching itself to Ymir’s spine and later building an entire network of memories, wills, and emotions that bind all Eldians together.

One theory could be the Anomaly tapping into the minds of a Beast Titan holder and pinpointing a memory containing an animal of sentimental value.

Since Isayama loves those tiny details, he dropped hints like Zeke’s ape doll and Ksaver’s son’s bighorn sheep toy throughout the series to give us a heads up on their future Beast Titan form.

However, this only partially explains why the Anomaly chose these memories. If we closely inspect these scenarios, we see they share one intense emotion – grief.

For Zeke, it was a reminder of the childhood he never had, as the last time he played with it was when his parents decided to use him as a weapon in their Restoration movement.

Whereas for Ksaver, it was a reminder of the loss of his family as his wife committed suicide after killing their only son. While he initially mourned their loss, his despair was so great that he regretted his very existence as an Eldian.

But what about Falco? The bird features on his Jaw Titan resulted from his ingestion of the wine spiked with Zeke’s spinal fluid, thus making him a Beast Titan hybrid.

However, the only memory he has centered on animals is when he was lying stunned on the battlefield, talking to an unknown and wishing for it to fly away from the dangers below.

The Anomaly may choose an animal representing a holder’s nature or an animal that ties to a memory representing that nature. Since Falco is extremely considerate and caring as he wishes for the safety of everyone around him, even a bird, he was given that form.

Who inherits the Beast Titan after Zeke?

Although several candidates were to inherit the Beast Titan, none of them got the chance as Zeke meets his end before he can pass it on.

Zeke’s Titan was initially promised to the Marleyan warrior Colt Grice, Falco’s older brother. But he was killed in the crossfire of the battle on Paradis following Zeke’s arrival.

After betraying Marley, Zeke put Historia next in line as per his Euthanasia plan. But since she was pregnant, inheriting the Beast Titan took a backseat. It was then permanently out of her reach after the War on Paradis arc events.

Even though no one ‘traditionally’ inherited Zeke’s Titan, Falco can be considered an honorary Beast Titan since the spinal fluid spiked wine he ingested tweaked his Jaw Titan to have the traits of a bird.

Additionally, he could also peer into Zeke’s and his predecessors’ memories as he mentions the existence of a flying Titan of the past.

About Attack on Titan

Attack on Titan is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hajime Isayama. Kodansha publishes it in the Bessatsu Shonen Magazine.

The manga began serialization on September 9th, 2009, and ended on April 9, 2021. It has been compiled into 34 volumes.

Attack on Titan follows humanity settled within three concentric walls to protect themselves from the terrifying titans that prey on them. Eren Yeager is a young boy that believes that a caged life is similar to that of cattle and aspires to go beyond the walls one day, just like his heroes, the Survey Corps. The emergence of a deadly Titan unleashes chaos.