Founding Titan - Attack on Titan
The Founding Titan is the first of the Nine Titans to appear in the Attack on Titan franchise. Approximately 2,000 years before the first events of the Attack on Titan story, Ymir Fritz , from whom all Eldians were descended, became the Founding Titan (or Shiso no Kyojin ) as a young girl.
History of the founding of Titan
Ymir Fritz was a slave who lived in a small village enslaved by the Eldians approximately 2,000 years before the events of the series (the Christian era). When a pig escaped from its pen in the village, Fritz, the village chief, demanded to know whose fault it was. The other slaves condemned Ymir, whose punishment was to be hunted down by the village men and their dogs.
She managed to escape the hunt and it was during this time that she acquired the ability to transform into a Titan. Armed with her powers, Ymir returned to her village and served Fritz and the Eldians, giving birth to three daughters with him: Maria, Rose, and Sina.
Ymir lived for thirteen years with the power of the Founding Titan, using it to strengthen Eldia. After her death, Fritz forced the three girls to eat Ymir's corpse so they could also inherit the ability to transform into Titans. Fritz then ordered them to breed and cannibalize each other so that Eldia could continue to use the power of the Titans to rule. In doing so, all of Ymir's subjects gained the ability to transform into Pure Titans.
Origin of Founding Titan
The Founding Titan is one of the nine Titans, each of whom carries a piece of Ymir's soul.
The exact events explaining how Ymir came to possess the power of the Founding Titan are unclear, although there are several theories.
The Creationist (or Eldian) theory is that Ymir received the powers of the Founding Titan from God. Meanwhile, the Marleyans theorize that Ymir received the powers of the Devil of Earth. Finally, Eren Kruger believes that Ymir transformed into the Founding Titan when she came into contact with the "source of all living matter." While seeking refuge in the hollow trunk of a tree, which led to a pool of underground water, Ymir accidentally slipped and fell into the water, where an unknown spine-like creature pierced her back and spine, triggering the first Titan transformation.
The Founding Titan's memories are passed down through each Inheritor, so Ymir Fritz's true origin story can only be unraveled after Eren Jaeger , or another of the Inheritors, gains access to Ymir's memories.
SKILLS
The Founding Titan possesses several unique abilities compared to all other Titans, which can be activated by the inheritor's shout. The inheritor also does not need to transform to use these abilities. They can be used simply by speaking, though it is unclear if and to what extent the volume of the shout affects the abilities' range. It is also unclear if only Titans within hearing range are affected, or if these abilities could eventually extend to all Titans. However, the full extent of the Founding Titan's abilities cannot be used by anyone without Royal Blood ; descendants of Ymir Fritz, or the Reiss family.
Titan Control
The Founding Titan is able to control the actions of the Pure Titans by shouting. However, the Founding Titan's shout does not have the power to control the other Nine Titans. The existence of the Wall Titans is first discovered in Season 2 , Episode 1. Eren Jaeger is also seen using this power in Season 2, Episode 12.
Creation of Titan
The Founding Titan's scream can also transform Ymir's subjects into Titans. This ability does not affect those not of Ymir's bloodline. Karl Fritz, the 145th king of Eldia, used this ability to transform hundreds of Ymir's subjects into Titans as large as the Colossus Titan, using their bodies as foundations for the three walls of Paradis Island, named after Ymir's three daughters. Bestial Titan has a similar ability, though the user of the Bestial Titan must inject those they wish to transform with their cerebrospinal fluid before activating their transformation with a scream.
Memory manipulation
The Founding Titan is able to manipulate and erase the memories of Ymir's subjects. The most notable use of this ability was also by Karl Fritz, who manipulated the memories of the entire population of Paradis Island, leading them to believe that they were the only humans left in the world. Frieda Reiss also used this ability to erase Historia's memories of their time together in Season 3 , Episode 7. This ability may not be absolute, as Historia was sometimes able to recall these memories in her dreams.
Hereditary capacity
The Founding Titan can be passed on to heirs of royal or common blood, though the powers are not as complete for a person of common blood. It is not yet known how well the Founding Titan's abilities work when used by a person of common blood compared to those of royal blood. If someone comes into contact with royal blood, they can temporarily use the Founding Titan's powers—this is shown in episode 37, when Eren Jaeger was able to use the Founding Titan's power after striking Dina Fritz's hand.
There are other abilities potentially to be discovered in the future that the current heirs of the Founding Titan may not have been seen using yet. The Founding Titan may also share abilities with the other Nine Titans.
Known heirs
In descending order of topicality:
- Ymir Fritz.
- Karl Fritz, first King Reiss and 145th King of Eldia.
- Rod and Uri Reiss's father.
- Uri Reiss.
- Frieda Reiss (niece of Uri Reiss).
- Grisha Jaeger.
- Eren Jaeger (son of Grisha Jaeger).
The Fritz family passed the Founding Titan down from successor to successor. However, after Karl Fritz inherited the Founding Titan and used its powers to build the Walls, he vowed to remain at peace with the rest of the world's population across the sea. Everyone who inherited the Founding Titan after him would also inherit its ideology and be overwhelmed by it. This causes massive personality changes in everyone who inherits the Founding Titan; they become peaceful, calm, and lose all desire to start a war with the Titans.
However, this vow becomes void if someone who is not of royal blood inherits the Founding Titan. Eren Jaeger came into possession of the Founding Titan through his father, Grisha Jaeger, who stole the power from Freida Reiss, and since he is not of royal blood, it can be assumed that the vow of renunciation of war is now void.
