Smiling Titan - Attack on Titan
The Smiling Titan is the unofficial name of a Titan and one of the antagonists of the Attack on Titan series, particularly Eren Jaeger . He is a supporting character who, although he only appears a few times during the series, has an important role in the story. He appears in the very first chapter of the manga and in the first episode of the anime series. This Titan stands between 46 and 50 feet tall and is characterized by his grinning smile and disproportionate shapes.
Before acquiring his Titan form, his human identity was Dina Jaeger, the first wife of Grisha Jaeger, father of Eren Jaeger and mother of Zeke Jaeger. Ironically, it was she who unknowingly killed Eren's mother, Carla, during the invasion of Wall Maria. Filled with anger, losing his mother to this Titan was the reason Eren decided to seek revenge against the Titans.
Features
Dina's exact height in her Titan form is unknown, though she appears to be between 14 and 15 meters tall. Like most Mindless Titans, her appearance is masculine, despite being originally female. Her hair is short, reaching down to the nape of her neck, with a blond tint. This Titan's most notable feature, however, is her enormous, grotesque grin, which she always maintained as her lips were permanently wide open, always exposing her teeth and gums. Additionally, she has more teeth than a human, a fairly common feature among Titans. However, despite her robust appearance, the Smiling Titan has an emaciated body, with many of her ribs visible through her skin, and an unusually long and thin neck.
Origins
Dina Fritz (maiden name) was the first wife of Grisha Jaeger (Eren's father). Dina is sent by "The Owl" to join the Restorers of Eldia, introducing herself as a descendant of the Fritz family. She also explains, after the previous interrogation of the group members, that King Fritz did not use the power of the Coordinate to attack Marley because he did not want to continue the war, fleeing to Paradis and leaving several Eldians in Marley. Grisha, upon hearing this, says that his goal will be to return the power of the Coordinate to the Founding Titan to the Eldians who stayed to fight instead of fleeing.
The couple had a son, Zeke, who would later become the Beast Titan . Sometime later, the Marley government announced that King Fritz had declared war, explaining that to counterattack the Eldians, the government would recruit children between the ages of five and seven, who would carry Titan powers and be recognized as "Honorable Citizens of Marley" along with their families.
Grisha and Dina trained Zeke from a young age to fight for the people of Eldia, as they were initially severely discriminated against by the Marleys due to their "demonic past." However, there came a time when Zeke began to think that his parents loved him not as a son, but as an instrument to achieve their own goals. Thus, at the age of 7, he informed the Marleyan government of his parents' rebellious activities and betrayed them. Both were arrested, and as punishment, Dina was sentenced to be injected with titan serum and thrown over the wall to kill her fellow Eldians living on Paradis Island.
Before being transformed into a Titan, Dina had promised that she would find Grisha, no matter what she became. However, Dina could not return to her human form, and Grisha was no longer among the living after Shiganshina's attack. Instead, she could find Grisha's new family, but she could never know, and Eren didn't know either until much later.
In this way, she eventually became the Smiling Titan. She remained outside the walls as the Mindless Titan for years, until the Colossal Titan breached the Shiganshina Wall and made contact with Eren and his mother.
5 years after Eren joined the Survey Corps , the Smiling Titan reappeared in front of Eren and Mikasa when they were outside the Forest of Giant Trees during the Armored Titan military operation. The reason it appeared was because of Erwin Smith 's plan to pit the Titans against Reiner and Bertolt.
In an attempt to devour everything in its path, the Smiling Titan killed and devoured Hannes as he tried to save Eren and Mikasa from being devoured. Then, at that moment, Eren, filled with rage, hatred, and anger, shouted and "slapped" the Titan's hand. Activating the Coordination ability, a power he didn't know he had, Eren seemingly began to take control of the surrounding Titans, and they proceeded to kill the Smiling Titan.
However, several years after eating his father Grisha (who also had Titan powers), Eren began to gain access to the memories of the former heirs of the Attack Titan. One of the memories Eren was able to see was the true origins of the Smiling Titan, his father's previous life, Zeke Jaeger's betrayal, and his brotherly relationship with him. This discovery was very shocking for him, and he eventually forgave the Smiling Titan and realized that she was merely a victim of Marley.
