Hello everyone!
This is the full version of the article I posted on Instagram, at @the_aot_universe.
DISCLAIMER: This article contains SPOILERS for AoT S4 Pt. 2 & 3!!!!
I'd like to thank Turtle Quirk and Foortoo on YouTube for providing the articles and some of the images of this article.
All their rights are reserved.
What are hybrid titans? How are they formed?
In this article I'll try to explain how Titan powers were split from one person (Ymir Fritz) into nine different titans, how they can mix up with each other and how hybrid titans work.
First of all, we need to start from someone, and that someone is the original Titan: Ymir Fritz.
Ymir acquires the Power of the Titans after coming into contact with a parasyte, defined by Eren Kruger as "The Source of All Living Matter".
Ymir comes in contact with the Hallucogenia
Eren Kruger
After that, Ymir becomes a 75-meters-tall(not confirmed) faceless titan.
The first Titan
After her death, Ymir's spine was eaten by her three daughters: Maria, Rose, Sina.
By eating her spine, the three girls inherited her mother's powers, allegedly creating the first three Intelligent Titans, most likely all hybrids.
From left to right: Sina, Rose and Maria
Image credits to: Turtle Quirk on YouTube (@turtle.quirk on Instagram)
Now there are two theories on the three original hybrid titans that caame before the Nine Titans.
The "Original Nine"
The "Turtle Quirk" theory)
In the YouTube video titled "The ORIGINAL Armored Titan EXPLAINED! | Attack on Titan | Ancient Titan Theory", released on the 16th of May 2022, by the AoT youtuber Turtle Quirk, the concept of hybrid titans is introduced and explained.
In the video he suggests that Ymir's daughter inherited from their mother three titans each:
Maria, the oldest daughter, inherited the Founding Titan (therefore inheriting the role of Queen of the Eldians), the Armored Titan and the Warhammer Titan
Rose, the middle child, inherited the Attack Titan, the Female Titan and the Colossal Titan
Sina, the youngest, inherited the Beast, the Cart and the Jaw.
To Turtle Quirk, when multiple people eat a Titan-shifter's spine, they "split" the power, creating new Intelligent Titans, apparently breaking the boundary of the Nine Titan-shifters.
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Why among all the nine Titans, they have been inherited like this? I'll state the reasons still given in the same YouTube video:
Maria) The Founder, the Armor and the Warhammer all share one main feature, the ability to harden their skin and to create things with it.
This is seen various times, from Karl Fritz (Founding Titan) creating structures like the Walls and the Underground Chapel, Reiner Braun (Armored Titan) having hardened plates all over his Titan body and Lara Tybur (Warhammer Titan) being able to create weapons whenever she wishes.
The Underground Chapel, Reiner and Lara (from left to right)
Original Armored Titan, central point of Turtle Quirk's video
Image credits to: Turtle Quirk on YouTube (@turtle.quirk on Instagram)
Rose) The Attack, the Female and the Colossal all share human appearences, and all of them, especially the Female and the Colossal, can be skinless.
Sina) The Beast, the Jaws and the Cart all share similar features, like the resemblance to animals.
In chapter 136, the fact that these three titans are almost undistinguishable if they are quadruped is shown in a rather "comical" situation:
Mikasa trying to explain which Titan they're looking for
The problem)
The only problem present in Turtle Quirk's theory is the fact that if multiple people eat a Shifter's spine at the same time they generate more Intelligent Titans, therefore creating the possibility to break the boundary of the Nine Titans. In the video, it's explained that eldians couldn't create any more Intelligent Titans because they were restricted by the King.
This part of the theory conflicts with the canon information that the show has given us.
The reason why there are just nine special Titan Powers is because at the time of her death, Ymir's soul was split into nine parts, each representing a Titan-Shifter.
(Videographic bibliography:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDFkw7m863E&t=470s&ab_channel=TurtleQuirk )
The Foortoo theory)
In the YouTube video titled "Rise of the Eldian Empire and the Great Titan War - Attack On Titan Theory", released on the 5th of December 2021, by the AoT youtuber Foortoo, he suggestes that after Ymir's death, her three daughter inherited not only her mystical titanc powers, but also her political one.
After King Fritz I's death (Maria, Rose and Sina's father), the Eldian Empire was reorganised in clans and subclans, consisting into three main Clans that each ruled over two Subclans.
The organisation of power was based upon the inheritance of the Original Hybrid Titans (Maria, Rose and Sina to be exact), who were the Original Founder, the Original Armour and the Original Beast.
The Original Founder was the union of the Founding Titan, the Colossal Titan and the Attack Titan;
The Original Armour was the union of the Armour, the Warhammer and the Female Titans, due to their ability to harden their skin;
The Original Beast was the union of the Beast, Cart and Jaw Titans.
The Crocodile Titan or the Original Beast, central point of Foortoo's Theory
The problem)
To put it bluntly, Foortoo's division of the Original Titans is a bit wrong.
I believe that the Original Armored could be more better defined by Turtle Quirk's theory.
Although Foortoo justifies the connection between the Female with the Armored and the Warhammer with Annie's ability to harden and enter a cryo-state, I don't think that is a feature of the Female Titan by itself, but more Annie's own capability.
The Female Titan can't be associated with the Armored and the Warhammer Titans because:
1) Other titans can harden their skin (without the help of "Armor spinal fluid", like Eren - cfr. Attack on Titan anime, season 3 part 1, Episode 45 "Outside of the Walls of Orvud district"), like the Beast, but they're not related to the Original Armour:
2) Annie acquired many of her abilities by allegedly eating her comrades's limbs (cfr. Attack on Titan manga, Chapter 133 "Sinners").
Gabi and Falco asking Annie about her titan's ability.
(Videographic Bibliography: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XW88A9bwqg&t=268s&ab_channel=Foortoo ).
Grisha Jaeger's Attack Titan
After that, Eren inherits his father's Titan in the same year.
Eren Jaeger's Attack and Founding Titan
During the Raid of Liberio (year 854), Eren also manages to acquire Lara Tybur's Warhammer Titan.
Eren using his Warhammer powers.
Fun Fact: Eren Jaeger is the only known Titan-Shifter to retain three different Titan Powers (The Attack, the Founder and the Warhammer)
The second Titan-Shifter known to be an Hybrid Titan is Falco Grice.
Although Falco doesn't have other Titan Powers except the Jaw (taken during the Revenge of Liberio from eating Porco Galliard, cfr. Attack on Titan anime, season 4 part 2, Episode 78 "Two Brothers").
Falco's Jaw Titan
Since Falco's pure Titan was generated by Zeke's spinal fluid, the boy has acquired animalistic features like the appearence of an hawk and the ability to fly (cfr. Attack on Titan manga, Chapter 135 "Battle of Heaven and Earth").
Falco's Titan flying
That's it for all the Hybrid Titans!
Thank you for reading,
-Alesmat.
