Reiner Braun is one of the main characters and antagonists of Attack on Titan. He was introduced as the Armored Titan, one of the Study Corps’ greatest enemies before they learned that he was also one of their own recruits.
When he finally revealed who he really was, he battled his former teammates many times throughout the anime. Reiner did many terrible things throughout Attack the titans and is arguably the best villain in the series. He has shown on several occasions that he is a better antagonist than the others.
10 He Let The Titans Into Wall Maria
While Bertholdt was able to let the Titans into Shiganshina as the Colossal Titan, Reiner used his Armored Titan to enter Wall Maria, allowing the Titans to take an entire third of the land from the Eldians instead of a single district.
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This led to the death of many people in Paradis, while others lost their homes, starved to death and were separated from their loved ones. Reiner, Bertholdt, and Annie then disguised themselves as citizens of Paradis in order to get food, water, and shelter, not caring that their victims deserved more.
9 He Manipulated His Friends From The 104th Cadet Corps
After spending time in Paradis, Reiner decided to join the 104th Cadet Corps with Annie and Bertholdt. Originally, they planned to graduate at the top of their class and join the Military Police to find out who and where the heir to the Founding Titan was.
When he joined the 104th Cadet Corps, Reiner became close friends with some of his victims, as they had no idea who he really was. Reiner helped them in any way he could and acted like a big brother to them, devastating them when they finally found out the truth.
8 He Continued His Mission After Learning The Truth About The Eldenses
Throughout his time on Paradis, Reiner learned that the Eldians were not the demons Marley made out to be. At Marley, he was brainwashed into believing that the Eldians were evil and that by killing them he would be a hero to the rest of the world.
Despite discovering that the Eldians were not as bad as he thought, he decided to fight them. Instead of doing the right thing and helping his new comrades, Reiner continued his mission and planned to kill all the Eldians while searching for the Founding Titan so he could honor the nation that mistreated him and his family.
7 Forced Annie To Kill Marco
One of the soldiers Reiner befriended was Marco. After Marco overheard Reiner and Bertholdt talking about what the Armored and Colossal Titans were when they attacked Trost, Reiner decided to kill him.
He forced Annie to help him remove Marco’s ODM equipment, as she had saved Connie’s life earlier, causing Reiner to question his loyalty. After taking Marco’s gear, the Warriors left him to be eaten by a Titan while he begged them to talk things over to try to understand why his friends would do this.
6 Helped Annie Find Eren
After learning that Eren was a Titan Changeling – and likely the heir to the Founding Titan – Reiner’s plan changed. While Annie would go on to join the Military Police, he and Bertholdt joined the Survey Corps. As a Female Titan, Annie tried to find Eren as she killed the Survey Corps soldiers when they went on one of her missions.
Reiner secretly helped her by giving her information on Eren’s location while fighting her, etching the coordinates into her palm as she clung to him. As she fled, Reiner stayed with Jean and Armin, pretending that she was still on her side.
5 Attacked Eren
After Annie’s identity was discovered and she was defeated, Reiner tried to convince Eren to go to Marley with him. When Eren refused, Reiner transformed into his Armored Titan and the two fought each other.
Since Reiner had taught Eren a lot while they were training in the 104th Cadet Corps, Eren fought hard against him. Bertholdt held off the other Survey Corps soldiers until Eren was about to win.
4 Captured Eren And Ymir
While Reiner and Eren were fighting each other, Bertholdt was able to capture Ymir. They discovered that Ymir was the heir to the Jaw Titan shortly before revealing that they were also Titan Shifters. The Warriors fled with Eren and Ymir as hostages.
Although the Survey Corps came to her rescue a few hours later and saved Eren, Ymir decided to help Reiner and Bertholdt as she understood their mission as she too grew up on Marley before she was turned into a Titan.
3 He Confronted His Former Friends In Shiganshina
The Survey Corps developed a weapon to use specifically against the Armored Titan, as its skin was too tough for them to cut with their swords. These weapons were the Thunder Lances, which shot out from the soldiers’ equipment with a great force that passed through the Titans’ bodies and exploded once detonated.
When the warriors and soldiers clashed at Shiganshina, Reiner attacked his former comrades while Bertholdt and Zeke slaughtered most of the Study Corps. Reiner nearly died after being hit by thunder lances multiple times, but escaped when Pieck came to his rescue and brought him back to Marley.
2 I Was Going To Let Eren Destroy Marley
Over the years, Reiner suffered from intense sadness and wanted to take his own life. The only reason he didn’t was because he felt he should keep fighting for the children he cared about: the next generation of Marley Warrior Candidates. However, when Eren went to Marley, he tricked the Warrior Candidate Falco into bringing Reiner to him. After they talked for a while, Eren transformed in front of him.
Reiner protected Falco, but refused to fight when Eren, along with the Survey Corps, first attacked the citizens and Marley’s army. Reiner hoped that he could finally die, which could have caused Eren to kill all the children. He ended up fighting Eren after hearing Gabi and Falco plead for his help.
1 Led Marley’s Invasion On Paradise
As the Survey Corps dropped off Marley, Gabi and Falco snuck onto their airship, where Gabi killed Sasha. The Survey Corps took the children as prisoners. Upset by this and the fact that Zeke had betrayed Marley to join forces with the Survey Corps, Reiner led his nation to Paradis, seeking revenge.
Reiner led the Marley military to their enemies, where a great war broke out. Reiner once again fought Eren in the hope that Falco, who had become a Titan, would eat him and gain the power of the Armored Titan. Instead, Falco ate Porco, and Reiner was forced to continue fighting. However, once Eren started the Rumor, the soldiers and the Warriors – including Reiner – banded together to save the world.