Bertholdt Hoover was the first Colossal Titan and one of the strongest antagonists of the universe ofAttack On Titan. Although he did not make as good an impression as his other fellow warrior candidates, he was still recognized as a serious and terrifying threat due to the power he wielded.
Throughout his short but fruitful life, Bertholdt has had many battles and opportunities to prove his worth as a warrior of the Marleyan state. By identifying the context around these fights and who won, we can see whether or not they were a worthy user of the Colossal Titan.
10 Bertholdt’s first combat was against the garrison unit and the people of Shiganshina
Bertholdt’s first performance, and possibly his most iconic, was during the Warriors’ first foray into Shiganshina. Although their civilians were not technically their target, they wanted to test the might of the royal family and see whether or not they would react to an invasion.
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Even Grisha Yeager was heading to the Founder’s residence to beg her for the life of her family. Since Frieda ignored her, Grisha ate her, gave her change ability to Eren, and officially made her son a target.
9 WINNER: No one was prepared for the titans that Bertholdt and Annie unleashed
Although the Garrison Regiment did their best to repel Bertholdt’s attack, the unfortunate truth was that they had not seen significant action in nearly a century. As a consequence, the current generation of soldiers was completely unprepared to stop their titanic opponents.
Although the line of cannons they improvised was enough to stem the tide of pure titans for a time, it was completely obliterated after Reiner joined the battle on Bertholdt’s behalf. Consequently, Shiganshina’s downfall was one of the most crushing defeats the heroes suffered.
8 Bertholdt surprised Eren in Trost
Bertholdt made his second sudden appearance in what would become the battle for Trost. More than three years after Shiganshina’s initial downfall, he created another hole that endangered what was left of Eldian humanity.
Considering that he hadn’t been seen in so long, Bertholdt’s manifestation was as sudden and unpredictable as his Shiganshina debut. However, Eren would be marginally more prepared this time due to the skill he acquired with his ODM team during his training with the 104th Cadet Corps.
7 WINNER: Bertholdt lost the battle for Trost since the hole in the wall was plugged
In the end, the battle for Trost was the warrior unit’s second significant loss. Unaware of Eren’s displacement abilities, they were completely caught off guard when he lifted a massive rock above his head at Pyxis’ instruction and used it to plug the Colossal’s breach.
However, the Bertholdt maneuver was not a complete failure. He managed to avoid detection by transforming into his titan, and his conspicuous absence from the conflict was not addressed when Hange discussed whether or not he and Reiner were traitors.
6 Reiner and Bertholdt engaged the Scout Regiment after their identity was discovered
After the battle for Utgard Castle, Reiner lost his composure and confessed his role in the downfall of Shiganshina. This confirmed the scouts’ growing suspicions about the nature of the two warriors, although Eren was too shocked to process it at first.
Bertholdt was scared that Reiner would jeopardize the mission so haphazardly, especially after Marco was blatantly murdered to keep his secret. Once their identities and motives were raised, things took a quick turn for the worse.
5 WINNER: Bertholdt and Reiner successfully kidnapped Eren
Although Reiner’s armor may have been a challenge for Eren due to his inability to toughen up, the hero got around it using the martial arts he learned from Annie Leonhart. After breaking his enemy’s arm, it was beginning to look like the Attack Titan would prevail.
Hearing the desperate cry of his comrade, Bertholdt stepped out of the Colossal and manipulated its crumpled corpse into plummeting down on the two fighters. Since Reiner’s armor provided him significantly higher defense, only Eren took a significant hit from the weight of the falling monster’s body. He was knocked unconscious and was immediately abducted.
4 Bertholdt and Reiner met the scouts again during their escape from Paradis
Although Bertholdt and Reiner managed to kidnap Eren, the scouts weren’t going to let their greatest asset leave the island without a fight. Erwin assembled a huge rescue team to free the brave titan-shifter from his captors.
Concerned that Paradis was doomed, Ymir agreed to help Reiner on the condition that Historia be saved upon the return of the coordinate. The Armored Titan kept his promise and delivered a letter via Hange.
3 WINNER: Despite the Titan Shifters’ advantage, the scouts successfully retrieved Eren from the warriors
Scouts had two major disadvantages when facing warriors. Not only did the open field make the use of the ODM gear practically impossible, but they also did not yet have the technology to break Reiner’s armor.
To compensate for both disadvantages, Commander Erwin did the unthinkable. He attracted a huge army of pure titans towards his enemies and used them as a distraction. By accidentally using the Founding Titan through physical contact with Dina Fritz, Eren turned the nearby giants against the Warriors and escaped amid the chaos.
2 Bertholdt fought Armin and Eren in the battle for Shiganshina
Eren charged headlong into Bertholdt to keep the Colossal clear of the walls and Commander Erwin. Despite his bravery, the Attack Titan was almost instantly defeated after being pushed to the gates of Shiganshina.
The scouts were horrified to see how outplayed Eren was, especially considering that the steam secreting Bertholdt’s body could simply deflect his thunder lances. Despite their preparations, the heroes were outmatched by the Colossal, as they did not know how their abilities worked.
1 WINNER: Eren and Armin defeated Bertholdt at a very high price
Armin realized that the Colossal burned his own muscle to produce steam and used it to his advantage. He forced Bertholdt to burn to repel him, though he was almost burned to death as a result. Since Eren had “accidentally” fallen down the wall, he was no longer considered a threat.
However, Eren had long since abandoned his changing form. With Armin’s distraction complete, Eren sneaked up on the Colossal from behind and ripped the back of its neck. Poetically, Bertholdt’s changing titan would serve to feed Armin back to health.