Eren Yeager has arguably the harshest backstory of the Attack On Titan universe. Ever since the series began (and even before it, as conveyed through expositional flashbacks), he was forced to wrestle with adversity, assuming the "fight to survive" mantra as his outspoken philosophy.
Though it may seem belligerent and pessimistic, it was a stance based on the reality of his circumstances. Through identifying the worst things that happened to the Attack Titan, we can better appreciate his outlook on life and the reasoning he has for the actions he took in the name of Paradis.
10 He Was Imprisoned For His Actions In Marley
The attack against Marley was a calculated decision by Eren. He understood that if he unleashed his wrath against the nation by himself, the other Eldians would be obliged to assist him since they knew he was a resource they couldn't afford to lose.
However, he was imprisoned for his insolence and was vociferously admonished by both Levi and Hange. Nonetheless, his actions accrued support from other Scouts and began to form the nascent Yeagerist movement.
9 He Was Publicly Beaten & Humiliated By Levi
After it came to the Eldians' attention that Eren possessed a titan, he was brought before a military court under the purview of Dhalis Zachary. In order to convince the crowd that Yeager was capable of controlling himself, Levi promptly pummeled him so badly that he even knocked a tooth from his mouth.
This was a mortifying and excruciatingly painful experience for Eren since he was deliberately being humiliated in order to convey the depths of his restraint. Nonetheless, it was a gambit that procured his life since many of his detractors had been clamoring for his execution under the pretense that he was uncontrollable.
8 He Was Almost Murdered By Kitz Woermann
Kitz Woermann was the captain of the Garrison Regiment's first division elite forces. A fearful and superstitious man, he witnessed Eren's transformation and mistook him to be a threat, ordering his men to open fire in spite of how the Attack Titan had recently helped them.
In addition to jeopardizing Yeager's life, it almost killed Armin and Mikasa, both of whom had been unsuccessful in persuading Woermann from his execution. Only the timely intervention of Dot Pyxis was able to stave off the deranged general's wrath, sparing Eren and his friends from a premature end.
7 He Was Nearly Strangled To Death As A Child When Trying To Save Mikasa
Mikasa's loyalty to Eren was not unfounded. During their youth, he charged headlong into a trafficking den and belayed the wrath of the villain inside. Unfortunately, the criminals would not go down without a fight, and one of them nearly strangled Yeager to death.
Providentially, Ackerman found her courage, driving a knife into his would-be attacker and saving him for the first time. Regardless, it was a horrifying experience for a child to have endured albeit one that created an unbreakable bond between the two youngsters.
6 He Was Never Given A Choice In Becoming A Titan
Eren's father, Grisha, imbued him with the Attack Titan at an early age. Though it was a decision that would later save Eren's life time and again, it would equally jeopardize it and make him the target of foreign spies.
Further, it guaranteed that Yeager's life would end thirteen years after assuming the mantle. This would rob him of almost his entire future and oblige him to spend what little time he had left as a weapon of war.
5 Reiner & Bertholdt Shattered His Reality & Trust
It was evident ever since the Female Titan's attack that there were spies within the Scouts' ranks. However, when it was revealed that the traitors were friends close to Eren's heart and ones who supported him through times of turbulence, he was irrevocably changed.
He became less trusting and open to others, redirecting his hatred from the titans to the Marleyans. This would yield severe consequences for his enemies years later, even if he told Reiner that he understood the cause for his treachery and sympathized with it.
4 He Was Eaten By A Titan When Saving Armin
The 104th's first mission against the titans was an abject failure. Armin was nearly eaten by an ordinary monster, only for Eren to save him at (presumably) the cost of his own life.
Conveniently, it was the moment that he discovered his inner abilities, devastating the giant and reclaiming his freedom after the scouts retreated. Nonetheless, being consumed by a titan could have had disastrous consequences if his head was bitten off since he could not heal from it.
3 He Was Eaten Again By Annie
Jarring as Eren's first brush with death may have been, it wasn't his last. During the foray into titan country, Annie Leonhart was able to defeat and consume him, fulfilling the Warriors' imperative to secure the Coordinate. Providentially, Levi and the others managed to rescue him before they lost their greatest weapon forever.
However, this defeat was worse than his first for a number of reasons. Not only did his overconfidence cost the lives of other soldiers, but he would also have faced a fate worse than death if the Female Titan were successful at the hand of her Marleyian masters.
2 He Was Kidnapped & Nearly Sacrificed By Rod Reiss
Eren was kidnapped by Rod Reiss and locked in a secure bunker. The monarch instructed his daughter to consume him so that she would gain the power of the Founding Titan and assume the will of the king of the walls.
While this scene was yet another of Eren's narrow brushes with death, it was notably perturbing for how openly Eren embraced his own demise. Convinced that Historia could harness his power better than he ever might, he begged her to eat him before the intervention of Kenny and the Scouts.
1 His Mother Was Murdered In Front Of Him
Easily the most traumatizing and detrimental experience Eren has ever faced was the death of his mother, Carla Yeager. She begged him to flee as a titan seized her from the rubble of their destroyed home, casually ripping her limb from limb.
Yeager could only watch helplessly as she was consumed, changing him for the rest of his life. Poignantly, if he realized the power of the Attack Titan sooner, he would have been able to save his mother from the grisly fate she suffered.
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