The Attack On Titan universe has many powerful villains, with Eren and his friends sharing no shortage of adversity. Many enemies rely on raw military numbers or special powers in order to remain relevant and fulfill their sinister objectives.
However, some evildoers depend just as much on intelligence as they do physical brawn, usually preferring a more delicate approach to difficult problems and seemingly insurmountable odds. By identifying the anime's smartest villains, we can better comprehend the worth of their wits and what damage they have caused as a result.
Warning: This list will contain manga spoilers.
10 Bertholdt Managed To Keep His Identity A Secret Better Than Any Other Of The Warriors
Bertholdt was considered a military prodigy and one of the most promising Warrior candidates. He was competent and reliable, managing to maintain his identity much better than both Reiner and Annie.
Many Marleyan officials noted the potential he had based on his unusually high academic scores. Nonetheless, he usually depended on Reiner's leadership due to his timid personality and was outsmarted by Eren and Armin during the second battle for Shiganshina.
9 Theo Magath Was Marley's General & A Decent Judge Of Character
Theo Magath was the general of Marley's military and a man who showed great personal interest in the Warrior program. Under his instruction, the indentured Eldians infiltrated Paradis and were nearly able to claim the Founding Titan on numerous instances.
Despite his mind for strategy and the brilliant success in Fort Slava, Magath has often found himself outmaneuvered by Paradis' forces. This was first proven during the attack on Marley and later when his counterstrike against Eren was completely obliterated. In the end, he threw away the element of surprise and lost Porco in one of the most costly defeats of his nation's history.
8 Floch Was Eren's Competent Second-In-Command
Floch was one of the only survivors of Zeke Yeager's massacre and the second-in-command of the Yeagerist forces. He was responsible for leading them in Eren's absence and successfully locked down the city.
Even after Armin helped Reiner and Annie ambush Floch's compound, he quickly led a counterattack and overwhelmed the rebels. However, he cannot be given too much credit since he did not invent the thunder spears used to repel the Female and Armored Titan, nor was he able to ultimately kill them.
7 Yelena Was A Loyal Subordinate Of Zeke Who Deceived Paradis' Finest Generals
Yelena was a woman from a nation who had been conquered by Marley. In spite of this, she was aware of the threat that Eldians posed and surmised that it would be better if their race went extinct.
After her scouting party had been apprehended by Eren, she willingly gave herself up to Hange in order to gain their trust. This was only so that she could later serve Paradis' military generals with wine tainted by Zeke's spinal fluid, rendering them hostages in their plan for Eldian sterilization.
6 Annie Was A Well Trained & Competent Warrior Who Outsmarted Levi
Annie Leonhart was one of the few individuals alive to have managed to outsmart Levi successfully. Although humanity's greatest soldier caught her in a wire trap with the assistance of Mikasa and Hange, the Marleyan was able to escape by doing the unthinkable -- using pure titans to consume her own body.
After losing her in the forest, Levi was completely without leads as to where the Marleyan might appear next or who she was. Fortunately, Armin managed to figure out her identity based on their encounter in titan country, using the MP's hunt of Eren as an excuse to lure Annie toward a dark basement and force her to expose herself.
5 Kenny Ackerman Was Responsible For Training & Nearly Cornering Levi
Kenny Ackerman was the most skilled and ruthless villain who wasn't a titan shifter. He was responsible for training Levi in combat and later fighting him alongside a regiment of the military police.
After suffering significant wounds from Rod Reiss and his nephew, Kenny managed to steal a syringe of titan fluid and flirted with the notion of injecting himself in order to save his life. He was also crafty enough to single out Annie from a crowd and attempt to apprehend her, although with nearly disastrous result.
4 Zeke Yeager Was The Only Man Able To Fool Both Paradis & Marley
Zeke Yeager was a fiercely intelligent man who believed that Eldian sterilization was the only way to end their suffering. He deceived Marley by allowing himself to be captured and turned his back against the Eldians by transforming its military generals into pure titans near the conclusion of Magath's invasion.
Ultimately, the only person who never trusted Zeke was Levi. However, the Beast Titan was able to outsmart him anyway by detonating an explosive meant to keep him in check at point-blank range. It caused a serious injury to the captain that he would retain for the rest of his life.
3 Rod Reiss Was The True King Of The Walls Who Knew How To Avoid Unnecessary Risks
Rod Reiss was the true king of the walls and a man who used a fake monarch to strategically conceal himself from the public eye. In addition to successfully kidnapping Eren, he was also able to turn the Scouts into criminals until his transformation and defeat at Paradis' border.
Moreover, Rod was the only member of his family to have witnessed the onslaught of Grisha Yeager and lived to tell the tale. Ultimately, it's possible that he could have returned the power of the Founder back to the royal family if Levi and Mikasa did not intervene.
2 Eren Was Able To Outsmart Zeke & Even His Own Friends
As he matured, Eren became one of the most relentlessly intelligent villains of the entire series. He was able to get his former friends to fight off Marley's invasion, weakening both of his opponents simultaneously and further guaranteeing the success of the Rumbling.
He was also able to outsmart Zeke by lying about his intentions for the Founding Titan. Once he reached Ymir, he instantly won her favor and used her power for his own destructive purposes.
1 King Fritz Had A Long & Successful Reign Of Tyranny
King Fritz was the first man to properly harness the power of the titans, having subjugated Ymir and won her heart. With her enormous and unholy strength, he conquered most of the world and taught it to fear Eldians.
After Ymir's death, he had her daughters consume her corpse in order to retain her power. Fritz's intelligence is legendary for the fact that he spent his entire life in control and undefeated.
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