Attack on Titan: Who is the Titan that ate Eren's mother?

Since its release in 2013, the dark fantasy anime Attack on Titan has established its position as the greatest of the new generation. It features one of the best plots in anime history. There is no shortage of murder and dismemberment in the series since its themes center around violence, discrimination, politics, and freedom.

The audience first encounters death in the series, Attack on Titan, when Eren Jaeger's mother, Carla Jaeger, passes away at the beginning of the series. She was trapped under debris during the invasion of Wall Maria, being powerless, she couldn't resist the Smiling Titan lifting her into the air and consuming her in front of her kid.

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Carla Jaegar's death in Attack on Titan

Eren's mother's death is regarded as one of Attack on Titan's most horrific tragedies. Carla was a loving mother to her only child, Eren. She even became a motherly figure to Mikasa after her family was killed and Eren took her in. Her death provided a small taste of the amount of blood and brutality that would later appear in Attack on Titan.

During the Titan attack on Wall Maria, many human-eating humanoids invaded the town Eren and his family lived in, and one of the Titans was Dina Yeager, the smiling Titan who later turned out to be Grisha Yeager's first wife. She was responsible for the death of Eren's mother, Carla.

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Identity of the Smiling Titan

Dina Yaeger os seen in Attack on Titan. (Image via Mappa)

Dina Fritz was the first wife of Grisha Yaeger, Eren's father. She was also a Restorationist and the last descendant of the royal family to live in Marley. She worked for "The Owl" to provide ground-breaking information to the radical association. She later married Geisha and gave birth to a boy named Zeke, who they wanted to use as a tool for their plan.

Although she loved her son, she had to send the seven-year-old child to join the army to get into the Titan program. However, the kid revealed the secret to the government, and as a result, the Restorationists were exiled to paradise, where Dina was transformed into the Abnormal Titan and thrown off the wall in front of her husband.

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The attack at the Shiganshina District - The death of Carla

The Fall of Shiganshina - Attack on Titan (Image via Wit Studio)

In the world of Attack on Titan, after a century of calm, humanity was abruptly brought back to the fear of the Titans in the year 845, when numerous Titans broke into the Shiganshina district, beyond the protected Wall Maria. The Pure Titan, Dina, entered Shiganshina shortly after Bertholdt, the Colossal Titan, kicked a hole in the southern gate.

The humanoids started destroying civilization and devouring humans. At this point, the military began evacuating the entire district as much as possible. After witnessing the horrific scene in front of his eyes, Eren ran towards his house in the hope of finding his mother.

When he arrived, he was met by his mother trapped beneath the debris of what had once been their home. It had completely crushed her lower body. Even after that, Eren and Mikasa tried everything they could to get her out, but in vain. Carla realized it was the end for her as she saw the horrifying titan come towards them.

Dina Yaeger as the Pure Titan aka the Smiling Titan from Attack on Titan (Image via Wit Studio)

Even though she wanted to be saved and have a normal life with her family, she had to push them away to protect them at the very least. She asked Hannes to take the children away. Hannes first came with the motive of saving them all but later became paralyzed in fear after seeing the sickening figure of the Smiling Titan.

He chose to take Eren and Mikasa to safety, leaving Eren's mother behind. It was the most heartbreaking moment the audience witnessed right at the start of Attack on Titan, when Hannes had to forcibly separate Eren from his mother and run away from the Titan while Eren watched the Smiling Titan pull his mother from the debris and viciously devour her.