Erwin Smith

Erwin was a complex character, portrayed as serious, calculating, and always planning far in the future. While he trusted his men, he was the first to realize that there was a spy interfering with the Survey Corps, and was able to come up with a reasonable criteria to determine which of his soldiers to trust with vital information, and which to keep in the dark. An eloquent speaker, Erwin was able to sway many people, such as the military tribunal held to judge Eren and the trainees into choosing which recruitment branches to join. Erwin was often seen as a very grim individual. He accepted all news, good or bad, mockery or praise, with the same stoic attitude. His ultimate goal was for humanity to once again rise up and become the dominant species over the Titans, a goal he was willing to sacrifice anything for, such as when ordering everyone to save Eren even after being caught in the jaws of a Titan, resulting in the loss of his right arm. He shared this unique stoic quality with men such as Garrison Commander Dot Pixis, team leader Ian Dietrich, and Commander-in-Chief Darius Zackly. As Armin Arlert put it, Erwin, like the aforementioned three men, had the ability to send his men to die if it would further the cause of humanity. He and they would sacrifice their own humanity in order to bring change to a world where those who cannot sacrifice things important to them will not change anything. Since he was able to make such commitments, he was a master strategist, shown multiple times through actions like capturing the Female Titan and leading a group of Titans to distract the Armored Titan so the military could save Eren. However, behind his front of assurance and single-minded determination, Erwin still held his own personal ideals and questioned his own motivations. Following the rebellion, he admitted he understood his audacious actions and questioned constantly if what he was doing was the right thing. Darius Zackly and Dot Pixis were also privy to this, with Zackly hypothesizing that Erwin did not truly care about humanity's best interests, and Pixis openly accusing Erwin of caring more about his own life than the survival of humanity as a whole. These views of Erwin proved, in the long run, to be true. During his final expedition in Shiganshina, when faced with the prospect of sacrificing his own life in order to defeat the Beast Titan, Erwin proved reluctant to act, even considering abandoning his comrades for a slim chance of reaching the basement. Only after being coerced by Levi did he reveal his strategy. He cared more about discovering the secrets hidden in Eren's basement and finally proving his father's theories correct - possibly as a means to alleviate his guilt for the part he played in his death - than he did about retaking the lost territory of Wall Maria. His dream of understanding the world was so strong that he confessed to Levi that he considered it more important than the victory of humanity. This selfishness should not, however, be mistaken for heartlessness. He felt great remorse for sacrificing countless others for the sake of his ambitions, admitting to Levi that he felt their fallen comrades watching him, waiting to see what he would do with the lives that they dedicated to him. This had rendered him suicidal; only his obsession with learning the truth about the world pushed him forward. Furthermore, despite his desire to understand the truth of the world being stronger than humanity's victory, Erwin made the selfless decision to go charging in the front lines alongside his soldiers and sacrifice the chance of knowing what was in the basement, effectively abandoning his dream.

Erwin's missing arm Erwin had a commanding presence, standing tall above most members of the Survey Corps, and had a quite muscular build with his blond hair kept neatly parted on the left side. Erwin always wore a calm and collected expression on his face, with his icy blue eyes being one of his most striking features. His eyebrows were also quite noticeable, being very thick and bushy. Erwin typically dressed in the standard military uniform, donning the Survey Corps' signature green cape when on missions. He also wore a small, emerald bolo tie around his neck similar to the other military commanders, Nile Dok and Dot Pixis. Following the second appearance of the Armored Titan, Erwin lost his right arm just below his shoulder as it was bitten off by a Titan.