Colossal Titan Guide

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One of the most exciting things about Attack on Titan is its seemingly unpredictable plot. Every fan would undoubtedly remember how the story began and unfolded. It’s likely that the first moments were the main reason the manga became so popular. Many didn’t realize the intensity of the very first chapters. 

The story shocks many readers with a scene with the Colossal Titan’s massive attack on Shiganshina. Appearing first in 845 during the fall of Wall Maria, the Colossal Titan was a behemoth of a beast. Everyone feared it. The Colossal Titan (超大型巨人 Chō ōgata Kyojin) is one of the Nine Titan Powers, serving as a significant threat and a powerful enemy in the first three seasons of Attack on Titan.

This Titan has a massive size, larger than any other Pure Titan. Aside from its size, it can also control the steam emitted by its body; this ability is an efficient skill to outrun and defeat the quick-witted Scouts.

As we near the end of the anime series, Many fans who aren’t keen on reading the manga are interested to know more about the Colossal Titan. And if you’re one of them, better stick around because we will give you a thorough rundown about the Colossal Titan. 

Bottom Line Up Front

The Colossal Titan is among the very first Titan Shifters to appear in Attack on Titan. Its power and abilities are straightforward. It has gigantic physical features, as its name suggests. 

Aside from that, the Colossal Titan was inherited by both Scout Corps members, Bertholdt Hoover and Armin Outlet. Their Colossal Titans stand 60 meters tall but have different body mass, whereas Bertholdt’s was more muscular than Armin’s. 

Who Is the Inheritor of the Colossal Titan?

The Colossal Titan is known to be inherited by two of the most well-known Scouts. It dwarfs everyone in its surroundings because of its immense size. As one of the very first Titan Shifters introduced in the show, the Colossal Titan was also among the very first Titan Shifters that the people of Paradis Island culled. 

Without a doubt, it comes as the most recognizable Titan across the entire story. Do you want to know who the inheritors of the Colossal Titan were? Read on and find out! Warning: Spoilers ahead! 

Bertholdt Hoover

Bertholdt Hoover (ベルトルト・フーバー Berutoruto Fūbā) was a part of Marley’s Warrior Unit. He came from the Liberio internment zone and struggled to become one of the candidates to inherit a Titan Power. Because of his wit and determination, he was tasked to inherit the Colossal Titan. 

Together with Reiner Braun, Annie Leonhart, and Marcel Galliard, he infiltrated the Paradis Island to reclaim the Founding Titan. Bertholdt joined the 104th Cadet Training Corps along with other Marleyan Warriors. 

He graduated and ranked 3rd in his whole class. Eventually, he joined the Scout Regiment, where he wrecked the walls of Shinganshina as a Titan, revealing his hidden identity as the Colossal Titan. Seemingly unsuspecting, Bertholdt was a slender, tall teenage boy with pale green eyes and an elongated face. 

Colossal Titan form

Being the Colossal Titan, his appearance is quite distinctive and unusual. But one thing’s for sure; he can grow roughly 60 meters tall. This makes him around four times the height of any other Titan except for the Founding Titan.

Bertholdt’s Colossal Titan was one of the hideous Titan Shifters seen in the series. He lacks skin throughout his body; his jaw and facial structure look heavily altered from his human form. Its Titan can also constantly release jets of steam from the surface of its body, which can be extremely hot to touch. Aside from that, his feet look rather peculiar as they were swollen and pillar-like in appearance. 

Armin Arlelt

Armin Arlelt (アルミン・アルレルト Arumin Arureruto) is Eren Jaeger’s childhood friend. He grew alongside Eren and Mikasa Ackermann. Like Eren and Mikasa, he joined the 104th Training Corps in the hopes of finding a better solution to the growing threat of the Titans. 

He is rather short for his age and has a small petite frame. Sometimes mistaken as a girl, Armin also had a rounded feminine face and blond hair. He gradually gained muscles after his training and even grew in height. 

Armin became the Colossal Titan out of Levi’s desperation to save him. When Bertholdt failed to transform as the Colossal Titan after the collapse of Wall Maria, Armin was quick to devise a plan to abduct Bertholdt. However, his smart planning and bravery turned into an unlucky feat for the Survey Corps.

In the end, both Armin and Erwin were about to die during this battle. Because of this, Levi was left to choose who got to transform as a Pure Titan and consume Bertholdt’s Titan Power. In the end, he made the hard decision and picked Armin.

Colossal Titan form

The main difference between Armin’s Colossal Titan over Berholdt’s is probably its lack of skin. Armin’s Colossal Titan is entirely skinless and Bertholdt’s. Its Titan’s feet are specially designed to support his tall body without falling. 

Just like his human form, Armin’s Colossal Titan has a fairly skinny upper body with an exposed rib cage on the front and sides. His facial features are quite odd since he doesn’t have a nose and outer ears. Because his Titan is literally skin and bones, you can notice the form of his teeth. More than anything, his Colossal Titan also possesses an exposed windpipe that is extremely visible at its neck, with two tendons in front of it. 

Pure Titan form

Left in a desperate position, Levi needed to inject the Titan’s spinal fluid into Armin. This is to save him from dying. The Survey Corps gathered and allowed Armin’s Pure Titan to consume Bertholdt’s power just a town below Wall Maria. Before inheriting the power of the Colossal Titan, Armin’s Pure Titan form looks rather abnormal, sharing a number of his human physical features. 

His Pure Titan form looks exactly like him, having a blond shoulder-length bob, a relatively petite frame with a lipless mouth, and a skeletal nose. Aside from that, you can also notice how his body is skinny, just like him; its Colossal Titan form had ribs that were visible through the skin. It also had very thin and long arms. While his exact height isn’t revealed, you can see that he is tall enough to peek over a three-story building. 

Abilities

Explosive transformation

Commonly, all Titan Shifters generate significant heat and energy as they transform. However, the Colossal Titan takes it to the next level through its explosive transformation ability. Their inheritors can control the energy produced during their transformation. Because of this, it can have a more explosive, bomb-like ability. 

In the battle in Trost, Bertholdt’s transformation cause a wind blast, knocking some cadets over the Wall. On the other hand, he was able to release more explosive energy compared to a small nuclear device during the Battle of Shiganshina District. This explosion caused severe damage to the district and fire that killed a lot of Scout Regiment soldiers. 

Armin also used this ability to wipe out the Marleyan naval fleet during the Raid on Liberio. His explosive transformation sent an extremely powerful wave of energy to land, destroying the whole port. This explosive transformation also emits a massive mushroom-like cloud of dust and rubble— imitating a reaction after a nuclear explosion. 

Size 

colossal titan

Eponymous to its name, the Colossal Titan dominates in size. Its mere build is a weapon alone; it stands 60 meters tall, enough to peer over the top of the Walls. Because of its body mass, it offers an overwhelmingly powerful physical strength. However, its immense size makes it move incredibly slow. 

Its physical strength can destroy Wall Maria’s outer gate with a single kick, but its arms are less powerful than its legs because of its skinny and disproportionate size. 

Steam Emission

Commonly, Titan Shifters only emit steam during their healing process or whenever they receive a killing blow. But the Colossal Titan is different. Like its explosive transformation ability, the Colossal Titan can control the amounts of steam emitted on its body. This is its defensive skill to prevent the enemies from reaching its nape.

This ability comes in handy since the Colossal Titan doesn’t render itself as a quick or agile Titan. It can emit pressurized steam that burns and repels anyone near its body. Whenever you are on its body during the steam emission, you will get scorched — that’s no question. 

Using steam emission for a prolonged period can take a toll on the Colossal Titan. As a result, its body mass decreases gradually until only its bones remain. It can also vanish into thin air in an instant through this ability.

Regeneration

Like other Titan Shifters, the Colossal Titan is skilled in healing wounds sustained during battle. It can automatically regenerate entire parts of his body that were lacerated and lost. He can also utilize this power in his human form. For instance, Bertholdt quickly regenerated his arms when he suffered a critical slash on his neck. This only means that any non-critical attacks will not be an effective way to stop the Colossal Titan as it can immediately regenerate itself. 

Enhanced Strength

There no secret that the Colossal Titan is the strongest in terms of physical strength. It is capable of destroying towers and whole villages without exerting much effort. A sweeping motion with his arms can topple down cannons. Its strikes are strong enough to leave shock waves and an enormous crater in the ground. And he does all this effortlessly, making him a hard Titan to beat in range attacks. 

History

Like all the Nine Titan powers, the Colossal Titan was brought into the world after Ymir Fritz’s death. Several warring Eldian houses also held it for the next 1,700 years following her death. After this period, the 145th King of the Fritz Family, Karl Fritz, decided to abandon the conflicts of Eldia and relocate to Paradis Island. 

Because of this, the Colossal Titan was taken by Marley after the Great Titan War. In the year 843, the Marley Government chose Berholdt Hoover to inherit the Colossal Titan. As part of the Warrior Unit, he would use the powers to serve Marley and destroy cities containing enemy troops. Together with Reiner Braun, Annie Leonhart, and Marcel Galliard, Berthold joined the Paradis Island Operation. 

He became part of the 104th Training Corps and later joined the Survey Corps. Armin inherited his Titan Power after the scouts captured him. 

Interesting Trivia Facts about the Colossal Titan

The Colossal Titan Isn’t the Biggest Titan

Many fans assumed that the Colossal Titan was the biggest Titan ever known. However, this isn’t entirely true. The Colossal Titan might be the biggest among the Nine Titan powers, but it certainly isn’t entirely the only massive Titan in the story. 

Remember when Rod Reiss turned himself into a Titan? Well, it turns out that he is bigger than the Colossal Titan. Yet despite its size, it lacks the strength and abilities of the Colossal Titan. His daughter, Historia, defeated Rod Reiss’ Titan.

Aside from that, the recent chapters of the manga showed that Eren had obtained a new Titan form that is even larger the Rod Reiss was. Many fans noted that when you compare Eren’s new Titan form over the Colossal Titan, the latter seems to look like an average Titan instead of being enormously massive.

The Inheritors of The Colossal Titan Fell for the Female Titan

You can clearly recall that Bertholdt had strong feelings for Annie, the Female Titan. As both grow up together, it is highly likely that Bertholdt fell in love with her childhood friend. Though he often denies this, everyone around him can evidently see his true feelings for her. 

As the story progresses, Armin also begins to develop feelings for Annie. This is quite weird since they only had limited interaction before. But they say that Armin developed feelings for Annie when he inherited the Colossal Titan. He learned about Bertholdt’s memories and started visiting and caring about Annie’s wellbeing as well. 

The Colossal Titan’s Inheritors Aren’t Driven to Fight Senselessly

While the Colossal Titan is massive and powerful, both of the inheritors of the Colossal Titan are not into causing fights. They would be considered diplomats and would rather rationalize more effective strategies than cause bloodshed.  

It can be noted that Bertholdt only transformed and fought as the Colossal Titan when it was extremely necessary. He would often let Reiner make big decisions for him during battle. Even at the end of his arc, he didn’t want to fight and decided that he would succumb to his fate. 

As for Armin, he is not physically strong. That’s why he heavily relies on his comrades during battles. However, he is extremely strategic and quick-witted. The team trusts him on his plans countless times. Every time he is put in a difficult position, he always tries to find a peaceful resolution and understand the sentiments. 

FAQs

Question: How Tall is the Colossal Titan? 

Answer: The Colossal Titan is 60 meters tall. As its name suggests, it is the largest Titans Shifter among the nine ever known to exist. It is roughly three times larger than the second tallest Titan, the Beast Titan. 
Aside from its height, it has a strikingly powerful kick; he can wipe out dozens of scouts in one go. However, its height also comes at a cost. It is definitely the slowest Titan because of its sluggish and heavy body. 

Question: Is Armin’s Colossal Titan taller?

Answer: The short answer is NO. Armin’s Colossal Titan is not larger than Bertholdt’s. Both of them were 60 meters tall. However, many fans seem to confuse Armin’s Titan as significantly taller because of its slender body. Bertholdt’s Colossal Titan is even arguably larger than Armin’s due to having more muscle mass, especially on the chest and core. 

Question: Why is Armin’s colossal Titan so skinny?

Answer: Many fans are curious as to why Armin’s Colossal Titan is relatively skinnier than Berholdt’s. Well, this is probably because of their explosive transformation ability. You can notice how Berholdt’s Colossal Titan normally transforms over Armin’s explosive transformation. This only means that Armin’s transformations are taking more energy and muscle, causing his Titan body to be skinny.  

Question: Does Armin use the colossal Titan?

Answer: Yes, he did. Armin transformed into the Colossal Titan during the Raid on Liberio. He used his explosive strength and size to destroy Marleyan ships and the naval port by stepping on them after he transformed as the Colossal Titan. 

Question: Is the Colossal Titan the Most Powerful Titan? 

Answer: No. Even though the Colossal Titan is a mammoth and epitome of strength, he isn’t the most powerful Titan. Since its first appearance, the Colossal Titan has become easily recognizable because of its size. However, its size doesn’t make it invincible. 
The most powerful Titan is the Founding Titan. Karl Fritz, Ymir Fritz, Frieda Reiss, Uri Reiss, Grisha Yeager, and Eren Jaeger were its known inheritors. 

Colossal Titan Guide: Bottomline

The Colossal Titan offers massive potential. It can be an unbeatable Titan, given that its current inheritor, Armin, is a mastermind himself. When he masters how to wield this Titan, its abilities will surely outweigh its disadvantages. 

Many fans can’t wait to see how Armin and the Colossal Titan battle it out as the story finally ends. Do you have any clue on the Colossal Titan’s fate in the anime’s season finale? Is he finally going to help end the rumbling? Let’s find out together! 

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