Attack on Titan has been one of the most popular manga in recent years. Despite not even being 10 years old, fans all around the world have enjoyed the Attack on Titan anime, and it has firmly cemented itself as one of the greatest animes of all time.
The Attack on Titan manga was completed in April 2021, yet a lot of fans were left scratching their heads at the manga’s finale. With the Attack on Titan anime set to end by March 2022, it’s time to look back on the manga and see what became of Attack on Titan’s most famous (and infamous) characters.
Warning – we will be talking about spoilers for the Attack on Titan finale. If you don’t want the ending of the anime spoiled for you, now is the time to turn back.
So – is Zeke Jaeger dead? Or does the Beast Titan survive? Let’s take a look at Zeke Jaeger and his fate in the Attack on Titan manga.
Zeke Jaeger is otherwise known as the Beast Titan or Ape Titan.
He is Eren’s half brother, born in the Eldian containment zone Liberio over in Marley. He is also an Eldian of royal blood as his mother, Dina Fritz, was one of the last surviving members of the royal Fritz family left in Marley.
Zeke has been planning on using his royal blood heritage to use the power of the Founding Titan, which can control all Eldians and pure titans, to wipe out the Eldian race once and for all.
Zeke secretly planned to use the Founding Titan’s power to alter the biology of all Eldians, making them infertile and unable to produce. Eventually, all Eldians would die out. This would lead to the end of titans.
So, in order to use this power, Zeke defected from the Warriors program in Marley and went to the Isle of Paradis to join his brother Eren, the current holder of the Founding Titan.
Initially under arrest by Captain Levi Ackerman, Zeke managed to escape – only to be recaptured by Levi. Zeke managed to blow himself up using a Thunder Spear but was revived after his dying self was placed into the stomach of a pure titan to heal.
Zeke survived the explosion after his body was rebuilt by the founder Ymir in the titan realm. Now fully healed and joined by some of his followers, Zeke headed to Shiganshina to finally meet Eren and put his plan into motion – or, so he thought.
The End Of Attack On Titan
The Attack on Titan manga ending was action-packed, to say the least – there were plot twists everywhere, events that had been foreshadowed for years finally happened, and the fate of many characters were sealed.
Before the final battle, the last time we see Zeke is when he finally comes into contact with Eren. Eren is decapitated by Gabi using an anti-titan weapon, but his head lands in Zeke’s hand before he dies – unlocking the power of the Founding Titan.
A lot of backstory happens in the titan realm between the two brothers, and after a battle of wills, Eren comes out on top and uses the Founding Titan to activate his own plan – the beginning of the Rumbling.
As thousands of Colossal Titans start crushing the world underfoot and our main cast of characters begins to plan how to stop Eren, Zeke is noticeably missing.
The last time we had seen him in person was when he caught Eren’s head – which then transformed into a huge titan. Zeke was no doubt caught in the transformation. So, was he burnt to crisp or did he somehow survive?
Zeke In The Titan Realm
For most of the final battle against Eren, Zeke is nowhere to be found. Fans began to assume the worst when he finally made an appearance – in the titan realm.
After Armin is eaten by one of the previous incarnations of a Titan Shifter, under the control of Eren, he suffocates and wakes up in the titan realm. Although he is not yet dead, he turns around and finds Zeke building sandcastles in the sand.
Zeke reveals that he and Armin had both been eaten during Eren’s transformation and no longer has control over his body. He had given up, refused to fight against Eren, and ignored Armin as he pleaded for him to tell him how to escape the titan realm.
After talking to Armin about the meaning of life and regaining motivation again to help save the world, Zeke is able to borrow the strength of his two father figures – Mr Xavier and Grisha Jaeger – and emerge from Eren’s titan in the real world.
He calls for Captain Levi’s attention and takes a moment to admire the day before Levi decapitates him and ends Zeke’s life.
Conclusion
Zeke Jaeger officially dies in Attack on Titan chapter 137 – the penultimate chapter.
He is killed by Captain Levi, who promised all the way back during the Battle for Shiganshina to destroy the Beast Titan. After many years, Levi was able to fulfill his vow.
The reason why Zeke gave himself up to die was part of the plan to take down Eren. Although Zeke had been eaten during Eren’s transformation, he was kept alive and absorbed in Eren’s body so Eren could still use Zeke’s blood to continue the Rumbling.
So, Zeke had to die so Eren no longer had a living titan of royal blood to use the Founding Titan’s ability.
Once Zeke was decapitated and died, the Colossal Titans all came to a stand still. Eren had lost the power to control them and so, the Rumbling stopped. This gave everyone else an opening to take down Eren.
If Zeke had not died, the Rumbling would have continued and taking down Eren would have been a far more difficult task. So, his sacrifice was not in vain and with Zeke Jaeger’s death, the Rumbling and Eren Jaeger would later come to an end.
