In the world of Attack on Titan, Titans are the giant humanoid creatures that threaten humanity inside the walls. One of the mysteries surrounding Titans is whether they all possess the ability to harden their skin, making them more difficult to kill.
What is Titan hardening?
Titan hardening refers to an ability that some Titans have to crystallize and harden parts of their body. When a Titan hardens their skin, it becomes incredibly tough and difficult to penetrate with blades and other weapons. This gives hardened Titans a strong defensive advantage in battle.
Hardened areas appear white or light gray in color and have a crystalline, rock-like texture. Titans can selectively harden certain areas of their body, such as their fists or the nape of their neck where they are vulnerable. They can also harden entire limbs or their whole body.
Only some Titans possess the capacity for hardening. It comes from a unique ability to create and manipulate structures made from hardened Titan flesh. So far in the story, only Titans with some human intelligence or connection seem able to utilize hardening.
Notable hardening Titans
While most normal Pure Titans do not display powers of hardening, there are a few noteworthy intelligent Titans who can create and control hardened structures:
- The Armored Titan – Encased in natural armor across its entire body, giving it incredible defensive strength.
- The Female Titan – Able to harden patches of skin and create protective shields or weaponry as needed.
- Eren’s Titan forms – After consuming the Armored Titan, Eren gained the ability to harden.
- Wall Titans – The massive Walls themselves were created from the hardening abilities of the millions of Colossus Titans inside them.
In addition to these Titan shifters, the Beast Titan has been shown throwing projectiles that appear to be hardened Titan flesh. It is likely he also possesses some latent capacity for hardening.
How does Titan hardening work?
The exact mechanisms behind Titan hardening are not yet fully understood. However, it appears connected to how Titan powers are inherited.
The power of the Armored Titan is specifically defined as the “hardening” ability. When Eren Jaeger consumed some of the Armored Titan’s spinal fluid, he gained the capacity to harden. This suggests hardening is a power that can be acquired from the Armored Titan.
Ymir Fritz – the original Titan – also seemingly possessed hardening powers, as she used it to build the Three Walls. When her powers were split between the Nine Titans after her death, the hardening ability became the specialty of the Armored Titan.
Hardening is powered by the same transformation process that creates Titans. But instead of forming flesh and bone, the user crystallizes the Titan material into an inorganic substance more like rock or ice. However, it retains some flexibility and the ability to undo the hardening.
Significance of Titan hardening
The hardening ability has greatly affected the story of Attack on Titan. Some key impacts include:
- Allowing the Walls to be constructed from the Colossus Titans.
- Protecting the Armored Titan during its breaching of Wall Maria.
- Allowing Eren to seal the outer gate of Shiganshina and plug the breach in Wall Maria.
- Creation of deadly projectiles and weapons by the Female and Beast Titans.
- Increasing the defenses of Titan shifters like Eren and Reiner in battle.
Without the hardening ability, the Walls would never have been built and humanity would have perished long ago. It has clearly played a pivotal role.
Do all Titans have hardening?
Based on current evidence from the manga and anime series, it seems that hardening is a specialized power that only some Titans possess – mainly the Armored Titan. Most regular Pure Titans have not demonstrated any hardening abilities.
Here is a summary of what types of Titans can harden and which cannot:
Can Harden
- Armored Titan
- Female Titan
- Eren’s Titan forms
- Beast Titan (to some degree)
- Colossus Titans (in the Walls)
Cannot Harden
- Attack Titan
- Cart Titan
- Jaw Titan
- Founding Titan
- War Hammer Titan
- All Pure Titans
So while the hardening ability has been extremely useful, it does appear limited to only certain Titan lines and individuals. The majority of Pure Titans encountered do not have any protective hardening or armor.
Conclusion
In summary, Titan hardening is an important ability in the world of Attack on Titan, but not all Titans are able to use it. The evidence suggests that hardening powers originate from the Armored Titan and are selectively passed down to certain other Titans through pathways and spinal fluid.
Most normal Pure Titans cannot harden themselves. Only Titan shifters or those with some human intelligence have exhibited hardening. While extremely useful, it has not been shown to be an intrinsic power of all Titans.