The Smiling Titan is one of the most mysterious yet pivotal Titans in the Attack on Titan story. It appears early on in the anime and manga, showing up in Episode 1 and Chapter 2. This particular Titan kills Eren’s mother, Carla, setting him on the path of wanting to destroy all Titans.
The Smiling Titan’s creepy grin and uniquely female form sparked a lot of speculation among fans about its origins and identity. One of the biggest questions has been – could the Smiling Titan actually be Eren’s mother? Let’s closely examine the evidence.
The Attack in Shiganshina
To analyze if the Smiling Titan could be Carla Yeager, we first need to look at the attack on Shiganshina where she was killed. During the initial breach of Wall Maria by the Colossal and Armored Titans, Eren gets separated from his mother when debris from their house falls between them.
Eren wants to go back for her, but Hannes arrives and decides to take Eren and Mikasa away to safety instead. As they’re leaving, Carla is caught by a Titan with an unsettling grin on its face – the Smiling Titan. It proceeds to grab Carla and eat her in front of a helpless Eren.
This attack provides some hints about the Smiling Titan. Firstly, it seems specifically interested in devouring Carla over other humans nearby. Almost like it has some kind of familiarity with or connection to her.
It also seems intelligent enough to prevent her escape by strategically crushing her legs. The precision of this move indicates above-average thinking for a Titan.
The Smiling Titan’s Origins
Before determining if the Smiling Titan is Carla, we need to examine where it came from in the first place. When the Colossal Titan first breaches Wall Maria, it doesn’t just vanish – it was not alone. Along with the Armored Titan, it brought along an army of Titans that had been waiting in hiding outside the Walls.
The Smiling Titan was likely one of those Titans, a resident of the outside world brought to Shiganshina by the Titan shifters to wreak havoc. This means it had access to Carla as a human before the attack. If the Smiling Titan originated within the Walls, the theory of it being Carla would be implausible.
Appearance and Behavior
Looking closely at the Smiling Titan’s appearance provides more hints about its potential identity. Although most Titans look fairly genderless, the Smiling Titan has a noticeably feminine physique. This matches up with Carla’s physical characteristics.
Certain facial features like its eyes, nose, lips and ears also resemble Carla. The uncanny grin could be its distorted interpretation of Carla’s smile in Titan form. Even as a Titan, it may have retained some sense of emotion connected to Eren and Carla.
Its non-aggressive behavior toward Eren and Mikasa is also suspicious. It seems solely fixated on Carla, ignoring the kids even after eating her. If it was just a standard Titan, it likely would have attacked any human nearby. Instead, it displays unusual intelligence and intent.
Counter Evidence – Reasons the Smiling Titan is NOT Carla
However, there are also several reasons to doubt the theory of the Smiling Titan being Carla Yeager:
The Smiling Titan Appears Elsewhere
The biggest counter evidence is that the Smiling Titan is seen elsewhere after the Shiganshina attack five years later. During the Survey Corps expedition outside Wall Maria, it attacks the formation and consumes Eren’s squad.
This forces Eren into his first intentional Titan transformation. He violently confronts the Smiling Titan in a rage before the Scouts rescue him and retreat.
If the Smiling Titan had been Carla, she would not have been able to return to Titan form after being killed in Shiganshina five years prior. This sighting indicates the Smiling Titan is just another ordinary intelligent Titan rather than a dead human.
Titan Research Findings
Hange Zoe’s Titan research provides some scientific clues as well. She concludes that Titans don’t need to eat humans for sustenance – they do it out of primal instinct. Their former human consciousness simply dissipates.
So if Carla became a Titan, she wouldn’t have specifically sought out Eren in recognition. All human memory and emotions evaporate once you transform. So the Smiling Titan targeting Carla as if it knew her doesn’t add up.
Ymir’s Titan Origins Story
Finally, Ymir’s tale of acquiring the power of the Titans hints that mindless Titans don’t retain memories or human intelligence. Only Titan shifters who can switch between human and Titan form demonstrate higher thinking.
Since the Smiling Titan is an ordinary Titan, not a shifter, it’s unlikely it harbored any trace of Carla’s consciousness or memories. So the personal vendetta against Carla theory doesn’t hold weight.
Conclusion
Given the full body of evidence, it seems highly unlikely that the Smiling Titan is actually Carla Yeager. While its creepy smile, feminine physique and unusual behavior do raise some initial red flags, the counter evidence strongly suggests otherwise.
Its reappearance five years after Carla’s death confirms the Smiling Titan is just another Titan, not a transformed human. Its abnormal intelligence and recognizing Carla can be attributed to it originating from outside the Walls. But Ymir’s origins tale and Hange’s research clarify that Titans cannot retain human consciousness.
While the theory was intriguing, the story ultimately reveals the Smiling Titan is simply a mysterious abnormal Titan, not Carla. Its connection to Carla begins and ends with her tragic death in Episode 1.
The Smiling Titan serves as the catalyst that motivates Eren to grow strong enough to control the Founding Titan power. This enables him to unlock the secrets of the Titans’ origin, making it a pivotal part of the narrative. But it has no deeper relationship to Carla or the Yeager family in the end.
TLDR Recap
– The Smiling Titan’s creepy grin, female physique and unusual behavior raised suspicions that it could be Carla Yeager.
– It seemed fixated on Carla during the Shiganshina attack and prevented her escape in an intelligent manner.
– As an outsider Titan, it could have encountered Carla as a human before the attack. This would explain its focus on her.
– However, its reappearance five years later confirms it’s just a regular Titan, not a transformed Carla.
– Hange’s experiments show Titans lack intelligence and human memories when transformed.
– Ymir’s story also reveals only Titan shifters retain human consciousness, not mindless Titans.
– With the full context, the Smiling Titan was simply an abnormal Titan drawn to Carla by primal instinct, not deeper connection.