Summary
The Anti-Marleyan Volunteers were a group of soldiers who previously served in the Marleyan army but decided to join Zeke Yaeger in order tofree the Eldians from Marleyanoppression. As detailed in theAttack on Titananime, the members of the Volunteers were largely composed of people from different nationalities who had seen their homelands conquered by Marley. After being forced to join the Marleyan forces and fight for the country that took their homes, they grouped together under Yelena to try and take down Marley.
When they are first encountered in the story, Yelena explainsto Hange and Levithat they are not agents infiltrating the Marleyan ranks but rather former conscripts who lost hope until meeting Zeke. With Zeke giving them a symbolic leader to rally behind, the volunteers formed an anti-Marleyan resistance alliance with Paradise Island. Their true goals are to save both Eldia and Marley from the chain of hate through Zeke’s euthanasia plan, though they initially gain the trust of Paradis to aid in their fight against Marley. Overall, the volunteers seek to end Eldian persecution and free their people from the power of Marley.
We’re not agents or anything of the sort. We were utterly powerless. Marley took our homes and conscripted us into its army. The hope that we could eventually strike back faded more every day. That is until we met… him…
The Rise of the Anti-Marleyan Volunteers
A Rebellion Against Oppression
Over the past century, the nation of Marley has expanded its empire across the globe through military conquest. As Marley took control of more lands and peoples, it instituted a system of oppression against the subjects it came to rule over. One group that faced especially harsh treatment from Marley were the people known as the Eldians. Formerly the rulers of the world underthe power of the Titans, the Eldians were stripped of their homeland and placed within the internment zones behind the walls of Marley. There, they faced constant discrimination and dehumanization.
However, not all those conquered by Marley accepted their subjugation passively. Among Marley’s military forces was a loose group of rebels from various conquered nations who had seen their homelands seized. Forced to fight for the nation that oppressed them, they joined together to try to overthrow Marley and gain freedom. Led by the cunning Yelena, this group organized the Anti-Marleyan Volunteers. Byallying with Paradise Islandthrough intelligence sharing and technological cooperation, the Volunteers launched a bold operation during the Marley festival that demonstrated that even Marley’s armies were vulnerable to internal rebellion.
Origins of Discontent
Life Under Marley’s Rule
The Anti-Marleyan Volunteers were composed of people from various nationalities that had their homelands conquered by the expanding Marleyan empire over the past century. Forced into the military by their occupiers, these soldiers faced the daily indignity and resentment that come with fighting for a nation responsible for oppressing its own people. Among their ranks were Eldians as well, facing not just military subjugation but also racist dehumanization.
Under the leadership of the cunning Yelena, these discontented soldiers from different walks of life slowly organized themselves into a resistance cell. However, for many years, they had little success in opposing the vast military might of Marley. Winning back the freedom of their homelands seemed like an impossible dream. That was until they encountered a man who would give them hope once more:Zeke Yaeger, the beast Titanand symbolic leader, whom the volunteers would come to follow devotedly.
The Volunteers and Zeke’s Grand Strategy
A New Hope Emerges
Zeke Yaeger was a mysterious warrior who had an unorthodox perspective: thatthe Titans' powershould be used to limit human conflict rather than to dominate others. By joining with Zeke, the Volunteers found a charismatic leader who offered not just a path to defeating the Marleyan Empire but also an ideological philosophy for building a more peaceful world after liberation. Under his guidance, the volunteers joined a covert plan that challenged the status quo.
The first major success for the volunteers came with their infiltration of the highest levels of the Marleyan military through Yelena’s leadership. Posing as loyal soldiers, the volunteers were actually engaged in intelligence gathering and sowing discontent wherever possible. This enabled them to learn of Marley’s expedition to Paradise Island, where millions of subject Eldianslived behind the walls. Seeing an opportunity, Zeke devised a plan for the volunteers to make contact with Paradis and forge an unlikely alliance.
Under Yelena and Onyankopon’s guidance, covert diplomacy was established between Paradise and the Volunteers. In a daring operation, technological and military secrets were transferred from the volunteers to Paradise’s military forces,like the Scout Regiment. In return, Paradis provided protection and a safe harbor for the volunteers within the island’s borders. This represented the first cooperation between Eldian factions and was key to achieving Zeke’s broader strategic goals.
The Raid on Liberio
A Major Blow Against Marley
The Anti-Marleyan Volunteers played a key supporting role in Zeke Yaeger’s attack on Liberia. Ahead of the raid, Yelena, disguised as a Marleyan soldier from the Lakua military base in the west, arrived atthe Warriors' seating areaduring Willy Tybur’s production. She claimed that Magath had requested their presence and asked that Pieck, Galliard, and Zeke follow her. Soon after, she sent Zeke off in another direction while continuing tolead the other Warriors. They stop temporarily when Pieck suddenly hugs one of the Panzer Unit soldiers that they met on the way. Yelena then leads them into a room, where she traps Pieck and Galliard in a hole, temporarily disabling two of Marley’s most powerful weapons.
After returning to Paradis, the anti-Marleyan volunteers turned over a stock of Titan injecting serums they managed to steal from Marley to the garrison. It represented one of the volunteers' biggest successes in concretely undermining Marley through espionage and theft of military assets.
Return to Paradise and House Arrest
Betrayal and Rising Tensions
Upon returning to Paradis after assisting in the raid on Liberio, the Anti-Marleyan Volunteers expected to have secured an alliance with Paradis through their cooperation. However, military commander Dot Pixis was still hesitant to fully trust Zeke Yaeger and his followers. Despite the volunteers turning over the Titan serum they had stolen from Marley, Pixis betrayed them and had the group arrested upon arrival.
While Yelena appeared unfazed by this betrayal, seeing it as a political maneuver, tensions were high within the volunteers. With Zeke temporarily stranded on Paradis and their allies imprisoned, the group faced an uncertain situation. However, cracks in their relationship with Paradis really began to show as suspicions of Zeke’s true agenda intensified followingthe revelation of his euthanasia plan.
After seizing power amid growing unrest in Paradis, Floch Forster capitalized on the Volunteers' vulnerable position to further advance the Yaegerists' radical agenda. When one volunteer refused to show proper respect, Floch had them wounded as an example. He threatened executions to force the volunteers' compliance, wanting to use their skills to build up the Eldian Empire. Imprisoned by the Yaegerists as Marley attacked, the future looked intimidating for the anti-Marleyan group.
Fortunately for Yelena and Onyankopon, when Magath formed an alliance with the remnants of the Scout Regiment led by Hange, he rescued them from their executions. Bringing the two volunteers aboard the airship opened an opportunity for the anti-Marleyan group to potentially realign with sympathetic forces still opposing Marley’s oppression.
Attack On Titan
Cast
Based on Hajime Isayama’s widely popular manga, Attack on Titan is a dark fantasy anime set in a world where humanity lives behind walls to protect themselves from massive creatures known as Titans. Over the course of four seasons, the story takes plenty of unexpected twists and turns, almost evolving into a different type of series in the process.
