Falco Grice (2024)

	I became a Warrior candidate because I didn't want you to inherit the Armored Titan. I wanted you to live a long life, so that we could get married and you could be happy forever.
—Falco to Gabi Braun[3]

Falco Grice(ファルコ・グライスFaruko Guraisu^?) is an Eldian Warrior candidate(戦士候補生Senshi Kōho-sei^?, also translated as "Warrior Cadet") working for the Marley government and the younger brother of Colt Grice. Originally one of the main candidates to inherit the Armored Titan power, Falco possessed the Jaw Titan, having inadvertently inherited it from Porco Galliard after being turned into a Pure Titan by Zeke Yeager.^[4]

Appearance

Human form

Falco is a short boy with a small build and little in the way of physical strength. He has short, shaggy light brown hair and large downward-sloped light hazel eyes with rather long eyelashes. Like his fellow Warrior candidates, he wears the standard Marleyan soldier uniform consisting of a light jacket and pants, supply packs on the waist, suspender straps, a hard hat with a stripe around it, and tall combat boots. As an Eldian, his uniform is different from the Marleyans, as his shirt collar has a small badge with the Eldian star instead of a small clip and his hat has a white stripe with the Eldian star on it instead of a pure black stripe. As is law in Marley, Falco also wears the Eldian armband as all his family and ancestors residing there do so as well.

Pure Titan form

Falco's Pure Titan form was rather tall and lanky, having a long neck and no distinguishable lower jaw. Its mouth was very rounded, with its upper jaw connecting with the base of its nose and sharp teeth running along the bottom almost as if it was on a hinge. His Titan form was also seen with a prominent angry scowl.

Jaw Titan form

As the Jaw Titan, Falco's Titan form shrinked to 5m tall and was much more proportionate and muscular, like some of the previous inheritors of the Jaw Titan. His Titan had two sets of jaws, with the outer one being the hardened jaw similar to the previous Jaw Titans', and the inner one having a human-like mouth and teeth. The outer jaw could bite through harder objects, including hardened Titan skin.

One interesting observation is that Falco's Jaw Titan had taken on many avian characteristics, with his outer jaw forming a crude beak and his hardened arms and legs resembling talons found in birds of prey, whilst also being mostly covered in fur. These traits appeared to be a byproduct of Zeke Yeager's spinal fluid which transformed Falco, passing on some of the Beast Titan's animal characteristics; this was proven further when Falco's Titan form eventually managed to sport wings, a tail and a fully feathered body.

Personality

Falco is physically not made to be a man of war and does not excel in the battlefield or at asserting himself. He finds himself wounded and delirious under enemy fire, only to be saved by his brother,^[5] and struggles to voice his concerns for his friend Gabi Braun when she proposes a solo attack plan against the armored train.^[6] However, Falco is by no means a coward. When Gabi is under fire, he leaps from their hiding place to rush to her aid and protect her.^[7] While he is not an excelling soldier, he possesses some margin of skill to have survived for 4 years in the Marley Mid-East War.

Falco has proven to be a very merciful and compassionate person, risking his life to save Gabi from incoming fire,^[8] bringing in an injured enemy soldier in order to cure him in the trench,^[9] and taking care of a war veteran in the homeland.^[10] He is also very polite and respectful towards his seniors, referring to them by their title instead of their names; for instance, he addresses Reiner as either Mr. Braun or Deputy Chief Braun. He also does not appear to be a vengeful person, as despite Connie abusing his trust to try and feed him to his mother and holding a blade to his neck, Falco never seems to hold a grudge against him for this and works alongside him.

After conversing with both Reiner and Eren Yeager, he gains a greater degree of confidence; this allows him to assert himself better and speak his mind, even to someone as forceful as Gabi, whom he also has a crush on. Furthermore, his boosted self-esteem helps him perform better in training. Despite this, Falco remains relatively calm and humble in the face of praise, deeming the extolment heaped upon him by his fellow Warrior candidates as embarrassing and "not a big deal", as well as attributing his success to Eren motivating him.

He is a very empathetic individual. While upset due to Eren revealing himself as an enemy after manipulating him, Falco understood that he and the Survey Corps attacked Liberio because Marley invaded Paradis Island first, and remembered his words of how the people inside and beyond the Walls are the same. Furthermore, despite his youth and kind disposition, he is able to distance himself emotionally in a situation and properly prioritize. Almost immediately after finding out that "Kruger" was actually Eren, the current holder of the Founding Titan, and had been tricked by him, he realized the opportunity it presented for Marley and began planning on how to capture him.

Falco is seen to be a quick thinker and good at improvisation. For instance, after encountering the family of Sasha Blouse, and he rapidly created a convincing alibi for both himself and Gabi explaining why they were supposedly in woods by themselves.^[11]Later, when he and Gabi were trying to contact Niccolo in private, he also made a convincing excuse for him and Gabi to leave the Blouse family.^[12]

Story

Marley arc

During the Marleyan war with the Mid-East Allied Forces, Falco is present among 800+ other Eldians fighting on behalf of Marley. However, he and some of his friends such as Udo, Zofia, and Gabi are valued as Warrior candidates with the potential to inherit the Armored Titan power. During the fight, Falco and some of his comrades are hit by enemy fire, killing some but sparing Falco and leaving him wounded. His brother Colt Grice appears to save him and puts his hard hat on Falco's head before carrying him on his back while avoiding enemy fire. When Colt returns to the hiding trench with his wounded brother, their fellow candidates tend to his wounds as Gabi re-explains their objective to him.

When Udo begins to panic in fear of their military failing, he wraps Falco's bandages too tightly and Gabi scolds him. Falco then wonders why they are on the front lines as candidates and Gabi explains that it is so they can be evaluated by Commander Magath for their capabilities as successors to the Armored Titan power. When Zofia begins to boast about her grades, Gabi interrupts her by explaining her superiority above all the other candidates. Falco then asks her about the item she is fiddling with and Gabi grins as she shows it to him.^[13]

When Gabi offers to take out the enemies' anti-Titan artillery solo, Falco shows serious concern for her safety and fears that she will be hurt. He watches her execute her plan of attack and once Gabi is successful in derailing the train, she begins to flee only to be shot at by one final surviving gunman. This pushes Falco over the edge and he jumps out of the trench to try to save her. However, an ally named Porco Galliard transforms into a Titan and shields Gabi from gunfire while she and Falco collide as they both dive for the ditch. Falco looks on in awe as the Titan stands above him and he watches as Galliard races off and kills the last gunman.^[14]

After returning to the trench, Falco brings a wounded enemy soldier in order to heal his wounds. Although some of his companions, such as Udo, help him, his superior and Gabi mock him, stating that he is a weird person and that there is no way he will earn the power of the Armored Titan by fighting like that.^[15] After Udo translates what the foreigner said, Falco seems surprised at being insulted.^[16] Falco contemplates the airborne attack against Fort Slava and seems very shocked by witnessing Titans eating soldiers^[17] and Reiner's defeat against the Armada.^[18]

After the battle, Falco is resting in the docks with his friends. They all seem worried, talking about how Titans may no longer be the main force of the world. Falco tries to reassure Gabi, telling her that Reiner has survived losing several limbs and even his head.^[19] After they see traumatized war prisoners and Udo gets angry because of the harm done on the Eldian reputation, Reiner arrives and is coldly saluted by Falco.^[20] After Falco suggests Reiner should rest, Gabi angrily replies that he should be the one resting.^[21]

Sometime later, Falco is inside a train heading towards their homeland. In their wagon, Colt gets drunk and starts praising Gabi along with many other soldiers. Falco states how his brother gets very emotional whenever he drinks. He tells Reiner bitterly how Reiner only has two years left before dying and, if Gabi inherits the Armored Titan she will only live to be twenty-seven.^[22] After accusing Reiner of not caring about her, the sudden and incriminatory reply of the older Warrior scares Falco. The boy proceeds to swear his loyalty to Marley and state how honorable it is to inherit the power of the Titans.^[23] He finally states that he will be the one to inherit the Armored Titan power.^[24] Finally, Reiner tells him how he must surpass Gabi in order to protect her from this cruel world.^[25]

After arriving in Liberio, their hometown, Falco recalls how Reiner took full responsibility for the failure of the Paradis Island Operation, and wonders why Reiner risks his life and power so many times. Reiner looks at him and the boy suddenly looks away, asking himself why Reiner told him to protect Gabi and if the Warrior actually wanted the war to end.^[26] His suspicious behavior catches Gabi's attention, who threatens to report his weird attitude. This makes all the other members laugh, without Gabi realizing why.^[27]

When the soldiers enter the Internment Zone, Falco and his brother are greeted by their parents. They seem very worried, asking the children about injuries and Colt's headache.^[28] Falco then sees a group of veteran Eldian soldiers, many of them with notable injuries.

Falco asks Koslow about them, and he tells him that they have no family and will be treated at the hospital. The officer then imitates the sound of a bomb, scaring the traumatized soldiers just for fun. Falco decides to help calm down the soldiers and tells them that they will not have to fight any longer, as he fixes one soldier's armband.^[29]

Falco appears, stretching and exerting himself whilst training at HQ and states to his fellow candidates that he will be the one to eventually inherit the Armored Titan. This angers Gabi into headbutting him, yet still, he holds his conviction.^[30] Later on, the two can be seen training together in a violent manner whilst being overlooked by an instructor.^[31]

After training, his lack of natural skill causes him to cry out in frustration, unwittingly stopping Reiner from committing suicide. He absent-mindedly walks towards a nearby hospital, where the soldier whose armband he adjusted, invites the boy to sit down next to him. The man introduces himself as Mr. Kruger and confides to Falco that he actually does not suffer from mental trauma, unlike the other soldiers in the hospital; he asks if Falco will rat him out to the staff, which he denies. Kruger asks Falco about his injuries and training, who shares his grievances with him. Reminding him of himself when he was younger, Kruger encourages the boy to look forward and have faith in his decisions.^[32]

Falco is later asked by Kruger to deliver a letter for him, claiming that the letter is to inform his family that he was safe and sound inside the internment zone.^[33] Having developed a sense of respect and admiration for the man, Falco obliges with the request.

One month later, Falco has carried many letters as a favor to Mr. Kruger, even though there was a risk of him getting caught. He also surpasses Gabi in training by beating her in a race and is commended by Udo, Zofia and the two officials at the Internment Zone gate. Gabi expresses her frustration with Falco's determination to beat her, pointing out that his family will be made honorary Marleyans either way, once Falco's older brother inherits the Beast Titan. Falco admits that he is trying to outrank Gabi for her sake, which confuses her and makes Falco run off in embarrassment.^[34]

He visits Mr. Kruger in the hospital, telling him about his recent success and expressing gratitude for motivating him. In return, Kruger thanks him for delivering his letters for the last month, and informs the boy that he will be going back home after the festival, causing Falco to sigh in dismay. He leaves when he notices a doctor approaching their bench.^[35]

On the eve of the festival, Falco and the other candidates are assigned to serve the visiting ambassadors from the countries allied with Marley.^[36] He observes Udo accidentally spill some wine on one of the ambassadors and goes over to check on him; after the ambassador leaves and takes the blame for the incident, they all wonder how she knew they were Eldians and her reasons why she saved Udo from almost certain death.^[37]

On the same day Willy Tybur is to announce his decision regarding Paradis Island, Falco and the other Warrior candidates enjoy the festival with Reiner. Shortly before the announcement, Falco encounters Kruger again; Kruger mentions to Falco that he was friends with Reiner and asks Falco to find him, wishing to see Reiner before he leaves back home. Falco tracks down Reiner and finds him seated with the other Warriors. He calls to Reiner and leads him to Kruger's location.^[38]

Sensing the irregularity of the situation and Reiner's shocked expression, Falco originally puts the tension down to the two men not having seen each other in years; however, he quickly realizes something is wrong after seeing Reiner fearfully obey Kruger's order to sit. Falco goes to see himself out but he is instructed to stay by both Kruger and Reiner.^[39] Falco stays and listens to Lord Tybur's presentation from inside the cellar. During a break, Falco rationalizes that Mr. Kruger must have known Reiner from his time on Paradis Island, deeply unsettling him. At the apex of Tybur's speech, he realizes that Kruger is actually the Eldian rebel, Eren Yeager.^[40]

As Eren begins to regenerate his missing leg, Falco accuses Eren of tricking him, causing Eren to apologize for the deceit. Falco realizes that the letters he had delivered made him complicit, and demands to know where they went. When Eren tells him they were for his comrades stationed in Marley, Falco falls to the floor in guilt. With Willy Tybur's speech ongoing, Eren proclaims that Tybur is right; he is the bad guy. He begins a conversation with Reiner while Falco listens intently. As Eren is talking about his experiences in Marley, he turns to Falco and says that past the oceans and inside the Walls, people are all the same; there are good people like him, and those who are wicked and act selfishly for themselves. He listens as the two continue their conversation and is shocked when Reiner ultimately breaks down in guilt, accepting responsibility and regrets for his actions against Eren and those living across the ocean.^[41]

As Eren offers his hand to help Reiner stand, Falco begins to process everything he just heard when he sees Reiner quickly turn towards him. As Eren transforms into the Attack Titan, Falco is grabbed by Reiner to try and save him by absorbing the resulting blast of energy.^[42] Thanks to Reiner's partial transformation into the Armored Titan, Falco emerges unscathed from the ruins of the building that he, Eren Yeager and Reiner Braun were just in. He looks around in horror at the fighting and destruction around him and notices Eren's Attack Titan trapped inside the web formed by the War Hammer Titan. He is still in disbelief that Eren deceived him and then wonders how he managed to survive.^[43]

Remembering that Reiner bit his hand to transform, Falco turns around and searches for Reiner in the incomplete body of his Titan. He finds Reiner unconscious and apologizes for leading him into a trap. Falco wonders why Reiner has not recovered from the blast, but then recalls his behavior before transforming and realizes why Reiner has not begun to heal: someone with the Power of the Titans needs to have a strong will to live in order to regenerate quickly and Reiner has seemingly lost his. Before leaving to go find help, Falco reassures Reiner that he still has allies including himself and Reiner's younger cousin, Gabi.^[44]

While searching for help, Falco is astonished at Zeke Yeager's prowess with the Beast Titan. Magath finds Falco and demands to know what he is doing and if he is hurt. Falco tells him that Reiner is stuck in the ground and it is all his fault. Meanwhile, Gabi arrives with a rifle.^[45] In the distance they see an enormous explosion coming from the port, after Magath says that it's the Colossus Titan's transformation, they try to run only to be knocked down by the shock wave.^[46]

As the Warriors continue fighting with the Survey Corps, Levi Ackerman defeats the Beast Titan in front of Falco and the others and seems to kill Zeke right in front of them by dropping a bomb dropped in its nape.^[47] Also, a victim of the fighting, Pieck's Cart Titan tumbles off the roof and crashes to the street behind Falco, Gabi, and Magath. As Jean Kirstein gets ready to deliver the finishing blow to Pieck, Falco rushes to her side and begs him not to shoot.^[48]

Despite Falco's pleas, Jean shoots a Thunder Spear at the Cart Titan; however, a burst of steam released from the Titan's wound hits him, partially hitting Falco as well, and the spear explodes on the ground instead. A severely injured Pieck emerges from the Cart Titan into Falco's arms and is witnessed by the Survey Corps coming off the roof of the building, who quickly surge into the attack. However, they are repelled by Magath and Marleyan soldiers, with Magath commanding Gabi to help Falco. As Marley's army continues fighting the Corps, Magath covers Falco and Gabi who escape carrying Pieck.^[49]

Taking refuge inside a building, Falco and Gabi are astonished by the state Pieck has been left in. Falco observes that her injuries are so serious that her body is not repairing itself fast enough, and Gabi adds that the Cart Titan is not as tough as some of the others, such as the Armored Titan. Gabi asks Falco about Reiner, and Falco responds that he does not know, as he was below the building behind the stage during Eren's attack, and he thinks that they should not disturb him. Gabi is shocked at Falco's words, reminding him that Udo, Zofia, and many others have been killed by Eren. The conversation is cut short after Gabi sees an airship coming to Liberio to assist the Survey Corps.^[50]

The children soon witness the Attack Titan defeating and trying to bite through the nape of the Jaw Titan, which prompts them to yell desperately for Reiner to save him. Their screams are successful as Reiner surfaces in an un-armored Titan form and manages to take Galliard away from Eren, although he is knocked down by him. As Eren comes out of his Titan form after running out of strength and leaves the battle scene with Mikasa, Gabi decides that she will not let them escape, and takes a rifle as she runs out of the building in their pursuit, while Falco tries to stop her.^[51]

As they are running, Falco is able to catch up with Gabi and tells her that going after them now would only get her killed just like Zofia and Udo. Gabi explains that despite how they are treated in the internment zone, it is still their home and is incredulous as to why Falco would not want them to fight back; Falco recalls Eren and Reiner's discussion and says that they were only responding to the initial attack done by Reiner and the other Marley Warriors four years ago. This does not convince Gabi and she picks up her rifle again. As Gabi tells Falco to inform her family that she fought to the end, she prepares to fly up to the escaping airship using the equipment from a dead Survey Corps soldier. After remembering Reiner's plea for him to save Gabi, Falco grabs on at the last minute and goes with her.^[52]

Entering the airship, Falco spots Gabi shooting one of the soldiers. As she fires again, Falco knocks Gabi aside and narrowly saves her from getting shot by another soldier. Falco tries to quiet Gabi down as she proclaims they are still fighting and that the Paradis Island leaders will pay for attacking them. The two are taken away from the soldiers and are stunned to see that Zeke, who was thought to be dead by Marley, is still alive and was one of the coordinators behind the attack on the internment zone.^[53]

After arriving at Paradis Island, Gabi and Falco are escorted away by a member of the Military Police and put into a prison cell.^[54]

War for Paradis arc

Once imprisoned, Gabi begins having a seizure in their cell; Falco tries to help her and the guard enters the cell to check. However, Gabi had been faking it and beats the guard in the face with a brick hidden within her clothes. Despite Falco's protests, she hits the guard again and forces Falco to help her hide him. Gabi flees the prison and Falco, unsure of what to do, follows her.^[55]

After running all night, both of them stop at a stream for water and to rest. He notices that Gabi still has her armband on and tells her to take it off before someone sees them. As Gabi refuses, Falco forcibly takes it off and gets thrown to the ground. He is incredulous as to why Gabi is acting this way and claims she has gone crazy. Just then, a girl named Kaya comes by and asks what they are doing. As the girl invites them to come with her to her house nearby, Falco spots Gabi discreetly picking up a rock to presumably attack her; he then looks at Gabi and takes it away as they proceed to follow her.^[56]

Falco and Gabi arrive at the house and Kaya tells them to wait. Gabi contemplates taking one of the horses, though Falco advises they stay for a few days. Heading inside, Falco tells Gabi that he will handle the talking. He introduces himself and Gabi as "Ben" and "Mia" and says that they are siblings who ran away from home. As they have breakfast, Falco sees Gabi swat away Lisa Blouse's hand; he quickly apologizes for Gabi's behavior and coaxes her to eat.^[57]

Later that day, Falco is working with Gabi in the stables. He reiterates that they should stay where they are, expressing confidence that either Colt or Reiner will come for them. He goes with Gabi to have lunch outside and learns they are staying at an orphanage for children who lost their parents during the last four years. As Falco and Gabi argue, they are surprised when Kaya mentions that she knows they are from Marley; Falco tries to come up with an excuse when he sees Gabi inch closer to a pitchfork. She tries to stab Kaya with it, but Falco wrestles it away. They are led to Kaya's old village and learn that everyone either ran away or was eaten by the Titan. Falco is horrified and eventually confesses that it was part of an experiment four years ago and apologizes for Kaya's mother getting killed. Gabi berates Falco for revealing that to her, but he ignores it. He asks how Kaya managed to survive, and is stunned to hear that a girl brought over an axe to fight the Titan, giving her enough time to get away.^[58]

Later on, Falco goes with Gabi and the Blouse family to the restaurant where Niccolo is working. When dinner is served, Falco is stunned by how high the quality of food is and how he has tasted nothing like it before in his life.^[59] He makes up an excuse to leave the table and Gabi goes with him to find Niccolo. They discover him in the basem*nt and reveal their true identities as Marleyan Warrior candidates. Falco notices the fear and horror in Niccolo's face when Gabi reveals she killed Sasha and tries to get Gabi's attention. As Niccolo attacks her, Falco dives in front and gets knocked unconscious after being struck by a wine bottle. The unconscious Falco is brought by Niccolo into the room as the latter reveals Falco's role in Sasha's death. After the situation is cleared up, Niccolo tells Hange Zoë to wash out Falco's mouth before revealing the wine bottle was one of many containing Zeke's spinal fluid.^[60]

Shortly after, Connie and Hange begin to rinse Falco's mouth with water as Niccolo reveals more information about Zeke's spinal fluid. Falco is then taken to a separate room to bathe but is interrupted when the Yeagerists arrive.^[61]

Falco later regains consciousness, and while being taken to Shiganshina by the Yeagerists, he experiences a sudden shot of electricity run through him as a result of Zeke's scream from the Titan Forest.^[62] Once arriving in Shiganshina, Falco presumably learns of his condition and is then separated from the rest of the group from the restaurant and imprisoned with other Eldians who have consumed Zeke's spinal fluid.^[63] The Marleyan forces arrive at Shiganshina and launch their surprise attack to steal the Founding Titan. On the prison's rooftop, Eren transforms into his Titan form to face the Jaw Titan, while Falco looks up in horror inside his prison cell, upon hearing the commotion.^[64] As many of the other prisoners demand to be released, Nile Dok suggests to Falco that the attack could be an attempt to rescue him, but Falco is unconvinced. Nonetheless, Nile encourages Falco to use the attack as an opportunity to escape if he can.^[65]

Soon, the prisoners are released by the Survey Corps to help fight off Marley. As he enters the battlefield, Falco notices his brother and Gabi nearby and Nile discretely delivers him, ordering them to get out of harm's way.^[66]

As Falco takes refuge in a house with Gabi and Colt, Falco reveals his unwitting role in the attack on Liberio to them, lamenting that Udo and Zofia died because of him. He also reveals his feelings to Gabi, admitting that he joined the Warrior program to give her the chance at living a long and happy life with him.^[67] Falco remains in low spirits over his fate but agrees with Colt that there is a chance Zeke might not transform him and the others if he is made aware that Falco ingested some of the spinal fluid.^[68]

Falco and Colt manage to find Zeke at the edge of Shiganshina and Colt begs Zeke not to scream, informing him of Falco's predicament. Gabi urges him to flee out of Zeke's range with her but Falco tells her to stay back. Although Zeke expresses remorse for Falco's situation, the news does not stop him from screaming. Falco tries to shove his brother aside but Colt refuses to let go, proclaiming he will always be with Falco.^[69]

As he transforms into a Titan, Falco is immediately ordered by Zeke to kill Reiner and charges towards his commanding officer. Since Reiner is preoccupied with trying to subdue Eren, Falco's Pure Titan quickly gets the upper hand and begins to bite through the armor covering Reiner's nape.^[70] Before he can finish, Falco notices a severely injured Galliard nearby stumbling out of his Titan and devours him instead, becoming the new inheritor of the Jaw Titan.^[71]

Falco's unconscious body is retrieved from his Titan by Jean Kirstein. After restraining Falco, Jean suggests feeding Falco to one of the newly-transformed Pure Titans, but Connie Springer is adamant that his mother should be allowed to devour Falco. An argument breaks out which results in Connie kidnapping Falco and fleeing with him.^[72]

Falco wakes up on route to Ragako with no memory of any of the events immediately preceding his transformation. Connie claims to have found him unconscious in Shiganshina and saved him. He then says he will be taking Falco to a hospital which will help with his memory loss and although Falco is grateful, he is left ill-at-ease by a feeling that he has met Connie before.^[73] The two stop to rest overnight and Falco overhears Connie talking to himself about Sasha.

When they arrive at Ragako, Falco reveals that he knows where they are and that he overheard Connie talking during the night. Connie states that he does not want revenge for Sasha's death and shows Falco an immobilized Titan in the village. Connie tells Falco that he wants him to help him brush the Titan's teeth and Falco agrees. Before they can start, they are interrupted by the arrival of Gabi and Armin.

Falco is stunned to realize that he has inherited the Jaw Titan and does not resist as Connie begins trying to forcibly feed him to the Titan. He is only saved by Armin, who tries to feed himself to the Titan, and Connie is forced to save him. After being rescued from the Titan, Falco learns of his brother's death and mourns for him.

The four return to Shiganshina, where they run into Annie Leonhart while eating. After the reunion, Falco and the rest of the group work with Jean, Mikasa, and Pieck to escape the Yeagerists in Shiganshina. While leaving, they stop to pick up Reiner.^[74] Falco then stays back while the Warriors and Survey Corps infiltrate the Yeagerists holed up at the Paradis docks.

As Pieck is using her Titan form to transport Falco and the other noncombatants to a boat, Falco sees Reiner and Annie being overwhelmed and insists that he help them. Pieck tries to talk him down but Falco, feeling guilty about Galliard's death, states that if Porco would have been in his position, he would have leaped into the battle. He ignores Pieck's warning and runs into the fray. Using a nail he found at the harbor to cut his hand, Falco transforms into his Jaw Titan form for the first time, to Gabi's shock as she turns around and sees a bright flash.

Falco and Pieck are able to easily decimate the remaining Yeagerists, but as soon as they are defeated, Falco quickly begins losing control of his Titan. Unable to recognize his allies, Falco begins attacking the Survey Corps members and Pieck who tried to calm him down but to no avail as he almost completely bites through her Titan's nape. She is forced to hold him down while Magath cuts him out of his Titan's nape using a blade from the vertical maneuvering equipment. Magath then carries Falco's unconscious body to the boat, leaving him with Onyankopon. Afterward, Gabi and Pieck look after an unconscious Falco resting on the boat. ^[75]

Eventually, Falco awakens and is greatly dismayed to hear that the Wall Titans have reached Marley and have already destroyed Liberio; he later is locked inside the infirmary with Gabi, and both beg Annie to let them out.^[76]

After leaving Odiha, Falco and Gabi confront Annie in order to question her about the Female Titan's ability to easily inherit traits from other Titans. Falco then reveals to her that he likely received a memory of a previous Beast Titan who was capable of flight and theorizes that he could do the same due to the unique appearance of his Titan which is presumably because he ingested Zeke's spinal fluid.

Subsequently, Falco and Gabi express their intent to leave but are reprimanded by an unwilling Annie who expresses her concern about the possibility of the ship sinking during Falco's transformation. However, Kiyomi admits she is fine with that outcome.^[77]

Using his Titan, Falco flies to Fort Salta with Gabi and Annie. The three arrive just in time to save Mikasa, Reiner, Jean, Connie and Levi from being devoured by an army of Titans.^[78] As Falco circles around to return his passengers to Eren's Titan, Reiner reminds Falco of his promise to keep Gabi safe. As he gets closer to Eren, Falco is forced to dodge projectiles launched by War Hammer Titans generated on Eren's back. He drops Jean and Reiner off near Eren's nape to continue the attempts to detonate Pieck's explosives and drops Mikasa, Annie, and Connie off near Eren's tailbone to try to rescue Armin.^[79] After the group manages to detonate Eren's nape, Falco collects them again and flies them to a safe distance so that Armin can transform atop Eren's Titan.^[80]

Returning to Fort Salta, Falco touches down and exits his Titan to tearfully reunite with his parents. Their reunion is short-lived, however, as Eren transforms into a new Titan form and continues his advance. The centipede creature arrives at the base of the fort and begins emitting a steam-like gas which seeps through the fort and surrounding area; overhearing Levi demand Mikasa and Pieck get back aboard the Jaw Ttan, Falco is horrified to learn that the gas will soon turn all the Eldians present into mindless Titans. Falco then departs with Pieck and the two Ackermans. He flies Mikasa and Levi to Eren's Titan, where the two work together to infiltrate Eren's mouth and kill him.^[81]

Following Eren's death Falco's Titan begins to disintegrate. Exiting his Titan on the ground, Falco is ecstatic to see that the Eldians have all returned to their human forms and immediately begins searching for Gabi. The two children's reunion is cut short by the arrival of the Marleyans from Fort Salta, who demand that the Eldians all prove they can no longer turn into Titans. Before the Marleyans can execute anyone, Armin arrives and manages to talk them down.

In the three years following the battle at Fort Salta, Gabi and Falco become caretakers for Levi, who is left crippled following the battle.^[82]

Abilities

As an Eldian Warrior and candidate for the inheritance of one of the Titan powers, Falco has endured hard military training. He is also skilled enough to have survived the battle of Fort Slava. He is a very athletic individual, being able to run at great speed in order to save Gabi from incoming fire.^[83]

Power of the Titans

Initially selected as a possible candidate to receive the Armored Titan, Falco inadvertently inherited the ability to transform into the Jaw Titan(顎の巨人Agito no Kyojin^?). In addition to this, due to having been transformed into a Pure Titan by Zeke Yeager's Beast Titan, Falco's Jaw Titan took on some animalistic traits found in birds and develop avian abilities.

• Jaw: Like some of his predecessors, one of Falco's most prominent features as the Jaw Titan was a hardened jaw specifically designed to bite through durable materials. Like his immediate predecessor, Falco's Jaw Titan had two sets of jaws: the interior was a normal mouth and teeth, while the exterior was hardened and fashioned into a beak.
• Speed: It is presumed that Falco's Jaw Titan had increased speed and heightened agility when compared to other Titans.
• Armor: It is presumed that due to the outer jaw of Falco's Titan covering his mouth, nose and much of his lower face, it provided some increased armored protection.^[84]
• Regeneration: Just like all others with the power of the Titans, Falco had the ability to regenerate any injuries he may suffer.
• Flight: Unlike any of his known predecessors, Falco's Jaw Titan possessed bird-like wings, enabling him to fly.^[85]

Relationships

• Colt Grice - Falco and Colt are brothers and shared a fraternal bond, caring about each other with Falco expressing concern over his brother's excessive drinking. While Falco does not appear physically strong, his brother looked out for him and assured his safety even at the cost of his own life.^[86]
• Gabi Braun - Due to his actions and comments around her, Falco harbors a crush on his fellow Warrior candidate Gabi. He expresses worry when she plans to sacrifice her life to blow up the anti-Titan artillery train and rushes to her side when she is about to get shot by a Mid-East Allied Forces soldier.^[14] Falco was initially one of two contenders for the inheritance of the Armored Titan power with the other being Gabi. Acknowledging that her lifespan would be reduced and she would die at a young age if she were to inherit a Titan power, he is willing to take her place in order to save her.^[24] After he inadvertently consumed part of Zeke's spinal fluid, Falco made sure to reveal to Gabi his true thoughts about her and as he began to transform into a Pure Titan, he reached out towards her.^[87]
• Reiner Braun - Falco was a candidate to inherit the Armored Titan from his superior officer Reiner. On the train home from Fort Slava, Falco was threatened by Reiner after making a comment about Gabi inheriting the Armored Titan and he immediately corrected himself. Reiner's behavior on the train concerns Falco who acts cautiously around him, even questioning his loyalty to Marley. Ultimately, this encounter cements his determination to become a Warrior. Unknown to Falco or anyone else, it was his sudden appearance outside of the building Reiner was in that brought the latter back from the brink of suicide. Despite threatening him earlier, Reiner cares enough for Falco and the other Warrior candidates to convince himself to keep on living. A month later, Falco's cautiousness around Reiner has faded as he and the other candidates accept the festival food Reiner buys them. After hearing Reiner speak with Eren for the first time in years, Falco begins to understand the sudden and recent change in Reiner's behavior and why he pushed Falco to try and surpass Gabi.
• Eren Yeager - At first, believing him to be "Mr. Kruger," Falco aided the one-legged Eren by placing his Eldian armband on the proper arm after he fell to the ground.^[88] Later on, he stumbled upon the hospital, and when Eren called for him, he sat on a bench and they chatted. In contrast to Reiner, Eren was happy that Falco would not become a Warrior as it meant he would get to live a long, meaningful life instead of a short, harsh one as one of the Nine Titans.^[89] Falco grew fond of the man, going to him when seeking reassurance, and described him as an amazing guy to the other Warrior candidates; Falco ultimately felt that Eren was the reason for his improvement in training. At the same time, Eren was grateful to him for carrying his letters, and Falco showed visible disappointment at the thought of him leaving.^[35] After learning his true identity, Falco seemed deeply unsettled and betrayed yet seemed to understand that Eren's actions were a result of the Warriors attacking his home first.^[90][91]
• Nile Dok - Falco spent much of his time in prison with the captured leader of the Military Police. The two bonded over their shared fate of possibly being transformed into Titans and Nile urged Falco to take advantage of Marley's attack to return home to his family. Falco also received the courage to admit to his comrades Colt and Gabi about his hand in the attack on Liberio, as well as his feelings about Gabi. Upon Nile leading him back to his brother, Falco thanked Nile for his actions and words of encouragement.^[92]

People killed

• Colt Grice (unintentional during transformation into a Pure Titan)^[71]
• Porco Galliard (unintentional as a Pure Titan)^[71]
• At least two unnamed members of the Yeagerists^[93]

Failed attempts

• Reiner Braun (unintentional as a Pure Titan)^[94]
• Jean Kirstein (unintentional)^[95]
• Mikasa Ackerman (unintentional)^[95]
• Connie Springer (unintentional)^[95]
• Hange Zoë (unintentional)^[95]
• Pieck Finger (unintentional)^[96]

Trivia

• Falco ranked forty-first in the Third Character Popularity Poll.
  • Falco ranked twenty-eighth in the Fourth Character Popularity Poll.
• Hajime Isayama has stated that Falco was inspired by the character Jesse Pinkman from the Breaking Bad TV series.^[97]
• Falco shares the same birthday with Mikasa Ackerman.
• Sketches of Falco included at the Attack on Titan: Final Manga Exhibition revealed that a working name for Falco was Falco Bach(ファルコ・バッハFaruko Bahha^?).
• Falco is the second inheritor of the Jaw Titan who was originally a candidate to inherit the Armored Titan, after his predecessor.

References

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