Attack on Titan: What did Annie want with Eren which prompted the kidnapping?

Most readers were left guessing by Hajime Isayama's Attack on Titan's early twists and turns, and one of the first shocking revelations was that Annie was a Titan Shifter on the hunt for Eren Yeager, the only other Titan Shifter at the time. Why she wanted him, no not in a romantic way, was unknown at the moment. Annie's intentions and whether or not she is okay will be the topic of today's post.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Attack on Titan; please read at your own risk.

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Annie's goal in Attack on Titans

Annie Leonhart, like Eren, Mikaska, Armin, and others, was a member of the 104th Training Corps. She, like the other key characters, made it into the top ten, which meant she could join any branch of the military she wanted, whether it was the Survey Corps, the Police Brigade, or the Garrison.

She chose the Military Police Brigade and, as a result, had no business being near the exterior walls in the Attack on Titan. Which is why seeing a Titan who resembled Annie dashing outside the boundaries, employing fighting skills that no Titan should have, and capable of actual reasoning and battle strategies was so unexpected.

A Titan of this magnitude has never been seen before. Even Eren struggled to control his Titan nature, although Annie had no such issues. So, since Annie was basically better than Eren in terms of combat capabilities, why did she try to kidnap him? The answer rests with the fact that in actuality, the Warrior Trio consisting of Reiner Braun, Bertolt Hoover, and Annie Leonhart were after the Coordinates, or to be more accurate, they were after the person who possessed the ability to control Titans.

With Eren being revealed as a Titan Shifter, that meant he was a potential candidate (and he does have the ability, but no one knew that at the time). As a result, Annie was left with the task of attempting to capture him as soon as possible, as the other two were part of the Survey Corps, and thus could not act without attracting direct suspicion from others in the animated landscape of the Attack on Titan.

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Why were they there in the first place?

The "Coordinate" ability, or Founding Titan's power, was the reason the Warrior Trio was deployed in the first place in Attack on Titan. Due to its two primary roles, the "Coordinate" ability is quite unique. To begin with, titans possessing this ability will have the power to command and direct other Pure Titans in battle. Second, the Coordinate power in Attack On Titan allows the possessor to erase the memories of the Subjects Of Ymir, also known as Ymir Fritz's descendants. Whoever wields the power of the Founding Titan also wields the power to command massive groups of lesser Titans.

Annie, for example, could only summon lesser Titans to her as a method of escape by letting them consume the flesh of her Titan form, and it was subsequently discovered that Zeke's Beast Titan due to him being a member of the royal family from his mother's side, had better control over them, allowing them to serve as foot troops for him.

The Founding Titan's power is unique in that it has complete authority over all Titans, including shifters (supposedly), lesser Titans, and even the Titans behind the walls. In other words, whoever wields the power of the Founding Titan wields the Rumbling, which has the potential to destroy the world.

With this power in mind, every rational person would endeavor at all costs to control said Founding Titan's power. After all, having that power in the hands of someone other than Marley or their allies would be terrifying. There was nothing anyone could do if an army of Titans appeared over the horizon one day.

With this in mind, Eren's discovery as the lone unaccounted for Titan Shifter was crucial.