Connie Springer

"So... all I have left is this picture... and my mom."

- Connie to Hange Zoë after the destruction of Ragako.

Connie Springer (コニー・スプリンガー) is a member of the 104th Training Corps. He ranked 8th in class, and hails from the rural Ragako village within Wall Rose, his greatest ambition being to make his family and village proud of him. Upon graduation, he joined the Survey Corps.

Appearance
Connie is one of the shorter characters in the series, standing two centimeters shorter than Levi Ackerman. He has a slim build, with gray eyes, and his head is distinctively kept shaved. Connie is typically dressed in standard military garb, and will don the Survey Corps cape when on missions.

His casual attire consists of a simple long-sleeve white shirt and shin-length brown slacks.

Personality
Connie can be best described as outgoing and impetuous. He has an easy time expressing his opinions, and enjoys flaunting his skills, especially during his days as a trainee. Despite being in the military, Connie starts off as rather unfocused, and enjoys goofing around and messing with his friends, but can also be a bit dense at times.

Later, Connie's naive enthusiasm falls away after multiple close encounters with the Titans. He never becomes more serious, though to his frustration, he still has some difficulty comprehending new developments as they appear. Connie also comes to terms with his own limits, disliking his lack of power, but eager to prove his worth. Through it all, Connie remains an optimistic character, consistently caring for the well-being of others, and willing to help in any way he can.

104th Training Corps arc
Connie signs up as a new recruit in the 104th Training Corps with hopes of eventually joining the Military Police Brigade. His entry into the military is a clumsy one, and he winds up getting the military's salute wrong on the first day.

For the remainder of his training, Connie can be seen practising using the vertical maneuvering equipment, which he was particularly proficient in, as well as messing with his fellow recruits, or goofing around with Sasha Blouse, whom he becomes fast friends with.

Battle of Trost District arc
Connie graduates ranked 8th among the 104th Training Corps, and is present in Trost District when the Colossus Titan breaches the Wall. He is usually looking out for the others, as with the appearance of Eren Yeager's Titan Form, came to check on Armin and Mikasa in the ensuing battle. When Armin gives his remaining gas to Mikasa, Connie carries Armin using his vertical maneuvering equipment to headquarters. He, Armin and Mikasa burst through a window immediately after Eren strikes two Titans, explaining to Jean Kirstein that the Titan attacks other Titans and ignores humans. He later joins Armin's plan to break into the supply room and replenish their supply. He is one of the best fighters in the group, and so is one of the seven assigned to take down a Titan in the supply room with one strike. While he fails to kill his target with his first blow, he is rescued by Annie Leonhart.

The Female Titan arc
As ordered, in the aftermath of the battle of Trost District, he reports his Vertical maneuvering equipment to the Military Police Brigade for inspection as a part of the investigation over the deaths of the two captured Titans, presumed to be have been killed by a soldier using vertical maneuvering equipment. Despite his fears in facing the Titans in combat again, he volunteers to become a member of the Survey Corps.

He is one of the soldiers perched on top of one of the Giant Trees, waiting for word from Levi's Squad with the others. He is seen returning from the failed 57th Expedition along with the others, and is later seen in the field riding a horse along with Sasha Blouse, Reiner Braun, Bertolt Hoover, Krista Lenz and Ymir.

Clash of the Titans arc
Later on, Connie is part of a group of Survey Corps members under investigation by Mike Zacharias under suspicion of being an accomplice to Annie. However, when Titans mysteriously appear within Wall Rose, Mike sends them to warn the surrounding villages.

Because Connie's home village of Ragako is in the Titans' wake, he receives permission to join to the group headed in that direction. They find the village seemingly deserted, with no bodies but also no sign that the people fled. In the ruins of his house, Connie finds an immobile Titan that reminds him of his mother. Connie attempts to tell the group that the Titan had communicated with him but is quickly dismissed by Reiner. As night falls, Connie and his group take refuge in Utgard Castle, which subsequently comes under siege by Titans.

During the siege, he is attacked by a smaller Titan and rescued by Reiner, who is injured in the process. He expresses frustration that Reiner has always protected him, and promises that someday he will repay him in turn. Like the others, he is shocked when Ymir reveals herself to be a Titan, noting that while Eren was initially unaware of his Titan shifting power, Ymir appeared to have been fully conscious of this power all along. After the squad lead by Hange rescues them, Connie joins the efforts to continue investigating Wall Rose for damage. When a battle breaks out between the soldiers and the Armored Titan and Colossus Titan, he is assigned to tend to the wounded. He worries about Reiner and Bertolt, who he fears are injured and missing, unaware that they are the Titans being fought.

In the aftermath of the battle, Connie joins the rescue party. However, he is in disbelief at the fact that Reiner and Bertolt are their enemies, and is determined to hear it from them himself. When the team finally arrives in the forest, he is one of those that encounters Ymir's Titan form and identifies her for the others. They question her, but get no response. He is shocked when Ymir suddenly attacks, kidnapping Krista and fleeing to rejoin Reiner and Bertolt.

Eventually, he is finally able to catch up to the traitors and uses his equipment to climb onto Reiner's shoulder. Together with Jean, he confronts Bertolt and Reiner concerning the friendship they shared in the past and their lies. He mentions that the members of the 104th Training Corps had once promised to survive, and grow old together while reminiscing over drinks. This, along with Jean's words, finally reach Bertolt and cause him to break down. But before the group can react to Bertolt's confession of their betrayal, as well as their genuine affection for them, Hannes shouts to warn them that Erwin Smith is leading a massive horde of Titans directly towards them. Connie is forced to retreat, and watches in horror as his former friends charge straight into the horde of Titans. When Erwin orders a second charge, he follows the others back into battle. He later appears elsewhere on the battlefield, using the chaos to retrieve Krista. When she protests that he should leave her behind and declares that Ymir will be killed if she does not go with the traitors, Connie demands she rethink things. He wonders whether Ymir's claims are the truth, and points out to her that Ymir is never serious unless it is for Krista's sake. Stating that even an idiot like him can tell how bad things are, he advises her (and Ymir, following them in Titan form) to retreat for now since otherwise they will all be killed. However, before they can rejoin the main forces, the Armored Titan begins hurling other Titans to block the soldiers' escape.

With their route cut off and the Armored Titan on his way, things look hopeless for Connie and his allies. However, to everyone's surprise, the Titans suddenly stop attacking the humans and turn their attention to one of their own, and then, as Eren rages, the Titans all begin to swarm the Armored Titan. Confused, but not letting this chance to escape pass him by, Connie urges Krista and Ymir to retreat with the rest of the army, though Ymir opts to stay behind to defend Bertolt and Reiner. Connie manages to make it back to Wall Rose, still in shock, but relieved to be alive. Upon reflecting with Eren, Armin and Jean, Connie comes to believe that it was Eren's shouting that caused the Titans to stop attacking them.

The Uprising arc
A week later, Connie revisits the remains of his village with Hange. Upon further inspecting the mysterious, immobilized Titan lying on his house, Connie realizes it bears a striking resemblance to his mother. With this revelation, Hange comes to the conclusion that the Titans that appeared within Wall Rose were originally the people of Connie's village. Confused and distraught, Connie muses that all he has left now is a portrait of his family, and his Titan mother, and that he can never forgive whoever is responsible.

Connie, along with Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Jean, Sasha and Krista, are enlisted to form a new squad under Levi's leadership. As with the previous Squad Levi, Connie's task will be to safeguard Eren and Krista, whose real name is revealed to be Historia Reiss.

During Hange's Titan experiments with Eren, Connie helps stand guard around the place. Later, the group receives some mysterious instructions from Erwin that leave them in shock, and they abandon the hut to follow the plan, narrowly missing a raid by the Military Police Brigade First Interior Squad.

Arriving in the city, they are surrounded by angry citizens who accuse them of wasting their taxes without giving results, and in the commotion, Eren and Historia are seemingly kidnapped by a rushing wagon. With Jean and Armin impersonating Eren and Historia, respectively, Squad Levi is able to follow the kidnappers back to their hideout. Once there, Connie acts as lookout, while Levi and Mikasa subdue the kidnappers

After the Survey Corps is accused of murdering Dimo Reeves, Connie and the rest of Squad Levi go into hiding. While waiting for orders inside a stable, Connie joins Sasha and Jean, voicing his misgivings about Levi's intimidating Historia, and complaining that he might treat the rest of the Squad the same way. After Levi is attacked by the Military Police Brigade, Levi's squad starts moving in order to follow Eren and Historia. Levi orders Connie and Sasha to lead the Squad's horses while he, Mikasa, and Jean fight off their pursuers.

After escaping, Squad Levi takes refuge in an abandoned barn outside of town. Connie takes part in the kidnapping of Hitch Dreyse and Marlowe Freudenberg, and participates in Squad Levi's attack on the Military Police's Interior compound. After attacking the compound, Squad Levi successfully captures a member of the Military Police and retreat to question him. Their interrogation is interrupted by Sasha, who sees someone approaching. To the entire squads' delight, it is Hange, who informs them that the Survey Corps has been exonerated, and that they have a lead on Eren and Historia's whereabouts.

Connie participates in the attack on the cavern beneath Reiss Chapel, firing signal flares to provide cover for Levi and Mikasa, before joining the fight with his vertical maneuvering equipment. However, they are unable to reach Eren and Historia in time, and are unable to stop Rod Reiss from using the Titan serum to turn himself into a Titan. Connie helps Jean and Levi unchain Eren, but is left trapped with his Squad, with no way of escaping the collapsing cavern. With no other alternative, Connie and the rest of the Squad watches as Eren attempts to save them, crushing bottle labelled "Armored-Braun" in his mouth as he transforms into his Titan form. Having survived thanks to Eren's new hardening ability, Connie starts looking for an exit, which he finds in the form of a hole in the roof of the cavern. After helping his teammates out of the cavern, Connie and the rest of Squad Levi follow Rod's Titan form to the Orvud District, where they plan to fight the now transformed Rod Reiss. Once Rod's Titan arrives at the Wall, members of Squad Levi douse themselves in water to endure the extreme heat from the steam, and after Eren, in his Titan form, manages to blow Rod's head apart with gunpowder-filled barrels, Connie uses his vertical maneuvering equipment to cut the flying pieces of Rod's head in order to destroy his nape and kill him.

After Historia is crowned queen, she starts an orphanage with the Reiss Family's funds, which Connie and the rest of Squad Levi begin working on in their spare time. Connie is seen eating with his fellow soldiers, and new recruits to the Survey Corps, but decides to go to sleep early, explaining that he plans to visit his home village the following day.

Return to Shiganshina arc
When the squad leaders decide to serve meat to the Corps soldiers to celebrate their return to Shiganshina, a tearful Connie is forced to hold Sasha back as she attempts to devour as much of it as possible. After tying her up, Connie reminds Eren of the time Sasha actually offered to share meat with her comrades, right before the Colossus Titan appeared outside of Trost. He and Eren are both left in awe at how much they have accomplished in the months since then.

The next day, as the Survey Corps prepares to depart, they are surprised by the arrival of a large crowd of civilians who eagerly cheer them on. Connie and the rest of the recruits begin cheering along with them, but are left dumbfounded when the normally stoic Erwin begins cheering also, before beginning the expedition. After arriving in Shiganshina, Connie takes his position atop Wall Maria and watches with his fellow soldiers as Eren uses his hardening ability to fill the hole in the Wall.

After Eren seals the hole, Connie and his Squad go to meet up with the rest of the Survey Corps, but stop and take up positions atop the Wall after Erwin shoots a signal flare into the air. From there they witness Reiner's emergence from within Wall Maria, and the appearance of the Beast Titan and his army. As Eren and Reiner fight in their Titan forms, Connie and his squad surround the two and prepare to help Eren. After Hange and Mikasa manage to blind Reiner, Connie and the rest of the squad use their Thunder Spears to his Titan form's nape and expose his human body. Although he and Sasha find themselves unwilling to kill Reiner, Jean manages to convince them to carry on with their mission. Connie quickly evacuates the immediate area around Reiner with the rest of the soldiers as Hange announces that Bertolt will be attacking them from above. After Armin unsuccessfully tries to negotiate with Bertolt, Connie and his teammates use Eren's Titan form to shield themselves as Bertolt transforms.

Under Jean's order, Connie and the group get on Titan Eren's shoulders to move to the river while conserving gas. Connie gives Mikasa a Thunder Spear for her to penetrate the Colossus Titan's nape. When Titan Eren initiates his attack, Connie and the group scatter.

After Reiner's return to the battle, Connie participates in Squad Levi's plan to keep him away from Eren and Armin. While Jean attempts to distract Reiner, Connie and Sasha attempt to use their Thunder Spears to blow his Titan's jaw apart, but are caught off guard when Reiner attacks them with debris from nearby houses. Although Connie manages to hit Reiner with his Thunder Spear, Sasha is severely injured and Connie is forced to carry her body to safety. After Mikasa and Hange defeat Reiner, Connie continues to watch over Sasha's unconscious body while the rest of his teammates discuss with Hange what to do with Reiner. When Reiner is rescued by Zeke and the quadrupedal Titan, Connie begins to pursue them, but is stopped by Hange, who points out that his vertical maneuvering equipment is almost out of gas. Connie comes to the rooftop with Sasha, Jean and Hange, who prevents Mikasa from hurting Levi. As his squad leaves the roof, Connie tearfully says goodbye to Armin. After Levi chooses to give the serum to Armin, Connie and his squad help Armin out of his new Titan body. Atop the Wall, Connie rushes to Sasha's side and brings her water.

After returning home victorious, Connie attends a meeting with the rest of the survivors of the expedition where they are debriefed on the information they recovered from Eren's basement. An awards ceremony is later held for him and his fellow survivors.

After the Battle for Shiganshina, a year passes and the use of the Titan guillotine clears Wall Maria from all Titans. Connie is among the Survey Corps soldiers to lead an Expedition beyond Wall Maria, and finds a Titan whose limbs were so small that it could only crawl. He is among the Corps members to arrive at the ocean.

Abilities
Connie's abilities put him in the top 10 of the graduated trainees. He is said to be "slow on the uptake but makes very sharp turns". Connie's combat skills are shown to be more or less average, and he has yet to be shown successfully slaying a Titan.

Connie is noted as being one of the quickest soldiers using vertical maneuvering equipment. He is so fast that he rarely ever has to engage Titans in combat. As he can easily outmaneuver them, he is a very difficult target for Titans to catch.

Relationships

 * Sasha Blouse - Connie and Sasha are very close friends. Even though they often get into trouble together and provide much of the comic relief of the series, they care for and protect each other when the situation calls for it.
 * Reiner Braun - Connie greatly admired Reiner, and looked up to him as a big brother. The two were often seen together during their trainee days, and Connie noted that Reiner has protected him on multiple occasions. As such, he is shocked when Reiner's true identity is revealed and stated he would not believe it until he could confront the traitors face to face. Having done so, it is unclear how he feels or if he is even had time to process everything.
 * Ymir - Their relationship was often tense, and they were prone to taking verbal shots at one another. Most of their interactions devolved into arguments, Ymir generally looking down on Connie, and Connie having no patience for Ymir's tactlessness. However, though he often called her names and seemed to hate her, when the others wrote Ymir off as an enemy, Connie recognized that her actions were motivated by her love for Historia and tried to understand her. While in her Titan form, Connie gave her the nickname "ugly" and ordered her around, even kicking her head, indicating that he trusted her enough to feel safe around her and was not intimidated by her Titan form.
 * Eren Yeager - Connie and Eren are on good terms. Connie initially found amusement in Eren's difficulty as a trainee, but their relationship eventually turns friendly, and Connie is later inspired to join the Survey Corps partially because of Eren. Later, the two find themselves in similar situations: both have lost their hometowns, families and have nowhere to return to.
 * Beast Titan - This mysterious Titan is responsible for the destruction of Ragako and the transformation of Connie's family and friends into Titans. Connie swears vengeance against the creature, stating firmly that he will never forgive those responsible and that next time, they have to kill it.

People Killed

 * One unnamed member of the Military Police Brigade

Trivia

 * Connie's name may have multiple meanings, either from the Celtic name "Connor", meaning "son of the wolf", or "Constantia", meaning "conviction". "Springer" is German for "knight", "leaper", and "dolphin".
 * In a side art for Volume 11, several characters were given examples of what they would look like as Titans. Connie's form was a rather small Titan with little to no distinguishable features.
 * Connie cuts his own hair.

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