Angel Aaltonen

Angel Aaltonen (アンヘル・アールトネン) is a weapon-smith and the person credited for the creation of the vertical maneuvering equipment, an invaluable asset in fighting the Titans.

Appearance
Angel is a pale man, with a lean, muscular body. He has messy, neck-length blond hair. During his later years, Angel would also grow a long beard. He also developed a limp at some point in his life, resulting in Angel using a cane to walk.

Personality
Having grown up without a family, Angel always saw himself as having to constantly be looked after by others. Angel possesses an inquisitive mind and would always look for way to improve his inventions as well as others created by his colleagues, granting him the nickname of 'King of Inventions.'

Story
Angel grew up in an orphanage without any family or relatives. He became lifelong friends with two other children there and eventually saw them as his family: Sorum Humé, who Angel saw as his older brother, and Maria Carlstead as an older sister. Angel was concerned with Sorum's early desire to join the Survey Corps when he grew up and wanted to be able to ensure he would make it back from outside the Walls. This desire was what initially got Angel into becoming a craftsman when he got older, in order to help his friend and brother achieve his dream.

By the time Angel turned eighteen, he had become a prodigy craftsman in a workshop within Shiganshina and eventually gained a private development room at the workshop as well as an assistant named Corina Ilmari. One day, Angel sat down and relayed to Corina how the last expedition failed and that he saw heads that were thrown by Titans coming over the walls, including the head of Heath Munsell. Although disgusted by what he saw, Angel admits that he is glad to have seen it due to it reminding him of how terrible Titans can be. He expresses his frustration over how despite creating inventions for the military, including the cannons atop the walls, he has no idea how effective they are (if at all) against Titans due to the Military not giving any feedback.

Angel looks over and spots a long reed of bamboo. Corina tells him that a member of the Corps came by and dropped it off to see if it could be used as a craftable material; Angel tests it and is surprised to see it shares the same properties as iron. Not long after this, Angel is called upon to journey to the newly constructed Industrial City with Xenophon Harkimo, Corina Ilmari, and Sorum. While on their way the convoy falls under attack by militants. The soldiers are able to fend off the attack, but not before Angel and Xenophon are forced to fight. Upon arriving at the Industrial City, Angel learns of the existence of Iceburst Stone and collects samples of it. Later that night, Angel discusses with Corina how to possibly use these new discoveries to help ward off Titans; Corina suggests using them to help eliminate the height difference between Titans and humans; this inspires Angel and spends the next week creating a device that would allow humans to move in three dimensions. Despite being a bit cumbersome, Angel performs a demonstration of the device, impressing both Xenophon and Sorum.

The Titan's Son arc
When they return to Shiganshina, Angel hears a large group of Titan Cult worshippers opening Shiganshina's gate. During the confusion, a single Titan manages to enter the city. As it bears down on their carriage, Angel and Xenophon are able to evade its grip but Corina is crushed and eaten. Enraged by this, Angel quickly equips his device and begins to race toward the gate with the Titan following behind. As he exits the town and the gate shuts behind him Angel tests his device by firing a hook into the Wall and reeling himself onto its side. The rope, however, begins to fray, but luckily Maria sends down a ladder from the top of the Wall and pulls Angel to safety. As he escapes Mammon's clutches, Angel swears vengeance against it and resolves to kill it to avenge Corina's death.

After refining his device, Angel volunteers to go with Sorum on a Survey Corps expedition to attempt to kill a Titan. The Corps is able to capture a Titan successful thanks to Angel's iron bamboo net and he notes the heat coming off the Titan's body, remarking that it is surprisingly similar to that of humans. Angel then starts the procedure of examining it for any weak points. After numerous tests fail to produce any results, Angel gets frustrated and begins to attack the captured Titan as a means to deal with Corina's death. During this, however, the restraints holding down the Titan are blown off. This forces the Corps into retreat; Mammon, the Titan that broke into Shiganshina, joins the first Titan and begins to attack the soldiers. Angel falls behind and Sorum comes to his rescue, breaking one of his legs in the process. However, they are unable to get away from the rapidly approaching Titans. Sorum tells Angel to look after Maria and jumps off the horse, sacrificing himself to buy Angel enough time to get away. While Angel rides back to the Walls, he mourns his friend but he also notices that Mammon began to evaporate. Angel mistakenly deduces that the weak point of a Titan is located in the throat.

After they return, the Corps' further expeditions outside are put on indefinite hold, and the Corps itself is technically dissolved, and Angel begins obsessively working on his Device. The end result of the Device has the wearer use one hand to operate the Device's controls to the hooks, and hold his sword with the other. Angel attempts to persuade Jorge Pikale into exiting the Wall once more, and the commander agrees to an expedition if Angel can beat him in a fight. Angel attempts to fight using the equipment, and although he gains experience using his Device in combat, he loses to Jorge. The next day Angel tells Maria to open the gate briefly for him to exit the Walls and hunt a Titan. Maria agrees and the next day Angel waits at the gate with his horse when he sees Jorge and the rest of the Survey Corps, who have torn the Wings of Freedom off of their uniforms.

The group exits the gate and soon finds a Titan. Angel engages it with his Device and attacks its throat. When his slash fails to kill it Angel panics and gets caught behind its head. Angel realizes that the back of the neck was also destroyed in Sorum's blast. He tries to swipe its nape, but finds that with the single sword it is impossible to cut. Angel unhooks himself from his equipment and detonates the gas canisters, destroying the nape and killing the Titan. As Jorge picks him up and begins the journey back to the Walls, Angel remarks that he wishes that there was a way to add a second sword to the Device.

Abilities
He was a master craftsman, and credited with creating multiple inventions that are still in use.

Inventions

 * "The Device" - A device allowing humans to make up the difference in height between a human and Titan, so that they can reach their weak point.
 * Cannons - Heavy, strong weapons meant to sit upon the Walls to keep Titans at bay from inside the Walls. It is also implied that Angel is capable of rifling the barrels in order to increase range and accuracy.
 * Iron bamboo Net - A strong net made from iron bamboo, meant to allow humans to capture Titans.

Relationships

 * Corina Ilmari - She was Angel's young assistant. When the Titan Mammon devoured her, Angel took it very hard. Her death fueled his attempts to find the Titans' weakness.
 * Maria Carlstead - The two have been close friends since they were children. As they have gotten older, Maria has taken on more of a motherly role. Often fixing his hair, badgering him about cleanliness, and generally caring about his well being.

Trivia

 * His surname is Finnish, in which the word "aalto" means "a wave."
 * Angel also invented the cannons atop Wall Maria. It is unknown if he made the other cannons atop the other Walls.
 * Angel is the second person to successfully kill a Titan, the first being Sorum Humé.
 * However, while Sorum's kill was achieved mainly through luck, Angel was the first person to successfully locate and exploit a Titan's weak point

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