Connie Springer

"I...want to become a soldier my mother would be proud of. So...let's go and save some people in trouble."

- Connie to Armin Arlert

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. He currently serves as an officer (上官) in the Survey Corps.

Appearance
Connie used to be one of the shorter members of the Survey Corps, standing two centimeters shorter than Levi Ackerman. He has a slim build, with gray eyes, and his brown hair 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.

By the year 854, Connie has grown significantly taller, now standing slightly above average height. His hair has grown slightly longer, but stays in the same general style, and his facial features have sharpened. During the Raid on Liberio, he wears a black uniform, with belts and support rods for his anti-personnel vertical maneuvering equipment.

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. For a long time, Connie remained optimistic, consistently caring for the well-being of his friends, family and village, and being willing to help in any way he can.

However, this soft spot and the tragedies he goes through takes a toll on him. Initially reacting to those situations with denial, alarm and search for negotiation with those he was betrayed by, he becomes with each new grief more prompt to anger, irritation and hatred, losing his optimism and gaining in readiness to act against his opponents in order to protect the few selected friends he considers to be family.

His mother's transformation into a Titan appears to have had a big effect on his psyche, and combined with all of the tragedies he went through caused him to take drastic measures to ensure she became human again: this was primarily seen when Connie suggested feeding Falco to his mother. He left his friends and took Falco hostage to his village, lying to him about taking him to a hospital and abusing his trust. This reached the breaking point when Connie tricked Falco into brushing her mother's teeth, with the intention of pushing him into his mother's mouth, and when Armin and Gabi arrived to stop him, he held a blade to Falco's neck. However, when Armin chose to jump into Mrs. Springer's mouth and allow himself to be eaten, Connie saved him at the last second, coming to the realization that his mother wanted him to be a good soldier, and knowing that having eaten Armin would just make her sad.

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. On his first day of training, he is severely punished for saluting his instructor with the wrong hand.

Later that day, Connie joins his fellow trainees in watching Sasha Blouse complete her punishment for eating during initiation. After learning that Eren Yeager is from Shiganshina District, he joins the other trainees in questioning Eren about his first-hand experiences with Titans.

During his vertical maneuvering equipment training, Connie proves to be adept, and is one of the first people Eren asks for advice on how to operate it. Connie proves to be of no help, claiming that he is just naturally talented.

Like many of his fellow trainees, Connie gradually begins to slack off during training exercises that will not go towards helping him graduate in the top 10. However, after witnessing Eren thoroughly best Jean Kirstein during a physical confrontation thanks to his training, Connie begins taking his training seriously as well.

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

During a training session in which the trainees practice their maneuvering skills against Titan mannequins, Connie tries to take advantage of his great speed with his equipment to tail Jean and steal his kills. However, Sasha steals the kill from both of them. Following the training, Connie defends his underhanded tactics, claiming that Jean is at fault for allowing him to steal his kills.

Battle of Trost District arc
During the graduation ceremony of the 104th Training Corps, Connie graduates within the top 10 of his cohort at 8th place, earning him the right to join the Military Police Brigade. Afterward, Eren and Jean get into a fight over Eren's decision to join the Survey Corps and Jean's decision to join the Military Police. Eren's passionate words in favor of the Survey Corps during the altercation inspire Connie to consider joining the corps himself.

The following day, he is assigned to the same team as Eren and is sent to clean the cannons mounted along to the top of Wall Rose in Trost District. As they are cleaning, Connie reveals his intent to join the Survey Corps, although he insists that Eren's words had nothing to do with the decision. Sasha arrives with meat that she has stolen from the officers' lounge, and although Connie insists that she return it, the squad is eventually convinced to partake.

Hopeful of the future, the group return to cleaning and repairing the cannons only to be stopped by the sudden appearance of the Colossus Titan. Taken by surprise, the entire group are blown from the Wall by a powerful wave of steam.

During the ensuing battle, he and his squad discover a catatonic Armin Arlert, and try to question him about what happened to his squad. When Armin is unresponsive, Ymir suggests simply leaving him, leading to a heated argument between her and Connie, which Krista has to break up. Connie tries again to snap Armin out of his stupor, but Armin ignores him and departs to join the rear guard, and Connie's squad begins to advance toward the front.

Joining the front lines, Connie is among the trainees that are left stranded in the middle of Trost, low on gas, but unable to reach the Titan-infested headquarters to resupply. Connie suggests making a last ditch effort to break into the headquarters, as they are going to die anyway if they do nothing, but Jean points out that they have no one to take charge and lead them.

When Mikasa takes charge, Connie joins the trainees in making an attack on the headquarters. During the attack, Mikasa's equipment runs out of gas, and she is left stranded. Connie goes with Armin to retrieve her, warning them that they need to move before Titans arrive. They are shocked at the sight of an abnormal Titan fighting off approaching Titans, but Connie insists that it is just an abnormal and that they should avoid it. Mikasa trades equipment with Armin, and at Armin's suggestion, she and Connie kill the Titans surrounding the abnormal and lead it to the headquarters.

Successfully reaching the headquarters, Connie takes part in Armin's plan to clear out the smaller Titans inside of the building. He is among the seven trainees 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. Upon resupplying, he and the other trainees leave the headquarters immediately.

He and his fellow trainees are placed on standby, and Connie takes the opportunity to tell his fellow soldiers about how he and the others managed to resupply. He is surprised to hear that Mikasa has not returned yet, but when he asks Jean what happened to her, Jean claims he was ordered not to tell.

Later, he and the rest of the 104th Training Corps burn the corpses of their fallen comrades in a bonfire.

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 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.

During the 57th Expedition Outside the Walls, Connie is one of the soldiers who are ordered to guard the perimeter of the Titan forest, with the rest of his comrades from the 104th.

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 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 led 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.

Royal Government 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 a 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 labeled "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 District. 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 hit 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 Cart 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 Executioner from Hell 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.

Marley arc
Connie is with his friends as Eren's escorts and are working on train tracks as Hange and Levi approach. He hears Eren pose the question of who shall be the one to inherit his Titan powers; after Jean volunteers himself, Connie says that Jean has the potential to be a leader and that him dying after 13 years would be a waste. Connie subsequently volunteers himself, but Sasha argues that such a power is too important to be given to a fool like him and claims she will inherit it instead. Connie is confused by Sasha's argument, arguing that her own logic eliminates her as she is even dumber than he is. Eren interrupts the debate, stating that they are all too precious to him to receive a power that will end their lives in 13 years, and vows to choose someone else.

In the year 854, Connie is one of the Survey Corps members who participate in the infiltration, and later the attack in Liberio. He is grouped with Sasha to pick off Marleyan soldiers and to block the street leading towards the internment zone. After succeeding, he plants beacons on a nearby rooftop, and leaves together with Sasha. Connie and Sasha regroup with Jean to figure out their next move. After the arrival of Marley's Titans, Connie, along with the other Corps members prepare to face the enemies as Levi orders them to survive.

Amid the conflict, Connie watches Eren unsuccessfully attempt to devour the War Hammer Titan, and later takes cover from the Beast Titan's projectile. He tries to assist Jean in killing the Cart Titan's operator, but is forced to retreat by Theo Magath and other Marleyan soldiers. He later notices the arrival of an airship commanded by Hange Zoë and informs Jean, who is relieved to see that it has arrived on time.

Connie then retreats to the airship with the rest of the Survey Corps. When he sees Jean and Sasha are not cheering along with Floch Forster and the other soldiers, he pulls both of them close and tells them that they are very special to him and he is glad they survived. Shortly thereafter he notices that Lobov has yet to join them and a girl rolls into the airship cabin. She fires her rifle, striking Sasha, to Connie's horror. He crouches by Sasha and calls for her to hold on until they get back to the island. However, Sasha does not make it and Connie tearfully goes to report to the others that she has passed away. He tells Eren that her last words were "meat."

War for Paradis arc
After returning to Paradis, the soldiers who were killed in Liberio are buried. While visiting their graves, Connie and Jean are forced to defend Niccolo, a Marleyan prisoner-of-war, who is being harassed by another soldier. Learning that Niccolo had wanted to visit Sasha's grave, they lead him to where she was buried. Connie thanks Niccolo for cooking good food for Sasha when she was still alive, professing that he feels like a part of him is missing without her.

Connie, Jean, Armin and Mikasa meet to discuss the recent occurrences in Paradis. As the other three discuss Pixis's arrest of the Volunteers, Connie interrupts them, asking if Eren had seemed right in the head to them. Connie claims that Eren was not acting like himself, and declares that he will kill Eren himself if he has started cooperating with the enemy. Mikasa responds to Connie's threat in kind, and Connie asks her if she intends to join Eren in betraying them. Mikasa protests that Eren still values them, but Connie reminds her that Sasha's death was a result of Eren's acting on his own and dragging the Survey Corps into his attack. He drives his point home by revealing to Mikasa that Eren did not cry when he received the news of Sasha's death, but laughed. Growing angry, Connie demands that Mikasa explain to him what could have possibly been funny about Sasha's death to cause Eren to laugh.

Connie is present when Hange questions a group of four Survey Corps members led by Floch who publicly revealed Eren had been put in jail for what he did in Liberio.

Connie later attends a meeting about the Yeagerists with the top military officials along with several other ranking Survey Corps members. During the meeting, he is shocked when Pixis suggests they should surrender to Eren and begin negotiations. After the discussions end, Connie leaves with the other Survey Corps members while questioning Mikasa on her allegiance. They then leave to investigate Marleyan prisoners in suspicious lines of work.

After they arrive at a restaurant, Jean tries to take a sip of wine with Connie, suggesting it is fine since they are officers as well. However, Niccolo snatches the bottle away with Connie confused by his sudden outbursts. Afterward, Connie is called into the other room to find Niccolo threatening to kill two Marleyan Warrior cadets with a knife. After Niccolo surrenders his weapon, Connie assists in restraining him with Niccolo admitting the wine likely contains Zeke's spinal fluid. As Connie and Hange rinse Falco Grice's mouth, Niccolo reveals that he was instructed to serve the wine to the military higher-ups. On hearing this, Connie argues that an Eldian freezes up on consuming the spinal fluid as seen in Ragako; Hange reminds him that this information is unreliable, coming from Zeke. Soon, Connie is captured by the Yeagerists and taken away, along with Hange, Onyankopon and Jean. He and the other captives are later seen in a holding cell in Shiganshina.

While imprisoned, he questions Armin's capability to use his power to escape but is rejected due to the Colossus Titan's destructive power. As Jean questions Armin about Eren, Connie is shocked to learn how he beat Armin to a pulp and hurt Mikasa with his words. He then harshly addresses Eren's behavior before they are interrupted by Yelena and is angered to see that Onyankopon is with her. Soon after, Griez begins to insult Sasha while conversing with Niccolo but is shot by Yelena in retaliation much to Connie's shock. Yelena then goes on to explain Zeke's true motives to Connie and the prisoners before they are interrupted by a soldier informing them of infiltrators. As the fight on the rooftop ensues, Connie and the other prisoners wonder what the sound overhead them was about.

Onyankopon arrives and frees them from their cell, begging them to help defend Eren. Connie flies into a rage at the thought of helping the people who betrayed him, and has to be talked down by Armin. Onyankopon claims to have had no knowledge of Yelena and Zeke's euthanasia plan and although Jean claims to believe him, he points out that helping Eren will only help them bring their plan to fruition. Armin argues that Eren will activate the Rumbling instead of going through with Zeke's euthanasia plan and despite his reservations, Connie agrees to help.

After freeing the other prisoners, Connie and his comrades equip themselves with maneuvering gear and weapons and proceed to the top of the headquarters to enter the battle. During the battle, the group splits up and Connie and Jean go to aid Eren in his fight against Reiner and the Jaw Titan. They arrive in time to save Eren from being grabbed by Reiner, but are unable to stop Gabi from shooting him with an anti-Titan rifle.

Eren makes contact with Zeke, activating the Founding Titan and beginning the Rumbling. As Wall Maria begins to crumble, Jean and Connie retrieve Falco from his Titan and retreat to meet up with Armin and Mikasa. Jean suggests feeding Falco to one of the Titans which was transformed by Zeke, which prompts Connie to argue that he should be allowed to give Falco to his mother. Armin tries to argue against feeding Falco to anyone, arguing that it will only create more conflict with the Warriors. Connie is enraged and reminds Armin that he himself was saved by eating one of the Warriors, pointing out his hypocrisy in not allowing Connie's mother to be saved the same way he was. They are interrupted by a Pure Titan, allowing Connie to take Falco and flee while his comrades are distracted.

Falco wakes up en route to Ragako and Connie claims to have saved the boy from the fighting in Shiganshina. As the two ride on horseback, Falco notes how far north they have traveled and Connie claims that he is taking Falco to a hospital which can help with his short-term memory loss. The pair stop to rest overnight and Connie spends the night grappling with the morality of what he is trying to do, wondering if Sasha would agree with his decision.

When the pair arrive in Ragako, Connie is startled to learn that Falco knows the village and Falco reveals that he overheard Connie talking to himself the night before. Falco asks if Connie plans to try to avenge Sasha's death, but Connie assures the boy that he understands Sasha's death was a result of a military engagement. He brings Falco to his mother and attempts to trick the boy into getting eaten by telling him that they are going to brush the Titan's teeth, but Gabi and Armin arrive before they can begin.

Connie threatens to kill Falco if Armin approaches them and begins to try to feed the boy to his mother. Armin surprises him by using his gear to fly to a beam suspended above the Titan. To Connie's horror Armin tries to feed himself to the Titan and Connie is forced to save him before he can be eaten. As Gabi and Falco reunite, Connie admits to Armin that he has come to understand that his mom would not want someone else to be sacrificed for her life. Lamenting that he almost murdered an innocent child, Connie resolves to save the people outside of the Walls so that he can be a soldier his mother would be proud of.

After returning to Shiganshina, the four take time to rest and eat. As they are eating, Connie and Armin discuss the possibility of Annie having escaped her crystal. As they are speaking, they realize that Annie is sitting next to them.

The group and Annie make a plan with Jean, Mikasa and Pieck Finger to escape Shiganshina. After receiving a signal from Jean to leave the military headquarters, Connie departs with his comrades. On their way out of Shiganshina, they pick up Reiner.

The group travels to Paradis' harbor with the intention of using the Azumabito clan's airship to pursue Eren, but find that it is already occupied by Yeagerists. The group gears up for a possible engagement, but Connie and his friends are reluctant to fight their former comrades. Their discussion is interrupted by Hange who announces to everyone's horror that Eren has apparently already reached Marley. A desperate Magath apologizes to the Eldians for how he and the rest of Marley treated them and begs them to cooperate with him.

As part of a plan to trick Floch into turning over the Azumabito mechanics, Connie and Armin ride into the harbor and tell Floch that they have been pursuing the Cart Titan ever since it devoured Jean and Onyankopon. They tell Floch to send the Azumabito mechanics to help them start the ship so they can continue their pursuit and proceed to the ship without waiting for his response. They are stopped by Daz and Samuel and, seeing that the plane has been rigged to explode, demand that they disarm it. Daz and Samuel question them about their allegiance and Connie and Armin manage to convince them to begin disarming the bombs on the plane.

As they are waiting for the mechanics, Connie and Armin are horrified to hear gunshots, followed by an announcement from Floch that they and Mikasa are traitors. Daz begins rewiring the bombs on the plane and Armin is shot by Samuel for trying to stop him, to Connie's horror. Samuel holds Connie at gunpoint but is distracted by Reiner and Annie transforming, allowing Connie to tackle him. As he grapples with Samuel, Connie sees Daz preparing to kill Armin and, in desperation, takes Samuel's gun and uses it to kill him and Daz.

Connie carries Armin's injured form to the ship and passes him off to Magath, insisting that he is going to help defend the ship. Connie saves Reiner and Annie from being killed by Yeagerists and helps hold off the enemies' forces until the ship is ready to leave. He and Jean then help carry Reiner into the ship.

Upon arriving in Odiha, Connie helps move the flying boat into a hangar to be worked on. He tries to help remove the explosives on the boat, but Armin recommends keeping them in case they are needed later.

As preparations on the flying boat near completion, the soldiers equip their maneuvering gear. Floch appears and damages the ship's fuel tank, necessitating repairs. However, Eren's Titans begin to arrive before repairs are completed and Hange is forced to stay behind to hold them off long enough for Connie and the rest of the group to depart.

En route to Eren, Connie participates in a meeting to discuss the best plan to stop him. During the meeting, Connie apologizes to Reiner for the way he has treated him, admitting that helping kill the Yeagerists has helped him understand how Reiner, Bertolt, and Annie felt during their time in the 104th.

The meeting is interrupted when the group is pulled into Paths by Eren. As his comrades try to talk Eren down, Connie apologizes for blaming Eren for Sasha's death and for never assuming that it must have caused Eren just as much sorrow as the rest of them. Seeing Eren in the distance Connie, Armin, Mikasa, and Jean try to reach him but are unable to get any closer. Eren tells them that he called them to Paths to let them know that they will have to kill him to stop the Rumbling, before sending them back to the flying boat.

As the flying boat reaches Eren it comes under fire from the Beast Titan. Connie and his comrades jump from the boat and use their maneuvering gear to evade the Beast's projectiles before engaging it directly. The group make short work of the Beast Titan, but find that Zeke is not present in its nape. On Armin's orders they retreat so that he will be able to transform and use the resulting explosion to try to uncover Zeke. However, before Armin can transform an army of Titans begins materializing and abducts him. The group is swarmed by the Titans and Connie begins to panic, pointing out that they are running out of Thunder Spears. His worries are compounded when it is discovered that the Titans attacking are reincarnated forms of past Nine Titans. Levi orders the squad to focus their efforts on saving Armin.

They do not get far before Bertolt Hoover's Colossus Titan appears. The Colossus disables Reiner's Titan and then throws it at the group, knocking them off Eren's Titan. Connie is knocked unconscious by the impact, and is only stopped from falling to his death by his maneuvering equipment's anchors. He regains consciousness just in time to save Levi from falling to his death after losing consciousness. The Titans begin surrounding the group, but they are saved by the arrival of Falco, who has learned to fly with his Jaw Titan.

Atop Falco, Levi decides to have the group split up and try to simultaneously retrieve Armin and detonate the bombs on Eren's nape. Mikasa resists, but Connie desperately points out that they were nearly killed by Eren moments before. Jean and Reiner are sent to attack Eren's nape while Connie accompanies Mikasa and Annie to rescue Armin. Unfortunately, the three do not get very far before they are surrounded and forced to stop their pursuit of Armin to focus on defending themselves. Just as they are about to be overwhelmed, Bertolt's Titan intervenes and begins fighting alongside them. Mikasa and Gabi manage to free Armin from the Okapi Titan and Connie saves him when the Titan tries to grab him again. Jean manages to detonate Eren's nape thanks to the help of their new allies and Connie joins his friends in evacuating atop Falco's Titan so that Armin can transform.

Returning to Fort Salta, the Connie and the other soldiers are able to watch as the Warriors are reunited with their families. The group is relieved to see that Reiner has survived Armin's transformation and they are unsurprised to see that Eren and the centipede are also alive. Connie suggests focusing their efforts on the centipede, but Levi insists that their only option is to focus on killing Eren. Before they can depart, however the centipede starts emitting smoke into the fort. Realizing that that the smoke is going to turn the Eldians in the fort into Titans, Connie and Jean are forced to stay behind while Falco, Pieck and the Ackermans depart to fight Eren. As they watch their comrades depart, Connie jokingly muses that he would not be stuck saving the world if Jean had not convinced him to join the Survey Corps.

The Eldians in Salta all transform and immediately being defending the centipede as it attempts to return to Eren.

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.

Relationships

 * Sasha Blouse - Connie and Sasha were very close friends. Even though they often got into trouble together and often joked around, they cared for and protected each other when the situation called for it. Connie admitted that she and Jean were special to him. When he announced Sasha's death to the bridges crew after Gabi's attack, he entered the cabin with tears in his eyes. After her burial, Connie said it felt like "half of himself" had died with her, and he abhors Eren for his role in Sasha's death.
 * 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 even had time to process everything. When he believed he had helped kill Reiner in Shiganshina, Connie broke down into tears, showing he still looks back on Reiner as a good friend. After having killed Samuel and Daz, Connie empathizes with Reiner, gaining a better understanding of his pain being forced to kill comrades.
 * 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 were initially 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 because of Eren (although he claims it is due to not wanting to be in the same branch as Jean). After Sasha's death, Connie begins viewing Eren with contempt, thinking he is a different person to the man he used to be close with. Now, he says he is readily prepared to cut Eren down should the need arise.
 * Zeke Yeager - Zeke is responsible for the destruction of Ragako and the transformation of Connie's family and friends into Titans. Connie swears vengeance against him, stating firmly that he will never forgive those responsible and that next time, they have to kill him.

People killed

 * Daz
 * Samuel
 * One member of the Anti-Personnel Control Squad
 * Two Marleyan soldiers
 * Three members of the Panzer Unit
 * At least four members of the Yeagerists

Failed attempts

 * Reiner Braun
 * Pieck Finger

Trivia

 * Connie ranked seventeenth in the First Character Popularity Poll.
 * Connie ranked twenty-fourth in the Second Character Popularity Poll.
 * Connie tied with Gabi Braun and Pieck for twenty-first in the Third Character Popularity Poll.
 * Hajime Isayama has stated that his idea behind Connie's character is that he is "like a kid on summer break." He originally only created the character in order to fill out the 104th's top 10 graduates.
 * 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."
 * Isayama chose the name "Connie" because he felt it has "a friendly and familiar ring to it." He gave the character the surname "Springer" to reference the fact that he is fast.
 * 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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