Marlowe Freudenberg

"Then let me help you!! I will do anything it takes to right the wrongs of this world!!"

- Marlowe to Captain Levi

Marlowe Freudenberg (マルロ・フロイデンベルク) was a member of the Survey Corps and previous member of the Military Police Brigade stationed in Stohess District. He was a graduate of the 104th Training Corps, though he was not from the same division as Eren Yeager.

Appearance
Marlowe was a young man whose hair was in the style of a bowl cut and usually wore his Military Police Brigade uniform before joining the Survey Corps. He was rarely seen without a stoic and serious expression on his face. He was also quite tall, especially when compared to his comrades. His hair was black and he had silver-colored eyes.

Personality
Marlowe was a very righteous person. While most who join the Military Police Brigade do so because they want a safe position far from the danger of the Titans, Marlowe did so because he wanted "to uphold justice and do what's right". His goal was to rise to the top of the organization so he could stop the pilfering of taxes and misappropriation of land. He later admitted that he chose the wrong regiment and unofficially entered the Survey Corps, later making his branch change official. Prior to leaving, he is seen showing excitement about the upcoming mission to reclaim Wall Maria.

The Female Titan arc
Marlowe first appears as a member of the same Military Police Brigade unit as Annie Leonhart, and is assigned to guard the Survey Corps convoy transporting Eren Yeager as it passes through Stohess District. When he questions why they need to accompany the Survey Corps through town, seeing an opportunity, his superior leaves Marlowe in charge of the mission. Frustrated by the higher ranking officers' lack of morals and duties, he explains his motivation for joining the Military Police Brigade to the other recruits. He goes on a tirade about how the Military Police are no better than animals, and when he is in charge he will make them into what humans are supposed to be. This prompts Annie to speak her mind about what type of person he and the others are, implying that people like Marlowe are rare and are not considered the majority. She only wants the weak people who are trapped in the flow to be considered human too, and suggests to him that it is not the people composing the system that are corrupt but rather the system itself.

Marlowe is later seen questioning his superiors about the battle between the Female Titan and Eren in their Titan forms; as he was unaware that Annie is the Female Titan.

The Uprising arc
Marlowe is later seen with Hitch Dreyse, patrolling a nearby forest in search of the fugitives, one of which includes Levi Ackerman. The two at first exchange satirical responses about being placed with one another, but the talk travels onto the Survey Corps who they are surprised to believe have murdered civilians. Hitch comments on the destruction the Corps caused to Stohess District, blaming the bodies they had to pick up as their fault. Marlowe says that the Survey Corps captured one of the Titans, something no other Military branch could have done. The conversation is cut short when they encounter Armin Arlert, who is apparently gathering water into bowls.

They order him to raise his hands but are jumped by Levi and Mikasa, who take their guns and strip them of their weapons and uniforms. Marlowe is held with Hitch as they are both questioned of the positions they hold within the Military. Hitch blames the deaths of those in Stohess on Levi and the Survey Corps, while Marlowe is shocked at her courage. Upon blaming them of Annie's death at the hands of the Survey Corps, Hitch and Marlowe both learn that she was indeed the Female Titan that caused significant damage to the city and was captured and is alive. Marlowe bursts out that he wants to help Levi and the others, but Levi refuses and orders Sasha to take them somewhere, but Jean offers instead. He threatens Marlowe and Hitch with a knife while taking them deeper into the forest. Upon arrival to a rocky enclose, Jean reveals that he intends to kill them both as they are a threat and can not be trusted; also stating it was his personal decision and Levi and the others do not know about it. Marlowe and Hitch beg for their lives but Jean raises his knife and prepares to stab them to death, but trips and drops the knife. Marlowe grabs the knife and tells Hitch to run, but Jean is on his feet now and he and Marlowe are struggling for the knife. Jean warns Marlowe that he has a gun and it would shoot faster than a knife could stab. Marlowe says he is really on their side and confesses his discontent with the Military Police Brigade, and says he trusts the Survey Corps to lead humanity to victory. They both stop struggling but Hitch is behind them and hits Jean with a stick, knocking him to the ground. She attempts to hit him again but Marlowe stops her, saying that Jean was only testing him, and that he never really intended to kill them. Marlowe asks Jean why he trusted him, and Jean says because he reminds him of a kid he hates; referring to Eren. Marlowe lends Jean a hand and he confirms that Hitch and Marlowe can be trusted, and that he could use their strength.

Marlowe and Hitch lead Jean, Levi, Mikasa, Connie, and Sasha to the Interior Brigade Compound, where they are readied with rifles. Levi says it is thanks to Marlowe, Hitch, and Jean that they could have even made it there. The group heads towards the compound, saying it is their time to strike.

After hearing the news that Commander-in-chief Darius Zackly is now in charge, Marlowe and Hitch join Squad Levi in temporary celebrations. It is not until after Eren Yeager and Historia Reiss have been recovered, and Historia becomes queen, that Marlowe is formally accepted as a member of the Survey Corps; even though Hitch thought Marlowe's decision was stupid. Like many of the others that recently joined the Survey Corps, he is ecstatic and optimistic about humanity's future.

Return to Shiganshina arc
Marlowe, along with others soldiers from the Survey Corps, take part in the operation to retake Shiganshina District. He walks on foot among two other soldiers and their horses while the rest of the soldiers use their vertical maneuvering equipment to make their way on top of the Wall. Later, when the Beast Titan appears, he throws a boulder into the side of Wall Maria, causing a collapse that blocks the Survey Corps' entrance to Shiganshina, leaving Marlowe and the other soldiers unable to enter with their horses. Marlowe is alarmed by the fact that the horses ran away. He later fulfils his duty by charging into battle against the Beast Titan. In his final moments, Marlowe thinks about Hitch. During the debate between Levi, Mikasa, and Eren over who should receive the Titan serum, either Erwin Smith or Armin Arlert, one of Marlowe's comrades named Floch mentions Marlowe as one of the soldiers killed by the Beast Titan's barrage of rocks. Floch retells the events to the soldiers, and states that according to the plan, they all ended up in pieces. He goes on to say that none of the soldiers probably had time to think that they were dying a proud death, and claims that the last thing they probably felt was just fear.

Abilities
His exact abilities were not shown, but presumably he was skilled enough to gain entry into the Military Police Brigade. Also, he was sent with only Hitch to hunt down the rogue Survey Corps, indicating some level of trust in his abilities.

Relationships

 * Hitch Dreyse - Marlowe did not expect much of a serious attitude from Hitch, since she was usually someone who was carefree and lighthearted towards Marlowe. She was extremely protective of Marlowe, however, and showed that she did care about him deeply. That is shown when Jean attacked Marlowe, and Hitch came up from behind to strike Jean with a nearby branch squarely on the head. In Marlowe's final moments, he thought of Hitch and questioned his thoughts.
 * Jean Kirstein - Although not much of an in-depth relationship between the two was shown, Jean acknowledged that Marlowe acted very alike to him and they got along quite well.

Anime and Manga Differences
In the anime, Marlowe sees and confronts higher ranking officers that are illegally shipping vertical maneuvering equipment to Black Market buyers. When he threatens to tell on them, they beat him up. Annie and Hitch intervene, and the officers decide to let him off the hook. After which Marlowe prepares to shoot them but, when Annie says she will help him do it, he changes his mind. He asks if the idiot she knows would have done it, and she replies "maybe." In the manga, this scene does not exist. It was likely added to visualize Marlowe's statement in the manga about how corrupt the Military Police are, by showing them brazenly selling Military equipment in broad daylight.

Trivia

 * In the anime credits, his surname was first given as "Marlo Freudenberg" (マルロ・フロイデンベルク) whereas he had no surname in the manga at the time. However, when Chapter 59 was first released in Bessatsu Shōnen Magazine, his name was instead given as "Marlowe Sand" (マルロ・サンド). This was later changed in the volume 15 release, though this name change was not incorporated into Kodansha's English translation of the manga until the release of the Colossal Edition 3.

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