Darius Zackly

Commander-in-Chief Darius Zackly (ダリス・ザックレー総統) is the head of all three divisions of the Military: the Survey Corps, the Garrison, and the Military Police Brigade.

Appearance
Zackly has grey hair and a scruffy grey beard. In addition to noticeable wrinkles on his face, his hair is combed back and appears to be thinning. Zackly's casual attire consists of a plain white shirt and glasses with normal dark coloured pants.. In a more formal setting he adds a bolo tie, much like the three commanders under him, Nile Dok, Erwin Smith, and Dot Pixis. Over this he wears a brown trench coat that has a white cross over a black background for the symbol.

Personality
As the head of the entire military, his priorities lie within what is the good/best for all of humanity. This line of thinking brings Zackly to what he perceives to be the most logical conclusion, such that his loyalty is to the best interests of humanity, and nothing else. He took part in the coup against the monarchy because he believed humanity would be better off should they go, not because of any loyalty to Erwin or Pixis.

According to Armin, Zackly is among the people capable of abandoning their humanity to outdo the Titans as well as having the guts to also abandon things important to them in order to change something in the world, along with Erwin Smith, Ian Dietrich and Dot Pixis.

The Female Titan arc
Zackly first appears when Eren is put on trial. He confirms who Eren is and then announces that the sole right of judgement rests with himself. Eren will either survive and go with the Survey Corps, or he will go the Military Police and be killed. Nile Dok, Commander of the Military Police, advocates for Eren's death by reasoning that Eren causes too much strife within the walls, potentially starting a civil war. While he is prepared to acknowledge that Eren saved Trost, Nile concludes that Eren must be executed after being named a war hero. Zackly calms Pastor Nick down after he called for Eren immediate destruction and then offers Erwin the chance to speak. Erwin calmly announces that with Eren they can retake Wall Maria, which should be the top priority of humanity. A merchant panics and reasons that only the gates can be destroyed so they should all be removed, a plan that Levi disagrees with since there is no guarantee it will work. Pastor Nick interrupts again and begins arguing with the merchant, prompting another call for order from Zackly. Zackly asks if Eren can use his powers for good, Eren replies yes and Zackly counters that Eren reportedly attacked Mikasa Ackerman, another soldier. After Rico Brzenska tells Mikasa that lying won't help Eren, she admits that he did attack her. However, she also requests that is be taken into consideration that Eren saved her life twice before that. Nile disagrees with this by citing an incident from Eren's past where he stabbed 2 robbers. While it is agreed that this was self-defence, Nile believes it no doubt raises questions about Eren's humanity. Eren is called a monster by many people present and eventually launches into a tirade about how his accusers are cowards and that he is the best chance for humanity. Nile orders the Military Police to point their rifles at Eren but Levi has already intervened and is mercilessly beating Eren. Levi states his belief that pain is the best form of discipline. Nile cautions Levi that he could awaken Eren's Titan power and Levi wonders how the Military Police were going to execute him if they are apparently afraid of him. Erwin offers a proposition to Zackly: the Survey Corps will take Eren and assess his usefulness to humanity and if anything goes wrong, Levi will kill him. Zackly agrees with this deal and announces that Eren will join the Survey Corps and return to trial after his ability have been assessed.

The Uprising arc
Zackly appears again during the trial of Erwin Smith in the King's Throne room. After Anka Rheinberger falsely reports that Wall Rose has been breached by the Colossal Titan and Armored Titan, Dot Pixis orders an immediate response from the Garrison. This is overruled by a government official who orders that Wall Sina be sealed off, in case refugees came in and started a civil war. This action would reduce humanities population by half. Anka, after hearing this, quickly leaves the room to go and tell Zackly. Nile Dok refuses to follow this order and proclaims that he is betraying the King, to which Zackly responds that he is in as well. He appears with a large group of soldiers and calmly notes that he is not surprised by the Monarchy's actions. He announces that the announcement from Anka was a fabrication, while Pixis reveals that he planned this with Erwin. Had the Monarchy responded reasonably, then Pixis would have confessed the plot and served them. However, the Monarchy did not do that and had therefore forfeited their right to rule the citizens. Pixis goes on that despite the nature of Titans being a mystery and the origins of the world being a mystery, overthrowing people who do not care about them is the better alternative. Anka adds that the Central Military Police have been subdued. The same government official calls the conspirators foolish and shouts that the people, especially the nobility, are loyal to the King. Zackly tells him that it is no longer up to him and hands Erwin a report. It is from the Belk Agency and announces the testimony of Flegel Reeves that the Central Military Police killed his father and framed the Survey Corps. It also unveils how the monarchy has been forcing the media to print propaganda and that King Fritz is a puppet for the real rulers, a noble family who remain hidden. The government official shouts at Fritz to wake up, revealing him as a senile old man. Erwin realizes that despite their victory they must now embark on a perilous path. Zackly has the government arrested and he becomes the ruler of the capital and it's administrative areas.