Abel (Anime)

Abel (アーベル) was an officer (上官) in the Scout Regiment Fourth Squad under the command of Hange Zoë, who was noted for his trademark glasses, or "goggles." He participated in the 57th Exterior Scouting Mission and often accompanied higher-ups, such as Hange and Levi, on serious missions.

Appearance
Abel was a man of average height, with light skin, short, blond hair, and light stubble on his chin and cheekbones. He was noted for always wearing thick-rimmed glasses with bands around his head, to prevent them from falling off in combat. His clothing consisted of the typical uniform of the Scout Regiment with the green cloak worn on expeditions.

Personality
Abel was a serious man and a devoted Scout Regiment member, always acting bravely in battle and following his duties as a soldier.

The 57th Exterior Scouting Mission arc
During the 57th Exterior Scouting Mission, Abel serves as part of the cart guard team, transporting the special target restraining weapon.

After the Female Titan is captured, it attracts several Titans with a loud screech. Erwin Smith orders the supplies guard unit to intercept the Titans, with Abel and several other soldiers trying to distract them. However, they are ignored by the wave of Titans as they go to eat the Female Titan. Abel is exhausted after the attempt to kill the Titans surrounding the Female and retreats after Erwin gives the order.

Assault on Stohess arc
Abel watches as Hange, aided by Moblit and other soldiers, make a second attempt to capture the Female Titan. They manage to succeed, but Hange brags about what she plans to do with her, causing Annie to kick the special target restraining weapon and escape once more.

Clash of the Titans arc
Abel helps cover the Titan inside of Wall Sina, after Eren and Annie's battle exposes it. He then watches with the rest of his squad as Hange Zoë threatens Nick for answers.

When Titans are reported to have invaded Wall Rose, Abel is among the Scout Regiment soldiers that Erwin Smith leads from Stohess District to the front lines.

They stop in Ehrmich District where Hange goes over a report about Annie Leonhart's background with a number of Scouts, including Abel. He hears Armin, Eren, and other members of the 104th discuss whether it is possible that Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover could have been working with Annie.

Hange then takes a group of splinter group soldiers to Utgard Castle to rescue Historia Reiss while the main body continues on with Erwin. Abel is with Hange's team and participates in the battle against the Titans when they arrive at Utgard.

Afterward, Abel returns with the rest of the Scouts to Wall Rose to recover. When Hannes' Garrison squad arrives to report that there is no breach in the Wall, he is among the soldiers who gather around to listen. Learning that there is no breach, Hange calls for the Scouts to fall back to Trost and Abel prepares to go with them, but they are stopped by the sudden appearance of the Colossal and Armored Titans.

Abel and the other Scouts jump off the Wall to avoid the Colossal Titan's attack and Hange orders her soldiers to swarm it. They use their omni-directional mobility gear to swing around the Colossal Titan and as they dodge around its fist, Abel notes that though the Titan is big, that is all that it has going for it. However, before they can reach its nape, the Colossal Titan emits a scalding burst of steam that drives all of them back.

Hange leaves three of the four squads with her to watch Bertholdt and takes the remaining squad, including Abel, to face the Armored Titan, which is fighting Eren in his Titan form. During the battle, Mikasa and Armin land on the ground away from the Wall in an attempt to get Eren to escape and avoid being kidnapped. Abel comes down to call the two of them back, saying that it is dangerous. They follow him back to the Wall, and so does Eren.

Reiner charges after him, and when they next engage, Eren gains the upper hand. The Armored Titan roars in desperation and Abel quickly searches the area for Titans in preparation for a similar event to the one that cost them the capture of the Female Titan. He reports to Hange that there are no other Titans sighted in the area.

However, the Colossal Titan reacts to the roar and plunges down from the top of the Wall to land on Reiner and Eren. The resulting explosion knocks back and heavily injuries almost all of the Scouts around the Armored Titan, including Abel.

The Uprising arc
Fully recovered from his injuries, Abel reunites with the Fourth Squad and the Special Operations Squad. He is present when Hange delivers news to the squads that Pastor Nick has been murdered, and evacuates the premises with everyone else when Levi receives news that Erwin has been arrested and warrants have been issued for Eren and Historia's arrest. He is placed under Levi's command to help his squad smuggle Eren and Historia into Trost for safe harbor with Commander Pyxis.

Entering Trost, Abel and Nifa keep watch over Keiji, Eren, and Historia as they proceed to the Garrison's headquarters. While en route, they are joined by Levi, and are ambushed by Kenny Ackermann and his gang shortly afterward. Abel is shot in the head by one of Kenny's subordinates, and his body falls into the street, landing in front of a woman and her child.

Abilities
Despite never being seen in actual combat, it is implied that Abel was a fairly capable fighter, as he survived the 57th Exterior Scouting Mission, during which he directly engaged the Titan horde that was attempting to devour the Female Titan, and a fight against the Female Titan during the capture operation in the Stohess District. Furthermore, in the 57th Exterior Scouting Mission, Abel was part of the cart guard team, entrusted with the safekeeping of the special target restraining weapon meant to capture the Female Titan. This implies that he was among the few Scout Regiment members who knew about the true objective of the expedition, meaning that he had managed to stay alive for at least the past five years and that he was a trusted member of the Scouts.

Trivia

 * Although Abel was portrayed with brown hair in the first season of the Attack on Titan anime, his hair color is changed to blond in the second anime recap movie to better fit his manga appearance. This change is retained in the second season of the anime.