Early in Attack on Titan, and in the manga, the Survey Corps was a shining beacon for humanity and a vanguard of hope against the titans. Then, the later seasons followed and the said regiment’s reputation and integrity went downhill. Come Season 4, they’re no longer heroes but rather an ambiguous faction looking to gain any advantage.
Many factors contributed to this, be it Commander Erwin Smith’s death or even having an edgy and angsty shifter Titan at their disposal. Regardless, there’s no doubt that they did some pretty contemptible actions in the course of the anime. To be fair, it was war and even nothing is ever black and white in such a matter. Still, lots of fans have probably started losing faith in the Survey Corps after these deeds.
10 General Infighting
Even before Eren Yeager came into the picture, the Survey Corps was already unstable from within. While Erwin Smith’s vision and intellect kept the regiment efficient and even crucial, he loves to treat everything as a pawn to his father’s ideals. The first time Erwin let Levi into the Survey Corps, the latter was a slash away from killing him.
Since then, the two’s relationship has been robotically mutual in nature. Levi still detests Erwin for forcing him to join the Survey Corps. It’s not just Levi too. Other soldiers continuously challenge elected leadership as if it was their culture, such as the case between Eren and Hange Zoe.
9 Collateral Damage In Wall Sina
While the Survey Corps managed to secure Annie Leonhart and the Female Titan, the cost was a little too big and they didn’t exactly gain as much as they planned in doing so. The battle took place in the heart of Wall Sina is one of the most populated areas nonetheless.
Annie was even relatively careful in doing damage to civilian infrastructure in her Female Titan form but Eren rolled around the district like a toddler among LEGO blocks. During that operation, Eren probably killed more civilians than Annie especially after throwing her into a church full of women and children.
8 Killing Humans Within The Wall
In another one of the necessary evils for the Survey Corps, they had to change their specialty from Titans to humans, specifically their own within the walls. This notably happened when they got outlawed and had to sneak Eren around the city.
Granted, the humans they had to kill were Kenny Ackerman’s gang but still, it was way above their paygrade. Moreover, that was around the time when the major characters lost their innocence and became killers.
7 Staging A Coup
One of Erwin Smith’s most brilliant plans for the future of Paradis Island was when he decided to dethrone the current “fake” king and replace him with Crista/Historia Reiss. Historia conveniently happened to be under the Survey Corps.
While the coup was eventually beneficial for all the citizens within Paradis’ walls, it was nonetheless a treacherous move. After all, Historia was but a mere front and puppet to the military regiment’s will, as was shown in the latest season. The Survey Corps and the other regiments knew that a coup was terrible, so they needed to make it look tame and Historia just happened to be there.
6 Torture
One can’t carry out a coup and inter-regiment war without resorting to torture. Hange and Levi were at the forefront of this act of war in the anime and it was a necessary move for the greater good of Paradis. They tortured the military police to get information.
They even went as far as removing fingernails and beating up their victims to a pulp to eventually, psychological torture. Their evils paid off in the end but there’s no denying that their hands will never be clean afterward as they practically stooped down to their enemy’s level.
5 Erwin’s Suicide Charge
Speaking of wanton death and destruction, Erwin Smith himself is also capable of such but with more finesse and heroism. He actually convinced around a hundred scared and disillusioned soldiers to commit mass suicide with him during the reclamation of Wall Maria.
Granted, they would have been killed by the Beast Titan anyway but the suicide was enough to turn anyone into a madman with permanent PTSD. Floch Forster himself said it best, Erwin became a demon just to ensure victory.
4 Keeping Secrets From The Populace
Too bad the Survey Corps couldn’t keep its fair and clean image four years after the coup. As soon as they went to war with Marley and the rest of the world, they kept information from the citizens of Paradis.
Such an action to keep their people in the dark does have its significant strategic benefit as there might be spies among them. Still, they went against Queen Historia’s soft policy of divulging everything to the people. Now they probably won’t be as trusted as before and they’re starting to look like the previous authority they dethroned.
3 Turning Historia Into A Breeder
One of Zeke’s conditions, when he brought in the nation of Hiruzu to be an ally of Paradis, is for Historia to bear as many children as possible. This is in order to ensure that there will be plenty of royal blood inheritors to the titans. The deal essentially turns Historia into breeding stock.
While she did seemingly agree to it in the anime of her own accord, she wouldn’t have had to endure such a predicament if only the Survey Corps and the other regiments came up with an alternative. After all, they had years of planning available.
2 Turning Eren To A Punching Bag
Sure soldiers are nothing more than tools and pawns in a war, according to Armin and as practiced by Erwin, but Eren was more than a tool by the time he inherited the Founding and Attack Titan. At that point, he was the last hope for the Eldians.
Perhaps giving him the guidance and training he needed instead of treating him like a guinea pig and then beating him up afterward was more beneficial? Levi certainly didn’t care much for Eren’s well-being nor did most of the Survey Corps. Only Armin and Mikasa did well for Eren’s psyche.
1 Killing Innocents In Marley
Finally, the biggest transgression for the Survey Corps thus far, attacking Marley in advance and dragging all of Paradis into a World War. It was by far the most violent war declaration in fiction and resulted in the deaths of too many ambassadors, women, and children.
It might look like Eren did the most human rights violations in the attack but it was actually Armin with his Colossal Titan. Armin basically nuked the entire Marley harbor, killing everyone in a huge urban radius including dock workers and civilians in the port area apart from naval personnel. To be honest, they got off with a light court-martial punishment after returning to Paradis.
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