Levi Ackerman was born underground to Kuchel Ackerman, a prostitute who died young. His uncle Kenny Ackerman found him, took him in, and taught him survival skills, knife fighting, and violence before abandoning him, confident Levi could survive alone. Levi later formed a gang with Furlan Church and Isabel Magnolia, utilizing stolen vertical maneuvering equipment for thefts. Surface official Nicholas Lobov recruited them to assassinate Survey Corps Captain Erwin Smith, promising surface citizenship. During this mission, the trio was captured by Erwin, who offered to clear their criminal records if they joined the Survey Corps. Levi, Furlan, and Isabel joined the Corps while secretly plotting to complete Lobov's assassination. On an expedition beyond the Walls, Titans attacked their squad. While Levi confronted Erwin, Titans killed Furlan and Isabel. Returning to find their bodies, Levi slaughtered the remaining Titan in a rage. Erwin revealed he carried a fake document, rendering Levi's mission pointless. After this tragedy, Levi chose to follow Erwin and dedicate himself to the Survey Corps, adopting the motto of living without regrets. Physically, Levi has short black hair in an undercut, narrow steel blue or gray eyes with dark circles, and a deceptively youthful face. He is notably short but muscular from extensive use of vertical maneuvering equipment. Following a Thunder Spear explosion engineered by Zeke Yeager, he sustained facial scars, including one across his right eye, and lost the index and middle fingers on his right hand. He maintains a consistently expressionless or frowning demeanor, making his thoughts difficult to discern. Levi is characterized as a clean freak, insisting on spotless environments and equipment. He wipes blood off his blades mid-battle but will tolerate filth if necessary. His personality is abrasive and cold, featuring blunt, often vulgar or insulting speech. He shows open disdain for authority figures he does not respect, particularly the Military Police, yet follows orders unconditionally from those he trusts, like Erwin Smith. He values human life deeply and hates unnecessary casualties, urging subordinates to exercise judgment to avoid fatal mistakes. He is intensely loyal to his comrades and grieves their losses, as seen when his entire Special Operations Squad was killed by the Female Titan. However, he shows no mercy to Titans or human enemies, behaving sadistically toward perceived threats like the Female Titan or Zeke Yeager. As captain of the Survey Corps Special Operations Squad, Levi earned renown as humanity's strongest soldier. He operates independently during missions, often assigning others to handle lesser threats while he focuses on high-risk targets. Though not a charismatic leader like Erwin, he commands respect through his combat prowess and takes responsibility for his subordinates' welfare. His battle style relies on speed and precision with vertical maneuvering equipment, allowing him to eliminate Titans solo. Key conflicts include retrieving Eren Jaeger from the Female Titan, sustaining a leg injury protecting Mikasa Ackerman, and multiple confrontations with Zeke Yeager. During the coup d'état, he choked Historia Reiss to force her acceptance of the queen role. He ultimately killed Zeke to fulfill a promise to Erwin. His background shapes his traits: his cleanliness stems from childhood squalor; his emotional detachment follows the deaths of his mother, Kenny, Furlan, and Isabel; his loyalty to Erwin replaces his earlier distrust of authority. He shares a distant blood relation with Mikasa Ackerman through the Ackerman clan.