Ian Dietrich

Standing 188 centimeters with a solidly muscled frame, Ian towers over most of his fellow soldiers. Dark blond hair, parted at the center and kept back behind his ears, reaches the lower part of his neck. His face is notably slim, with pronounced cheekbones, hazel eyes, and light skin, and he appears only in the Garrison uniform worn over a tan shirt.

On duty Ian keeps his words clipped and his manner severe, though he loosens into ordinary conversation once the pressure eases. Commander Pixis credits him with a surprising knowledge of alcohol. He extends real trust to the soldiers around him, obeys his chain of command, and plans candidly with his peers, yet in a crisis he shouts orders without hesitation and reasons coldly through the odds. Neither Rico's pessimism nor Mitabi's doubts move him from the course he judges best for retaking Trost, and his courage runs deep enough that he ultimately trades his life for a subordinate's.

When the Colossus Titan breaches Trost, Ian directs Mikasa Ackerman to reinforce the rear guard, flatly refusing to entertain her objections. He later watches her intercept and cut down an abnormal Titan menacing the evacuees, and while her skill impresses him, her eerie calm in a life-or-death moment leaves him unsettled. Once the evacuation signal sounds, he orders his team up the Wall to cover the withdrawal of the vanguard; Mikasa abandons the formation despite his protests.

After a rogue Titan is exposed as the trainee Eren Yeager, Ian stands among the Garrison troops encircling him while Kitz Weilman interrogates the boy. Ian vouches for Mikasa when she shields Eren, warning that losing her would weaken humanity's forces, but only Dot Pixis's intervention halts the execution. A plan then takes shape around Eren: transform, carry a boulder, plug the breach. Ian receives command of the Alpha Squad tasked with guarding him.

The operation unravels at once. Eren loses control of his Titan form, strikes at Mikasa, and collapses. As Titans close the distance, Mitabi Jarnach and Rico Brzenska push to abort, but Ian orders both teams to defend the unconscious Eren until he recovers, losing his temper and demanding that Rico name any other way to reclaim Trost. She cannot. As losses mount and Ian nears calling a retreat, Eren finally rises and hauls the boulder toward the gate. Ian commits everything to guarding him, stationing Mikasa and Armin at Eren's side, and when Mitabi's team draws Titans off on foot through streets too open for maneuvering gear, he recognizes the necessity and follows suit. Acting as live bait, Ian pushes a subordinate clear of a Titan's grasp and is devoured in the man's place, his head bitten away.

His sacrifice succeeds. Armin later remembers Ian and Pixis as men with the resolve to give something up to ensure victory, and years afterward Hange counts him among the fallen who would never have endorsed destroying the world.