Was Rod Reiss Titan a wasted potential?

Hajime Isayama chose the funniest-looking characters to be the most threatening ones. Although the most menacing of them all were accompanied by intimidating designs as well as opposed to the goofy titans we were so used to. In between the goofy and menacing Titans was the Rod Reiss Titan, somewhat capturing the best of both worlds. 

With a brief appearance, this titan gave viewers/readers a lot to think about. Today, let’s dissect these thoughts and answer a prominent question about the potential held by this peculiar titan and if it was utilized to its fullest. 

Rod Reiss Titan: Everything we know about it

As an attempt to get back the Founding Titan for the Reiss Family, Rod Reiss brings Historia and Eren to the Reiss Family Chapel. When Historia realizes how the first king wanted the Titans to rule over humans, she breaks the Titan syringe. Out of desperation Rod Reiss licks off the liquid that has been spilled on the floor. He transforms into a pure titan, the Rod Reiss Titan.

• This titan was bigger than the colossal titan in size with similar abilities. Both the titans release heat from their bodies. This heat couldn’t be withstood by humans. 
• In terms of appearance, the king’s titan had disproportionate physical features with a bony build. The absence of muscle led to a visible skeletal structure.
• There were a few mysterious aspects to the titan as well. Usually, pure titans don’t have digestive organs as opposed to the Rod Reiss Titan.

That’s the extent of the information we have available about the Titan. Regardless of its destructive qualities and the gigantic frame, the survey corps defeated the titan quite easily. Thus ending the tale of the Rod Reiss Titan. Could there have been more to his story or the role he played in the grand scale of things?

Was Rod Reiss Titan a wasted potential?

The Rod Reiss Titan was a pure titan. Therefore he could be controlled by Eren. Beyond whatever happened with the transformation, the only purpose he would have served was to be an addition to the rumbling. Just like the other titans, it was a mindless titan who could not plot or plan. The wish for the Royal family to continually possess the founding titan couldn’t be fulfilled by him. The only redeeming factor was the size and the destructive abilities it brought along. This too was sabotaged by the abnormalities faced during the transition. 

Even with the superior potential to wreak havoc, the king’s titan couldn’t even walk without support. And crawling wouldn’t have taken him too far. This brings us back to the question, was Rod Reiss Titan a wasted potential? No, he served his purpose. Defeating him was a much-needed victory amidst the chaos that was about to unfold. 

Conclusion

The short appearance made by the titan stirred a series of doubts within the minds of the fans. From the abnormalities, which could be answered by the wrong injecting method, to its end; there are still a lot of unanswered questions regarding the Rod Reiss titan. We probably won’t get any definitive answer as the manga has already ended. Never mind, fan theories and fun analysis for the win!