Kinda interesting the way the Founding Titan's form was described by Gabi as looking like a centipede. Makes me wonder if the huge spine Ymir chanced upon all those years ago was actually a complete organism of some kind.
Wild speculation/theory time:
What she found was a complete Titan of sorts – a Hecatoncheires. The multi-headed, multi-armed colossal children of Titans Gaia ( Goddess of the Earth ) and Uranus ( God of the Sky, pre-Zeus ). Here, the author applied Creative/Artistic License to adapt the legendary creature as a centipede-like monster. All those ribs are its arms; all those spines on Eren's back are the forms of all the prior hosts, hence Ymir occupying the tailbone. Peer closely at the artwork and you can just about make out the tips of the spines looking like the upper torsos of Titans almost holding hands, interconnected at the arms.
If we're to take the Hecaton allusions further, that might explain the Titan's powers.
The general Titan powers are derived from Gaia, embodying basic elements of Life/Earth: the base Titan form, diamond-like crystallization...carbon manipulation; the animal traits, the links between all...all manifestations of the link all life shares w/ Gaia/Mother Earth. And finally, there's the Attack Titan's time-related powers.
These I don't think stem from Uranus per se, but another child he sired w/ Gaia -- Saturn/Chronos, God of Time, Liberation, and Renewal. Basically, what Ymir found was the Titan Saturn/Chronos, if he was a Centipede-looking Hecatoncheires like his brethren. Erego, the time-link abilities.
Which brings me to my next theory, and one that might be more wishful thinking than anything, but what the hell.
Having established that the Titans of this universe tie closer to the Greek myths than previously thought, it open the way for another intriguing possibility: the existence of not just Titans but god akin to not just the Greek/Romans' but the Norse too. Which means….we might get a sequel or some spin-off, canon or otherwise.
Attack on Gods. Or maybe...Attack on God Scylla? Gods...illa? You see where I'm going w/ this. Say it with me now: ATTACK ON GODZILLA, BABY.
You might think that's an unlikely prospect. But consider just how much Toho teased the fuck out of a Godzilla/Evangelion cross-over; merchandising, Anno's Shin Godzilla nd its borderline Eva allusions, the Shin Godzilla/Evangelion dueling Symphonic performance, even a 4-d crossover Ride at Universal Studios Japan.
Aside form that, the company's sure been busy attempting expanding the franchise on various fronts, even taking risks by exploring new mediums and creative directions: allowing Hideaki Anno of Evangelion to helm the wild revamp that was the financially/critically successful Shin Godzilla, dipping their toes into the anime field with the…less successful Godzilla anime scripted by the guy who did the subversive Puella Magi Magoka Magica, and even a series of one-off animated crossovers with other properties. Add the upcoming Legendary Monsterverse mashup/remake of Godzilla vs. Kong, and you start to see a pattern forming.
Toho is gearing up for something big: a mass collaboration to produce a Godzilla/Attacks on Titans, Godzilla/Evangelion, or even a Godzilla/Attack on Titan/Evangelion mash-up, built from from the ground up and linked all together, from a world-building perspective.
Consider:
- Like I said, we already saw strong shades and hints of this in Shin Godzilla and associated material, so as as the Evangelion ties are concerned
- Those Titans forming the Found Titan's "spines," should you agree that's what they might be; tell me they don't look like Evas in their typical Christ/Crucifixion pose?
- The makers of Shin Godzilla and the Attack on Titan Movie have worked closely together, w/ Anno's friend having worked on both films.
It's all part of a growing trend one can see slowly taking shape in society and pop culture at large: a huge convergence of properties and franchise as companies continue absorb or collaborate w/ one another. Over in the states, you've got Disney buying up company after company, bringing several different franchise under one umbrella, prominently in the world of comics and its associated media. There's even now rumblings of another major Marvel/DC comicbook cross-over happening, and people are now starting to wonder if what was once thought of to be a pipedream - one company purchasing another to create a shared universe - is now inching closer to reality in light of DC's current...cinematic/corporate stumbles, speculation over Time Warner cutting the company loose, and Disney gobbling it up as part of its aggressive ongoing take-over campaign.
Can you also say Avengers vs. Justice League? Marvel's most ambitious cinematic aspirations to date, more so than even a potential X-men/Avengers shared universe?
Tying it all back, I think many are beginning to see the writing on the hall: franchise mashups on multiple fronts are the next big thing to really blow up in the mass entertainment field. Collaborative projects like Disney/Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts franchise helped pave the way. And with the giant monster genre having experience a significant renaissance, people in important positions in the corporate offices are taking notice. More importantly they're bucking notoriously conservative tradition ( Toho that is, been their bane for years ), by taking consistent bold new risks -- arguable and subject to much debate, yes, but it's a big shift from previous eras.
So yeah, Attack on Gods, guys. Long rant, I know, and highly speculative. But with any luck, Quantum Mechanics will step in to make imagination and desire into reality. If QAnon's allowed to thrive, then godammit, we're allowed this.
