Kenny Ackerman is one of the most important figures in Levi Ackerman’s backstory, but their relationship is initially hidden behind a simple explanation. When Kenny first appears in Attack on Titan, he is introduced as a ruthless killer and captain of the Anti-Personnel Control Squad working for the Royal Government. His connection to Levi seems purely antagonistic, as the two repeatedly clash during the conflict surrounding the Reiss family and the Founding Titan. However, the truth is far more personal. Kenny was actually Levi’s maternal uncle, making him the older brother of Levi’s mother, Kuchel Ackerman.
After Kuchel died in the Underground, Kenny found the young Levi and temporarily raised him. He taught Levi how to fight and survive before eventually abandoning him, believing that he was incapable of being a proper parent. Their complicated history gives greater meaning to Levi’s strength, personality, and reaction to Kenny’s final moments.
How Kenny Became Levi’s Guardian and Why He Eventually Left Him
Kenny discovered Levi after his sister Kuchel died in the Underground. Although Kenny was hardly suited to raising a child, he took responsibility for his nephew and taught him the brutal skills necessary to survive in their environment. Kenny trained Levi in combat and survival, helping him develop the abilities that would eventually make him one of humanity’s strongest soldiers.
Kenny eventually left Levi once he believed the boy could survive without him. His reasoning was not that he did not care about Levi, but that he considered himself unfit to become a parent. This decision left Levi to build his own life in the Underground, eventually leading him toward the Survey Corps and his role as Captain Levi.
Years later, Kenny and Levi find themselves on opposing sides of the struggle for the Founding Titan. Despite their family connection, Kenny is willing to fight Levi, showing how completely their lives had diverged. Kenny was also obsessed with obtaining the Reiss family’s Titan power after becoming fascinated by Uri Reiss and the idea of what it meant to possess extraordinary power.
Their relationship receives its final explanation after Kenny is critically injured following Rod Reiss’s transformation. Levi finds him dying, and Kenny finally reveals that he was Kuchel’s older brother. He also gives Levi the Titan serum he had stolen from Rod, which later becomes crucial when Levi must choose between saving Erwin and Armin. Kenny dies without attempting to repair their broken relationship, but his final actions leave Levi with both the truth about his family and a gift that changes the course of the story.