104th Trainees Squad

Battle of Trost District

After the Colossal Titan breaches Trost District, Marco is assigned command of the 19th Trainee Squad and is ordered tosupport the vanguard forces.

Marco and Jean

He is eventually among the trainees stranded when the retreat order was given, since he does not have enough gas to scale the Wall and escape Trost, which has become a death trap for the trainees. When Mikasa and Jean rally the others into charging headquarters, which has become surrounded by Titans, Marco is quick to join them. Inside the station, he is vital in Armin's plan to reclaim the overrun supply room and leads the main group in the operation. Armed with rifles, the recruits act as bait and lure the seven Titans who occupy the room into position. Marco maintains order in the group, and keeps everyone calm until they fire and blind the attacking Titans.

He is later seen among the regrouped forces, and attempts to once again keep order when people like Daz are giving into their fear, as Dot Pixis has announced that he will need the soldiers in an operation to retake Trost District, which Marco himself will participate in. Marco does his best to comfort them and keep morale high, even when they are ordered to return to Trost. He joins the other recruits up on the Wall, and acts as bait to distract the Titans from the main operation involving Eren. Later, he is among the recruits that go into the city to battle the Titans. There, he helps to rescue Jean when his gear malfunctioned and eventually joins the others in battling the Titans while Eren is close to sealing the breach in Wall Rose.

Marco's corpse

He is later found dead after the Battle of Trost, discovered and identified by Jean, who wonders how he died. Jean realizes he hadn't seen him around recently and doesn't believe out of all the trainees, Marco was one of the deceased. Jean reveals the news to Eren, who is horridly shocked, and Eren briefly reminisces his time with his former friend. Along with the other causalities of the battle, Marco's body is cremated on a communal funeral pyre.[3]

After Marco's death, Jean is inspired to abandon his selfish ways and join the Survey Corps, claiming that he does not want to meet a "disappointing end with someone burning his bones without knowing why he died", referencing how Marco died alone and went unnoticed for days. Marco's death continues to motivate Jean to continue fighting despite the death and disarray surrounding humanity.