13. Alan Rikkin – Assassin’s Creed (Movie)
Please note that we’ll only be covering the major villains from the Assassin’s Creed series, both main games and film. Because of this, minor villains will be completely excluded.
The Assassin’s Creed movie has multiple issues, not the least of which is a lackluster main villain. Alan Rikkin is the Chief Executive Officer of Abstergo Industries, and part of the inner sanctum of the Templars. Despite that resume, however, Rikkin spends basically the entirety of the film doing absolutely nothing. He watches the Animus Project with Callum Lynch, occasionally offers input, and ultimately meets his end with no resistance by the end of the movie. He even has no problem stealing his daughter’s hard won research as his own, making Rikkin an overall bad guy, and not in the good way.
12. Charles Lee – Assassin’s Creed III
Charles Lee is a cruel and cold Templar who ultimately ends up a bit irrelevant on multiple fronts. Connor Kenway originally believes him responsible for the attack and slaughter of his village, although that ultimately is proven untrue. For many years, Lee served as Haytham Kenway’s second in command, assuming the role of Grand Master after Haytham is killed. His role as leader of the Templars is short lived, however, as Connor quickly moves in for the kill. Lee feels like nothing more than a pompous lackey for most of Assassin’s Creed III, and when he finally gets his leading moment, he just bites the dust.
11. Ahmet – Assassin’s Creed Revelations
Ahmet is a disappointing villain purely on the fact of how forgettable he is. That is partially for a reason, however, as Revelations is definitely a title focused on Ezio and the Templars in general. Still, you’d think that the Grandmaster of the Templar Order would have more to do. He’s also the heir to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and believes that he’s destined to have complete control over it. Because of this, he starts looking for the Masyaf Keys, the same ones Ezio searches for. Ahmet is soundly defeated by the Ottoman Assassins and Ezio, and his father even chooses Selim as the heir to Sultan over him. Talk about being forgotten.
10. Bartholomew Roberts – Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
Assassin’s Creed IV is a strange game: it’s easily one of the most engaging Assassin’s Creed titles ever release, and yet, its main story is a bit of a convoluted mess. This famous historical pirate became known as Black Bart, and he’s introduced as the first Sage of the series mythology. Roberts is certainly a fearsome pirate, but he doesn’t appear much in Black Flag until near the end. Not to mention his whole motivation and past history as a Sage is muddled and unclear, and his ultimate goal of using the Observatory falls short of some of the grandiose plans of other villains in the series.
9. Francois-Thomas Germain – Assassin’s Creed Unity
In Assassin’s Creed Unity, Francois-Thomas Germain feels like nothing more than a stereotypical bad guy. This is only strengthened by the fact that Arno Dorian doesn’t really have a reason to take him down outside of personal vengeance. Germain ends up creating a radical splinter faction of the Templars and tries to reform French society by sowing mass chaos, which results in the French Revolution. The problem is, you barely see Germain in Unity, spending most of the time trying to track him down or take down his conspirators. Ultimately the final showdown with this Templar just feels a little hollow, with little understanding of Germain outside of the fact that he’s bad.
8. Warren Vidic – Assassin’s Creed 1 & 2
Warren Vidic is a scientist working for Abstergo Industries, and the very first villain that you meet in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. For most of the first title, you think he’s the mastermind behind everything, before finding out more about the Templar organization. Vidic really is a pompous jerk and after the end of Assassin’s Creed, he serves little purpose in the rest of the series. He still pops up as a piece of the Abstergo machine before meeting his death at the hand of Desmond Miles and the power of the Apple of Eden. After the first Assassin’s Creed, Vidic feels like little more than an afterthought.
7. Rodrigo Borgia – Assassin’s Creed II
The Borgia’s are easily one of the most notorious families in all of history, striking fear with just name alone. Rodrigo Borgia is another example of a villain working from the shadows, whose real role remains unknown for much of Assassin’s Creed II. Rodrigo falters, however, when you consider how he nearly drove the Templars into the ground. Through bribes and power plays, Rodrigo becomes the Pope and focuses on establishing the Templar’s power and control in Europe, making the organization lose sight of their real ideology. This becomes known as “The Dark Age of the Order.” It also doesn’t help that Rodrigo loses horribly in a fist fight against Ezio, and what a way for a pope to go.
6. Juno – Assassin’s Creed Series
Juno is a mysterious character throughout much of the Assassin’s Creed series, almost too much at times. Juno is a member of the precursor race, the Isu, where she was a scientist. While it is true that Juno is responsible for many of the events in the Assassin’s Creed series, it took over four entries to really learn her true role and motivations. As a result of Desmond’s sacrifice in Assassin’s Creed III, Juno is freed from her prison and begins to play her hand. The only problem? Even to this day, we’ve barely seen any more of Juno, outside of minor hints and events. By this point, the convoluted web of the series just needs to move things forward, and show us if Juno is really a worthwhile villain or not.
5. Al Mualim – Assassin’s Creed
Al Mualim is the first major villain of the Assassin’s Creed series, and yet he still remains one of the most memorable. This cunning figure was actually the Mentor of the Levantine Brotherhood of Assassins, sending Altair out on multiple missions to take down Templar targets. His lust for power, however, led him to work with the Templars themselves in search of the Apple of Eden. Al Mualim trained and mentored Altair, using the master Assassin to his own benefit to bring the Apple into his grasp, only to turn the device against the very assassins he established. Were it not for the skills of Altair, who know how far Al Mualim could have gone with his control over humanity.
4. Cesare Borgia – Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood
The biggest reason Cesare Borgia is such an imposing villain is because of how he puts Ezio on the defensive, destroying the assassin’s home base completely right off of the bat. In an interesting turn of events, Cesare seeks revenge on Ezio for killing his family and taking what he loved, the same reason Ezio hunted the Borgia to begin with. For most of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, the master assassin spends his time trying to catch up against the overwhelming power of Cesare and his army. It’s only with an entire brotherhood of fellow Assassin’s that Ezio can overcome his foe. Ultimately, the feud between the two comes to a head as they battle things out in a deadly sword fight in the middle of flames and destroyed buildings.
3. Crawford Starrick – Assassin’s Creed Syndicate
Crawford Starrick is immediately set up as a deadly villain in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, as he’s all but eradicated the Assassin order in London. He rules over the city with an iron grip, with the help of his subordinates and conspirators. The only way Jacob and Evie Frye can take down Starrick is by systematically eliminating the massive network of Templars he’s established in London. During this turf war, Syndicate constantly gives us context on how Starrick is receiving the new of his districts being taken, and he becomes more and more unhinged as events progress. He’s certainly an imposing figure who starts out with a massive lead over the Assassins, but still feels deadly when he’s pushed into a corner.
2. Shay Patrick Cormac – Assassin’s Creed Rogue
Shay Patrick Cormac is a fascinating character, especially considering he’s one of only two villains we’ve gotten to play as in the series. Cormac starts as a promising young assassin, training under Achilles and other skilled warriors in The New World. Certain events cause him to become disillusioned with Assassin Order and their morality, and he leaves to join the Templars. Turning the tables in Assassin’s Creed Rogue is an engaging twist, as Cormac viciously hunts assassin after assassin. He’s also responsible for multiple events in the series, including the crippling of Achilles and killing Arno Dorian’s father. Even more impressive is that we don’t actually see or hear of the death of Shay Patrick Cormac, as he basically lived out the rest of his days as a master assassin hunter.
1. Haytham Kenway – Assassin’s Creed III
Haytham Kenway, son of master assassin Edward Kenway, is a prominent figure in Templar history and a catalyst for many events. He’s an ancestor of Desmond Miles, and the father of Connor Kenway. After being converted to the Templar order at a young age, Haytham quickly rose through the ranks until he led the Colonial Rite. Under his leadership, the Templars in America flourished and gained a real foothold. Haytham is a constant in Connor’s quest for vengeance, and the two even end up working together at one point during Assassin’s Creed III. Ultimately, the differences in ideology and purpose couldn’t be overcome, however, and Connor puts an end to his father’s life. Haytham Kenway is an incredibly complex and multilayered character, and easily the most memorable villain of the entire series.
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