Assassin’s Creed is a series built on the everlasting struggle between the forces of the Assassins, who wish to free the world from oppression, and the Templars, a group that seeks to tigthen their grip on the world and see it made in their image.
Gamers have seen the Templars and the Assassins battle in over a dozen games. Through the years, fans of the series have seen their fair share of epic villains in the Assassin’s Creed universe. Without further ado, here’s a look at the 10 best villains that the Assassin’s Creed series has to offer.
10 François-Thomas Germain
Francois Thomas Germain is a villain that could work as a template for most of the villains in the Assassin’s Creed series. Francois was the grandmaster of the templars during the French Revolution and was a power-obsessed, cunning but still somewhat cowardly man, like so many of the villains in the Assassin’s Creed games. Germain was deemed enough of a threat that Arno Dorian, an assassin was forced to team up with a templar in order to defeat him.
9 Robert De Sablé
Robert de Sablé is the first antagonist we are introduced to in the Assassin’s Creed series and it’s fitting that he is an actual Knights templar from the crusades, unlike the other villains that you are going to see on this list. He is the 11th grandmaster of the templars and was born into a powerful family from France. Robert uses manipulation and other people’s greed to get his way, by offering people power in the new world he wants to create in exchange for favor and their loyalty.
8 Achillies Davenport
Achilles being on this list might come as a surprise to a few people as he was the mentor figure in Assassin’s Creed 3, but in Assassin’s Creed Rogue he actually becomes the game’s main antagonist. Achilles becomes the villain when Shay Cormack betrays the assassin’s order and joins the templars.
This paradigm shift was a very interesting look into the series as we got to see a different side to the Assassins that we were not used to see, especially in the case of Achilles where we have always seen him in a good light.
7 Cesare Borgia
Cesare Borgia is the main antagonist of Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood and is one of the most hated characters in the series for just how cowardly and slimy he is. First off, he uses and abuses his family to get what he wants, up to the point where he murders his father when he does not get his wish, like the ultimate spoiled brat that he is. He is even shouting at Ezio before Ezio kills him, saying that he is immortal. All this whining doesn’t take away from all the actual power he held and how he was powerful enough to invade Ezio’s new home.
6 George Washington
George Washington was an interesting choice to make a villain in Assassin’s Creed 3’s DLC as he is considered such a great hero to so many Americans. It’s double strange as Washington was on your side in the main game, albeit there were times where Connor and he exchanged harsh words. The Tyranny of King Washington DLC was a great what-if scenario and showed a completely different side to Washington, from the brave hero and general to a tyrannical, power-obsessed monarch who held the apple of Eden.
5 Maxwell Roth
Maxwell Roth is the antagonist of Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and it’s clear that the actor who portrayed him, John Hopkins, was having a great time doing his job. Maxwell Roth is a character in a similar vein to Batman’s Joker, as he is a mad man who pretends to not be able to plan anything seemingly too elaborate, but has planned out everything.
At first working with Jacob, Roth betrays him and shows that this mad man actually had plans all along.
4 Al Mualim
When we first meet Al Mualim, he is the leader of the assassin order and preparing the game’s protagonist, Altair, to eventually replace him. This makes his betrayal later in the game all the more impactful as he is initially portrayed as someone we could trust. Al Mualim’s obsession with the Apple of Eden leads him to work with the Templars, leading to his death by his student’s hands.
3 Charles Lee
This villain is just so despicable. Charles Lee is first introduced to us in Assassin’s Creed 3 as a naive character unknowingly working with the Templars when he starts to help Haytham Kenway in his missions. When we later see Charles Lee as a young Connor, he has become a monster, threatening children and burning down villages basically just for the sake of it. Despite being second in command in the templar hierarchy, he is the last one Connor takes down.
2 Haytham Kenway
Haytham Kenway is the main antagonist of Assassin’s Creed 3 and also the father of the protagonist of the game, Connor. This creates an interesting dynamic as the two very much despise each other but also carry this knowledge that they are linked and should have a better relationship. This makes the game all the tenser as you know that you will eventually have to fight your own father, which you do and it leads to a very interesting interaction between the two.
1 Rodrigo Borgia
You knew that it had to be this man, The Spaniard, Rodrigo Borgia. Borgia was first introduced to us as a family friend to the Auditores but soon betrays them and kills all the male members of Ezio’s family, leaving him to protect his sister and mother and flee for safety. This kick-starts the events of Assassin’s Creed 2 and throughout that game, we learn that Borgia is looking to become pope in order to access a vault full of hidden knowledge. This leads to what is possibly the only game where you fistfight a pope… and win.
Next: Ranking All 11 Assassin’s Creed Games
