The Most Dominant Assassins in the "Assassin's Creed" Franchise

Who's the best of the lot?

Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

The world of the Assassin's Creed games are dark and moody and while they may align themselves with history there's no shortage of otherworldly killers on both sides of the Assassin, Templar war. We take a look at some of the most dominant Assassins in the series. Not only the ancestors of Desmond but also the Assassins they recruited to help the cause.

With the public getting their first look at Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag today they're going to get a fresh batch of Assassins and Templar to fight along side and against. Edward Kenway may be the accidental Assassin but the pirate world around him is already very aware of the secret struggle. We meet established Assassins living in secret very early in the game and just how far the order has reached in the Americas.

Check out the most dominate Assassins from the Assassin's Creed series and its comic book companions; From Altair to Ezio and Aveline to Adewale.

Shao Jun

Shao Jun is an assassin who appears in the novels based on the Assassin Creed games. She was born a concubine to the Emperor Zhengde, but after his overthrow and the downfall of the Assassin order in the East Jun and her mentor headed west to receive the advice and protection of Ezio’s Italian Order. After receiving Ezio’s wise words and working together to kill off the small army sent to end Jun, she returns to her village to raise a new Order.

Stephane Chapheau

This French-Canadian chef was indoctrinated into the Assassin Order by Connor in Assassin’s Creed III and is no fan of the taxman. Chapheau started out as an untrained conscript in his youth and a lifetime of being stepped on by the French Army and then the British colonial tax system made him snap. Chapheau is credited with starting the protest that ended in the Boston Massacre and later kicked off the Boston Tea Party. Dominant Chapheau may French-Canadian, but as any freedom loving American he straight-up hates the taxman.

Nikolai Orelov

You haven’t met Nikolai unless you’ve ventured into the comic series Assassin’s Creed: The Fall and The Chain but he’s easily one of the most important Assassins in the world. This Russian badass was not only charged with taking out the cruel Tsar Alexander III but while attempting to retrieve an artifact from Nikola Tesla’s lab resulted in a huge surge of energy causing the Tunguska Event which leveled a hundred miles of forest. In order to save his family he tried to leave the Order only to have it follow him into the grave.

Aveline de Grandpré

Aveline not only shows up in Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation but is also a playable character in Black Flag to pre-order players. This assassin hides the tip of her knife behind the cloak of a lady; hopping between different worlds. After being born into slavery but rescued and raised by the French assassin Agate in New Orleans she uses her high society upbringing to get past her target's guard.

"I stand with those who stand with me. I lure my prey through the guise of a lady. I escape unnoticed through the veil of a slave. And though I may conceal my identity, one thing is certain: commit injustice in this world, and I'll send you to the next.” - Aveline de Grandpré

Adewale

So maybe this is a leap since we haven’t got to see Adewale if full action but we love him already. As Edward Kenway’s Quartermaster and deck boss, Adewale runs a ship of ex-slaves, thieves and murders with a fair hand and a steady mind. The sugar scars on his face tell the story of painful life. In the upcoming DLC for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag dubbed Freedom Cry Adewale brings the pain to plantation owners by giving them a taste of the Pirate Republic’s justice.

Desmond

Desmond had a rough life that was only mirrored by his ancestor’s memories of their own hard living adventures. He tried to flee the Assassin Order only to be caught by its many enemies, in particular the Abstergo Industries, who forced him to relieve his ancestors memories to retrieve the locations of lost artifacts. He escaped and used the power of these memories to retrieve the artifacts for the Assassins, only to be foiled in the end by a device that would both save the world and take his life.

Connor

Ratonhnhakéton Also known as Connor and the grandson of Edward Kenway, this Native American Assassin’s father was actually a Templar and mother a Native American. Early in his life his village was burnt to the ground by Templar looking for the spirit sanctuary that his people guarded. He built a new order in the Colonies and fought alongside the Continental Army to repulse the British and protected George Washington. Quiet and collected Connor can take down an entire company of Red Coats all by himself. He’s by-far the most aggressive of the Assassins in the series.

Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad

The original master assassin from the third crusade, Altair was stripped of his rank and must work his way back up to a master assassin, eventually becoming the Grandmaster of the Assassin order. He’s also responsible for developing many of the weapons and skills assassins use in later games.

He was born in Syria straddling two worlds from the start - having a Christian mother and a Muslim father - he was town between the two worlds. His life got harder after his mother died and father was killed and he was brought under the wing of the Assassin Order under constant attack from the Templar. His journeys took him far away lands into the Crusades. He saved the knowledge of the Assassins and passed it down to the generations that would follow.

Ezio Auditore da Firenze

The assassin with most style, Ezio uses many of the Codex developed by Altair to reap vengeance across the Renaissance world. With help from his pal Lenardo da Vinci he recovers his fathers lost weapon, the Hidden Blade. Ezio is cold, calculated but gives credit to the meaning of his name, the Eagle. While Altair originated the Hidden Blade and the codex that Ezio used he brought a whole new level of combat and intensity to the game. The most stylish of Assassins his killing blows were not perfected through repetition, he was a born Assassin. A Renaissance artist of blood.

Edward Kenway

Born a Welsh dirt farmer (or is it peat?) Edward may have cut his chops in the Royal Navy but the draw of the gold-lined waves of the rum island Caribbean drew him from his home. Before becoming an Assassin midlife he was a pirate through and through. A man with big dreams can be a dangerous prospect. As Edward will go to any length to find his fortune and fame. Knowing the hidden blade as soon as he touched it and with a deadly ability to tangle swords, pistols and commanding a small army of crew with the broadside cannons of his ship, he’s the most dangerous Assassin yet.