Highlights
- Haytham Kenway attempted to kill his own son and murdered countless innocents, leaving him steeped in darkness and making his assassination satisfying.
- Gamilat encouraged the Romans to attack civilians, employing sickening war tactics that led to Bayek establishing the first tenet of the Assassin's Creed.
- Cesare Borgia killed his father, destroyed a city, and engaged in a reign of terror against civilians and assassins, showcasing a complete lack of empathy.
The Assassin’s Creed franchise is a place of many gray characters. The stories built around the eternal conflict between the Assassins and the Templars have seen many figures, some of them versions of historical names, as they deal with death and tragedy.
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As such, it is unsurprising that many of the characters, on both sides of the conflict, can be considered evil. Despite the morally gray style of the Assassin's Creed games, constantly making players question their side, there are still a few characters in the franchise whose actions are so morally reprehensible they can individually be described as evil.
8 Haytham Kenway
Wanted To Kill His Son
Haytham Kenway is one of the best-known villains in Assassin’s Creed history, having appeared on multiple occasions. Some players feel a sense of sympathy for this man, as his journey and path to joining the Templar Order were well-established and showcased, as well as his childhood at the end of Black Flag.
However, Haytham not only attempted to kill his son, in addition to murdering countless innocents because in his mind they simply “didn’t matter” but he even admitted to Connor that he should have killed him a long time ago in Assassin's Creed 3. This sad ending for the character, leaving him steeped in darkness instead of having any momentary last-minute redemption, makes him seem much more viciously evil, and makes his assassination a lot more satisfying.
7 Gamilat
Caused Many Civilian Deaths
There aren’t many who were on the Assassin side of the endless war against the Templars who have been shown truly evil by their actions. Gamilat in Assassin’s Creed Origins, however, employed one of the most sickening war tactics, which has been seen in real-life history at times as well, helping make it one of the darkest Assassin's Creed games.
Namely, Gamilat encouraged the Romans to attack civilians, constantly goading them because he knew that if many civilians died, it would cause those left alive to be galvanized into joining the war. Gamilat’s actions led to Bayek establishing the first tenet of the Assassin’s Creed, to not harm the innocent. At the very least, Gamilat did somewhat repent upon his death for these actions.
6 Cesare Borgia
Killed His Father, Destroyed A City
The Borgia family managed to be the main driving Templar force behind multiple games early in the Assassin’s Creed franchise. Between Cesare and his father, the Borgia family were some of the most recognizable 16th-century historical figures transformed into video game villains for this franchise.
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Cesare was primarily the antagonist of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood. Not only did he kill his father, the Pope, but he also had his brother killed and destroyed the city of Monteriggioni. After that, he also engaged in a reign of terror against many civilians and assassins, showcasing a complete lack of empathy.
5 Crawford Starrick
Destructive Desperation For Power
One of the least complicated and most simply evil, ruthless villains out of any to appear in the Assassin’s Creed franchise, there is no doubt that Starrick is an evil man. He sought the Shroud and other Pieces of Eden, so his control over London could be complete. He never planned small and was always ready to manipulate or kill anyone to get his way.
Stepping far away from the members of the Templar Order, who had their code, Crawford Starrick made for a particularly one-dimensional evil villain in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. With his lack of remorse ever shown for his actions, Starrick was deluded to the point where he still claimed with his final words that London would perish without him, thinking he was on his way to creating a paradise with his complete control of the city.
4 Alfred The Great
Brutally Betrayed His Order
Assassin's Creed Valhalla
- Platform(s)
- Stadia , PC , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Released
- November 10, 2020
- Developer(s)
- Ubisoft
Another historical figure turned member of the Templars, or the Order of the Ancients in this case, Alfred the Great appeared recently in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, proclaiming himself to be a poor fellow soldier of Christ, when in fact he was King of Wessex and later of all the Anglo-Saxons.
After betraying many of his own, Alfred would build a new Order inspired by his religious views, which would become the Templars in time. His twisted sense of right was helped by Eivor throughout, and she even left him alive, which would prove to be a mistake.
3 Charles Lee
Tried To Give America To The Templars
Charles Lee is a historical figure whose name has often been dragged through mainstream media because of his cowardice and rivalry with George Washington. In Assassin’s Creed 3, Charles Lee is a Templar who briefly becomes the leader of their Colonial Order after the death of Haytham Kenway.
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Lee is a sickening type of villain, one who is only out for power and to this end he sought to kill George Washington, started the Boston Massacre, and even convinced Connor’s Native American tribe that he had betrayed them, convincing them to join the fight against Washington. His story is part of what makes Assassin's Creed 3 such a great entry.
2 Al Mualim
Manipulated His Own Followers
The very first villain of the Assassin’s Creed franchise, Al Mualim is one of the most diabolical and sickening characters ever to exist in the series. He only cared about obtaining the power of the Apple of Eden, which led to him first betraying the Assassins that he led to ally with the Templars, and later betraying them as well.
Al Mualim sent Altair to kill many Templars, many of whom were actually helping the people in their local areas, prompting Altair to eventually figure out that his master had betrayed him and the Assassins, and taken control of the entire city of Masyaf using the Apple. Al Mualim was another man who desired only power for himself and created a horrific war between the two sides just for his gain.
1 Rodrigo Borgia
Bribed His Way To The Vatican
Rodrigo Borgia, the main antagonist of Assassin’s Creed 2, is by far the most diabolical character in the entire franchise. Not only did he become the leader of the Catholic Church through bribery and corruption, while believing not a word of the Bible, but he also killed countless people, shown across various historical events throughout the game.
Borgia led a terrifying family, prompting his children to also commit various atrocities and become nearly as bad as him. He was friends with Ezio’s family before maneuvering to have them executed, including the children, publicly. From there, he continued bringing death and gaining power to the very top. The list of atrocities he committed along the way, both in Assassin’s Creed and in real life, is too numerous to recount in full.