Assassins Read #14 - Assassin's Creed: Reflections

Warning: video is subject to extended Loomer rants.
Next month's assignment is "The Republic of Pirates"! Pick up a copy here: amzn.to/2nkqLnA
In this episode of Assassins Read, we review and discuss the "Assassin's Creed: Reflections" comics! There's a lot to say about this one...
/ loomer979
/ loomer979

[@loomer]

One final note I forgot to mention in the video: I would much rather have seen some of Edward's post-AC4 adventures as an Assassin (maybe recovering The Shroud) than yet another pirate adventure. What a missed opportunity.

[@A.G.S2001]

You dislike altair story fuck you

[@MrJackblack7]

As a diehard Edward fan this upsets me greatly.

[@Finbars9]

I agree with you entirely. I think Ezio's was the best story (despite my joy about seeing more of Connor), because it built off the relationships of the Ezio games. It's casual, but feels so great as it's just two old friends who we understand getting along and reminiscing, the whole point of seeing just "a day in the life" of each character. I do wish, however, they would have shown Leo's death and Ezio's support for him in the end. Connor's story was a challenge to the writers, because there's no real jumping off point from the game. What they did was fun, and I'm glad to see Connor find something, even if it was just our of my own fandom. I couldn't stand Altair's, it all seemed to move too fast, almost like one plot point after the other, never giving any time to relieve tension, and in the end making the assassination of Genghis Khan, a pretty big deal, feel inconsequential, and worst of all simple and easy. Edward's story feels like the writers wanted to tell a pirate story, but weren't sure when to fit it in. In my opinion it should have occurred in London, with Edward connecting to the brotherhood there and interacting with a very young Haytham. This book was just a massive disappointment, there was so much potential for storytelling opportunities just lost.

[@andriysultanov9208]

Thanks for great video, as always! It's so sad to see you really upset :(

[@Ren_Davis0531]

I actually liked Connor having a tragic ending because Connor is a tragic character. He doesn’t even really win at the end of Assassin’s Creed III, achieving a Pyrrhic victory instead. The whole point of Connor is that he suffers through a bunch of hardship and, ultimately, acknowledges that he will probably never see the end of his mission and that it may indeed be never ending, but he perseveres regardless. Connor even mentions in Assassin’s Creed III that he can’t give a woman what she deserves because he’s so dedicated to the Assassins. I like the basic idea of Connor struggling to maintain his family because of his strong commitment to his responsibility and it fits in line with the tragedy inherent to the character. I can definitely see revising the story to make it more of a mixed bag and framing the downer ending as Abstergo propaganda, but I think Connor needs some sense of tragedy in his ending. Connor symbolizes the unyielding will to endure no matter what tragedy or hardship befalls him. A happy go lucky ending runs counter to that idea. Throughout all of the heartache and loss, Connor does what is right. No more. No less.

[@Jammerstelthzoe]

I’m happy they gave Connor the happy ending cause it opens to his daughters possible story. (Can’t saw her native name so going for the given Tumblr head canon Abigail Kenway) I loved her. I felt that Altairs story was the weakest story too. Plan on the review of the problems too

[@dracox289]

I am making a fan book about Connor's later life which spans from 1786-1807. Its my own take on connor's older years and I've been working on it for a year and a half. Whenever i finish it i hope you'll be able to check it out loomer

[@SNIP3RARROW117]

KyleIsAmongUs your KZbin profile picture looks amazing, can’t believe I haven’t seen that before

[@dracox289]

i.pinimg.com/736x/1f/33/84/1f33849c590cf343309f33b37462fd5b--assassins-creed--creed-movie.jpg

[@Neurotoxiny]

I always get hyped whenever I see you've release a new Assassin's Read! I feel like Ubisoft needs someone to keep track of the AC lore and do quality/continuity control on new media (similar to Leland Chee and the Star Wars universe). With noticeable discrepancies popping up in this comic, the movie, Ezio in Homecoming, Nikolai Orelov in Chronicles, Nikola Tesla in Conspiracy, etc., it makes it seem like Ubisoft simply doesn't care about maintaining a coherent vision. It also seems Ubisoft is torn in how they want to handle transmedia. On one hand, if they make the transmedia stories essential, they risk alienating fans who only play the games. On the other hand, if they make the stories superfluous, they feel like wasted potential. Subject 4, Brahman, and Templars seem to strike a perfect balance: they are exciting and introduce impactful lore without being required for casual enjoyment of AC's overarching plot (what remains of the overarching plot, that is).

[@Raz3299]

Great video as always Loomer. Here are my thoughts on the Reflection series considering I just bought the remaining 3 issues yesterday. However, with most points I’ve seen you address in your video. Likes Ezio’s story- Have read elsewhere of the events that Ezio had stood by Da Vinci’s just prior to his death, so it’s nice to see it portrayed visually of the events. Cover arts- Really love the cover art that had been drawn for issue #1 as it shows Ezio throughout his life in one piece of art. The other cover art being Issue #4. Both had caught my eye, when I had bought the issues. Connor’s story- As you mentioned its great to see that Connor did end up having a good life, and I did laugh a bit when you said that it was as if it was a Disney movie. Darim- Although the story was not the best, due to inconsistencies, I guess what I liked perhaps was seeing a visual representation of what a young Darim had been like. Dislikes Inconsistencies within the story arcs- As mentioned in the video; I did notice that Adwale’s personality had been quite off while reading it. Didn’t pick up the time, to fit it within the timeline, to notice Edward’s behaviour would be odd. Hence, I can understand your point of view after seeing where it had fit within the timeline and that Edward’s behaviour would be quite odd as well Timing of release-The only thing I felt was a bit forced at the time of the release of issue 4 was that they wanted to show something similar to Senu’s perception in Connor’s daughter prior to origins release. Hence, at the time of reading #4 at the time it felt quite forced that they wanted to show this particular concept, and would have perhaps liked it if there had been some explanation as to how and why it occurs in certain individuals. Would like to know if anyone thought the same, or weather it had just been me. Looks like I’ve got quite a lot of reading to do since I’ve finished uni now, so I might post some my thoughts on some of the previous videos :P

[@loomer]

Good points, thanks for sharing. I really love the Ezio cover art (done by sunsetagain I believe)... it's definitely one of my favorites.

[@David-nq8cv]

Yeah I agree Looms, I'm glad that Connor having a lonely death was just Abstergo propaganda, for Altair it was unnecessary since he already have a good arc he didn't need that extra memory, Edward's part truly didn't make sense and I'm glad that you showed that clip to support your fact about that's how they shouldn't be in the comics, for Ezio, he shouldn't do that like training since you mentioned that Revelations was his last adventure being an assassin, and when he Found Altair's apple he removed his gauntlets as a way of showing that for his journey as an Assassin is over, and want doesn't want to be like Altair which was a mentor to death

[@Raptorslayer350]

In the defense of Connor's issue, his story was more of a slice of life than his actual closure. A chapter from a novel, a calm before the storm. He does train Eseosa in 1804 and there is the "sudden" disappearance of the Homestead in the early 19th century, as the AC3 Database said. If I remember clearly, I think Escoblades had recalled that when he asked Corey May that "his life doesn't get any better from there", which was the episode where you interviewed Rogue's writer.

[@Laura-ze6by]

i'm searching things about what happend to connor after the game ended fo a f*&ing hour, can someone please explain to me what the hell happend to him? did his wife and children left him or he lived happily ever after with his family...even though in the ac 3 he doesn't meet any women

[@gl0ckpewpew]

Can you make a "Top 10" ac games list?

[@jeekey4]

I don't have a good intro point but here are some brief (-er than last time lol) reflections on the comic: I was so happy to see Leonardo; when I realized it was him I was so stoked. I don’t know if there has already been mention in the out-of-game stuff of Ezio seeing Leonardo again before he died, but for me it was great to see their friendship and banter and have it confirmed that they met again. I’m a massive Ratonhnhake:ton stan lol, so I loved seeing him with a happy family. I do appreciate what other commenters have said about him being a tragic character (with great devotion to the brotherhood despite receiving little reward) needing a tragic to mixed ending. I think that’s a good point; although I would argue that the side of him we see in the homestead storyline as a community builder doesn’t lend itself to a completely lonely and depressing ending. I thought the overall setup of this comic was pretty pointless and contrived; having Otso Berg sit there and preach about each story was not very interesting or appealing to me. The themes of the stories that he discussed have already been explored more effectively and elegantly explored in the games. And, unless I’ve missed something, I feel like Berg has been shown to be fairly devoted to his daughter in the past, given that he joined Abstergo for her, so having him call her at the end and pretending it’s a big lesson or character moment is kind of silly. (I didn’t mean to put this off until so late lol and after I received a giveaway copy too! I’ll step up my book club game next time. Congrats on the new job, Loomer, happy holidays, and have a great new year!)

[@SNIP3RARROW117]

I would rather see adawales grandson (is it) eseosa going to the davernport

[@Asram5]

Wow it was really striking to see that cutscene followed by the panel. I definitely felt Adewale was out of character when I read it. I didn't realise the time frame either. I thought it was early adventures, which definitely would have made a tad more sense. Ezio's was the highlight; I'll take any excuse to see more Leonardo. A good example of the transmedia adding so much more is Forsaken, my favourite of all the novelisations. Witnessing Haytham's early life and hunt for his sister added another dimension to a character who was already so phenomenal. Similar to how the Unity novel gave a lot more to Elise. This has me thinking of Ezio's popularity, allowing him three games, yet the series attracts a lot of casual players through the different settings. I've heard people want a trilogy with Bayek, but unless he has reason to visit multiple new countries for the series, it doesn't really make sense from a marketing point of view. As much as we love characters in this series, the jumping from different protagonists and settings makes perfect sense. Transmedia can serve to give the fans additional stories for underepresented characters, but only if they are substantial enough. Reflections was very short form, which can work, if given more attention and weight, but a proper fleshed out comic/series would allow more time for meaningful and impactful narratives. Keeping consistency is also vital as the characters in this series have such important arcs and mean a lot, so we want to see them handled right. I found Reflections harmless overall, though that cutscene has muddied the waters a little. I think as short, fun adventures they work. But we deserve more from a series so rich in philosophy and personal growth.

[@basilofgoodwishes4138]

But i loved Altair´s story, it was the most interesting one to me.

[@Zero-ELEC]

_Reflections_ felt like filler. Like old Japanese cartoons where they adapted a serialized comic still in publication and they had to add content, that would often be contradicted later or be rendered noncanonical to fill in the gaps. Heck, I'm pretty sure every single story in reflections contradicts/retcons a previously established fact from the series. Like I'm pretty sure that Ezio first saw La Gioconda in _The Da Vinci Disappearance_ which was in 1506, and the events of the flashback within the memory are 1505? And you know, Ratonhnhaké:ton's fate, Darim's stuff with Genghis Khan and whatever the heck Adéwalé and Edward's story was. Even outside of inconsistencies which can be ignored to a certain extent (but then again this comic expects you to know the characters to a point so maybe they can't be ignored) the writing is regularly a bit unnatural and stilted. Why was Otso Berg even seeing these memories? I also didn't particularly care for the art in certain issues. I feel like it definitely had more polish than say some issues of _Assassins_ (which is understandable, monthly on going vs 4 issue mini), but I feel Ezio's and Edward's were particularly off, visually. Though I really liked the art of Ratonhnhaké:ton's story. I did like that we saw Bayek's brand of Eagle Vision in the comics tho, in Io:nhiòte's usage. That was neat.

[@natantitelbaum6061]

i'm fighting at ac4 against thomas74769(sas- clan) 6 place

[@natantitelbaum6061]

assassin's creed 4 i was fighting against the 6th place in the world he never killed me because of noobs XD

[@andynaruto10]

I thought Assassin's Creed is mainly a comic-book series and the games are the transmedia. Because the main plot happens in the comics. You know, Juno, The Instruments, The Phoenix Project. Fuck the comics. Don't buy them.

[@arielscorpion68]

Until Dawn in the background

[@stormmario]

The worst part in my opinion? Selling this as a celebration of the franchise and then making Otso the connection of the stories when he is one of the representations of what is worst with the franchise nowadays. Otso wich is one of the protagonists of the new modern day stories , originated from Rogue wich is easily the Assassin's creed with the worst writing and most plotholes both in the past story and in the modern day.

[@David-nq8cv]

Actually he originated in AC4 as a mention in data base and introduced in Rogue

[@Pancake_Madness]

He captured Desmond's dad in AC3. I believe that's where he first showed up. (watch someone reply with him showing up even earlier lol)

[@David-nq8cv]

Tikigod784 he didn't really show up in AC3 it just said he captured William Miles in the sequel games

[@stormmario]

He didnt show up in AC3. And it dosnt matter if there was a reference in AC4 MD, as that was already one of the worst modern day stories by dar. Not that it fixes anything.

[@Pancake_Madness]

Saying he first "showed up" could be seen as misleading I suppose. He was first relevant as a character in AC3, even if they didn't properly introduce him until later. Anyway modern day since Desmond has been awful and frankly I'm waiting for Ubisoft to take it all out behind the shed and shoot it already. Would probably be less insulting if they just publicly dropped modern day completely tbh. It's about time companies realized that transmedia doesn't really enrich franchises as much as you'd think, because not every franchise can be star wars.