9. Haytham Kenway
Let me warn you at this point, this section contains a fairly meaty plot spoiler. If you havent played AC III yet, you might want to go ahead and skip ahead. If you have, you probably already know the spoiler to which Im referring. Still here? Good. Assassins Creed IIIs introduction of its main antagonist Haytham Kenway, in my opinion, is nothing short of genius; playing through those opening chapters as him as he travels to Boston, solving problems along the way, its difficult not to start building an emotional bond. And as he recruits men to his cause, youre forgiven for believing that youre witnessing the birth of an American Assassins guild. How wrong you were. And upon aiding a Native American woman and subsequently makin it with her in a cave the next thing youre expecting is for a young Connor to be inducted as an Assassin by his handsome, debonair father. How wrong you were, right? The reveal that Haytham is in fact a fully-fledged Templar is nothing short of jaw-dropping; Hes the antagonist? But I like him! Hes awesome! Thats how you create a great villain; you make the audience empathise with them. Then, when theyre taken down at the end of it all there are pangs of regret, of loss as well as satisfaction; the emotional response is deeper and more textured than if he was simply another non-descript big bad. Again, I need to reiterate that I havent beaten the game at this point, so admittedly I dont know the full landscape of the story, but at the stage Im at, I almost like the antagonist as much as I do the protagonist.