Desmond Miles

Desmond Miles is a fictional character from Ubisoft's ''Assassin's Creed'' video game franchise. Introduced as the protagonist of the modern-day sections of the first game in the series, he has maintained this role for the next four installments, with his journey and development making up the frame story that unites the first five ''Assassin's Creed'' games. He has also been referenced or featured in a smaller capacity in subsequent games in the series, as well as various spin-off media. Desmond is voiced by actor Nolan North and modeled after Canadian fashion model Francisco Randez.

In the franchise, Desmond is a descendant of a long line of important characters, including Adam, Aquilus, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Edward Kenway, Haytham Kenway, and Ratonhnhaké:ton / Connor. Born into the ancient Assassin Brotherhood (a fictional organization inspired by the real-life Order of Assassins) and raised to continue his family's heritage as an Assassin, Desmond eventually runs away from home to pursue a normal life elsewhere. However, he is tracked down and kidnapped by the Templar Order, the Assassins' mortal enemies, who force him into a machine called the "Animus" that allows Desmond to experience the genetic memories of his ancestors. In doing so, the Templars hope to locate powerful artifacts called "Pieces of Eden" and enslave all of humanity. Desmond manages to escape from the Templars before they succeed in their goal, and, after accepting his Assassin heritage, rejoins the Brotherhood to help them stop the Templars. In the process, he learns that he is destined to save humanity from an impending solar flare, and continues to explore his ancestors' memories to find the technology of a precursor race called the Isu, who were wiped out by a similar disaster.

Critical reception of the character has been mixed, with many reviewers and video game journalists criticizing Desmond as a dull and uninteresting protagonist, whose story arc does not match the quality of the historical plots featured in each of the games. More positive commentary focused on Nolan North's performance and Desmond's development from reluctant outsider to fully fledged member of the Assassin Brotherhood. The decision to have Desmond killed off in ''Assassin's Creed III'' also proved controversial, as both critics and players noticed a significant decrease in the importance of the series' modern-day storyline after Desmond's death. Nevertheless, he is considered to be a significant part of the franchise's identity.

Conception

According to his voice actor Nolan North, the original plan for Desmond was that he would feature in six games, acquiring the skills of his Assassin ancestors to become 'The Ultimate Assassin', and at some point would be able to time-travel between different time periods. North became greatly interested in the concept but it was unfortunately scrapped. Adding upon this, North personally noted Desmond as a 'boring' protagonist who ultimately had no direction to go forward, describing the character as 'a fork in the road'. He has been defined as a MacGuffin: "he exists to move the story forward, but he provides little substance".

Appearances

''Assassin's Creed''

In the first game in the series, Desmond is introduced as a former Assassin leading a simple life as a bartender in New York City. In order to hide his identity, he lives under assumed names and uses only cash to protect himself. However, he is eventually tracked down and captured by Abstergo Industries, a front for the modern-day Templar Order. Once inside Abstergo's facility in Rome, Desmond is forced to enter the Animus, which allows him to relive the memories of his ancestors stored in his DNA. It enables him to separate Desmond's consciousness from his body and to infuse his mind with his ancestors, all under the watch of Abstergo scientist Dr. Warren Vidic and his assistant Lucy Stillman. They explain that they are searching the memories of Desmond's ancestors, specifically those of Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad (1165–1257; Syria), for specific information, which they refuse to disclose. Without much choice, Desmond begrudgingly agrees to help them.

After recovering the information for which Vidic was searchinga map showing the locations of various "Pieces of Eden", artifacts with the power to control humans believed to have been created by a Precursor race Abstergo's executives order Desmond to be killed. Lucy's quick thinking saves him, as she persuades Vidic to keep him alive until they know he is of no further use. Upon returning to his room, Desmond, suffering from the "Bleeding Effect" due to prolonged exposure to the Animus, discovers he has gained Altaïr's "Eagle Vision". This allows him to discern friend from foe and to read cryptic messages written on walls and floors by Subject 16, the previous Animus test subject that Lucy and Vidic occasionally mention.

''Assassin's Creed II''

''Assassin's Creed II'' continues from where the first game left off, as Desmond escapes from the Abstergo facility with the help of Lucy, revealed to be an undercover Assassin. He enters the ''Animus 2.0'', supervised by Lucy and her team of Assassins Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane, to be quickly trained as an Assassin via the "Bleeding Effect". He relives the memories of Ezio Auditore da Firenze (1459–1524; Italy), his ancestor from the Renaissance. After successfully navigating Ezio's early memories, Desmond is extracted from the Animus to avoid the mental degradation that Subject 16 suffered as a side-effect of the Bleeding Effect. Shortly after extraction, Desmond flashes back to one of Altaïr's memories, despite not being linked to the Animus.

After spending more time in Animus 2.0, Desmond begins to adjust to his newly developed skills and becomes agile and expert fighter, similarly to Altaïr and Ezio. The last segment of Ezio's memories brings an astonished Ezio and Desmond to a futuristic chamber underneath the Sistine Chapel, where they are met by a hologram of Minerva, a member of the Precursor race that created humanity and the Pieces of Eden known as the Isu. Minerva addresses Desmond by name, knowing that he is reliving Ezio's memories, and talks about a cataclysm which wiped out most of her race thousands of years ago, and which is set to occur again by the end of that year if Desmond does not prevent it. Desmond is then pulled from the Animus as Abstergo discovers the Assassins' hideout. As the team escapes to a new hideout, Desmond re-enters the Animus, knowing Ezio and perhaps Subject 16 may have the answers they seek.

''Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood''

In '' Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood'', Desmond, Lucy, Shaun, and Rebecca arrive at Monteriggioni, where they set up a safe house in the Villa Auditore's sanctuary. Desmond re-enters the Animus 2.0 to discover the location of the Apple of Eden obtained by Ezio, hoping to use the artifact to defeat the Templars and stop the cataclysm Minerva warned Desmond about. Through Ezio's memories, Desmond and the others learn the Apple is hidden under the Colosseum and head there to retrieve it. Desmond takes the Apple, and through it, another Isu named Juno takes control of his body and forces him to stab Lucy, claiming that she would have betrayed him if he allowed her to accompany him any further. Desmond then falls into a coma, and is placed back into the Animus by two unknown Assassins in a bid to preserve his consciousness.

''Assassin's Creed: Revelations''

In '' Assassin's Creed: Revelations'', Desmond awakens within the Black Room, a "safe mode" area for the Animus. In the Black Room's "Animus Island", he meets the digital construct of Subject 16, Clay Kaczmarek, who explains that Desmond must find a memory that links him with Altaïr and Ezio so he can reintegrate his shattered subconscious and awaken from his coma. While in this state, Desmond can hear conversations between Shaun, Rebecca, and his father, William Miles. When the Animus begins to delete Animus Island, Clay sacrifices himself to prevent Desmond's consciousness from being deleted, but not before transferring his own genetic memories onto Desmond. Afterwards, Desmond is approached by a third Isu, Jupiter, who tells him where to find the Grand Temple that contains most of the data collected by his race over the years, so that he may prevent the cataclysmic solar flare set to occur in a few weeks. After awakening from his coma, Desmond sees Shaun, Rebecca, and William sitting around him. When his father asks if he is alright, Desmond simply states that he knows what they have to do.

While in the Black Room, there are five sequences where Desmond talks about his life prior to his abduction by Abstergo. In ''Desmond Sequence 1'', he expresses regret for running away from "The Farm", where he grew up in secrecy among other Assassins, and also wishes that he could apologize to his parents. In ''Desmond Sequences 2'' and ''3'', Desmond explains his early life on the Farm and the training he went through. He also describes his escape, which happened at the age of 16. He ran away into the Black Hills, before running into girls from Illinois who drove him to Chicago. After this, he moved to New York City. During ''Desmond Sequence 4'', Desmond talks of his life in New York, and the job he got at a high-end bar. In the last sequence, ''Desmond Sequence 5'', Desmond describes how Abstergo eventually found him in 2012 and how much he regretted not taking his parents' warnings and training more seriously, and finally accepts his role as an Assassin.

''The Lost Archive'' DLC for ''Revelations'' expands upon Desmond's time in the Black Room, as he involuntarily experiences Clay's memories prior to the latter's death. Through these memories, he learns that Lucy was, in fact, a double agent for the Templars, and that his escape from Abstergo was staged, as Vidic had ordered Lucy to extract Desmond to a place where he would feel safe so that he would willingly enter the Animus. After finding Ezio's Apple of Eden, Lucy was to steal it and bring it back to the Templars, so that they could send it to space via satellite and enslave all of humanity.

''Assassin's Creed III''

In ''Assassin's Creed III'', Desmond, who is noticeably thinner and frail after a long time in Animus, arrives at the Isu's Grand Temple, located in a cave system in New York, and accesses it using Ezio's Apple of Eden. With the help of his father and friends, Desmond relives the memories of his ancestors Haytham Kenway (1725–1781; Kingdom of Great Britain) and Ratonhnhaké:ton / Connor (1756–unknown; Colonial America) using the new Animus 3.0, hoping to find the Key to the Temple's Central Vault. Occasionally, Desmond leaves the Animus to explore the Temple and speak with Juno, who tells him more of her race's history, as well as to retrieve Isu power cells, which are also required to access the Central Vault. While searching for the power cells in Manhattan and São Paulo, Desmond is hunted by the Templar Daniel Cross, dispatched by Abstergo. After William is captured while trying to recover the last power cell, Desmond storms Abstergo's facility in Rome, kills Cross and Vidic, and rescues his father.

After finding the Key and all the power cells, Desmond and his allies enter the Central Vault, whereupon Minerva and Juno appear to speak with Desmond. Minerva warns Desmond that if he touches the pedestal in the center of the room, he will be killed and Juno will be released, allowing her to conquer humanity, but the world will be saved. Juno shows Desmond how his divinity among the survivors of the catastrophe would end with the world going through another cycle of political and religious war. Desmond ultimately decides to use the device and save the world, believing it has a better chance of fighting Juno. As Shaun, Rebecca, and William exit the Temple, Desmond touches the pedestal and releases Juno, dying in the process.

According to lead designer Steve Masters, Desmond's story ends in ''Assassins Creed III'': "What we're trying to do is bring some finality to Desmond's story. To actually wrap up what you've opened and experienced with him." The creative director of the series, Jean Guesdon, said that Desmond is an important character in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and would be playing an important role in the sequel.

''Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag''

Despite his physical death, Desmond is still a powerful asset for the Templars and Assassins in '' Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag''. Shortly after Desmond's death, a recovery team from Abstergo is sent to collect samples from his body for their new ''Sample 17 Project''. Desmond's DNA is stored in Abstergo Entertainment's servers, where a crew of analysts is tasked with reliving his copied genetic memories and learning about his ancestors. One of them, the player character, is tasked with reliving the memories of Edward Kenway (1693–1735; Wales), Haytham Kenway's father and Connor's grandfather, during his time operating as a pirate in the West Indies. While this is ostensibly to gather data for an Animus-powered interactive feature film about Edward's life, in reality Abstergo seeks to find the Observatory, an Isu structure hosting an advanced tracking device and several vials of the Isu's blood samples.

The analyst steals and sends back to the Assassins several recordings left by Desmond detailing his initial doubts of leaving the Farm, his acceptance of the role he had been chosen to play, and his love for his parents. Because Abstergo can now collect anyone's genetic memories without having to use blood-related analysts, Desmond's body gives Abstergo full knowledge about his family life.

''Assassin's Creed Syndicate''

In 2015, during the events of '' Assassin's Creed Syndicate'', a boy named Elijah is brought by his mother to an Abstergo clinic in New York City. Abstergo analysts discover that the boy shares exactly the same patrilineal lineage of Desmond Miles, indicating that he may have been unknowingly conceived by Desmond a few years after his escape from the Farm. On top of that, it is also revealed that the boy is a Sage, the reincarnation of a member of the Isu species. An Abstergo researcher proposes to kidnap the boy and conduct vivisection on him. However, another researcher, Isabelle Ardant, opposes the idea, claiming that it would be better to abduct the boy when he is older and place him in the Animus for 50 years so that Abstergo can study his lineage.

''Assassin's Creed Valhalla''

In ''Assassin's Creed Valhalla'', it is revealed that when Desmond sacrificed himself in 2012 to save the Earth, only his physical form was killed, as his mind was transported into a computer simulation created by the Isu known as "The Grey". During his time there, he forgot his original identity and was transformed into a being of pure light called The Reader, whose task is to analyze various branching timelines to determine ways of preventing future cataclysms. In 2020, the Assassin Layla Hassan enters the Grey via a supercomputer from an Isu temple in Norway in an attempt to slow the magnetism of the global aurora borealis device, which was activated by Desmond when he died. Here, Layla meets the Reader and shows him more possibilities and calculations based on timelines he had not explored. The Reader then tells Layla she has a minute to live, as the radiation from the chamber where the computer is located is killing her body. Layla accepts her fate and decides to stay in the Grey with the Reader to help him explore more timelines.

Reception and analysis

Desmond Miles received mixed reviews from critics, primarily due to his uneven characterization and development. He was voted the twentieth top character of the 2000s by ''Game Informer'' readers. PlayStation Universe rated him as one of the PlayStation 3's worst characters, saying, "While voiced admirably by the ubiquitous Nolan North, it's impossible to shake the feeling of pure monotony when stepping into Desmond's shoes when all you want to do is hop back in time and stab people in the face".

Desmond's significance as an atypical video game protagonist and as a character study on posthumanism is analyzed by Aubrie Adams in the 2017 publication ''100 Greatest Video Game Characters''. Adams noted that as Desmond's mind travel through time and experiences the memories of his ancestors, aided by the technological innovations of science fiction plot devices like the Animus, his body appears to have become increasingly unnecessary throughout the franchise. From Adams' view, the technology that enables him to transcend the biological limitations of his frail body taps into a cultural zeitgeist that desire the idea of extending life throughout technology. Adams noted that the character's continued presence in the storylines of later games in spite of his apparent death in ''Assassin's Creed III'', along with fan theories and official in-game lore which confirm the persistence of Desmond's consciousness in the virtual environment, is indicative of his conclusive change into a posthuman character who transcended his trivial need for a physical form.

Adams also highlighted the significance of Desmond's introduction during a time period when white hypermasculine player characters were the norm in the video game industry, emphasizing in particular his depiction as a subdued protagonist who is psychologically complex, and of an ambiguous ethnicity as the result of his diverse ancestral heritage. Desmond's story arc in the early ''Assassin's Creed'' titles, where his identity gradually evolves from a blank state who subsumes the characteristics and skills of others into a highly skilled Master Assassin, is also marked by his evolving individuality as he comes to terms with his shifting personal identity and acceptance that he is part of a lineage that is bigger then the sum of its parts. Adams concluded that there is a compelling depth to Desmond's character, but only if players are willing to engage in the largely optional experiences that follow his psychological journey and illuminate the details of his past.

References

Bibliography

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