THE ISU, THE CONFLICT, AND THE LEGACY

Assassin’s Creed Report

Assassin’s Creed is a science fiction action-adventure game that explores historical environments and events. Ubisoft has created at least 13 games and a movie with more media coming out in 2025. Millions of fans have flocked to Assassin’s Creed because of its open world RPG play style and storyline rich with lore.

The main conflict in the Assassin’s Creed universe goes back to the war between humans and an advanced humanoid race called the Isu. The Isu are an ancient race that came before humanity and are said to have created humans on Earth. While humans were created to be a strong workforce and survive Earth’s harsh environment, they were made to be docile and unintelligent so as not to rise against the Isu.  To control them, the Isu created the pieces of Eden; technology that could do numerous things, particularly control humans via neurotransmitters, even to the point of having them commit suicide.  

However, some Isu became romantically attracted to their human creations and ended up mating. Over time the hybrid offsprings between the humans and Isu would become immune to the pieces of Eden. Led by Adam and Eve, the hybrids formed a rebellion against the Isu, and they ended up taking pieces of Eden. The rebellion turned into a decade long war which distracted the Isu from a major approaching problem; a sun explosion that would wipe out life on Earth. After locking themselves away to find a solution, Minerva, Juno, and Jupiter, the three main Isu, came up with the tower plan.

Four towers were to be created that when activated would create a shield that would protect Earth from the sun. However, the problem with this plan is that it would take the towers tens of thousands of years to build up energy to create the shield. Although the tower plan was kept in place to help the future avoid another catastrophe, the Isu saw the problem before them as unavoidable and began coming up with different ideas.  Minerva created technology that allowed her to see into the future and leave messages for future saviors of Earth. Juno had plans to be revived after the catastrophe so she could enslave humans once again. Having caught wise to her plan, Minerva and Jupiter sealed Juno’s consciousness away in a digital prison.

The first catastrophe hits Earth, but there are some who survive both amongst humans and the Isu. They begin to live harmoniously as the Isu allow humans their free will. Over time, the Isu die out and are remembered as gods. However, the pieces of Eden they used still existed in the world and humans sought after it. Two major groups battle for more than 2000 years over the pieces of Eden and the free will of men. These groups are the Assassin’s Brotherhood and the Templar Order.

In 2012, Desmond Miles, the son of the modern-day mentor of the Assassin’s Brotherhood, breaks away from the brotherhood. Abstergo, the modern-day Templar Order, kidnaps Desmond to help with the Animus Project; a machine that via DNA accesses memories of people’s ancestors. Abstergo’s plan is to use this machine to locate other pieces of Eden so the Templar Order may control free will. Through the memories of his ancestors, Desmond and the Assassin Brotherhood evade the Templars, learn of the solar flares about to destroy Earth, find the apple of Eden, and locate the Grand Temple which is the site of all information collected by Minerva, Juno, and Jupiter. Also, within the temple is a machine that would activate the shield created thousands of years ago to protect Earth from solar flares but would in turn kill Desmond and release Juno’s sealed consciousness. Desmond gives his life to activate the shield and release Juno with the hope that the Earth would be saved, and that humanity will find a way to stop Juno.  The fully revied Juno is later killed by assassin Charlotte de la Cruz.

Assassin’s Creed turned out to be a popular franchise with 13 games, but it does have its criticism, mainly how complicated the storyline gets after the original games. There are plenty of comments on how a lot of fans stopped paying attention to the storyline after a certain point.  Another complaint is that Juno, the main antagonist for most of the series, was not even killed off in the games. She was killed off in a comic book that a lot of fans did not know about.  There was also a movie adaptation of Assassin’s Creed, but it was said to be a flop.

Still, many fans enjoy playing the series today and go to conventions dressed as their favorite assassins. Ubisoft is still coming out with new game titles and shows such as Assassin’s Creed Shadow that came out in February 2025. The game will take place in Feudal Japan, but the Netflix show has been delayed and we currently do not have an exact release date.

References

Founded Scarab. (2024, May 30). The ENITRE Assassin’s Creed Story EXPLAINED | Assassin’s Creed Shadow (2007-2025). YouTube. The ENTIRE Assassin's Creed Story EXPLAINED | Assassin's Creed Shadows (2007-2025)

Eligible Monster | Gaming Lore. (2023, January 20). Assassin’s Creed Lore – Isu Storyline Explained. YouTube. Assassin's Creed Lore - Isu Storyline Explained

Cripe, Michael. (2024, June 27). Ubisoft CEO Confirms Multiple Assassin’s Creed Remakes Are on the Way. IGN. Ubisoft CEO Confirms Multiple Assassin's Creed Remakes Are on the Way - IGN

Duckworth, Joshua. (2019, September 13). Assassin’s Creed: What Happened To Juno? Gamerrant. Assassin's Creed: What Happened to Juno?

Barker, Stephen. (2023, June 26). 10 Reasons The Assassin’s Creed Movie Failed (With Critics, Audiences & At The Box Office). Screenrant. 10 Reasons The Assassin's Creed Movie Failed (With Critics, Audiences & At The Box Office)