Calum Petrie reviews Assassin’s Creed: Templars #7…
Under the watchful eyes of Abstergo, Dre Bolden has been viewing the memories that Otso Berg hopes hide the missing piece in the puzzle threatening to dismantle the Templars. As Dre relives the experiences of his Barbary coast based ancestor, he realises how much he has to learn about the people who hold his life in their hands.
The Assassin’s Creed: Templars comics have always come across as the more mature alternative to the others that I have read; this art style and subject matter have always been delivered with more anticipation. When dealing with the Templars in games or past issues though, people will know that the conversations between the groups can be very dry and sometimes grating.
Black Cross is part detective and part last resort of the Templar order; the man behind the myth can keep his cool and be the stoic, emotionless machine that the order needs him to be … that is until he leaves the order.
In the last issue we found that the latest test subject for the Animus experiment, Andre Bolden, is a former soldier and now senior citizen. Templar operative Juhani Otso Berg recruits Bolden and finally opens up to the older gentleman what is actually going on, to a certain degree. The two agree to work together to find out the connection between the modern Bolden and the Templar Black Cross.
The issue opens with the Animus team are now discussing is that Bolden is not a descendant of Black Cross but rather Jan Ven Der Graff a mysterious figure who has planned to encounter our titular figure. Graff is an unknown variable though to the Animus team and are a little apprehensive; with Berg at the helm he sees only one solution. Behind the scenes Berg and one of his underlings have a discussion about trust and how much Berg is allowing Andre Bolden; the Templar operative puts his faith in the elderly man’s ability as a soldier and rests the issue.
Once in the simulation the ship that Black Cross and Graff were on has now docked and surprisingly Graff already has two camels ready for the next step of his journey. In the space of a few frames the men travel down through North Africa to Tripoli, then quickly to a drinking hole where Graff looks for his contacts.
A short conversation when entering the bar lets Black Cross point out a feature of Graff that is annoying him, that is that Graff announces places that he has never been. The response is that Graff is a self-proclaimed dramatic fellow by nature, before spotting his contacts and striking up a conversation. It is around this time that we see the cool and calculated shroud of Black Cross start to slip and find that he is making jests at his travelling companion’s expense. This is the first real humanity seen from this character since a flash back to a war time scene in an earlier issue, the character slowly develops into a human instead of mythical assassin of the Templar order. Quickly after the shroud does not slip but rather falls all together when a drunken conversation confirms that Graff knew Black Cross would be on the ship and planned for the encounter all along. The two quickly make an exit shortly after when one of the contacts is executed in the tavern for his crime of dissection.
A brief return to the real world shows one of the analysts hinting that she saw something of noteworthy value in the last scenes. She is told to focus on the task at hand and then returns to the simulation.
Graff and Black Cross are now on their way the break into the Sultans secret passageway chamber and find a rare diamond. The two follow a simple set of steps to get into the passageway and while these tasks are completed Black Cross seems to find his new companion more and more compelling. The two make their way through a dark tunnel before a brief confrontation with robed figures sees Black Cross stabbed through the shoulder from behind. The mention of Koh-I-Noor is made and appears to be the treasure the robed figures guard. Black Cross lies on the ground and tells Graff to “find the Black Cross”, to which Graff responds “I thought you were the Black Cross” and the titular figure replies “Depends of your point of view” before falling into a silence.
The Animus team bring Bolden out of the simulation after Graff is dragged away, the team call a medical unit up to see to Bolden. Berg and his companion then discuss briefly that Bolden now knows about the mysterious Koh-I-Noor and how Berg might be showing far too much. The discussion with Bolden and the medical team show that the man’s powers of observation are as sharp as ever and his mention of this mysterious diamond are a key point to his being there. The Animus team are now worried their test subject knows too much.
This brief story of the journey of two men is a lot more compelling to read than the first five issues of the series that took place in China. The character development between and existing character and the new comer is enjoyable and yet still retains a large air of mystery.
The art style in the issue uses colour palettes to distinguish the past and present very clearly, the present day being filled with dark and cold associated colours while the past is filled with bright and warmer colours. This may be to highlight the cold and clinical feel of the Animus chamber and the way the Templars operate.
The cliff-hanger of Black Cross being wounded and the fate of Bolden in the Animus facility do actually make for an intriguing point plot to end on. For once it has left the reader curious and wanting more, the way a good cliff-hanger should be.
Rating – 7/10
