As a series, Assassin’s Creed has typically had new protagonists for every game entry with the exception of The Ezio Collection of Assassin’s Creed 2, Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood, and Assassin’s Creed Revelations. However, just because each game’s historical time period is typically written to have a unique protagonist doesn’t mean there’s no overlapping similarities or striking differences between the protagonists. Each character has their own personality and motivation, but sometimes these stories are similar than previously realized. Two Assassin’s Creed protagonists with quite a bit in common are Assassin’s Creed Origins’ Bayek and Ezio Auditore of The Ezio Collection.
Most Assassin’s Creed games follow the protagonist on a journey that helps them better understand something. This is a broad categorization, but necessary because each main character’s story is different from the next. Some journeys are more about self-discovery, while others are about family and closure. In Bayek and Ezio’s case, especially in the second Assassin’s Creed game, both go through an incredibly personal journey that leads to something bigger than themselves — the Creed, the Brotherhood, and a cause bigger than any one person.
Assassin’s Creed Origins wasn’t technically supposed to be Bayek’s story, it was supposed to be about his wife, Aya, and how she formed the Creed. They both suffer an immeasurable loss, the murder of their son Khemu, and decide to seek justice in the way they see fit. Bayek decides to stay in Egypt and help stop the rise of the Order of Ancients, while Aya goes to Rome to assist Cleopatra in forging alliances and getting her throne back.
Bayek was originally a Medjay, a protector of the people, but toward the end of Origins he abandons the role. Not because he doesn’t believe in it anymore, but because the creed he once belonged to was dead. It was made very clear throughout the course of the game that he was the last of the Medjay. Instead of subscribing to his old creed, he agreed that it was time for a new one, and thus, the Hidden Ones became what would later be the Assassin, with Aya at the helm of it all.
Bayek’s journey to helping create the Creed starts because of the tragic loss of his son, which he feels an immense amount of guilt about. He knows he’s technically not the one who killed Khemu, but the heaviness of the situation weighs on him all the same. He seeks justice for Khemu’s death, and in doing so uncovers a plot much bigger than the death of his son. What was a revenge mission turns into fighting against the literal evil of the Order of the Ancients and uncovering the beginning of the mysteries of the Isu mythology.
The first bit of Assassin’s Creed 2 sets up players for heartbreak as they run around and do errands for all of Ezio’s family — even the sequence that shows the title of the game is a beautiful bonding moment between Ezio and his brother, Frederico. However, with lines like “it is a good life we lead brother” and “may it never change,” players can assume that things will not only change, but go horribly, horribly wrong.
Which is exactly what happens. Not much longer after that, Ezio’s father and brothers are arrested and executed (even Petruccio, who was only a few years older than Khemu) for falsely being accused of treason. Luckily, Ezio manages to save his mother and sister and get them out of Florence, but he starts his journey to the Creed because of the loss of his brothers and father. Just like Bayek, it’s not revealed until much closer to the end of the game what Ezio’s actual relation is to the Creed.
It’s not until Ezio faces Rodrigo Borgia for the first time that he understands he might be fighting a cause bigger than his own. To Ezio, it was just about finding justice for his father and brothers who were wrongly executed. Soon after, he’s inducted into the Creed officially and makes the vow to work in the shadows to serve the light. A story about avenging his fallen family turned into Ezio fighting for a cause much bigger than his own.
Both protagonists had family killed by the Templars (or the Order of the Ancients) and wanted to avenge those who were wrongfully killed. Bayek needed to find peace for his son Khemu and set his Ka to rest, while Ezio sought to find and kill those responsible for his family’s death. They stumbled upon the truth of the Templar Order and decided to fight against it to save humanity and, on a smaller scale, their home lands, too.
Bayek fights to take down those in Ptolemy’s court, as the pharaoh allowed such dastardly people to climb the ranks, and Ezio takes down some of the most powerful people in Italy. By the end of Assassin’s Creed 2, Ezio has to fight Rodrigo Borgia, who has also become the Pope — an incredibly powerful religious figurehead. Though it’s not Bayek’s fight, Aya is commanded by Cleopatra to kill Ptolemy, the sitting pharaoh of Egypt. Neither man cared about going after those in power because they knew those they sought were corrupt and needed to be stopped.
The most interesting difference between the two men is how players are introduced to them in-game. Bayek is an established warrior and has a history of being a protector — a Medjay. Ezio, on the other hand, is recklessly endearing, getting into fist fights and wooing Cristina Vespucci before getting chased out of the house by her father.
Ezio was a young kid who had to grow up fast following his father and brother’s deaths. He didn’t choose to fight for truth and justice like Bayek already had. Ezio had it thrust upon him and instead of running away, he chose to finish what his father started. Each Assassin’s Creed main character has their own story to tell, but the overlap between Bayek and Ezio’s is undeniably similar, showing that what starts as vengeance turns into something bigger than anyone imagined possible.
Assassin’s Creed Origins is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
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