| abstract
| - The player character of the first Assassin's Creed I game. After a horrible mistake that cost the Assassin order many lives, he has to redeem himself by assassinating nine key figures of the Holy Lands to end the Third Crusade.
* Anti-Hero: Type IV -> Type III.
* Arrogant Kung Fu Guy: At first.
* The Atoner: His primary role through the game. After he screwed up big time, he has to seek redemption by assassinating nine head figures of the Holy Lands.
* Badass Grandpa: Was still quite skilled with a sword in his sixties, though by his 80's he no longer has the stamina to freerun.
* The simple fact that he, an assassin, lived to be 92 years old is a testament to his badassery.
* Calling the Old Man Out: Does this to Al Mualim, when he turned out to be a manipulative and power hungry Templar.
* Combat Pragmatist: Remember, "everything is permitted" includes everything in combat.
* Contrary to part of their creed, everything wasn't permitted (for example, poison). Several Codex pages in AC II show that Altaïr fixed that.
* Cradling Your Kill: He's quite fond of it.
* Determinator
* Doting Parent: It's shown that he's very close to his sons Darim and Sef, and was deeply embittered by the fact that Sef was executed by the Assassins under Abbas Sofian's orders.
* Dude, Where's My Respect?: Justified, since his very foolish actions in the beginning were the reason why he lost his rank and respect. He eventually earns it back.
* Dying Alone
* Happily Married: To Maria.
* Heartbroken Badass: He had a relationship with Adha during the events of Altaïr's Chronicles and Maria from Bloodlines onward. Both of them die. Maria's death especially haunts him until the day of his own death as seen in Revelations.
* The Hero
* In the Hood
* It Got Worse: His life, as Revelations revealed.
* Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: His preferred way to get information.
* Jerkass: At first. He acted high and mighty and believed himself superior to others. He wised up during his journey when he witnessed what happens to those who let themselves be consumed by arrogance.
* Revelations would reveal in the first Altaïr memory (set two years before the events of Assassin's Creed) that he originally was more humble and stoic but that his success as a Master Assassin and high esteem in the eyes of Al Mualim got to his head, leading him to this.
* Knight in Sour Armor: The Codex entries revealed that he's a strong believer in that Humans Are Bastards and that God Is Evil, and that he maybe should have let the Templars use the Piece of Eden to put an end of all evil, yet he fights on to make the world a better place for the common man.
* Legendary in the Sequel
* Master Swordsman
* Necessarily Evil: How he views his methods.
* Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In the first minutes of the game, which his act of overconfident jerkassery cost Malik his arm and his brother's life, and then lead the Templars to Masyaf. Then later, near the end of the game, his successes gave Robert de Sable the means to unite the Crusaders and the Saracens against the Assassins.
* And by killing his Templar targets, he gave Al Mualim the chance to take power. Altaïr quickly put a stop to this, however.
* He's also responsible for Maria's death when he accidentally Mind Raped the man who executed his son Sef with the Apple, who goes insane and stabs her in the back.
* Not Even Bothering with the Accent: In the first game, he speaks with a distinct American accent. In Revelations he speaks with a more period-accurate Middle-Eastern accent. This is lampshaded in the game as an effect of the Animus software, with the 2.0 version used in Revelations being more true to what actually happened.
* One-Man Army: For someone who is supposed to use stealth, he's one hell of a fighting machine.
* Pride: The flaw that led to his initial disgrace in the first game. He never fully got over it, believing that he was capable of ending all of the world's strife in his lifetime. One of his greatest regrets in his waning years was that he could not find the humility to give up the fight and do something else with his life.
* Redemption Quest: Most of the first game's story is this for him.
* Shut UP, Hannibal: His response to those targets who try to justify their evil, or if they pull the Not So Different card on him.
* Sympathy for the Devil: When he hears the motive of his targets from their mouths, he begins to question if they're as evil as Al Mualim claims they are. The only one with whom Altaïr didn't sympathize was Majd Addin, who was a complete fuckhead.
* Throw the Dog a Bone: Despite his life being a chain of traumatic events, leaving him saddled with enormous responsibility, undermined by so-called allies, with few friends and too many lost loved ones, Altaïr went out on a pretty high note. He got to live the latter half of his long life with his only remaining family and eldest son, watch said son grow into an old man with a loving family of his own. Moments before he breathes his last, he has a touching farewell with his son, who thanks Altaïr for everything.
* Trauma Conga Line: In Revelations.
* Warrior Poet: Most noticeably in his Assassin's Creed II Codex entries. Altaïr turned out to be an incredibly progressive philosopher for his time, and could even draw and design weapons, as well.
* Yank the Dog's Chain: Never gets very much by way of happiness. Much more evident later in life.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)