Assassin’s Creed #9 continues with Charlotte and Galina putting aside their differences in order to mount a rescue operation to free Kody from his captors. Despite a trap being set for them at the stadium in Mexico City, Charlotte feels guilty for Kody’s capture and is willing to do anything to free him. She’s able to infiltrate the stadium and take out a number of the kidnappers while Galina waits in the wings providing cover fire. Everything seems to be going well until they run into trouble due to a hidden shooter pinning Charlotte down resulting in her capture as well. Meanwhile, Quila and Pardo are in the same predicament with no one believing her claim that the Emperor’s life is in danger. Tuti Cusi tells Quila that she doesn’t know Pardo’s true history and if there is a plot to kill the current Emperor, Pardo is a part of it. He tells Quila that Pardo is the one who killed the former emperor and that he witnessed it. Has Pardo been using Quila all along in order to get close to the emperor or is there more to his story than that?

Kody being kidnapped was a great set up for Charlotte to be able to use her assassin skills, and I enjoyed it. Even Galina providing sniper fire made her go from a relatively irritating character to being useful and entertaining. It was a huge relief from the struggle between her and Charlotte up to this point, even though some of their conversation would refer to that. The action was solid, and Neil’s Edward’s artwork was just impressive. I didn’t even have a problem with the way this sequence played out even though some of it was predictable.

Quila and Pardo’s story has been moving relatively slow up to this point with the latter being more of a hindrance than a help throughout the story arc. So it was good that the story would progress much better this time and give Pardo much-needed depth and backstory. Of course no one would believe Quila initially so the developments were intriguing and made me think that Quila’s character and interesting world wouldn’t be squandered completely. And the interaction between the two after some of Pardo’s backstory was revealed was a nice touch. There was a good twist involving the assassination plot against the emperor, and I’m looking forward to seeing how events unfold next issue since my confidence has been restored in the potential in this story thread.

SUMMARY

Assassin’s Creed #9 is an entertaining issue that progresses much better than last issue providing much-needed action and story progression in both the present and past. Charlotte and Galina working together to free Kody is an intense scenario that even when it becomes predictable it still manages to add a satisfying twist. Unfortunately part of that twist also has the potential to make the situation feel as if the team is wandering aimlessly. Thankfully Quila and Pardo’s story progresses wonderfully in terms of providing enjoyable character development and excitement of what’s to come. Hopefully next issue delivers even more.

Release Date:6/15/16

Writer: Anthony Del Col, Conor McCreery

Artist: Neil Edwards