Assassin’s Creed: Uprising‘s last issue concluded with a bit of a cliffhanger: evil Templars closing in on Assassin Charlotte de la Cruz as she was consumed by the powerful Koh-i-Noor artefact. Unsurprisingly, issue #10 picks up right where we left off, providing an issue full of action while also setting up for a finale with cosmic consequences.
As our team made up of Assassins and a rogue Templar battles back against the pro-Juno forces for the Koh-i-Noor, we’re treated to plenty of pyrotechnics. In a series known for stealth executions and using a hidden blade, these displays of mortar fire and macho-type soldiers are a rare sight, but Uprising delivers the goods here. The fighting is well-staged conveyed with more clarity than before, even having the evil Jasdip deliver one of the most gruesome kills the franchise has seen in a while.
Outside of all the excitement at the Koh-i-Noor site in Spain, Assassin My’Shell finds herself in trouble as the Templar storm the safe house where she is guarding the traitorous Guernica. The close-combat fighting of these scenes is much more in line with the usual Assassin’s Creed fare, and makes the detour away from Spain less of a drag. While the sequence does redeem Guernica to a degree in the end, it does feel a bit pointless when so much is going on elsewhere with major importance. Hopefully the series pays this off in forthcoming issues.
Returning from issue #9 is the countdown clock to “Resurrection Day,” presumably when Juno will be reborn into a human body and be able to unite the Pieces of Eden with the Koh-i-Noor. The clock announces itself after each transition in the story, and effectively ratchets up the tension as we realise how little time is left when Daslip steals the Koh-i-Noor from our protagonists. It is only at this point that our resident Nice Templar Otso Berg promises to show the team “Project Phoenix,” which has been teased for a few issues.
The issue ends with us one day until Resurrection Day at the location of Project Phoenix, where it appears that the Templars are using DNA from a young boy to grow another body for Juno. The boy is mentioned as being part of the Miles family, although his exact identity remains a mystery. As we see him being tortured, it becomes clear that Uprising has big plans to expand the series’ overall mythology during the remainder of its run.
By trading in exposition-heavy dialogue for action, Assassin’s Creed: Uprising #10 represents a bit of a turning point for the series. Having our characters finally out in the field instead of explaining things gives the whole affair much more drive, while also making the modern-day narrative interesting enough to warrant reading a comic on it. This issue once again features no historical scenes set in the Animus, but that is no longer a detriment.
Assassin’s Creed: Uprising does seem to be on the upswing, and issue #10 teases some exciting things to come while also being the most entertaining issue to date. The simple plot of trying to find an artefact never should have taken this long to get moving, but now it is a safe recommendation for anyone looking for some modern-day Assassins stories after they were given short shrift in Assassin’s Creed Origins.
