Desmond Miles

• Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
• Assassin's Creed Revelations
• Assassin's Creed III
• Assassin's Creed III Remastered
• Assassin's Creed Valhalla (The Reader)

“	In a few short months, my life changed forever. I know my easiest days are behind me, but I don't want them back – not now. My name is Desmond Miles, and I am an Assassin. I am an Assassin.	„
	~ Desmond Miles, reflecting on his past in the Black Room

Summary

Desmond Miles (1987 – 2012) was a member of the Assassin Order and a descendant of numerous familial lines that had sworn an allegiance to the Assassins; including individuals such as Aquilus, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, Edward Kenway, and Ratonhnhaké:ton. He was also the son of the Mentor William Miles and unknowingly the father of Elijah, a young Sage.

By age 16, Desmond became tired of living in hiding and aspired to pursue his dreams. Using the minimal training of Assassin skills he had obtained from his father, Desmond fled from the Assassin compound he had grown up in and managed to travel from South Dakota to New York City, where he found employment as a bartender in the Bad Weather nightclub.

In September 2012, Desmond was kidnapped and incarcerated by Abstergo Industries, a Templar organization, and forced into a machine called the Animus to relive the genetic memories of his ancestor, Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, as Subject 17. Abstergo aimed to acquire a map that detailed many "Pieces of Eden" spread across the Earth, which Desmond was reluctantly successful in doing. Following this, he managed to escape Abstergo with the help of Lucy Stillman, an undercover Assassin. He joined an Assassin cell in Italy, which consisted of herself, Shaun Hastings and Rebecca Crane. Utilizing an upgraded Animus of Rebecca's construction, Desmond relived the memories of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, to improve upon his newly obtained skills.

Eventually, with the knowledge gained from Ezio's memories, Desmond and his fellow Assassins obtained the location of Ezio's Apple of Eden, which was located underneath the Colosseum. Though successful in getting the artifact, Desmond's body was taken over by Juno, a member of the First Civilization, and was made to stab Lucy after Juno revealed her to be a traitor. As a result of the shock, Desmond fell into a coma and was placed in the Black Room, the safe mode of the Animus, in an attempt to stabilize his condition. With help from the virtual construct of Clay Kaczmarek, "Subject 16" of Abstergo's Animus Project, Desmond was able to regain consciousness. He found himself located in the state of New York once more, this time with Rebecca, Shaun, and his father, William.

While in the Grand Temple, Desmond relived the memories of Haytham Kenway and his son Ratonhnhaké:ton to find the key to the sanctum containing the device needed to prevent a devastating solar wind. He also undertook field missions to retrieve power sources for the Temple, coming into conflict with Daniel Cross. After his father was captured, Desmond rescued him from Abstergo's Roman facility and assassinated Cross and Warren Vidic in the process.

After finding the key, Desmond opened the sanctum but discovered he had been misled. It was made known that the device would save the world, but also unleash Juno, who had been imprisoned because of her hatred for humanity; using the device would also claim Desmond's life. Regardless, Desmond chose to sacrifice himself for humanity's survival, while expressing faith that his fellow Assassins would find a way to stop the new threat.

Not long after his sacrifice, his soul morphed into the entity known as the Reader, who would now be tasked with viewing multiple visions of the possible future in order to stave off the second Apocalypse.

Powers and Stats

Tier: At least 9-A, higher with his Hidden Blade, melee weapons, firearms and the Apple of Eden

Name: Desmond Miles, The Cipher, Subject 17, The Reader

Origin: Assassin's Creed

Gender: Male

Age: 25 at the time of his death

Classification: Human-Isu Hybrid, former bartender, Assassin

Powers and Abilities:

• Base abilities ▾
• With the Apple of Eden

• Abilities
• Resistances

• Superhuman Physical Characteristics
• Enhanced Senses, Extrasensory Perception, Information Analysis, Analytical Prediction, Precognition, Non-Physical Interaction, Retrocognition and Clairvoyance (via Eagle Vision, could easily predict and perform counterattacks without having any knowledge of them firsthand. After merging with Clay Kaczmarek, Desmond noted to have seen multiple alternate future selves of himself without the aid of the Apple, noting the following in a cellphone memo: one who got married early and had a son, the reality who stayed single in New York, one who went to San Francisco to be a waiter, one who got a job at an auto body shop in Chicago, and one who never left The Farm in the first place. He can also figure out people's locations without any prior knowledge, such as when he figured out in which room his father was held captive. Was also able to see and talk with the souls of Juno and Minerva. Upon reliving the last memories of Ezio and Altaïr, he later managed to gain access to the Synch Nexus, where the Isu could perform their precognitive Calculations at a much more refined rate)
• Expert Acrobat and parkourer
• Master Fighter
• Accelerated Development (Was noted to be able to absorb his ancestors' skills and abilities faster than most Animus users, having absorbed decades worth of combat skill within a span of a few days via the Bleeding Effect. Isu-Hybrids, in general, can pick up abilities faster than most peak-level humans who lack Eagle Vision)
• Pressure Point Strikes
• Weapon Mastery (Like pistols, Hidden Blades, tactical bowie knives, batons etc.)
• Regeneration (Mid-Low, easily healed from multiple gunshot wounds that involved high-caliber rounds)
• Stealth Mastery (Successfully managed to stay hidden from both Assassin and Abstergo Templar forces for almost ten years since his escape from the farm at age 16, and only got caught 9 years later because he submitted his fingerprint to obtain a motorbike license. Even the most lowly-ranked Assassins are easily capable of hiding in plain sight and hiding amongst the crowd without making a single sound, regardless of their appearance, as mandated by the second tenet of the Assassin Brotherhood)
• Power Mimicry (Copied the powers of the Shard of Eden via the Animus and also gained similar strength to his ancestors, including all their abilities via the Bleeding Effect)
• Genius Intelligence
• Technology Manipulation (As an Isu-Hybrid, Desmond is capable of interacting with and using First Civilization technology without suffering from any detrimental effects. Easily opened doors to Isu Temples only other Isu or their relative species could do, like his ancestor Ezio, who opened these same doors centuries before)
• Pseudo-Flight (Can glide long distances with parachutes)
• Forcefield Creation and Limited Magnetism Manipulation (After reliving Connor's memories of visiting Oak Island, Desmond gains a magnetic field that deflects bullets)

Resistance to:

• Diseases and Poison Manipulation (Was noted to not have any abnormal medical handicaps and was in perfect condition, a first for the entire Animus Project, should possesses his ancestors' resistances as well)
• Illusion Creation, Mind Control, Mind Manipulation, Sleep Manipulation, Death Manipulation, Life Absorption, Perception Manipulation, Sense Manipulation, Madness Manipulation (Types 1 and 2), Empathic Manipulation, Fear Manipulation, Telekinesis, Transmutation, Status Effect Inducement and Paralysis Inducement (As a Human-Isu hybrid, he should naturally have resistance to the abilities of the Pieces of Eden due to lacking the neurotransmitters usually present in ordinary humans and that which are required for the Pieces to function properly. Had higher concentrations of Isu DNA than most people alive during his time, containing 0.952% of Isu DNA within him, and has repeatedly resisted the Apple trying to gain control over him and his mind, in the end, it was not the Apple that made Desmond kill Lucy, but rather, he chose to kill her for what would happen if he let her betray the Assassins. Also repeatedly resisted the Bleeding Effect and remained sane till his death)

Mind Manipulation, Death Manipulation, Telekinesis, Paralysis Inducement, Status Effect Inducement, Fear Manipulation and Precognition

Attack Potency: At least Small Building level+ (Can substantially perform the same feats as his ancestors due to having adopted all of their movesets, albeit to a significantly higher degree, due to having possessed far greater amounts of Isu DNA in him than any other people alive during his time sans his son Elijah due to being the direct descendant of Adam and Eve, which also made him considerably superior to most peak-level Isu Hybrids, with Desmond possessing a staggering 0.952% Isu DNA count compared to the average 0.0002% to 0.0005% Isu DNA count in normal humans. Effortlessly defeated Daniel Cross several times in their confrontations, and has casually fodderized hordes of elite Templar agents. Despite not having received proper martial arts training, after revisiting Altaïr's memories and upon escaping Abstergo's Italy office, he was already defeating multiple highly-trained Abstergo guards with nothing but minimal combat training long before he decided to revisit Ezio's memories), higher with his Hidden Blade, melee weapons and firearms. Can negate durability with the Apple of Eden

Speed: At least Supersonic+ (Can easily dodge shots from the Heckler and Koch Mk. 23, Daniel Cross's weapon of choice and a firearm routinely used by most Abstergo Guards in the game, at point-blank range, and it can fire this fast at its slowest, and Desmond even went so far as to outpace the gun's rounds. Blitzed Daniel many times. Can also view bullets as slow-moving objects. Got into a train right before the doors closed, with the doors themselves being less than an inch away from sealing themselves shut. Can perform the same feats as his ancestors due to having absorbed their combat skills and movesets)

Lifting Strength: At least Class 5 (Can easily lift, flip and slam heavyset characters wearing armor. Can perform extreme parkour maneuvers with ease. Capable of easily breaking bones just by bending them. Can crush spines and necks with pure grip strength alone. Should not be much weaker than his ancestors. Can push aside gigantic stone covers, giant statues, and levers that are centuries old and stuck into place with rust and debris, and can hold them into place for extended periods)

Striking Strength: At least Small Building level+ (He can trade blows with those who can harm him and can also harm himself. Can easily smash through panes of thick bulletproof glass just by jumping through it. Effortlessly defeated a bloodlusted Daniel Cross twice in a row. Casually shattered the protective casing protecting the Isu power source with a casual elbow. Desmond was said to contain far-higher-than-usual concentrations of Isu DNA, a one-in-ten-million chance, unarguably making him superior to the rest of the other Isu-Hybrids and possibly even his ancestors)

Durability: At least Small Building level+ (Can routinely survive high falls and take strikes from the likes of Daniel Cross. Can survive being shot repeatedly by high-caliber guns and still keep moving. Should be considerably stronger than his ancestors due to possessing higher concentrations of Isu DNA within him and having absorbed all their abilities and skillsets)

Stamina: Superhuman (Was noted to be the only Animus user capable of using it safely for durations longer than any of the other previous Animus Users, who would suffer permanent mental and physical damage if they used it for even a few hours. Eventually built up a tolerance to the Aniums due to his involvement with Subject 16, and as a result, using the Animus actually now helps him recuperate even faster. Can keep fighting hordes of guards for extremely long periods without issue and withstand massive beatings and still keep moving as if nothing happened to him)

Range: Standard Melee Range, Extended Melee Range with melee weapons and Hidden Blade, Several Meters with his Heckler and Kock Mk. 23

Standard Equipment: A single Hidden Blade, tactical baton (although he later abandons it), courier bag, an advanced Heckler and Koch Mk. 23 w/ silencer, tactical bowie knife, Apple of Eden

Intelligence: At least Genius (Possesses all of his ancestors' skills and several centuries worth of their combined experiences, as well as their intelligence. Was also noted to have a much higher adoption rate than all previous Animus users, and also possessed all of Clay's memories and experiences. Eventually became the Reader and was capable of easily comprehending billions of potential futures so as to stave off the oncoming second apocalypse)

Weaknesses: Standard human weaknesses, but has survived situations which would kill an average human being. His magnetism manipulation has a habit of usually not working correctly if he has his guard down or is overwhelmed by several enemies at once. Initially, he used to suffer from the Bleeding Effect (a disorder wherein the genetic memories of one's ancestors begin to blend with the sufferer's own, real-time memories, often leading to difficulties in distinguishing between the two. In severe cases, this eventually resulted in the mental breakdown) due to his constant overexposure from the Animus to view memories at a controlled rate, and it could affect him at any time without warning, resulting in him becoming severely exhausted in combat or even going to the point where he would black out, and even scream in his sleep often. As a result, due to the intense mental strain, exposure to the Apple's effects and his apparent killing of Lucy Stillman sent him into a coma and fragmented his mind within the Animus, forcing him to relive the final memories of his ancestors and achieve a Synch Nexus to restore his already fragile psyche and come back to consciousness. However, by the time of Assassin's Creed III, as a result of creating a Synch Nexus, he had overcome this weakness once and for all. After becoming the Reader, he had lost all his emotions he had as a human.

Gallery

Desmond's medical report by Abstergo, as seen in Assassin's Creed: Origins

Desmond as he appears in Assassin's Creed Initiates

Notable Matchups

Victories:

Losses:

Inconclusive:

Discussions

Discussion threads involving Desmond Miles