| “ | The people never have the power. Only the illusion of it. And here's the real secret: they don't want it. The responsibility is too great to bear. It's why they're so quick to fall in line as soon as someone takes charge. They WANT to be told what to do. They YEARN for it. Little wonder, that, since all mankind was BUILT to SERVE. | „ |
| ~ Haytham Kenway |
Summary
Haytham E. Kenway (1725 – 1781) was the first Grand Master of the Templar Order's Colonial Rite, reigning from 1754 until his death in 1781, whereupon he was succeeded by Charles Lee.
Son of the pirate Assassin Edward Kenway, Haytham was converted to the Templar cause at a young age by Reginald Birch, following his father's murder in 1735.
After being sent to the British colonies in America to locate a suspected First Civilization storehouse in 1755, Haytham remained and established a permanent organized Templar presence in the colonies. Not long after this, he eventually travelled to the Ottoman Empire to rescue his half-sister Jennifer, and she revealed the mystery behind their father's death: Edward was an Assassin and that Birch had him killed for his secrets. The siblings travelled to France and promptly killed Birch. Jennifer chose to stay behind in her family home in London, but Haytham decided to return to the Colonies to resume his duties as Grand Master. Under his leadership and with the help of legendary Assassin-turned-Master Templar Shay Cormac, the Colonial Rite grew exponentially, almost completely destroying their Assassin counterparts, and manipulating the colonial governments at every level.
During this time, he unknowingly sired a son – Ratonhnhaké:ton – with Kaniehtí:io, a Kanien'kehá:ka woman whom he had met during his initial quest for the storehouse.
Haytham sought to control the American Revolution, but Ratonhnhaké:ton, now going under the name of Connor, thwarted all such efforts. He ultimately found out that Connor was his son, and tried to find a middle ground within the Assassin-Templar feud alongside his son, who wished the same, but both left on bad terms after Connor discovered that Haytham kept the truth about his mother's death from him. Eventually it became clear to both of them that reconciliation was impossible, and as a result Connor faced off Haytham one last time during the Battle of Fort George, with Haytham ultimately falling to his son's Hidden Blade.
He is an ancestor to Desmond Miles, through the paternal line.
Powers and Stats
Tier: At least 9-A, higher with his Hidden Blades, melee weapons and firearms
Name: Haytham E. Kenway
Origin: Assassin's Creed
Gender: Male
Age: 55 at the time of his death
Classification: Human-Isu Hybrid, Templar, Grand Master of the American Rite of the Templar Order
Powers and Abilities:
- Superhuman Physical Characteristics
- Enhanced Senses, Extrasensory Perception, Clairvoyance, Information Analysis, Retrocognition, Psychometry and Analytical Prediction (Eagle Vision grants him a "sixth sense" or intuition that allowed her to see a person's true intentions and revisit events that had already happened, can also detect for presence of poisons and can differentiate between friend to foe, look for weak spots, analyze extremely dangerous areas to figure out where and when to strike and much more. Eagle Vision users are even capable of fighting against characters who have high-level precognitive powers, like in the case when one makes use of the Apple's precognitive powers in battle, and can make accurate predictions of their own in the midst of combat or during investigations with proper concentration)
- Expert Acrobat and parkourer
- Regeneration (Low, can heal from gunshots and minor stab wounds within a matter of seconds)
- Stealth Mastery
- Master Fighter
- Pressure Point Strikes
- Weapon Mastery (Highly skilled in various forms of weaponry ranging from swords, pistols, muskets, cannons, knives and even a bow-and-arrow, courtesy of his father Edward training him)
- Master planner
- Technology Manipulation (As an Isu-Hybrid, Haytham is capable of interacting with and using First Civilization technology without suffering from any detrimental effects)
- Extreme Pain Tolerance
Resistance to the following:
- Illusion Creation, Sleep Manipulation, Perception Manipulation, Sense Manipulation, Empathic Manipulation, Fear Manipulation, Status Effect Inducement, Madness Manipulation (Types 1 and 2), Telekinesis, Transmutation, Paralysis Inducement, Death Manipulation and Mind Manipulation (Should naturally possess these resistances against all the Pieces of Eden due to being an Isu-Hybrid, who lack the neurotransmitters required for the Pieces of Eden to work against them, however, it usually takes two tries to become fully resistant to their telekinetic powers)
- Poison Manipulation (Has had a great deal of experience with the Colonial Assassin's poisons)
- Diseases (Also explored and investigated the chicken-pox-ridden areas of New York that had burned to the Great Fire in 1776)
- Extreme Heat (Can withstand being burned for extended periods of time)
- Extreme Cold (Could easily swim in freezing waters of the Hudson River and the North Atlantic without running the risk of hypothermia)
Attack Potency: At least Small Building level+ (Considerably stronger than and can easily overpower his son Connor, and can essentially do the same feats as him to a far greater degree, and even when both of them were wounded during the attack on Fort George, Haytham still emerged the victor, with Connor being only able to kill him with his Hidden Blade and even then it was only because Haytham allowed him to. Equal to Shay Cormac and has fought against his enemies many times. Easily overpowered and defeated Achilles Davenport in a swordfight), higher with his Hidden Blades, melee weapons and firearms
Speed: At least Supersonic+ (Considerably swifter than his son and can perform the same feats as him. Was trained under and could somewhat keep up with his father Edward even as a young boy. Can easily dodge musket shots and pistol shots at point-blank range, view them as slow and even outpace them altogether in the same exact manner as both Connor, Shay Cormac and Arno Dorian, and was confirmed to have done so against Benjamin Church in the Forsaken novel[1], which was later canonized in Assassin's Creed Rogue to be Haytham's journal[2]. Could somewhat keep up with Adéwalé)
Lifting Strength: At least Class 5 (Easily overpowered his son during their confrontations and can perform the same feats as him. Easily wrestled with and defeated Achilles. Equal to Shay Cormac. Vastly superior to the combined might of Sir William Johnson, Thomas Hickey and Benjamin Church, who could flip a carriage in unison[3])
Striking Strength: At least Small Building level+
Durability: At least Small Building level+ (He can survive long falls from heights in excess of 25m and brush off explosions from gunpowder barrels that can pulverize rock clearings, as seen in his mission to kill Edward Braddock, all at point-blank range. Is more durable than Connor and can take hits from him without any issue. Easily bested Connor in the Battle of Fort George despite both having wounded each other and being on even ground thanks to his greater skill and experience, and lost only because he could not bring himself to harm his own son and instead chose to die by Connor's blade. Was completely unaffected by a mortar shot unlike Connor who was critically wounded by it, despite having been stabbed by the latter only seconds before the mortar impacted[4], with cannon shots in the game being this powerful. Has the same exact durability feats as Shay Cormac)
Stamina: Superhuman (Has gone through multiple long battles as a young child, as seen when he fought during the Siege of Bergen Op Zoom. Can keep up against entire garrisons of soldiers with ease)
Range: Standard melee range. Extended melee range with melee weapons. Several meters with firearms
Standard Equipment: Dual Hidden Blades, sword, knife, flintlock pistol
Intelligence: Genius. From an early age, Haytham was trained by his father in swordsmanship and combat, as well as being tutored in the use of a bow for a time.
Upon joining the Templar Order after being mentored by Reginald Birch, Haytham's skills increased significantly and he became renown for his skill as an efficient killer. He was trained in the methods of stealth, swordsmanship, eavesdropping, pickpocketing and lockpicking. Additionally, he was a skilled strategist, able to quickly come up with infiltration techniques that would cripple the enemy. As well as that, he was a charismatic speaker and a master of both deception and stealth.
Through his training, Haytham became a capable freerunner, able to stealthily climb the insides of an opera house and the buildings of colonial America with little effort. However, unlike his father and son, Haytham was unable to traverse natural obstacles such as tress or cliffs. In addition, he proved to be a capable swimmer.
He eventually became a master swordsman, utilizing an elegant fencing style which differed from his son's feral combat techniques. Haytham is the perfect specimen of classical fencing using slashing and, mostly, thrusting. His quarts and sixtes, catching the opponent's blade, are text book perfect which translates extremely well into his preparation and anticipation. His confidence is displayed in the lack of grandeur in his every attack. His finishes could be as subtle as just an advance and extending the arm right into his opponent's face. He also uses the hidden blade the same way when utilized with his sword. His stance, though, is something that some might disagree on. While his shoulders are a lot more relaxed, it leaves him pretty open and is basically a feint in and of itself, begging for an attack for Haytham to promptly parry and then counter. Perfect footwork, anticipation, preparation and technique make Haytham one of the best pure swordsmen, as Juhani puts it. He was even able to defeat Achilles Davenport in a swordfight. Additionally, he was trained in the use of firearms including pistols and muskets.
Haytham was efficient in combat as he could easily engage multiple opponents; he could also utilize the surrounding environment to his advantage given the opportunity. Following this, he was not afraid to use whatever was available to get the upper hand, such as strangling an executioner's assistant with his feet and throwing him into an enemy during the Siege of Bergen op Zoom.
Weaknesses: Standard human weaknesses, but has survived situations which would kill most human beings. Has no regard for his own well-being and is incredibly stubborn, refusing to back down from a fight even when the odds are against him, especially when it comes to protecting innocents, the Templar doctrine and his loved ones, and according to Juhani Otso Berg, his conflicting emotions for his son ultimately led to his demise. Also apparently unable to climb up trees, unlike his father, son and other comrades. Rarely seems to use his Hidden Blades upon his return to the Colonies after 1776 and becomes considerably colder and more ruthless in nature, causing further emotional conflict with his good-natured side stemming from his Assassin heritage.
Notable Matchups
Notable Victories:
Notable Losses:
Inconclusive Matches: