"Mature Content Warning!" |
“ | Are you so naive? I became Pope because it gave me access! It gave me power! Do you think I believe a single god-damned word of that ridiculous book? It's all lies and superstition. Just like every other religious tract written over the past ten thousand years. | „ |
~ Rodrigo denouncing the Bible to Ezio Auditore during their confrontation in the Vatican in 1499. |
Rodrigo Borgia (born: Roderic Llançol i de Borja) is a major antagonist in the Assassin's Creed video game franchise, serving as the main antagonist of the Ezio Trilogy/Renaissance Saga.
He was the leader of the Italian Rite of the Templar Order during the Renaissance Era in Italy responsible for the execution of Giovanni Auditore for his devotion to the Assassin Brotherhood, alongside Fredrico and Petrucio Auditore, which makes Rodrigo the arch nemesis of Ezio Auditore da Firenze as this would drive him to join the Assassin Brotherhood. He was one of the most powerful men in Europe during the Renaissance, and was elected Pope from 1492 to 1503 as Alexander VI. His enemies called him "The Spaniard" because of his Spanish origins, while his Templar followers called him Maestro, which is Italian and Spanish for master.
He was voiced by Manuel Tadros.
His Evil Ranking[]
What Makes Him Close to Being Pure Evil?[]
- Orders his men to attack Giovanni Auditore and threw a knife at his chest, leaving him injured.
- Orchestrated the execution of Ezio's family, partly because they were assassins who opposed him, but also just because he wanted to. It's implied that he threatened the loved ones of Uberto Alberti so that he could carry out the Auditore family's execution.
- Conspired to overthrow Lorenzo De Medici.
- He tortured his loyal follower Jacopo De Pazzi by repeatedly stabbing him with a sword as a punishment for his failure. And when Jacopo asked Rodrigo to spare him, he coldly told him "No". This prompted Ezio to put him out of his misery.
- He orchestrated the poisoning of the doge of Venice and replaced him with the tyrannical Marco Barbariago.
- While fighting Ezio in Venice in order to obtain the Apple of Eden, he sadistically taunts the latter by saying that his brother's deaths weren't necessary, and that he just did it to send a message.
- He would become the Pope of all Italy, solely because it gave him access to power.
- He hired the Orsli Brothers to kidnap the children of Catherine Sforza in order to reclaim the Apple of Eden.
- While he did send his men to deal with the tyranny of the religious fanatic known as Giralomo Savonarola in Florence, it wasn't out of any genuine care for its citizens, but to regain the Apple of Eden.
- He ordered his fanatical worshiper known as Tomas de Torquemada to burn several Assassins alive, not even caring if he was going on a rampage to burn pagans alive too.
- When Ezio chased him down and cornered him in the Vatican located in Rome, Rodrigo would use the Staff of Eden against him in battle, which would also dangerously harm the priests and guards within the premise, not caring for them whatsoever
- He would immobilize Ezio with the Staff of Eden, and he would steal the Apple of Eden from him before he subsequently stabs Ezio in the stomach with a knife.
- Believing that he was the Prophet destined to obtain power that could fell gods, as he described, he tried to open up the vault underneath the Vatican. He also had a ridiculous belief that God lived underneath the Vatican, with Ezio ridiculing Rodrigo for thinking that the ancient relics of Eden could harm Him.
- While fighting Ezio, he denounces the Bible, referring to it as "a ridiculous book full of lies and superstition", despite being the Pope. He also admits that he only became the Pope to obtain power.
- After Ezio defeated him, he would tell his son Cesare Borgia about everything that happened, which would indirectly prompt Cesare into leading an attack on the Monteriggioni, which would cause the deaths of numerous residents, including Mario Auditore's. This would result with Ezio re-entering the war upon the Borgia family and traveling back to Rome to put an end to their influence once and for all. While Rodrigo would reprimanded Cesare for this later on, it's not because of what happened to Ezio that concerned him, but because Cesare pretty much ruined everything for him by provoking Ezio.
- He forced thousands of courtesans to the Vatican.
- Whenever he had financial trouble, he would just have a rich cardinal killed and steal their wealth.
- He set up the Followers of Romulus, a pagan death cult, all over Rome just to get people to join the church.
- He would send multiple Templar agents and spies to mess with Ezio and his allies while they were in Rome.
- It's implied that he had a relationship with his daughter, Lucrezia Borgia, when she was younger, and maybe even raped her.
- Tried to kill his own son Cesare, and while Cesare deserved it since he is Pure Evil and basically destroyed his empire with his constant pettiness and smugness, Rodrigo only attempted to kill him for pragmatic reasons.
- While his death via apple poisoning by his own son was cruel, he deserved it for all that he has done.
- His actions were so vile and heinous that even the modern day Templars disregard him and the Borgia family as a whole, because they used the Templar banner to selfishly further their own goals of tyranny and power.
What Prevents Him from Being Pure Evil?[]
- He fails the Heinous Standards compared to his own son Cesare, who had less resources than him, yet still managed to replicate many of his father's crimes and has other crimes under his belt such as massacre of Monteriggioni and likely other villages, murdering his own family members and his confirmed abuse and manipulation of his sister.
Trivia[]
- There were some unused voice lines in Assassin's Creed Brotherhood that had Rodrigo showing genuine remorse for all of his crimes against Ezio's family and towards so many others as he dies due to his own poison. He would also admit that he and the Templar Order have lost their way, and his dying wish towards Ezio is that he is to stop Cesare and restore order. This is similar to how Rodrigo supposedly died in real life, where he confessed all his sins and showed genuine remorse after being poisoned. Had these lines made it into the initial game, they would have likely affected Rodrigo's status as a NPE villain.
External Links[]
- Rodrigo Borgia on the Villains Wiki
- Rodrigo Borgia on the Assassin's Creed Wiki
[]
![]() | ||
Templar Order Order of the Ancients Others |