Crawford Starrick

Patience, brothers. Soon we will reveal the secrets of Underworld and The Resurrection Plot. This article has been identified as being out of date. Please update the article to reflect recent releases and then remove this template once done.

"To prevent a return to the Dark Ages, I will start anew. London must be reborn."

―Crawford Starrick, 1868.

Crawford Starrick (1827 – 1868) was a Master Templar and the Grand Master of the British Rite of the Templar Order during the mid-19th century. A ruthless businessman and the owner of Starrick Industries, he was an influential figure in London's industry and criminal underworld, and was responsible for the political and economic corruption the city was suffering from at the time.

In 1868, Starrick sought to acquire a Shroud of Eden hidden in London to strengthen his control over the city and maintain order more efficiently. However, that same year his reign was challenged by the British Assassins Jacob and Evie Frye, who had traveled to London to liberate it from the Templars' control.

After his allies were killed by Jacob and his search for the Shroud was sabotaged by Evie, Starrick became desperate and attempted to eliminate Great Britain's heads of church and state to plunge the country into a state of chaos, hoping to restore order afterwards and increase the Templars' influence in the process. His plan was again thwarted by the Frye twins, who later killed Starrick inside the Shroud's vault, preventing the Templars from obtaining the artifact.

Biography

Early life

Born the younger son of the wealthy Robert Starrick in the West End of London, England, in 1827, Crawford and his older brother were trained for competition. The Starrick brothers were educated in a variety of academics and sports, and they often challenged and fought each other, much to their mother's pride.

At the age of twelve, Crawford entered boarding school. Due to the boy's imperious attitude, he was largely excluded by his peers, who took to calling him "Lord Starrick". He then began to see the two strata of humanity: those who served, and those who ruled. Realizing that he would earn no friends, he sharpened his charm and hid his disdain with smiles and compliments to bend teachers and his classmates to his will.

Upon graduation, and having inherited his first rail factory from his father, Starrick fancied himself as a railroad baron. To achieve this, he enacted a number of ultimately successful business purchases, as well as discreetly eliminating his competitors in order to gradually rise to the top, proving himself to be a brilliant businessman in his own right. He was also ruthless towards his employees and installed Rupert Ferris as manager to maximize profits and keep spending to a minimum. Crawford continued in his business' expansion and created several industries that reached across London.

Around this time, Strarrick became exposed to the Templar Order and, like he had within the rail industry, gradually rose to the top to become Grand Master of the British Rite.

Activities as Grand Master

"Today, Starrick sits at the helm of the most sophisticated Templar infrastructure known in the western world. Every class, every borough, the gangs, the industries—his reach extends all across London."

―Henry Green describing Starrick's control over London, 1868.

At some point, Starrick participated in an auction for an occult manuscript alongside Lucy Thorne, who managed to outbid him. Starrick subsequently inducted Lucy into the Templar Order, making her his lieutenant. Lucy assisted Starrick in the hunt for several Pieces of Eden, most notably the Shroud, which the Grand Master believed would allow him to solidify his control over London. However, Starrick had no intention of sharing the Shroud with Lucy once they retrieved it, though he nonetheless planned to provide her with financial compensation.

Through his network of Templar agents, Starrick controlled London and oppressed the working classes in order to keep the Templars in power. During this time, the British Assassins worked to reclaim power in the city and bring down the Grand Master, principally through their members Henry Green, and the twins Jacob and Evie Frye, who had just recently arrived in London in early 1868.

Losing power

"I suppose it must be done. Take no chances. Increase the Templar presence in London. We alone protect this city of light."

―Starrick ordering Lucy Thorne to take action against the Frye twins, 1868.

Starrick meeting with Twopenny and the Earl of Cardigan

Following John Elliotson's assassination at the hands of Jacob Frye, who also destroyed the production of Starrick's Soothing Syrup, the Earl of Cardigan and Philip Twopenny met with Starrick to discuss action against the Assassins. The Grand Master dismissed Jacob's efforts against his corporate empire, referencing the meticulous process in which his own Indian tea was delivered to him.

Later, Starrick met with his estranged cousin Pearl Attaway, who had manipulated Jacob into acquiring internal combustion engines from Starrick's lackey Malcolm Millner and assassinating him. Pearl had done this so that Starrick would have no choice but to rely on her to run the transportation business in London. After a brief argument between the two, Starrick promised to arrange transportation for the engines and left, unaware that Jacob had spied on the meeting and learned of Pearl's true allegiance.

Starrick and Lucy discussing Pearl's death

Shortly thereafter, Jacob assassinated Pearl. Upon hearing of her death, a grief-stricken Starrick began playing his piano, before shooting one of his Templar underlings out of annoyance for disturbing him. Lucy then entered the room, believing Starrick unaware of Pearl's death before being told otherwise. Deciding to take the Frye twins seriously, Starrick declared his intention to bring them to justice and ordered Lucy to increase the Templar presence in London.

Some time later, Starrick began writing a letter in which he informed Lucy of the dissolution of their partnership once they found the Shroud. At that very moment, however, he was informed of Lucy's assassination at Evie Frye's hands. To Starrick's fury, the key to the Shroud's crypt was taken as well. Despite this setback, the Grand Master vowed to obtain the Shroud by any means necessary, and ordered one of his servants to burn the letter.

After Philip Twopenny was assassinated by Jacob Frye, public trust in the British currency dropped as inflation increased. To counter the inflation, Starrick raised the wages of his workers. At the same time, Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli introduced the Corrupt Practices Act to fight electoral fraud. A displeased Earl of Cardigan visited Starrick, where he expressed frustration at Parliament's lack of action and pledged to have Disraeli eliminated in order to end the Bill and maintain the Templars' influence on politics.

Starrick dismissing the Earl of Cardigan

However, Starrick was unimpressed by the Earl's promise and scolded him for idling in the Sinopean Club rather than taking a more active role in defending Templar interests in Parliament. The Grand Master then threatened the Earl by putting a knife to his crotch, to indicate what would happen should he fail in his task, before dismissing him. In the end, the Earl of Cardigan was unable to assassinate Disraeli due to the intervention of Jacob Frye, who subsequently killed the Earl.

Around this time, Starrick lost his control over London's criminal element after the Blighters' leader Maxwell Roth betrayed their alliance by working with Jacob to sabotage the Grand Master's operations and was later killed by the Assassin after a falling out between the two.

Claiming the Shroud

"This dance is nearly over. Soon the people will forget the generation on this terrace, the ruin you nearly wrought on London. When this music ceases, Miss Frye, your time is up—and mine begins."

―Starrick to Evie Frye during their dance, 1868.

With all of his allies and subordinates dead, Starrick took it upon himself to retrieve the Shroud and rebuild the Order's influence by eliminating Britain's heads of church and state. Learning that the Shroud had been hidden in a secret vault beneath Buckingham Palace, Starrick saw an opportunity to accomplish both of his goals simultaneously, during Queen Victoria's party in the palace gardens.

Starrick sharing a dance with Evie

During the party, Starrick encountered Evie Frye and pressured her for a dance. As they danced, Starrick explained his plan to the Assassin before pointing out snipers on the rooftops who were ready to open fire on his intended targets once the music stopped. However, Jacob eliminated all of the snipers and signaled his sister, who proceeded to knee Starrick in the groin, though he managed to escape with the key to the Shroud's vault after stealing it from Evie.

Death

"London will perish without me! [...] I would have created a paradise."

―Starrick's final words, 1868.

Descending into the crypt, Starrick found the Shroud and donned it, just as Jacob arrived to confront him. Making use of the Shroud's powers of healing and enhanced strength, the Grand Master was able to overpower Jacob and began to choke him until Evie joined the fight. Though each of the Frye twins got close to mortally wounding Starrick several times, he was healed by the Shroud each time and eventually gained the upper hand, grabbing both Assassins by their throats.

Starrick killed by the Frye twins

Before he could finish off his opponents, Starrick was caught off guard by a surprise attack from Henry Green, who threw a knife at his back. After dispatching Green, Starrick turned his attention back on the Fryes, who finally worked in unison and managed to overpower the Grand Master, separating him from the Shroud. Without the artifact, Starrick was no match for the two Assassins and was stabbed in the chest by both of their Hidden Blades.

As he lay dying, Starrick proclaimed that London would perish without him, as he had intended to create a paradise. However, he was rebuked by the Frye twins, prompting him to angrily exclaim that he had been at the very top of the Templar Order before finally succumbing to his wounds. With Starrick's death, the Templars' control over London came to an end.

Legacy

In 2015, the Templar Isabelle Ardant included Starrick's name on a list of known British Templars. This list was later uncovered by the Assassins Rebecca Crane and Shaun Hastings when they infiltrated Ardant's office to plant a bug.

Personality and traits

Starrick: "Time is a wonderful thing, Miss Frye. It heals all wounds. We may make mistakes while dancing, but, the mazurka ends and then we begin again. Problem is everyone forgets. They trip on the same mistakes over and over."

Evie: "People can learn."

Starrick: "Can they? Isn't everyone around you repeating the same steps? But if one man could remember the dance? Could know the time? Then he could change things for the better."

—Starrick explaining his plan to rebuild society from scratch to Evie Frye, 1868.

From a young age, Starrick and his brother had been trained for competition. An arrogant individual, Starrick showed great disdain for those who tormented him and eventually saw himself as a ruler among servants. Using his charm, he managed to bend people to his will.

Starrick in his office

Above all, Starrick desired order and control. A staunchly conservative man, Starrick's actions in respect of his role as Grand Master of the British Rite all looked to maintain the status quo, whilst gradually improving the quality of life for his workers, and London as a whole. Starrick initially viewed the interference of the Frye twins as little more than an inconvenience, but as their actions began to upturn the order he had established, he took personal grievance with them.

During the temporary collapse of the British currency, following the death of Philip Twopenny, the Governor of the Bank of England, Starrick increased the average wage of his entire workforce in order to stave off the affects of inflation, and maintain his grip on power; he did this despite the incredulity of his fellow Templar, the Earl of Cardigan.

Starrick also saw himself as a fair man. Before learning of her death, Starrick penned a letter promising to support Lucy Thorne financially for her remaining years, in gratitude for her aid in locating the Shroud of Eden. Starrick did not see this as an act of betrayal, claiming that only one could wear the Shroud and believing that it would rightfully be him.

Starrick, moments after shooting one of his henchmen

Starrick fell in love once, to his cousin Pearl Attaway, but she refused to marry him. Despite this, as well as Pearl serving as his business rival, Starrick still harbored feelings for her. Upon hearing of her death, Starrick was grief-stricken, ruthlessly executing one of his men for interrupting his mourning.

Starrick had an extremist ideology towards the monarchy, considering it a tyrannical and oppressive system of government that caused social inequality with the monarch's mandates, and so aimed to assassinate Queen Victoria and her subordinates of church and state to restore a second republic. He disdained the aristocratic elites and the church, finding it pathetic that they were still at the top of society despite having lost much of their power during the Industrial Revolution.

Skills and equipment

"They have chosen a Grand Master so ruthless, so thorough, one might think Reginald Birch, himself, had returned."

―Henry Green, regarding Starrick's leadership of the Templar Order, 1868.

As Grand Master of the British Templars, Starrick displayed considerable leadership skills that enabled the Templars to extend their influence all over London, both politically and economically. Henry Green once compared Starrick's influence to that of Reginald Birch.

In choice of weaponry, Starrick carried with him a dagger as well as a revolver. In his final confrontation with the Assassins, he was shown to be a competent hand-to-hand combatant, able to go toe-to-toe with Jacob and Evie, though he was quickly overwhelmed once the twins began fighting in unison.

Starrick using the Shroud of Eden to overpower the Frye twins

While wielding the Shroud of Eden, Starrick was endowed with its abilities, such as instantaneously regenerating fatal wounds, enhanced physical strength, and the ability to drain his victim's vitality. Using the Shroud's abilities, Starrick was able to physically overpower the Assassins several times, regenerating any lethal damages done by their Hidden Blades in the process, and even holding both Jacob and Evie by their throats simultaneously. He would have drained their vitality and killed them, if not for Henry Green's timely intervention.

Behind the scenes

Crawford Starrick is a fictional character created for and appearing in the 2015 video game Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, in which he is portrayed by Canadian actor Kris Holden-Ried. He is one of the few main antagonists in the Assassin's Creed series not to be based on a historical figure.

Although not specified in-game, Starrick's scenes that play out after most of the major assassinations have to be Starrick's own memories, relived by the Initiate through the Helix, as neither of the Frye twins are present for them. This makes Starrick the fourth Templar in the series whose genetic memories were relived by a modern-day character, after Haytham Kenway, Shay Cormac and Jacques de Molay's advisor.

Gallery

• 
  Concept art of Starrick
• 
  Starrick's Templar necklace
• 
  Starrick's profile picture in the Helix database
• 
  Starrick talking to Lucy Thorne
• 
  Starrick meeting with Pearl Attaway
• 
  Starrick playing the piano
• 
  Starrick composing his letter to Lucy
• 
  Starrick contemplating his next move against the Assassins
• 
  Starrick fighting Jacob
• 
  Starrick being healed by the Shroud
• 
  Starrick's final moments

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Syndicate (first appearance)
  • Jack the Ripper (mentioned only)
• Assassin's Creed: Underworld
• Assassin's Creed: The Official Collection
• Assassin's Creed: Rebellion (mentioned in Database entry only)
• Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Resurrection Plot (mentioned only)