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The Assassin's Creed books are a series of novels set within the fictional universe of the Assassin's creed video game. The books follow various Assassin's who become involved in the war between the assassin's and the Templars. Other novels in the series follow additional assassins on their journeys.

Renaissance
The novel stars Ezio Auditore da Firenze, who seeks revenge for the murder of his family. He begins to train as an assassin, also discovering various truths about his parent's history. Ezio becomes drawn into a war between the Assassin Order and the Knights Templar, two secret brotherhoods that have been combating each other for centuries. The groups are battling over an ancient technology called the "Apple", which can alter human minds, as well as a vault in Italy which contains the knowledge and technology of the ancient, technologically-superior civilization who were worshiped as gods after their disappearance and supposed extinction ("Those who came before").

Brotherhood
In Brotherhood, the story of the Assassin Ezio Auditore continues as he struggles to free the city of Rome from the tyranny of Cesare Borgia, who wishes to take over all of Italy. It is a novelized version of the game Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood just like its previous book, Assassin's Creed: Renaissance. It does not contain any of the game's present-day events including Desmond; only a reference to a "phantom" by Ezio. Unlike the events of the game which start in 1499, this version of the story starts in 1503.

The Secret Crusade
The Secret Crusade follows Altaïr as told by Niccolo Polo. It details the life of Altaïr, an Assassin, beginning with the death of his father. Altaïr watches his father be executed for the unintended death of a noble. Some time later, he also watches one of his father's fellow Assassins kill himself out of guilt over the death of Altaïr's father. Altaïr soon begins to train under Al Mualim, leader of the Assassin Order, who instructs him not to tell his fellow Assassin, Abbas, of his father's suicide. Despite this warning Altaïr tells Abbas, who receives the news poorly. The news that Abbas' father killed himself causes problems between himself and Altaïr.

The Secret Crusade then progresses to many years later where an older Altaïr, his wife Maria and their son Darim are returning to Masyaf, Altaïr's home, after successfully assassinating Genghis Khan. In their absence, Abbas has proclaimed himself "Master of the Assassins" and taken over Masyaf, ruling the people through fear and violence. Altaïr is met with cold indifference and discovers that despite being told that his son Sef had traveled to Alamut, his son was actually murdered by Malik. Malik has been imprisoned, but claims his innocence. Altaïr breaks him out of jail, planning to confront Abbas and reclaim his place as Master Assassin. These plans are thwarted when Abbas has Malik killed and frames Altaïr for his death. Out of anger, Altaïr uses the Apple of Eden to kill the man responsible for Sef's death, but also inadvertently causes Maria's death. Devastated by the loss of his son and his wife, Altaïr flees Masyaf.

Years later, a merchant named Muhklis is saved from desert bandits by Altaïr, now an old man in his seventies. Muhklis takes an injured Altaïr back to his home in Masyaf and agrees to help him reclaim his place. They hope to take back Masyaf with as little bloodshed as possible. They are joined by a few young men who are against Abbas and are training in the traditional ways of the Assassins, which have been ignored during Abbas' reign. They, along with the people of Masyaf, storm the castle, fighting through Abbas' men, but only killing if absolutely necessary. Altaïr faces Abbas for the last time, killing him with his pistol shot weapon. With the death of their leader, Abbas' men lay down their arms and Altaïr is proclaimed the leader of the Assassins. The final chapter shows that Ezio Auditore da Firenze (Da Firenze simply meaning "from Firenze/Florence") is the reader, and he is on a boat arriving in Constantinople, in the second sequence of events in Revelations.

Revelations
Revelations once again follows Ezio Auditore as he leaves his life behind in search of the truth about the Assassin Order and "Those who came before". The resulting journey leads him to Constantinople where a growing army of Knights Templar threatens the region. It was released on 24 November 2011 in the United Kingdom and on 29 November 2011 in the United States.

Forsaken
Forsaken primarily takes on the form of Haytham Kenway’s personal journal and tracks his life from his early childhood in England through to his rise up the Templar ranks. Forsaken was released on 4 December 2012.

Black Flag
Black Flag follows Edward Kenway, Haytham Kenway's father, and Connor's grandfather. It takes place in 1715, Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. Black Flag was released on 26 November 2013.

Season 1 (2013)
This season was originally planned for 2012.
 * Matt Hill was absent for 6 episodes.
 * Brian Drummond, Ian James Corlett, Ashleigh Ball and Lee Tockar were absent for 3 episodes.

Spyro the Dragon
Spyro the Dragon (voiced by Carlos Alazraqui in 1998, Tom Kenny in 1999-2002, Jess Harnell in 2004-2005, Elijah Wood in 2006-2008, Josh Keaton in 2011-present) is an eager, purple dragon and the protagonist of the series.

Sparx
Sparx (voiced by André Sogliuzzo in 1998-2004, David Spade in 2006, Billy West in 2007, Wayne Brady in 2008) is a yellow dragonfly and Spyro's constant companion. He helps protect Spyro from damage, helps collect gems, and gives out helpful information throughout the game. Sparx was also a playable character in Year of the Dragon, Season of Ice, and A Hero's Tail, his levels featuring gameplay similar to Gauntlet and various rail shooter games. In the Legend of Spyro games, Sparx is Spyro's foster brother. With Spyro having a separate health bar, Sparx serves primarily as a traveling companion. Recently, Sparx's role has been reduced to serving as the series' comic relief, often giving out humorous dialogue and sarcastic remarks.

In the Skylanders series, Sparx is a living magic item who aids the Skylanders by firing fireballs at enemies for a short while.

Guardians
The Guardians are a group of dragons who watch over the dragon eggs and training the young dragons in the ancient ways. Most of the Guardians were killed in battle against Malefor's forces and only four remain.

Ignitus
Ignitus (voiced by Gary Oldman) is a red dragon who was the Fire Guardian, the leader of the four remaining Guardians. He serves as a father-figure to Spyro, often calm and collected but has been known to break out into fits of fury, using his fire ability to great effect.

Ignitus, along with the other remaining Guardians, were assigned to protect the eggs during the Year of the Dragon. When Gaul led an attack on the Dragon Temple, Ignitus took Spyro's egg and hid it in the nearby swamp where it would later be found by a family of dragonflies. He and the other Guardians later fought against Malefor's forces until the other Guardians were captured by Cynder in which case Ignitus escaped the battlefield and hid in the same swamp where he had hidden Spyro's egg years earlier.

Sometime later, he met the purple dragon who was now grown up and showed Spyro the Dragon Temple that was now in ruins after Gaul's attack years earlier. Ignitus assigned Spyro to free the other Guardians who had been captured by Cynder and were being used to power crystals which would free Malefor. After freeing the final Guardian, Terrador, Cynder attempted to pursue Spyro but was stopped by Ignitus who tried to fight off the black dragon. Cynder defeated Ignitus and brought him to her lair where she used him to fuel the final crystal used to free her master. Spyro arrived and rescued Ignitus but Cynder had already made off with the crystal so Ignitus sent Spyro to pursue her and stop her from freeing Malefor. After Spyro defeated Cynder, Ignitus and the other Guardians welcomed Spyro and Cynder (who was freed from Malefor's influence) back to the temple.

In the second game, Ignitus helped defend the temple a second time when it was invaded by Gaul's forces. He later sent Spyro to search for The Chronicler who had appeared in the young dragon's dreams while he stayed behind to search for Cynder who had disappeared.

Sometime later, he and the other Guardians moved into Warfang after they lost the temple to Malefor's forces. When Spyro arrived in the city three years later, Ignitus and the other Guardians helped Spyro and Cynder fight the Golem, who had arrived to destroy the city. After defeating the Golem, Malefor awakened The Destroyer and Ignitus took Spyro and Cynder to the edge of the Belt of Fire to get them through to stop Malefor. However, about halfway through, the dark power of the Belt of Fire was overwhelming Ignitus, and he sacrificed himself by using his last bit of strength to get Spyro and Cynder to the other side. After Malefor's defeat, The Chronicler summons Ignitus's spirit and chooses him to become the next Chronicler of the new age.

Volteer
Volteer (voiced by Corey Burton) is a yellow dragon who was the Guardian of Electricity. He is the most intellectual of the four Guardians. Quickwitted and fleet of foot, this lightning lizard says more than necessary and simply explodes onto any subject that sparks his interest. Volteer helped his fellow Guardians guard the Dragon Temple during the Year of the Dragon, and it was he who warned the other Guardians that Gaul's forces were closing in on the temple to destroy the eggs. He later fought with the other Guardians against the forces of Malefor for many years until he was captured by Cynder and taken to Dante's Freezer where he was imprisoned in the Ice King's lair. Cynder then used him to power a crystal used to free Malefor.

Sometime later, Spyro defeated the Ice King and rescued Volteer and he later trained Spyro back at the Dragon Temple on how to master his electricity breath.

After Spyro's battle with Cynder, the Dragon Temple was once again invaded by Gaul's forces and Volteer helped to fight them off. After the battle, he and Cyril, the Ice Guardian, were sent to the mainland to warn the inhabitants that the Night of Eternal Darkness was approaching.

He and the other Guardians later moved into Warfang after they lost the Dragon Temple to Malefor. Volteer helped Spyro fight off Golem when it invaded the city, and afterwards, he and the others later hid underground while Spyro went to go confront Malefor and he was last seen before the credits gazing apon the newly assembled world.

Cyril
Cyril (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is a blue dragon who was the Ice Guardian. He is a coldly confident and predominately prideful dragon, who constantly brags about supposedly royal ancestry. Cyril was responsible for guarding the Dragon Temple during the Year of the Dragon along with his fellow Guardians. He later fought with the other Guardians against Gaul's forces for many years until he was captured by Cynder and taken to Tall Plains where Cynder used him to power a crystal used to free Malefor.

Sometime later, Spyro rescued him from the Stone Sentinel and he later trained Spyro back at the Dragon Temple on how to master his ice breath.

After Spyro's battle with Cynder, the Dragon Temple was once again invaded by Gaul's forces and Cyril helped to fight them off. After the battle he and Volteer were sent to the mainland to warn the inhabitants that the Night of Eternal Darkness was approaching.

He and the other Guardians later moved into Warfang after they lost the Dragon Temple to Malefor and he helped Spyro fight of Golem when it invaded the city. He and the others later hid underground while Spyro went to go confront Malefor and he was last seen before the credits gazing apon the newly assembled world.

Terrador
Terrador (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) is a green dragon who was the Guardian of Earth. He is a battle-scarred warrior and the most militant of the Guardians, most dedicated and focused on the practical art of battle.

Terrador was responsible for guarding the Dragon Temple during the Year of the Dragon along with his fellow Guardians. He later fought with the other Guardians against Gaul's forces for many years until he was captured by Cynder and taken to Munitions Forge where Cynder used him to power a crystal used to free Malefor. Sometime later, Spyro rescued Terrador after beating The Conductor and his train Steam and he later trained Spyro back at the Dragon Temple on how to master his earth breath.

After Spyro's battle with Cynder, the Dragon Temple was once again invaded by Gaul's forces and Terrador helped to fight them off. After the battle he was sent by Ignitus to the Shattered Vale to learn what he could from there about the Night of Eternal Darkness.

He and the other Guardians later moved into Warfang after they lost the Dragon Temple and he helped Spyro fight of Golem when it invaded the city. He and the others later hid underground while Spyro went to go confront Malefor. He was later seen emerging along with the other Guardians and the inhabitants after Spyro and Cynder defeated Malefor and prevented the destruction of the world. It is unknown if Terrador becomes the leader of the Dragon Guardians, but he possibly does, seeing as there really is no other sensible option.

The Chronicler
The Chronicler (voiced by Martin Jarvis) was an ancient dragon thousands of years old whose job was to record the history of the dragon race and enter the names of dragons who died in a book. It's unknown if he was the first chronicler, but at the time Spyro met him, he claimed to have not seen anyone in over a thousand years.

In The Eternal Night, he summoned Spyro in his dreams and gave the young dragon the Dragon Time ability and his elemental powers back while encouraging him to seek him out. When Spyro finally arrived in The Chronicler's chamber, he told the young dragon that he must stay with him while Malefor was freed so he can ride out the storm and perhaps fight another day. Spyro refused to let Cynder be corrupted again and insisted that The Chronicler show him the way to Gaul's lair. The Chronicler finally agreed to show him, and later when Spyro and Cynder were trapped in the Well of Souls, he telepathically communicated with Spyro and told him undirectly to use his Dragon Time ability to freeze him, Sparx, and Cynder in a time crystal that would keep them safe from the collapsing mountain.

Three years later, when Spyro and Cynder were freed from the crystal, The Chronicler contacted Spyro and once again gave him his elemental powers back as well as giving Cynder hers back too. After Malefor's defeat and the forming of a new world, he summoned Ignitus, and told the Fire Guardian that with each new age beginning, a new Chronicler is to be chosen to record the many triumphs and faillures of that age. When Ignitus asked what had become of Spyro, he responded by saying that the young dragon's name wasn't in the book of dead dragons, hinting that Spyro is still alive. He was then absorbed into the book, likely having passed on, and Ignitus became the new Chronicler.

Cynder
Cynder (voiced by Cree Summer in 2006, Mae Whitman in 2007, Christina Ricci in 2008, Tobie LaSalandra in 2012) was the only egg that survived the raid on the Dragon Temple other than Spyro's. However, Gaul knew that to free Malefor, he needed a dragon born in the Year of the Dragon to open the gateway to his prison. Gaul captured Cynder's egg, and she was soon corrupted by Malefor's dark magic, eventually becoming general of the dark forces. She captured all the Guardians, except Ignitus who managed to escape, and imprisoned them across the Dragon Realms, using them to power crystals required to free Malefor.

After hearing of Spyro's existence, she sent Gaul's army out to kill him but was ultimately not able to do so. After Spyro freed the final Guardian, Terrador, Cynder chased Spyro through Munitions Forge until Ignitus intervened. She defeated the Fire Guardian and took him to her lair where she used him to power the last crystal. Spyro arrived to free Ignitus but Cynder took off with the crystal to Convexity to free her master. Spyro followed her and ultimately defeated Cynder, but at the cost of Malefor's essence escaping. Cynder was released from Malefor's influence and returned to her natural size, and Spyro brought her back to the Dragon Temple to live with him and the other Guardians.

In The Eternal Night, Cynder felt guilty about what she had previously done when she was under the Dark Master's control, and she ran away from the Dragon Temple at night despite Spyro trying to convince her to stay. Sometime later, she was captured by the Skavengers and forced to fight Spyro who had also been captured to fight in their arena. However the match was interrupted when a fleet of Dreadwings sent by Gaul invaded the arena and captured Cynder. She was brought before Gaul, who told Cynder that Malefor could either take her back for being a faithful servant or be the first to perish by his hand. When Spyro arrived to rescue her, Gaul ordered Cynder to kill Spyro but she instead attacked him. Gaul easily defeated her, and when she woke up, she found that Spyro had already killed Gaul but the ceiling had collapsed leaving them trapped in Gaul's collapsing lair. Spyro used his powers to freeze them both in crystal to protect them from the collapsing lair, where they remain frozen for three years.

In Dawn of the Dragon, Cynder is a playable character. Spyro and Cynder were soon freed from their three-year slumber by a group of Grublins. Hunter soon rescued the two dragons escorted them through the Catacombs, Twilight Forest and Avalar before they finally reached Warfang where the Guardians were waiting for them. She later traveled with Spyro and Ignitus through the Belt of Fire, but Ignitus sacrificed himself to get Spyro and Cynder through the fire, and the two then confronted Malefor after they were unable to beat The Destroyer he had unleashed. After a long battle with Malefor, the ancestors sealed Malefor away and Spyro and Cynder were trapped in the core of the world that was being destroyed around them. Spyro told Cynder to leave since he had to stop the world from falling apart, but Cynder refused, telling Spyro that she loved him. After the world was rebuilt, both Spyro and Cynder ultimately made it out and were last seen flying happily over the Valley of Avalar after the credits.

In the reboot of the Spyro franchise of the Skylanders series, Cynder (voiced by Tobie LaSalandra in 2012) appears, again as a playable character in Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure, but as a completely different character and having a similar backstory to her Legend of Spyro counterpart. While still just an egg, Cynder was stolen by the evil henchmen of Malefor and was raised under his evil influence. She spread fear throughout the world of Skylands until she was defeated and freed by Spyro. She now desires to redeem herself by using her dark powers to fight evil, but most Skylanders try to keep a safe distance from Cynder...just in case.

Flash and Nina
Flash and Nina (voiced by Jeff Bennett and Vanessa Marshall) are dragonflies who are the biological parents of Sparx but adopted parents of Spyro. They found Spyro's egg which hatched the same day as Sparx's egg, since then they have raised Spyro as their son. Their appearance is short in A New Beginning, they are seen once in The Eternal Night, during the cutscene with the Chronicler, and they are neither seen nor mentioned in Dawn of the Dragon. Spyro's biological parent's have yet to have been revealed.

Hunter of Avalar
Hunter of Avalar (voiced by Blair Underwood) is a cheetah like the Hunter in the original series, and appears at the end of The Eternal Night as a bowman who has been captured on the pirate's ship. He is only seen at the end when Spyro is frozen in time with Sparx and Cynder, but he had written a letter to Spyro earlier whilst on the ship, explaining that he knew about Spyro's powers and hoped they would someday meet.

In Dawn of the Dragon, Hunter finally meets Spyro after saving him and Cynder from the Golem in the Catacombs, having been sent by Ignitus to find the two dragons since their disappearance three years ago. He guided them to the Dragon City, where he took part in the battle against Malefor's army and the Golem. After the Golem's defeat, Hunter is present to hear Malefor's plan and witnesses the resurrection of the Destroyer. He and the rest of the cheetah warriors accompany the dragons through the underground passages to stop the Destroyer, and when that fails, he helps by sending his falcons to the outer regions to send the message of telling the inhabitants there to move underground where they may be safe.

Hunter is last seen emerging from the underground city after Spyro reconstructed the shattered world. He is in awe of the sights around him, and along with the others, looks to the skies to watch a group of stars form a constellation of a dragon.

Kane
Kane (voiced by Phil LaMarr) is an Atlawa (a race of humanoid llamas) and a resident of Tall Plains. For most of the plight through that stage in "A New Beginning," he appears as a loner and wanted to save his people alone. After several scenarios in the stage - including being saved from falling from a waterfall - Kane then understands the value of teamwork and became grateful for Spyro's input after the defeat of the Atlawa's stone god, the Stone Sentinel.

Mole-Yair
Mole-Yair (voiced by Jeff Bennett) is the leader of the Manwersmalls (a rodent-like race that takes refuge around Munitions Forge). In "A New Beginning," almost all the Manwersmalls were captured and were forced to do labor work for Cynder and her minions. He is mainly seen as a guiding figure, instructing Spyro to save them as well as his brother Exhumor in exchange for information on Terrador's location. He, like Exhumor, is distinguished with a strong French accent. Mole-Yair returns in The Eternal Night as a captive of the pirate ship. He gives Spyro a message from someone named Hunter of Avalar. He and the Manwersmalls are later freed by Spyro and Sparx, and they escaped from the burning ship.

Exhumor
Exhumor (voiced by Corey Burton) is Mole-Yair's brother, though in comparison he generally acts more hostile to strangers. His role in "A New Beginning" is also smaller than Mole-Yair's, though his role as a guiding figure among the release of the captured Manwersmalls is still very similar.

Malefor
Malefor (voiced by Mark Hamill) is a purple dragon and the main antagonist of the The Legend of Spyro series. He is also known as The Dark Master. In The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning, under Malefor's orders, the dark armies raided the Dragon Temple to destroy the dragon eggs to prevent the next purple dragon Spyro from being born. However, Malefor needed a dragon born on the Year of the Dragon to open the gateway to his prison in Convexity. Under his master's orders, Gaul stole Cynder's egg to corrupt her, while Ignitus saves Spyro's egg by sending it down a nearby river. Spyro defeated Cynder and returned her to her original form, but not before she collected enough energy to free the Dark Master.

According to The Chronicler in The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night, the Dark Master was the first purple dragon ever to be born. He was a gifted dragon, quickly learning all of the breaths despite not being a dragon of those types. However, he became corrupted by his own seemingly limitless power and was exiled. Hatred for his own kind, the Dark Master created an army of Apes and taught them how to harness the power of the Dragon's lifeforce, the gems. Later he was sealed away by the Ancestors in the Well of Souls where his fortress laid. It is said that he can corrupt the minds of even the strongest dragons, which can be seen in both Cynder and Spyro's cases.

In The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon, it is revealed that The Dark Master's real name is Malefor, which also explains the true name of the Well of Souls; The Mountain of Malefor. According to the cheetahs of the Village of Avalar, Malefor was a lot like Spyro when he was young. After failing to destroy the Dragon City, Malefor unleashes The Destroyer upon the world to "cleanse" it. While Spyro and the others attempt to stop it, Ignitus mentions that Malefor draws his power from destruction, which is the difference between him and Spyro. When Spyro finally confronts Malefor, the evil dragon reveals that Spyro was the one who freed him, and it was because Cynder had tricked him into freeing him. Malefor then claims that it is the destiny of all purple dragons to "cleanse" the world by releasing The Destroyer and the Golems of the Deep. Malefor takes control of Cynder, but when Spyro doesn't fight back, Cynder is freed and Malefor attempts to kill them both. Spyro and Cynder both defeat him, but Malefor reveals that he cannot die. However, five dragon spirits appeared and sealed Malefor to the core of the world, ending his reign of terror.

In the second reboot of the Spyro series, Malefor is re-imagined as the Undead Dragon King of the Underworld in the Skylanders series. He was only mentioned in Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure where he was mentioned in the backstories of Cynder and Hex. In these backstories, Malefor had corrupted Cynder to become his evil servant and was badly wounded by Hex when he attempted to capture her.

Gaul
Gaul (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) was the King of the Apes (which actually resembled mandrills) and the major antagonist and final boss of the second game. He and his Ape Army were recruited by Malefor after his exile. After Malefor was imprisoned, Gaul led his Army to the Dragon Temple destroy all but one of the eggs to prevent the birth of the purple dragon under Malefor's orders and also steal a dragon egg that Malefor needed to open the gateway that served as his prison. After the attack, Gaul used Malefor's dark magic to corrupt Cynder (the only egg not destroyed) and she grew up in his evil influence. The Ape King later led his army of apes into battle against the Guardians, and he and Cynder managed to capture or kill all of them except Ignitus, who escaped.

After he learned of Spyro's existence, and Cynder having been freed from Malefor's influence, Gaul sent his army to capture Cynder and kill Spyro. Little did he know, Cynder had fled the temple prior to the raid, and Spyro and the Guardians managed to fend them off. After learning that Spyro and Cynder had been captured by the Skavengers, Gaul sent a fleet of Dreadwings to capture Cynder and kill Spyro. His fleet managed to capture Cynder and brought her back to Gaul's lair but were unable to kill Spyro. Gaul then tried to convince Cynder to return to Malefor's side but was met with resistance. When Spyro arrived to confront Gaul in his lair to save Cynder, Gaul used his staff to drain Spyro of his elemental abilities, leaving the young dragon with a serious disadvantage. He then commanded Cynder to kill Spyro but she refused and attacked him instead. Gaul easily defeated Cynder and challenged Spyro to a fight. While Gaul was originally winning, after Spyro was exposed to a wave of energy caused by the solar eclipse of the Celestial Moons, he easily bested Gaul and killed the Ape King without mercy.

Skabb
Skabb was the apparent leader of the Skavenger Pirates who flew around the Realms in their flying ships looting and capturing creatures to fight in their arena. His parrots Scratch and Sniff (voiced by Jeff Bennett and Kevin Michael Richardson), are the real captains of the Skavengers and they talk for Skabb since the only things he can say are short, incomprehensible grumbles. In the second game, he traveled with his crew to the Ancient Grove to capture a tree sentinel, called Arborick, to have him fight in their arena. However since Spyro killed Arborick, they captured Spyro instead. He was present during the arena matches with Spyro until a fleet of Dreadwings invaded the ship to capture Spyro and his opponent Cynder by Gaul's orders, and eventually set the arena on fire. Spyro later confronted Skabb in his cabin and later outside on a floating platform as well. After his defeat, Skabb lost his balance and fell off the plank of the platform, plummeting to his death.

Bosses

 * Ice King - The Ice King is an armored ghoul who is the boss of Dante's Freezer in The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning. He held Volteer captive until he was defeated by Spyro.


 * Stone Sentinel - The Stone Sentinel is a rock Sentinel that is the boss of Tall Plains in The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning. He was worshipped by the Atlawas until a lack of tribute following Cynder's attacks caused Stone Sentinel to go on a rampage and proved to be an obstacle when rescuing Cyril. The Stone Sentinel was defeated by Spyro.


 * Steam - Steam is an evil train controlled by an evil train conductor that is the boss of Munitions Forge in The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning. Steam and his Conductor were placed to guard Terrador while his power was being drained. Both of them were defeated by Spyro.
 * Conductor (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) - The Train Conductor is an Ape who is the conductor of Steam.


 * Electric King - The Electric King is an Electric Spirit that is the boss of Concurrent Skies in The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning. Spyro had to fight the Electric King before his fight with Cynder.


 * Assassin - The Assassin is an ape that rides a purple Dreadwing who appears in The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night. He and his Dreadwing fought Spyro twice before they are defeated.


 * Arborick - Arborick is a Tree Sentinel that is the boss of Ancient Grove in The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night.


 * Ravage Rider - The Ravage Rider is a flying ship operated by the Skavengers that is the boss of Fellmuth Arena in The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night.


 * Executioner - The Executioner is an armored troll that is the boss of Fellmuth Arena in The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night.


 * Elemental Spirits - The Elemental Spirits are the guardians of the Chronicler that appear in The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night.
 * Fire Spirit - An Element Spirit that had fire-based attacks. He was the boss of Spyro's Trial of Fire.
 * Ice Spirit - An Element Spirit that had ice-based attacks. He was the boss of Spyro's Trial of Ice.
 * Earth Spirit - An Element Spirit that had earth-based attacks. He was the boss of Spyro's Trial of Earth.
 * Electric Spirit - An Element Spirit that had electric-based attacks. He was the boss of Spyro's Trial of Electric.


 * Elemental Dragon - The Elemental Dragon is an energy monster that is the boss of Celestial Caves in The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night. It served as the last defense before Spyro can reach the Chronicler. The Elemental Dragon is the result of the energy taking the form of Spyro's fear of Cynder returning to the services of Malefor. It was defeated by Spyro.


 * Golem - The Golem is a monster made of lava that is the boss of the Catabombs in The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon. It is a servant of Malefor who is encountered twice in the game. The first time is when the Grublins were going to sacrifice Spyro and Cynder to it. They managed to get escaped, which resulted in the Golem's left hand being destroyed. The second time is when Malefor is used the Golem to attack the Dragon City of Warfang. With help from the Guardians, Spyro and Cynder ripped out the crystal that powered it, and the Golem fell off the building and hit the ground below, finally defeated.


 * Destroyer - The Destroyer is a massive ancient golem that is resurrected and summoned by Malefor in The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon. The Destroyer has the ability to destroy the world using the 'Ring of Annihilation' it leaves behind as it walks. The Destroyer was said to be a legendary creature that would bring about a new age and world by destroying the old one.

Plot
Astro Boy is a science fiction series set in a futuristic world where Robots co-exist with humans. The focus is on the adventures of the titular "Astro Boy" (sometimes called simply "Astro"): a powerful robot created by the head of the Ministry of Science, Doctor Tenma (aka Dr. Astor Boyton II in the 1960 English dub) to replace his son Tobio ('Astor' in the 1960s English dub; 'Toby' in the 1980s English dub and the 2009 film), who died in a car accident (ran away in the 2003 anime; vaporized in the 2009 film). Dr. Tenma built Astro in Tobio's memory and treated him as lovingly as if he was the real Tobio. Even though Astro was the spitting image of Tobio, Dr. Tenman soon realized that the little robot could not fill the void left by the loss of his son. This is emphasized especially given that Astro could not grow older or express human aesthetics (in one set of panels in the manga, Astro is shown preferring the mechanical shapes of cubes over the organic shapes of flowers). In the original 1960 edition, Tenma rejected Astro and sold him to a cruel circus owner, Hamegg (the Great Cacciatore in the '60 English dub).

After some time, Professor Ochanomizu, the new head of the Ministry of Science, noticed Astro Boy performing in the circus and convinced Hamegg to turn Astro over to him. He then took Astro as his own and treated him gently and warmly, becoming his legal guardian. He soon realized that Astro was gifted with superior powers and skills, as well as the ability to experience human emotions.

Astro then is shown fighting crime, evil, and injustice. Most of his enemies were robot-hating humans, robots gone berserk, or alien invaders. Almost every story included a battle involving Astro and other robots. Astro even faced off against the US Air Force, stopping them from bombing some peaceful innocent Vietnamese villagers (this was a time-travel episode, in which Astro went back from the 21st century to 1969).

Production
The Astro Boy series consists of several story lines. Frederik L. Schodt, who wrote the English adaptation of the series, said that as Tezuka's art style advanced Astro Boy "became more modern and cute" to appeal to the audience of boys in elementary school. Schodt added that the page layouts used in Astro Boy episodes "became more creative." When designing supporting characters, Tezuka sometimes created homage's of Walt Disney, Max Fleischer, and other American animators. In several of the Astro Boy stories, the first few pages were in color. Tezuka had a "Star System" of characters where different characters appeared. Several characters in Astro Boy appear in his other works. Tezuka developed "a type of dialog with his readers" since he developed so many stories during his lifetime. Tezuka also had a habit of introducing nonsensical characters at random moments in order to prevent the scene from becoming too serious. Tezuka felt trapped by the need to satisfy the young male audience's desire to see battling robots.

"Astro Boy" was described by Schodt as an "analog," a world where man and advanced technology coexist and the plots involve the issues stemming from this fact. At that time, (1950's), Japan did not have the reputation for science and technology that it had gained by 2002.

The novels were originally published by Akita Shoten; 23 volumes of paper backs were printed. The stories do not appear in order by publication date, but in the order that Tezuka and the collection editors considered most appropriate. The collection begins with "The Birth of Astro Boy", an episode which Tezuka wrote in 1975 to make the collection of stories easier to understand. The first "Astro Boy" story ever written was published in April 1951, does not appear until Volume 15. Tezuka often re-drew chapters he had created earlier. Schodt explains that this is the reason some may appear "more modern" than others. For many of his older stories, Tezuka added introductory pages where he himself was portrayed as the interlocutor. The color pages were re-printed in black and white for the inexpensive paperback versions.

English-language version
The English-language version of "Astro Boy" is an adaptation of the Akita Shoten published works by Osamu Tezuka. The artwork was flipped so the books could be read from left to right. Frederik L. Schodt wrote the English-language version of "Astro Boy" and for most of the characters, he used the original Japanese names. The story was set in Japan, so Schodt believed that it was necessary to retain the Japanese names wherever possible. Schodt translated the nickname "Higeoyaji" to "Mr. Mustachio," and decided to use Astro Boy's English name. He explained that "Astro" is close to the Japanese name, "Atom", an English word. In addition, Schodt believed that using "Atom" in an American edition of the story would be "going too much against the history. Occasionally, names of Japanese characters had double meanings that were impossible to convey in the English-language translation. Schodt decided that keeping the sound of the names was important, especially when the names were famous. In those cases, Schodt tried to use the double meaning elsewhere in the translation. When dealing with minor foreign characters with humorous-sounding names, Schodt used equivalent English puns wherever it was possible.

The editors of the English-language "Astro Boy" book did not remove content that could be perceived to be racially insensitive. They explained that in some cases people may be portrayed differently than how they actually were in 2002 (the year of publication of the English version). The editors said that some readers may feel that the portrayals contribute to racial discrimination and, while that was not Tezuka's intent, the issue needed to be explained as some readers may feel offended or insulted by the depictions. They felt that it would be inappropriate to revise the works, because Tezuka had passed away and there was no way to reverse what he created, and revising his works would violate his right as a creator. They also expressed the belief that editing or stopping publication of the work would "do little" to end racial and ethnic discrimination throughout the world.

Characters

 * Mighty Atom / Astro Boy
 * Professor Ochanomizu / Doctor Ochanomizu / Dr. Packidermus J. Elefun, head of the Ministry of Science
 * Astro's parents, created by Prof. Ochanomizu in order to make Astro more human-like
 * Uran / Astro Girl / Zoran, Astro's younger sister
 * Cobalt / Jetto, Astro's younger brother (appears as older brother in the 1960s anime)
 * Chi-Tan / Ti-Tan, Astro's baby brother
 * Higeoyaji / Mustachio / Shunsaku Ban / Mr. Percival Pompous / Daddy Walrus / Albert Duncan / Wally Kisaragi, Astro's schoolteacher and/or neighbor in the original manga and color 1980 TV series; a private detective and surrogate uncle for Astro in the 1960s TV series
 * Shibugaki and Tamao / Dinny and Specs, two of Astro's friends
 * Chief Nakamura / Chief McLaw
 * Inspector Tawashi / Inspector Gumshoe
 * Tobio Tenma / Astor Boynton III/ Toby Boynton / Toby Tenma, the little boy Astro was modeled after, who dies in the first episode
 * Atlas was one of many villains that Astro encountered in his adventures

Manga
The manga was originally published from 1951 to 1968, followed by a newspaper serialization (1967–1969) and two further series in 1972-1973 and 1980-1981.

The original Tetsuwan Atomu manga stories were later published in English-language versions by Dark Horse Comics in a translation by Frederik L. Schodt. They followed the television series by keeping the character name as "Astro Boy", the name most familiar to English-speaking audiences, instead of "Tetsuwan Atomu". Names of the other characters, such as Doctor Tenma and Professor Ochanomizu, are those of the original Japanese.

Astro Boy (along with some of his supporting characters) appear in a series of "edu-manga" that tell biographies of famous personalities such as Helen Keller, Albert Einstein and Mother Teresa. Astro Boy and his "sister" appear in the prologues and epilogues for each story and learn about the famous person from Dr. Ochanomizu, who acts as narrator for each installment. These manga were published by Kodansha, Ltd. from 2000 to 2002 with English-language versions published by Digital Manga Publishing and seeing print from 2003 to 2005.

From 2003 to 2009, Naoki Urasawa wrote the series Pluto, with help from Takashi Nagasaki. It adapts Astro Boy's "The Greatest Robot on Earth" (地上最大のロボット) arc into a murder mystery. In a 2004 manga of Tetsuwan Atom written by Akira Himekawa, the plot, as well as the character designs, loosely followed that of the 2003 anime series. The artwork is quite different from Tezuka's original. This version of the manga was published in English by Chuang Yi and distributed in Australia by Madman Entertainment.

Unlicensed comics
In 1965, Gold Key published a one-shot comic book, licensed by NBC Enterprises, based on the US version of the Astro Boy TV show. This was done without any input from Osamu Tezuka, who considered the book an unauthorized or "pirate" edition and denounced the publication as "horribly drawn".

Astro Boy also appears in the premium giveaway series, "March of Comics" (# 285) also published by Gold Key in 1966.

In 1987, the Chicago-based comics publisher Now Comics issued their own version of Astro Boy, with art done by Canadian artist Ken Steacy, and again done without Osamu Tezuka giving input. The series was cancelled in mid-1988.

Anime series
The Astro Boy animated television series premiered on Fuji TV on New Year's Day, 1963, and is the first popular animated Japanese television series that embodied the aesthetic that later became familiar worldwide as anime. It lasted for four seasons, with a total of 193 episodes, the final episode presented on New Year's Eve 1966. At its height it was watched by 40% of the Japanese population who had access to a TV.

Films
In 1962, MBS released a live-action movie, a compilation film made up of episodes from the 1959-60 live-action TV series that came before the 1960s animated television series and, which loosely followed the manga. The opening sequence (approximately one minute) is animated, and the rest is live action. The movie was of 75 minute in duration.

Tezuka met Walt Disney at the 1964 World's Fair, at which time Disney said he hoped to "make something just like" Tezuka's Astro Boy. A Japanese IMAX featurette was made in 2005, based on the 2003–2004 anime, titled "Astro Boy vs IGZA", but has only been shown in Japan.

A computer-animated feature film version was released in October 2009 from Imagi Animation Studios. The English dub features the voices of Freddie Highmore as Astro Boy and Nicolas Cage as Dr. Tenma. IDW Publishing released a comic book adaptation of the movie to coincide with the film's release in Oct. 2009; both as a four-part mini-series and as a graphic novel.

Video games
Konami developed and published their Mighty Atom video game for the Nintendo Family Computer System in 1988. It is known for its extreme difficulty level attributed to a one-hit death rule.

Banpresto published the Zamuse developed release of their Mighty Atom for the Super Famicom system in 1994. Like its Konami developed cousin, this title follows events in the Manga series.

Sega published a pair of games based on Astro Boy. Astro Boy: Omega Factor for the Game Boy Advance drew from various elements from the series, while Astro Boy for the PS2 was loosely based on the 2003 anime with a slightly darker plot.

Astro Boy: The Video Game is a video game based on the Astro Boy animated feature film from Imagi Animation Studios. It was originally released on October 8, 2009 from D3Publisher for Nintendo's Wii and DS, and Sony Computer Entertainment's PS2 and PSP (the only version released in Japan). It features the voices of Kristen Bell and Freddie Highmore.

Reception
The manga has sold approximately 100 million of copies.

Astro Boy became Tezuka's most famous work. Frederik L. Schodt, author of the English-language version of Astro Boy, said it had "extraordinary longevity and appeal across cultures." Schodt said that many of the stories are "sometimes" of "uneven quality." Schodt said that as the time becomes closer to "a true age of robots," Astro Boy assumes more meaning. Jeff Yang of the San Francisco Chronicle said "while kids came for Astro's atomic action -- just about every installment included Astro harrowing a fellow robot who'd fallen from digital grace with his fission-powered fists -- they stayed for the textured, surprisingly complex stories."

Astro ranked 43rd on Empire magazine's list of The 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters.

The 1960s anime was named the 86th best animated series by IGN, calling it the first popular anime TV series.

The 1980s anime was extremely popular in Australia, Canada, and many parts of Asia, with two different English dubs. The dub shown in Australia (and to a lesser extent in the USA) was coordinated by Tezuka Productions and NTV and produced in the USA. Another dub was produced in Canada solely for broadcast there.

While the 2003 anime did poorly in North America, having received poor distribution and having been heavily edited, including the removal of its orchestrated soundtrack and much of Astro's childlike innocence, it was better received in the UK on the BBC, where it ran in syndication for almost three years as well as other parts of the world such as Dubai based MBC 3.

On April 7, 2003, the city of Niiza, Saitama registered the Astro Boy character as a resident to coincide with his birthdate in the manga.

In popular culture

 * Astroboy occasionally makes cameos in Tezuka's Black Jack manga, though as a different character.
 * An Astro Boy toy is featured in one of the episodes of the original Macross.
 * Astro, as well as many other characters created by Osamu Tezuka appeared as supporting characters in the Brazilian comic Monica Teen, issues 43 and 44, in the story arc entitled Green Treasure.