Overwatch has undeniably gained so much popularity over the course of a few months. One of its many selling points is its roster of playable characters. By far, Blizzard has introduced us 23 heroes with different roles such as offense, defense, tank, and support. Each of these characters was brought to life with their own origin stories that explained their personality, occupation, and role in the game’s universe. By just like any other games, some characters stand out from the rest.
Here is my list:
Tracer
Lena Oxton aka Tracer was the youngest person included into Overwatch’s experimental flight program. She was chosen to test a prototype teleporting fighter known as the Slipstream. However, on her first flight, the aircraft teleportation matrix malfunctioned and disappeared. Lena was thought by everyone to be dead.
Months later, she reappeared not the same as she was before; her molecules desynchronized from the flow of time. She was a living ghost without any physical form. That’s when Winston came and designed a chronal accelerator to keep Tracer anchored in the present. In addition to that, it gave Lena the ability to control her own time. With her new skills, Lena became one of Overwatch’s most powerful agents.
Soldier: 76 and Reaper
Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes were the pioneers of Overwatch. At first, it was Reyes who was chosen to lead the group, but it was Morrison who kept the team together and turned them into a cohesive fighting force. In unity, they were able to defeat the robots and put an end to the Omnic Crisis.
After the war, UN acknowledged Morrison’s contributions and made him Overwatch’s first official commander. This created a rift between the two, and the tension even grew as Reyes took the lead of the Blackwatch, Overwatch’s covert ops division. Along with that, a series of allegations tainted Overwatch’s reputation, and its agents became a target of derision. As Morrison tries to hold the team together, Reyes led a rebellion.
Morrison and Reyes met at the Overwatch Swiss HQ and a battle waged within the base. Their fighting triggered an explosion and destroyed the facility. The two were presumed to be dead. But what the people didn’t know was that Morrison and Reyes survived. Morrison took the identity of Soldier: 76, striking from the shadows and hunting those who brought Overwatch down. While Reyes went on his personal crusade to find Morrison and put an end to their war, bearing the name of the Reaper.
Widowmaker
A cold blooded assassin, Widowmaker was once a woman named Amélie Lacroix, who was married to Gérard Lacroix, an Overwatch agent who leads an operation against the Talon terrorist organization. After many unsuccessful attempts to assassin Gerald, the Talon operatives turned to Amélie and kidnapped her. They subjected her into an intense program of neural reconditioning and turned her into a sleeper agent.
She killed her husband weeks after that and was found by Overwatch agents. Amélie returned to Talon, and they completed the process of turning her into a deadly assassin. They gave her extensive training in the covert arts and altered her physiology, drastically slowing her heart and numbed her ability to experience any human emotion. Amélie was gone and was replaced by “Widowmaker.”
Hanzo and Genji
Hanzo and Genji were the sons of the head of the Shimada family, a clan known for their power and vast criminal empire. After their father’s death, Hanzo was bound with the duty to take over the Shimada empire and rule. He was perfect, a prodigy in martial arts, bowmanship, and swordplay. The clan elders couldn’t ask for more except for one thing — to straighten out his wayward brother, Genji.
When his younger brother refused, Hanzo had no choice but to put him down. Unbeknownst to him, Genji survived with the help of Overwatch and Dr. Angela Ziegler. To keep him alive, they put Genji through an extensive process of cyberization, transforming him into a living weapon.
Meanwhile, Hanzo was devastated by the death of his brother and drove him to leave the Shimada clan, rejecting his father’s legacy. The clan saw this as betrayal and declared Hanzo an enemy, sending out assassins to kill him. Years later, the brothers met again and had the chance to reconcile their relationship that was destroyed. Genji left his brother, noting that the world is changing and that Hanzo must pick a side.
Ana
Ana Amari was formerly the second-in-command of Overwatch, working side by side with Jack Morrison. She was one of the world’s deadliest snipers and was known for her confidence and loyalty. Ana also happened to be the mother of Fareerah Amari (Pharah).
Ana served Overwatch for many years until she failed one of her missions. She was thought to have been killed during a hostage mission by the Talon operative known as the Widowmaker. In truth, Ana survived, despite being gravely wounded and losing her right eye in the encounter.
During her recovery, she went into hiding to stay out of the world’s conflicts. But as time passed by, she realized that she has to return and fight again to protect her country and to keep her family and closest allies safe.
Sombra
No one exactly knows who Sombra is, aside from the fact that she is considered as one of the world’s most notorious hackers. She uses her ability to gather information and manipulate those in power. Sombra was actually one of the many children left orphaned after the Omnic Crisis. To survive, she had no choice but to utilize her gifts and knowledge on computers.
When she grew up, she was taken by Los Muertos gang and helped in its revolution against the government. However, on one of her conquest, she stumbled upon a global conspiracy in the deep web and was noticed by its creators. After that, she had no choice but to delete all traces of her identity.
She later reemerged as Sombra, upgraded and determined to find out the truth about the global conspiracy she has discovered. She now works for Talon and is a known associate of Reaper, who specializes in espionage and intelligence assessment.
D.Va
Hana Song first started as a professional StarCraft player, who at the age of 16 became the number#1 ranked player in the world. Year after year, she was undefeated and became an international star.
As her home country South Korea struggled to maintain its defense against the omnic forces through their MEKA, the government were obliged to place pilots in the machines and turned to professional gamers as suitable candidates. Now Song a.k.a. D.Va charges into battle along with the rest of the MEKA unit to protect her country.
Overwatch is a team-based first person shooting game from Blizzard Entertainment who continues to provide its community with interesting characters to play. If you haven’t tried the game, you can download it on your PC or gaming laptop at https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/.