As previously mentioned in part one of Overwatch’s Anniversary, the current beloved Blizzard game turns three years old this month. With new skins being revealed and the Overwatch League Playoffs approaching fast, we are picking up where we left off in the Overwatch history and lore, so strap in! If you haven’t read part one, click on the link here: Overwatch’s Third Year Anniversary: History and Lore, Pt. 1.
The Generation of Heroes: Overwatch’s New Recruits
In our last piece, we went through the new recruits of Overwatch after the Omnic Crisis, primarily Tracer. Tracer trained heavily with Genji as Winston, Mercy, and Morrison tested her new Chrono accelerator. During this time, the Kingsrow Uprising began in London. What was to be a new beginning for Omnics and Humans resulted in a rebellion by Omnic extremists group known as Null Sector. Unlike some Omnics such as the enlightened Monk, Mondatta, they did not take equality with humans kindly. While some saw them as equals, they were not treated as such in the United Kingdom. Despite performing the jobs and routines humans did not want to do, they received no citizenship and no rights. As a result, rebellion sparked and hundreds were kidnapped or murdered.
At first, Overwatch was forbidden to enter in the fight by the British Government, most likely due to accusations by numerous governments and the Prime Minister’s ego. After watching Tracer’s training with Genji, Commander Morrison called her in. Tracer then gave her opinion on the Kingsrow, an incident the city she grew up in. Despite diplomacy, Tracer reminded Morrison that Overwatch was created to help the world during its time of need and that it was still needed. Morrison came to the decision to allow Overwatch to intervene, despite given orders. Under Morrison and Ana, the strike team was made up of Reinhardt, Mercy, Torbjörn, and Tracer to drop in and stop the Kingsrow Uprising (Link here: Uprising Comic).
One year later, Overwatch came across the location of Talon member Maximillian, whom they had been searching for some time. Joining this mission was Winston, Mercy, Genji, and Tracer, who fought their way through Talon soldiers. Being victorious, they apprehend Maximillian upon his escape to retain information on the whereabouts of the Talon member known as Doomfist (Link here: Storm Rising Cinematic).
Talon’s Expansion
Due to the poorly handled Blackwatch mission in Italy, Talon grew stronger with its new members, one of them being Akinjide Adeyemi, aka Doomfist. With Adeyemi came his apprentice Akande Ogundimu. Unlike Adeyemi, Ogundimu admired Talon’s philosophy on strength through conflict and quickly rose through the ranks. Adeyemi, on the other hand, lacked the ambition his student had. As a result, Ogundimu murdered him and wielded the gauntlet for himself, earning the title of Doomfist. Years later, Doomfist caused terror in his home country of Numbani, taking down the defensive Omnics known as the OR15. Going up against Genji, Tracer, and Winston, Doomfist was nearly victorious until he crossed the line in destroying Tracer’s Chrono accelerator, causing her to go missing in time again. The enraged Winston went into a primal rage, ultimately defeating Doomfist in the process and having him sent to heavily maximum security prison (Link: Doomfist Origin). Despite the damage caused in Numbani, it led to the creation of a newly programmed and updated OR15. Created by Efi of Numbani, this new OR15 was named Orisa and became the new defense hero and face of the country (Link: Orisa Origin).
A thorn in the side of Talon was Gérard Lacroix, one of the head leaders of Overwatch. Throughout the years, there was a number of failed assassinations attempts on his life. Talon then began a new subtle approach, targeting Gerard’s wife, Amélie. The highly praised ballerina dancer Amélie Lacroix was kidnapped by Talon for a period of time. They performed harsh torture and brainwashing treatment on her to make into the perfect sleeper agent. After letting her go, she returned to Gérard, but two weeks later, her programming was activated and she murdered him in his sleep. Returning back to Talon, Amélie received extensive training as an elite sniper. As if that was not enough, the experiments had physical side effects, from lowering her heart rate to removing emotions. Her physiology was completely altered, resulting in her blue skin. From here on out, she became known as Widowmaker.
Not long after the murder of Gerard, Overwatch led a mission in the rescuing of scientists that were being held hostage by Talon operatives. During the mission, Ana Amari watched over Commander Morrison and the troops, sniping off Talon members, one-by-one. Out of nowhere, a Talon sniper began targeting and killing off Overwatch members swiftly. Ana changed locations to find this challenger and took a good shot at them at the helmet. Before she fired a second shot, she saw the face of her challenger, Amélie Lacroix. Being in sudden shock, Ana hesitated, buying Widowmaker enough time to take her shot. The bullet hit straight through Ana’s scope and her cybernetic eye, leaving her to die in her own blood. (Link Here: Legacy Comic and Ana Origin).
The Fall of Overwatch
As time grew on, Overwatch faced constant P.R. nightmares with the public and governments around the globe. The straw that broke the camels back was the leaked information on Blackwatch’s missions, primarily the Italy incident. Countries around the globe called for Overwatch to be shut down. It was not the world that brought Overwatch to its knees, however, but events on the inside.
The growing tension between Gabriel Reyes and Jack Morrison came to a point where a rebellion began at the Overwatch Headquarters in Switzerland, led by Reyes. It is unsure as to who or how many were involved, but we do know that certain members opted out of both Overwatch and Blackwatch, namely Jesse McCree and Genji Shimada. As a result of the conflict, the Overwatch HQ blew up, taking both sides with them. The incident resulted in the complete dismantling of Overwatch and the P.E.T.R.A.S. Act becoming law, stating that all Overwatch related activity was deemed illegal and punishable.
While Overwatch’s doors were closed, it wasn’t for its leaders. Both Gabriel Reyes and Jack Morrison managed to survive the destruction, but at great costs. Due to Moria’s experiments on Reyes, Reyes physiology took a turn for the worst. At first, the experiment allowed his cells to decay and reproduce at a rapid pace, allowing him to turn into a black mist and teleport from one area to another. The explosion left Reyes to be severely scared, forcing him to hide behind a mask. This also allowed him to join the ranks of Talon, with Moria by his side. As he quickly moved up in the organization, he became formally known as Reaper.
As for Jack Morrison, he too was physically scarred and forced to work behind a mask. Due to his healing from the super soldier program, Morrison began his vigilante life, vowing to hunt down those who brought Overwatch down. Adapting a new look and weapons, Jack Morrison became a well-armed vigilante, taking on underground organizations single-handedly. From here on out, he became known as Soldier: 76 (Link: Soldier: 76 Origin. Side-note: Cosplaying as Soldier: 76 is one of the best cosplay choices I ever made!).
Corruption and Crisis
Without Overwatch’s protection, crime began to rise again, from terrorist groups to corporate corruption. One of these corporations, in particular, was Volskaya Industries, the Russian organization that developed after The Omnic Crisis and prepared for the possible next one. Talon was set to take on the organization by taking out its leader, Katya Volskaya. Reaper, Widowmaker, and new member Sombra set out, however, Sombra had different motives. Rather than killing Katya, Sombra blackmailed her into becoming her new “friend” as she held holographs visuals of Katya dealing in secret with the very enemy Russia was facing (Link: “Infiltration” Animated Short).
Other unchecked corporations included the Vishkar Corp, who came in to help Rio De Janeiro in their rebuilding after the Omnic Crisis. What really happened was unfair treatment and labor laws on the people of Rio while the company thrived, causing rebellion against the corporation. Under the espionage of Satya Vaswani – aka Symmetra – and the leadership of DJ Lücio Correla dos Santos, the rebellion was successful as the company was pushed out Rio (Link: A Better World Comic).
In Cairo, Egypt, another corrupt official linked to Talon was making the rounds, Abdul Hakim. A thorn was in his side, however, that was sabotaging his operations for Talon, a mysterious vigilante sniper that was untouchable. In Cairo was Jack Morrison as Soldier: 76, in search for the sniper. After fighting his way into Hakim’s territory, Reaper made an appearance and attacked Soldier: 76 from the shadows. Right before pulling the trigger to end Jack’s life, the mysterious sniper made an appearance, assisting in Jack taking down Reaper. The Sniper was revealed to be Ana Amari, Jack’s former Overwatch partner that was declared “dead” years before. Taking down Reaper, Ana pulled the skull-like mask from his face only to be horrified by what was behind it. Reaper then disappeared into a mist, reminding Ana that was made him could not be undone, and the same went for her. She and Jack reunited and caught with each other as they were resting and healing. (Link: “Old Soldiers” Comic). Ana then revealed to Jack that she was keeping tabs on her daughter Phara, who joined the Egyptian military and became a Lieutenant (Link: “Mission Statement” Comic). After they became well rested, the two sought out to take down Hakim once and for all. (Link: Bastet Short Story).
As the world grew more and more into chaos, some people became desperate to seek security and anything they could call home. One of these was a Talon recruit by the name of Baptiste, one of 13 million orphaned children from The Omnic Crisis. Unlike many people who made these drastic choices, Baptiste saw the errors of his decision making and sought out something greater than wealth, the opportunity to make a difference by healing the weak and attacking those who threatened them. (Link: Baptist Origin).
The Recall of Heroes
With corruption creeping from the shadows and chaos on every corner, the world was on the brink of global conflict again, only this time, there was no one to call upon for help. It had been a decade since the fall of Overwatch as many of the original heroes longed for the past of defending the world. One of these was Winston, who battled on and off with the notion of recalling the team back into action. One night, Talon confronted Winston after discovering his hideout and were lead by the ghostly figure Reaper. For the use of Talon and Reaper’s self-interest, the organization set out to apprehend the locations of all remaining Overwatch members and hunt them down. After battling the entire squad, Winston took them all down and nearly took the life of Reaper before he vanished into thin air. Winston prevented Talon’s full hacking but Reaper was able to obtain some of the locations. At this moment, Winston chose to respond to the world by recalling in the Overwatch team with a personal message. The band was getting back together (Link: “Recall” Animated Short & “Are You With Us?” Overwatch Cinematic Trailer).
In Germany, Reinhardt Wilhelm took up the call from Winston as he visited the memorial of his fallen mentor (Link: “Honor and Glory” Animated Short). After failing to change his mind, Reinhardt’s goddaughter Brigitte Lindholm, daughter of Torbjörn Lindholm, accompanied him as his squire and eventually as a new member of Overwatch (Link: Brigitte Origin Story).
Before answering Winston’s message, Genji Shimada completed his meditation with his mentor Zenyatta over the balance between his body and robotic parts. He then confronted his brother Hanzo, who blamed himself for taking the life years ago. After a brutal clash between the two on the memorial day of Genji’s “death,” Genji revealed his identity, forgave Hanzo, and told him to forgive himself and that the world was changing once again where the two would have to pick sides. (Link: “Dragons” Animated Short).
Towards the west, Jesse McCree received the call, but before he could return, some business needed taking care of. During a heist on Route 66, the Deadlock Gang and its leader Ashe were confronted by McCree in a high noon standoff. After being victorious, Jesse recovered one of the crates that held the former Overwatch robotic member, Echo, who returned to the Overwatch team (Link: “Reunion” Animated Short).
The Rise of the Second Omnic Crisis
As Overwatch slowly got itself back on its feet, Talon did not waste any time. At the Overwatch museum center was Doomfist’s Gauntlet on display, their primary target. Prior to Talon’s infiltration, two brothers explored the museum, Brian and Timmy. Falling from the glass ceiling was Winston and Tracer as they battled Reaper and Widowmaker for the Gauntlet. Acting out of bravery, the older brother Brian wielded the Gauntlet and used it to save the Overwatch members. Reaper and Widowmaker fled the scene, failing to complete their mission. As Winston went after them, Tracer thanked the boys, letting them know that the world could always more heroes (Link: Overwatch Cinematic Trailer).
Though they failed in their mission, Talon succeeded in others. Later on in London, England, the Omnic Monk known as Mondatta continued to rise in popularity, wanting to bring peace and unity between the Omnics and Humans, claiming that all were one within the Iris. Responding in violence to this peacemaker was Widowmaker, who single-handedly took out rooftop snipers in order to take her shot. On the scene was Tracer, who notice security was acting abnormally and then scouted the area. Going up against Widowmaker for the second time, Tracer chased and fought her on the rooftops of London. After an explosion launched both of them in the air, Widowmaker seized the opportunity and took her shot while free falling, killing Mondatta with a headshot. Uproar carried throughout London as Tracer failed to retrieve an answer from Widowmaker, who escaped hastily (Link: “Alive” Animated Short).
Not long afterward, Doomfist returned after breaking out of Prison, meeting up with Reaper who brought him up to speed. Before reuniting as a team, Doomfist, Reaper, Widowmaker, and Sombra infiltrated a casino to take out competition within Talon. After their infiltration, Doomfist called them together to prepare to start another war, a global one (Link: “Masquerade” Comic). With the unrest rising in London and war breaking out in Russia again, the world was yet heading towards another crisis, unless Overwatch could stop them.
Forward…
And this is where we leave off today, with Overwatch responding to the world’s cry for peace again. With how many characters there are in Overwatch, some sections were not fully covered, as both this article and the previous focused on the primary story and characters involved. Special thanks to the Overwatch development team for creating the character origins, animated shorts, and comic book tie-ins for players to read, view, and engage with. Thanks for joining us on this two-part series of Overwatch! Now go download the game and join the team!
