History Characters / Overwatch

[[caption-width-right:350:[[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters Loads and Loads of Characters, with many more to come.]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters The roster, circa 2017.]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters And this isn't even all of them.]]]]

* BilingualBonus: In general, when an enemy character uses their ultimate ability then they will announce it in their native tongue, as opposed to when a friendly character uses their ult and announces it in English. In addition, sometimes characters will speak various foreign phrases at random times during the match. Mei uses Mandarin Chinese, Genji and Hanzo use Japanese, Mercy (Swiss) German, Zarya Russian, Brigitte Swedish, etc. There are exceptions though, mainly limited to the voice actors' inability to speak the language. Reinhardt, Torbjörn, Pharah, Zenyatta, and Orisa only speak English despite being German, Swedish, Egyptian, Nepalese, and Nigerian[[note]]Though while Nigeria has many native languages, English is considered its official one[[/note], respectively. Lúcio and Symmetra originally couldn't speak their native language but an update added lines for them in Portuguese and Hindi respectively.

* BilingualBonus: In general, when an enemy character uses their ultimate ability then they will announce it in their native tongue, as opposed to when a friendly character uses their ult and announces it in English. In addition, sometimes characters will speak various foreign phrases at random times during the match. Mei uses Mandarin Chinese, Genji and Hanzo use Japanese, Mercy (Swiss) German, Zarya Russian, Brigitte Swedish, etc. Notably, Mei even quotes a couple of lines of Tang poetry [[note]]by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cen_Shen Cen Shen, a friend of great Tang poets Du Fu and Li Bai]][[/note]]. There are exceptions though, mainly limited to the voice actors' inability to speak the language. Reinhardt, Torbjörn, Pharah, Zenyatta, and Orisa only speak English despite being German, Swedish, Egyptian, Nepalese, and Nigerian, respectively. Lúcio and Symmetra originally couldn’t speak their native language but an update added lines for them in Portuguese and Hindi respectively. (Though this can be considered somewhat appropriate for Pharah, Orisa, and Symmetra, as Pharah was raised in an international, English-predominate environment and her father is Canadian, and English is an official language of Nigeria and India.)

** On the lowest end of cynical, there's Reaper (lives in constant agony and torment from his genetic issues), Roadhog (had his home taken away from him, helped turn it into a radioactive wasteland, and became a psychopath), Junkrat (had said home taken away from him at the age of ''five''), and likely the most cynical of the whole roster, Widowmaker (once an innocent woman before being tortured and brainwashed to kill her own husband, then made into a murderous psychotic assassin).

** [[Characters/OverwatchDamageAToI Ashe to Hanzo]][[note]]Ashe (and B.O.B.), Bastion, Doomfist, Genji, Hanzo[[/note]]

* [[Characters/OverwatchNonPlayableCharacters Non-Playable Characters]][[note]]Alejandra, Antonio Bartalotti, Athena, Balderich von Adler, Brian and Timmy, Bruce, Dae-hyun Park, Doomfist I & II, Echo, Efi Oladele, Emily, Fio (Blackwatch Pilot), Gabrielle Adawe, Ganymede, Gérard Lacroix, Guillermo Portero, The Gwishin, Hal-Fred Glitchbot, Harold Winston, Katya Volskaya, Liao, Lynx Seventeen, Maximilien, Mondatta, Okoro, Pachimari the Tamanegi-Tako, Petras, The Queen of Junkertown, Ray, Sam, Sanjay Korpal, Snowball, The Suit, Sven, Talon Special Units, Vialli, Vincent.[[/note]]

* BilingualBonus: In general, when an enemy character uses their ultimate ability then they will announce it in their native tongue, as opposed to when a friendly character uses their ult and announces it in English. In addition, sometimes characters will speak various foreign phrases at random times during the match. Mei uses Mandarin Chinese, Genji and Hanzo use Japanese, Mercy speaks German, Zarya in Russian, etc. Notably, Mei even quotes a couple of lines of Tang poetry [[note]]by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cen_Shen Cen Shen, a friend of great Tang poets Du Fu and Li Bai]][[/note]]. There are exceptions though, mainly limited to the voice actors' inability to speak the language. Reinhardt, Torbjörn, Pharah, Zenyatta, and Orisa only speak English despite being German, Swedish, Egyptian, Nepalese, and Nigerian, respectively. Lúcio and Symmetra originally couldn’t speak their native language but an update added lines for them in Portuguese and Hindi respectively.
* CameraAbuse: Several Heroes have unique intro videos that cause some kind of damage to the camera ([=McCree=], Hanzo, and Roadhog for example).

* DeadpanSnarker: Every character (with the obvious exception of [[TheVoiceless Bastion and Hammond]]) has a sardonic quip or two in store, either for their allies or enemies.

* HandicappedBadass: Many of the characters are amputees, with cybernetics replacing various body parts. [=McCree=] has a prosthetic arm and Junkrat has a prosthetic leg. Whereas, Tracer and Reaper have unique disabilities that grant them new abilities. Characters like Sigma and Symmetra have disabilities related to their minds, Symmetra is on the Autism spectrum and Sigma has an undiagnosed mental condition caused by the lab accident.

* KilledMidSentence: They all shout certain lines when using their ultimates. Logically, this trope tends to happen. (except to Zenyatta and Doomfist who become invulnerable when after activating their ults.)
* LimitBreak: Each Hero has a unique Ultimate ability that is charged up slowly over time and charges faster when healing or inflicting damage. Once the Ultimate is used, the meter drops back to 0% and has to be charged up again.

** The Japanese brothers are ex-Yakuza honorbound ninjas.

** The Korean is a hardcore ''Starcraft'' player.
** The Chinese girl has a cute, sweet demeanor and deals with climate change.
** The Indian is very philosophical and incorporates traditional dance in her hard-light construction methods, and is a savant who sees conformity and hard work as the only path to greatness.

** Of course the medic is Swiss: that's where the Red Cross came from.
** The Swede father-daughter combo are good at assembling things, the father is a Viking dwarf while the daughter is a tall, muscular young woman.

** One of the Nigerians is a militant ScaryBlackMan. The other is a robot that has a lot of resemblance towards animals from African wildlife.

** The Dutch is a brilliant astronomer.
* NoOntologicalInertia: Played straight with most abilities and Ultimates. Permanent things like turrets, orbs and teleporters disappear if the character is swapped out. For the most part, abilities end when a character dies as well, with some exceptions:

** Killing Hanzo won't save you from his spirit Dragons, unless you can stop him from firing the initial arrow.
*** Hanzo’s Sonic arrows will also still let you see through walls even if he dies after firing it. This also used to go for Widowmaker’s Infra-Sight, until it was adjusted in 2019 to deactivate once she dies.
** Nothing created by Symmetra or Torbjorn will disappear until the object is destroyed or the character is swapped out (if the character is killed, the item does ''not'' disappear unless the player changes heroes).
** Before her Season 6 rework, Mercy's Resurrection ability continued even if she was killed immediately after its use.

%%* PaletteSwap: Many skins are the same design minus the color.

** Somewhere in the middle is [=McCree=] (former smuggler who was drafted into Overwatch after capture, but became a true hero), Genji (former good guy who was almost killed by his own brother, then made into a cyborg where he was a bloodthirsty warrior, and then finally found peace with himself), Bastion (Omnic made into a killing machine during the Crisis, woke up many years later and found a love for nature), and Mercy (orphaned medical prodigy who became an Overwatch hero, but left on bitter terms, yet she still fights on regardless).

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: A few characters really don't like the fact that they are on the same side during game play. Reaper gets this the most, especially with Soldier: 76. Lúcio and Symmetra will get into debates between Law vs. Chaos, due to Lúcio fighting against the MegaCorp that Symmetra works for. Mei and Tracer have a dislike for Junkrat when the latter asks to check out her bomb and the former because she sees him as a bully. The Shimada brothers still show hostility after their fight. Hanzo will challenge Widowmaker to a duel, or decline an offer to join Talon. Tracer and Widowmaker also have some in-game dialogue showing their dislike of a team up.

* ArtisticAge: ''Overwatch'' is inconsistent at making characters look their age. Sometimes a justification is given (Mei's cryostatis, Mercy's medical technology), but not always. In general, the male characters tend to look older than they really are, and the female characters tend to look younger.

* [[Characters/Overwatch2 Overwatch 2]][[note]]Echo, Sojourn[[/note]]

* HandicappedBadass: Many of the characters are amputees, with cybernetics replacing various body parts. [=McCree=] has a prosthetic arm and Junkrat has a prosthetic leg. Whereas, Tracer and Reaper have unique disabilities that grant them new abilities.

** [[Characters/OverwatchDamageQToS Reaper to Symmetra]][[note]]Reaper, Soldier:76, Sombra, Symmetra[[/note]]

* TeethClenchedTeamwork: A few characters really don't like the fact that they are on the same side during game play. Reaper gets this the most, especially with Soldier 76. Lúcio and Symmetra will get into debates between Law vs. Chaos, due to Lúcio fighting against the MegaCorp that Symmetra works for. Mei and Tracer have a dislike for Junkrat when the latter asks to check out her bomb and the former because she sees him as a bully. The Shimada brothers still show hostility after their fight. Hanzo will challenge Widowmaker to a duel, or decline an offer to join Talon. Tracer and Widowmaker also have some in-game dialogue showing their dislike of a team up.

* ThereAreNoTherapists: Zenyatta was able to help Genji with his issues, but Zenyatta is more of a spiritual teacher than a therapist. Meanwhile, many other characters (Ana, Soldier:76, and Hanzo for example) could REALLY use some therapy, but such assistance is either unavailable or the characters are unlikely to seek it out if it is available.

* DysfunctionJunction: Many of the playable characters are deeply flawed, and nearly all of them have some form of tragedy in their backstory (to varying degrees of "tragedy" -- Bastion, Reinhardt, Reaper, Ana, Mei, Widowmaker, Genji and Hanzo, and Soldier: 76 are the standouts).

** The Dutch [[Creator/VincentVanGogh is very brilliant but also very eccentric, especially when his work helped him lose his sanity.]]

** The Dutch [[Creator/VincentVanGogh is very brilliant but also very eccentric, especially when his work managed to make him get off the deep end.]]

* [[Characters/OverwatchTank Tank Heroes]][[note]]D.Va, Orisa, Reinhardt, Roadhog, Winston, Wrecking Ball, Zarya.[[/note]]

** Widowmaker and her allies retain Infra-Sight even if she dies. The same goes for Hanzo's Sonic Arrows.

* HeroicAmbidexterity: Some heroes fight with both hands but primarily fight with their right-handed weapon. Reaper duel wields a pair of shotguns, Roadhog fights with a shotgun and hook and finally Doomfist fights with his gauntlet and hand cannon. Played straight with Tracer, who fights by dual wielding a pair of pulse pistols.

! List of Playable Characters

!Characters from Special Events

** [[Characters/OverwatchDamageAToI Ashe to Hanzo]] [[note]]Ashe (and B.O.B.), Bastion, Doomfist, Genji, Hanzo[[/note]]
** [[Characters/OverwatchDamageJToP Junkrat to Pharah]] [[note]]Junkrat, [=McCree=], Mei, Pharah[[/note]]
** [[Characters/OverwatchDamageQToS Reaper to Symmetra]] [[note]]Reaper, Soldier:76, Sombra, Symmetra[[/note]]
** [[Characters/OverwatchDamageTToZ Torbjörn to Widowmaker]] [[note]]Torbjörn, Tracer, Widowmaker[[/note]]

** The Haitian grew up in a terrible, war torn environment.

* [[Characters/OverwatchSupport Support Heroes]][[note]]Ana, Brigitte, Lúcio, Mercy, Moira, Zenyatta.[[/note]]