History YMMV / OverwatchStoryAndLore

** Pharah/Mercy ([[PortmanteauCoupleName "Pharmercy"]], "Pharmacy" or "Phara-Medic") is more popular than Blizzard's preferred ship Mercy/Genji, and especially popular among some of the LGBTFanbase owing to the fact that they are the only two characters that can remain air mobile and hence synergize very well. Blizzard added more fuel to the fire when one of their weekly brawls (before they were removed) only featured these two together. Even their [[https://youtu.be/miF9e7L2Dyk?t=3m41s voice actresses]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inU-KnbA8Jg get in on it]]. Pharah was revealed to be a lesbian has only intensified this ship.

** Reaper/Soldier: 76 is far more popular than the latter's canon partner, Vincent. Partially due to the relationship being a reveal and the abundance of lore already in the series as both were major members of Overwatch during the Omnic Crisis, and were described as the best of friends. It's helped by the fact they were explicitly said to have loved each other in the past. What this type of love is, however, is not explicit.

** Pharah/Mercy ([[PortmanteauCoupleName "Pharmercy"]], "Pharmacy" or "Phara-Medic") is more popular than Blizzard's preferred ship Mercy/Genji, and especially popular among some of the LGBTFanbase owing to the fact that they are the only two characters that can remain air mobile and hence synergize very well. Blizzard added more fuel to the fire when one of their weekly brawls (before they were removed) only featured these two together. Even their [[https://youtu.be/miF9e7L2Dyk?t=3m41s voice actresses]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inU-KnbA8Jg get in on it]].

** Another Talon member, another containder for this trope: it didn't take long after Moira's reveal for a number of players to declare her as one of the more attractive Overwatch heroes on the roster, owing to her androgynous, Creator/DavidBowie-style beauty, her [[ContraltoOfDanger deep, commanding voice]], her confident and charismatic demeanor, and the added bonus of being a genuinely brilliant MadScientist.

** Ana is frequently depicted in fanart as having the same figure in the present day that she had when she was younger, despite ''not'' being an in-game example of SilverFox (or Silver Vixen).

** Similarly, Lifeweaver is pansexual and display many CampGay traits: wearing bright colors, heavily associated with flowers, moving very gracefully and heavily flirts with other (male) characters. Nonetheless, he is absolutely beloved by the LGBTQ community for also being a friendly, heroic character who stand against a corrupted organization and shamelessly display his sexuality.

** Despite being aligned to opposing sides of the main conflict, their [[ChronicHeroSyndrome antithetical]] [[AxCrazy demeanors]] and their bitter personal history, a considerable number of fans have been shipping Tracer/Widowmaker since the very first trailer. This has been sustained by unique in-game dialogue in which they take turns annoying each other at the prospect of [[TeethClenchedTeamwork working together]], and at the end of ''Alive'' -- her story trailer -- Widow outright calls Tracer "cherie" (French for "darling" or "dear") while their faces are just [[AlmostKiss inches apart]], no less[[note]]Although she was likely just appropriating Tracer's tendency to call people "love" for the purpose of [[KickTheDog mockery]][[/note]]. Even after ''Reflections'' did [[ShipSinking everything it could]] to show the pairing is unlikely to happen even if they ''did'' like each other, some fans remain at their posts and refuse to abandon ship.

** Tracer/Widowmaker ("Widowtracer") set sail not long after the first trailer debuted, and despite their [[FoeYayShipping mutual animosity.]] Blizzard themselves fueled the fire by giving Tracer a prominent role in Widow's story cinematic ''Alive'', and then proceeded to [[ShipSinking smother]] it in ''Reflections'' by both giving Tracer a canonical relationship with a civilian named Emily and by making it clear Widowmaker is still far from over her husband Gérard. Nevertheless, some fans persevere and the ship sails on, [[OneTrueThreesome with]] or [[DieForOurShip without]] Emily.

* MoralEventHorizon:
** Talon was established on the far side of the horizon. Their résumé reads like a checklist for every form of organized cruelty across mankind's history, involving wanton acts of terrorism, assassination, the proliferation of drugs, and human trafficking. But if you want to pinpoint a single moment, it's widely agreed that the worst thing they've ever done is when they abducted the completely innocent Amélie Lacroix, [[BreakTheCutie subjected her to extreme torture/abuse, intense brainwashing, neural reconditioning, the complete obliteration of her personality, and biological alteration]] to become a living weapon to murder their [[ArchEnemy greatest foe]] Gérard Lacroix, her own husband. That's just the kind of needlessly personal and soul-crushing evil that's low even for them. And just to [[KickTheDog batter the puppy]] some more, they gave her the callsign "Widowmaker", as if the whole thing was just their sick idea of a joke.
** Reaper, then known as Gabriel Reyes, slowly started to commit more and more questionable actions as the leader of [[DirtyBusiness Blackwatch]], knowing Talon would have no qualms in breaking the rules of engagement. The ''Retribution'' event shows the moment when he decides to [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope Jump Off the Slippery Slope]]: when he and a clandestine Blackwatch team go after the Talon executive Antonio, who declares that he is too [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections well-connected]] to stay in jail, Reyes chooses to execute him in cold blood. The resulting escape exposes Blackwatch to the public and starts Overwatch's fall from grace.
** Vishkar Corporation when they blew up a Brazilian favela, just to get the residents to accept their "improvements".
** The Shimada Clan crossed it by forcing Hanzo to brutally murder his own younger brother Genji just because he didn't want a part in their illegal business. While Genji did manage to survive, it was only because he was rescued on the brink of death by Overwatch and turned into a cyborg. Whether Hanzo himself crossed it by carrying out the action has been debated by fans, however Hanzo himself certainly thinks he did, which is why he lives as TheAtoner.

** Ramattra -- despite being a robot -- attracted a surprisingly large amount of admirers, probably because unlike other omnics in the game, [[HeroicBuild he's developed with a very muscular build]] that gets [[LargeAndInCharge even bigger while in his Nemesis Form]]. His [[BadassBaritone rich voice]] and overall badass sense of style certainly don't hurt.

** Echo got hit with a bit of this on release from Singaporean fans, mostly due to the handling of her Singlish dialogue, with many finding [[NoPronunciationGuide her pronunciation of it significantly inaccurate and "westernized"]] (many pin this on [[FakeNationality Jeannie Bolet being a British actor of French, Chinese and Vietnamese descent with no experience in the dialect]]). Fortunately, Blizzard was able to get the lines re-recorded to be more accurate a few months later, and Singaporean fans have since been more welcoming of her.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Many fans feel that Hanzo fell right into this trope in ''Dragons''. In the short, after Genji reveals that he's still alive and takes off from the Shimada house, Hanzo immediately takes an arrow he fired in order to aim his bow at Genji -- an action which, while understandable given the shock he just experienced, doesn't make him look sympathetic to the audience after the Heartwarming/Tear Jerking speech Genji delivered.

** [=Cassidy=] is very popular back home with American gamers, in no small part to the fact that he's a [[AmericansAreCowboys cowboy in the future]].

* FaceOfTheBand: Tracer is, [[SeriesMascot naturally]], the character most associated with the game and is widely used both officially and unofficially to represent it as a whole due to her use in official materials and her personality, which embodies many of the game's themes. D.Va is also just as recognized, especially in otaku circles, thanks to her ''very'' fervent and loving fanbase brought about by her cute {{Animesque}} design, highly [[FountainOfMemes memetic identity]] and being a served as a role model for female gamers (especially for Koreans).

* UnfortunateImplications: Ever since his announcement, Sigma has come under some critical fire from [[https://blizzardwatch.com/2019/07/24/overwatch-hero-sigma-mental-illness/ several]] [[https://www.polygon.com/2019/7/24/20708347/overwatch-sigma-bare-feet-explanation-why-mental-health-concept-art news]] [[https://screenrant.com/overwatch-diversity-sigma-bare-feet-problem/ outlets]], centrally revolving around how he --more than any other character in the game's universe-- is most associated with mental illness (not only informing much of his character and backstory, but even parts of his visual design like [[BarefootLoon his bare feet]]), and is framed in an antagonistic and dangerous light. [[BrokenBase This sentiment isn't universal]] -- [[https://www.kotaku.com.au/2019/08/sigmas-new-asylum-skin-raises-concerns-about-overwatchs-handling-of-mental-illness-tropes/ Michael Chu has gone on record saying]] the intent was to explore a character conflicted with [[PowerOfTheVoid a supernatural circumstance]] which just happened to break his mind rather than depict the struggles of a realistically mentally ill person, and while Sigma is technically a villain, he's ultimately framed as [[TragicVillain a sympathetic]], [[UnwittingPawn exploited pawn]] [[ObliviouslyEvil unable to grasp the villainous deeds he's been roped into doing beyond his intent or control]] -- but many critics argue that regardless of any in-universe justifications, Sigma ultimately perpetuates [[InsaneEqualsViolent negative implications and stereotypes with the mentally ill]].

** ''All'' of the girls get this treatment to an extent. Although there is not a single unattractive woman to be found among the cast (even present-day Ana has her admirers), some fan artists really go the extra mile and make them look more like glamor models than seasoned fighters. D.Va in particular has a tendency to show up with about [[ImpossibleHourGlassFigure twenty extra pounds of curves]] despite being the most petite character on the roster.

** B.O.B. and Ashe are ruthless bandits, but they both ''ooze'' style with their fancy Western attire and excellent choice in [[NiceHat headgear.]]

* FourLinesAllWaiting: Given how slow the story has been and the [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters sheer amount of characters there are]] along with many being separated from each other, it's not surprising. The many plots are but not limited to:

** Mei and Junkrat together (some dubbing it "Icyhot" or "Nuclear Winter" or "[[{{Pun}} Meihem]]") has somehow found itself a modest following. Even though Mei can't ''stand'' Junkrat. [[FoeYay Or perhaps]] [[{{Tsundere}} because of it.]]

** Lúcio/Symmetra is quite popular, despite (or perhaps because of) their [[FoeYay diametrically opposed philosophies and goals and the disdain they have for each other in gameplay]]. It does help that Lúcio is fighting against the MegaCorp Symmetra works for and even herself has some doubts about their methods.

** Ana. Being the only character with a known child[[note]] Sans Torbjörn who was revealed to have several children and an attractive wife in the "Reflections" comic[[/note]], everyone speculates as to who Pharah's father was. The dialogue she has with most of her old teammates is full of ShipTease, with all of them upset that they didn't know she was still alive, her complimenting Reinhardt and Soldier: 76 on how good they look, and Reinhardt and [=Cassidy=] flat out flirting with her. The comic ''Old Soldiers'' adds even more fuel to the fire because it shows Jack and Ana's close friendship while Reaper accuses her of always siding with Jack. This has fanned flames of a possible LoveTriangle or LoveDodecahedron; after all, if fans can't decide which of the original team she slept with to conceive Pharah, then the next best thing is to assume she slept with them ''all''. She's also shipped with [=Cassidy=] (due to some mild flirting on his part), Mercy (especially if there's a jealous Pharah involved), and Widowmaker (for the FoeYay). Also, she's currently the ''only'' person consistently shipped with Torbjörn.

** Soldier: 76 is an rare heroic example. His ruthlessness, as well as his marksmanship skills, make him not only an formidable fighter, but the well-balanced character for players to enjoy.

'''Story and Lore''' | [[YMMV/Overwatch | ''YMMV/SawIII'' | ''YMMV/SawIV'' | ''YMMV/SawV'' | ''YMMV/SawVI'' | ''YMMV/Saw3D'' | ''YMMV/{{Jigsaw}}'' | ''[[YMMV/Spiral2021 Spiral]]''-]]]]]

A collection of YMMV items for ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'', focusing on story and lore.

Visit [[YMMV/OverwatchGameplay this page]] for YMMV items about the franchise's gameplay, mechanics and development.

* {{Moe}}:
** Mei seems to have been explicitly designed to be cute and huggable with her big eyes and NerdGlasses, despite being just as capable as any other character. Even Snowball looks like an anime sidekick. It helps that her name lends itself well to puns.
--->'''Voice Clip''': A-''Mei''-zing!
*** Meta-wise, her voice actress, Zhang Yu, also gets this reaction by many fans because of how she's just as adorable in real life as the character she plays. [[https://twitter.com/25yolanda8866/status/823919615017238528 Seriously.]]
** D.Va as well: The youngest character in the game, a girl in her late teens, a highly competitive streak for potential {{Tsundere}} actions, and a rather petite body in a form-fitting plug suit, all of them are recipes for a very adorable character. She became even more so when the ''Shooting Stars'' short revealed a lot of her more aggressive personality traits are an act she puts on for the cameras-in reality, she's a NiceGirl WrenchWench with a {{Workaholic}} streak.
** As shown in Ana's origins video, Pharah was positively adorable as a child.
** Mercy was pretty cute as a 17-year-old.
** Tracer’s no slouch in this department either, being a cute, friendly young lady with freckles, tremendous enthusiasm and quite the capacity to stay positive. Her voice lines, emotes and victory poses all convey a playful, youthful exuberance, and her appearances in the animated shorts give her some beautifully rendered and [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tracer_cinematic1.png very]] [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tracer_cinematic2.png expressive]] eyes.
** Most of the in-costume child versions of the heroes in the "Trick or Treat" sprays qualify. Examples include [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/overwatch/images/7/77/Genji_Spray_-_Trick_Or_Treat.png/revision/latest?cb=20161014112009 kid Genji waving two wooden swords with his candy bag over his shoulder]], young Lúcio [[http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/overwatch/images/f/f0/Lucio_Spray_-_Trick_Or_Treat.png/revision/latest?cb=20161014112125 rollerskating around with a bag of candy and oversized goggles]], and child [=Cassidy=] [[https://hydra-media.cursecdn.com/overwatch.gamepedia.com/d/d1/Spray_McCree_Trick_or_Treat.png?version=7c907887b9daec3984f22ecbc7668828 stealing someone's bowl of candy]].
** Most of the children characters who appear in the animated shorts are this due to the art style and their demeanor. The two most prominent examples would be Timmy in the cinematic trailer -- who spends most of his screen time geeking out over the Overwatch heroes and Tracer in particular, and Alejandra in the short ''Hero'' with her GirlishPigtails, big eyes and the belief that Soldier: 76 is still a hero.
** Heck, even ''[[CuteMachines Bastion]]'' qualifies. Sure, it may be an armed killing machine who terrifies everyone it encounters in-story due to being emblematic of a cataclysmic war, ''but'' it is also incredibly gentle around animals, communicates with adorable chirping noises, no longer seems to harbor any hostility toward humans, and possesses a childlike curiosity about the outside world. Its response to Torbjörn confronting it in ''Binary'' is to offer him a flower, and its response to Lúcio being friendly toward it in-game is downright ''bashful''.

* FunnyAneurysmMoment:
** Ana advising Reinhardt to not "charge in this time" in Uprising? Funny. Knowing that one time he did charge in recklessly [[spoiler:caused the death of his mentor, the one who was initally asked to join Overwatch, and that he probably carries severe SurvivorGuilt over that]]? Not so funny.
** One of Hal-Fred Glitchbot's randomly-played lines has him remark that Jesse [=McCree=] is "a terrible name for a cowboy". Come 2021, [[{{Tuckerization}} the Blizzard employee that McCree was named after]] got fired after allegations of sexual harassment, and Blizzard [[RenamedToAvoidAssociation renamed him to Cole Cassidy]] in agreement.