History Characters / OverwatchDamageQToS

[[WMG:[[center: [- ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' '''[[Characters/{{Overwatch}} Main Character Index]]'''\\
[[Characters/OverwatchTank Tank]] | [[Characters/OverwatchDamageAToI Damage: Ashe - Hanzo]] | [[Characters/OverwatchDamageJToP Damage: Junkrat - Pharah]] | '''Damage: Reaper to Symmetra''' | [[Characters/OverwatchDamageTToZ Damage: Torbjörn to Widowmaker]] | [[Characters/OverwatchSupport Support]] | [[Characters/OverwatchNonPlayableCharacters Non-Playable Characters]] | [[Characters/OverwatchOrganizations Organizations]] | [[Characters/OverwatchJunkensteinsRevenge Junkenstein's Revenge]]]]-]]]

! Damage Characters

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[[folder: Reaper - ''United States'']]
!!Gabriel Reyes / Reaper
!!!'''Species:''' Enhanced human
!!!'''Age:''' 58
!!!'''Occupation:''' Mercenary
!!!'''Base of Operations:''' Unknown
!!!'''Affiliation:''' Overwatch (formerly), Talon (currently)
!!!'''Appearances (shorts):''' ''Cinematic Trailer'', ''Recall'', ''Soldier: 76 Origin Story'' (cameo) ''Ana Origin Story'' (cameo) ''Infiltration'', ''Moira Origin Story''
!!!'''Appearances (comics):''' "Old Soldiers" (focus), "Reflections" (cameo), "Uprising", "Masquerade", "Retribution" (focus)
!!!'''Appearances (Archives events):''' Uprising (on comms), Retribution
!!!'''Appearances (short stories):''' "Code of Violence" (focus), "Valkyrie" (cameo),
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/reaper_2.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"What are you looking at?"'']]

->''"Death walks among you."''

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/KeithFerguson (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''': Creator/JoseLuisOrozco (Latin American Spanish), Iñaki Crespo (European Spanish), Creator/RyotaTakeuchi (Japanese), Jérémie Covillault (French), Duda Ribeiro (Brazilian Portuguese), Oliviero Corbetta (Italian), Torsten Michaelis (German), Yong-woo Shin (Korean), Lin Guzhen (Taiwanese Chinese), Jiǎ Qiū (Mandarin Chinese), Janusz German (Polish), Maxim Dakhnenko (Russian)[[/note]]
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Reaper is a black-robed terrorist of unknown origin. His identity and motives are a mystery, but he serves as one of the deadliest mercenaries on Earth. Ruthless, he's fought in many battles and wars over the past decades, showing no allegiance or cause.
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Survivors have described a black shadow ghosting unscathed through the most hellish battlefields. The few bodies recovered of those he kills are pale, empty husks drained of life, their cells showing signs of intense degradation. It is possible that he is a byproduct of failed genetic alteration which forces his cells to simultaneously decay and regenerate at a hyper-accelerated rate.
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Those attempting to track his movements have begun to see a pattern in his appearances. They believe that Reaper is hunting former Overwatch agents and systematically eliminating them.
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In truth, however, Reaper's identity is in fact the former vice-leader of Overwatch (and head of its Blackwatch division), Gabriel Reyes. A ruthless soldier who would do anything to get the mission done, he was given leadership of Overwatch during the Omnic Crisis, where he helped lead mankind's fight against the Omnics. When the war was over, [[https://twitter.com/Autolikescake/status/928528808445014019 he was happy to let his friend Jack be the public face (and ultimately responsible one)]] while he ran the covert ops team. Over time, Reyes became responsible for several incidents that caused people to severely lose trust in Overwatch, and he and Jack eventually came to blows at Overwatch's Swiss HQ. The ensuing battle eventually triggered an explosion that seemingly killed both of them and caused the dissolution of Overwatch. However, something had happened to him after the explosion; his body became an empty but quickly regenerating husk, making every second of his new life painful. He eventually came to relish his evil ways and took the identity of "Reaper", spreading terror in cahoots with the Talon organization and trying to make sure the world will finally recognize his deeds.
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Reaper is built for ambushing enemies and quickly bursting them down from up close.
* His '''Hellfire Shotguns''' will quickly tear apart anyone unfortunate enough to be hit by them at close range.
* '''Wraith Form''' turns him into an ethereal figure, briefly making him invulnerable and able to move through foes. It also replenishes his ammo after use,
* His '''Shadow Step''' allows him to teleport to any location within sight in a huge radius after a small delay.
* His passive ability, '''The Reaping''', allows him to gain health from his enemies every time he lands a hit on them.
* His ultimate, '''Death Blossom''', turns him into a whirlwind of death, quickly unloading his shotguns in all directions around him and dealing devastating damage to nearby enemies.
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* ABNegative: His blood type according to the dog tags on his Soldier: 24 skin.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: To Sombra. While he is hardly as tech-savvy as her, he reveals in the Doomfist comic that he's been keeping tabs on Sombra and knows about her blackmailing of Volskaya.
* AnimalMotifs: Ravens; his mask also resembles the skull of a raven, ravens can be heard cawing after each Shadow Step, and he spreads his arms out like wings when he goes into ''Wraith Form''. The motif is especially pronounced in his "Plague Doctor" and "Nevermore" skins gaining raven skulls on his shoulders and guns, as well as his coat becoming adorned with feathers. The raven is a common death motif in many cultures, which fits in with the "death incarnate" image that Reaper likes to present.
* AmbiguousSituation: According to his profile, the myth of Reaper has been around for decades, but Gabriel could have only been Reaper for 6 years at most. It has been confirmed that the wording is intentional.
* ArchEnemy: Being one of the major villains of the setting, he has many.
** Jack Morrison, now known as Soldier: 76. They have a long history together that dates back to the first Omnic Crisis. However, while they were once [[WeUsedToBeFriends friends]], their relationship soured some time after Jack Morrison was made the leader of Overwatch while Reyes was put in charge of [[DirtyBusiness Blackwatch]]. While public perception of his attack on the Swiss HQ was over jealousy, considering he did not want the strike commander promotion that had happened over 20 years before, there are likely other reasons for the attack. Their relationship has not changed since.
** Winston. He never wastes a chance to KickTheDog, employing FantasticRacism by calling him a "monkey" and insulting him for his appearance, while having shown a clear desire to end his life in both the cinematic trailer and ''Recall''. Unlike Jack, there's no indication that Reyes and Winston had any real history together (apart from Reyes attending his graduation ceremony, while looking rather unhappy), and his only real beef apart from being on opposing sides seems to be rooted in his aforementioned speciesism.
** Cassidy. Reaper was Cassidy's commanding officer, his teacher, and, as seen from the Retribution comic, a friend. Now the two hate each other and will insult each other before a match. Cassidy also makes it very clear to Reaper that he follows a different path than his mentor. This goes a step further in the Retribution special event, where Cassidy spends the whole mission in livid rage at his commanding officer, and not without good cause. We hardly ever see any emotion out of Cassidy other than amusement, but Reaper seems to be enough to actually make Cassidy angry. Any faith or trust the two had in each other is completely shattered and the two will try and kill each other on sight.
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: One of Talon's leaders, and one of the most dangerous individuals in the setting, capable of taking on dozens of normal soldiers all by himself.
* AwesomeButImpractical: Not the character himself, but his teleport can be, given that it's practically telegraphed where you'll reappear, and it requires that you stand immobile while preparing it; furthermore, there's a brief delay between choosing a destination and actually performing the teleport, and another brief delay between executing the teleport and being able to act. Don't expect to use it to get the drop on people by appearing in front of them; it's meant to cross large gaps that can't simply be jumped over in order to reach advanced locations on the map or take shortcuts, or to go from one point of cover to another without crossing the open ground that Reaper's most vulnerable in.
* AwesomeMcCoolName: Aside from the obvious coolness that comes from having a codename like "Reaper", his real name, Gabriel Reyes, is derived from the name of an archangel and the Spanish word for "Kings."
* AxCrazy: He doesn't seem to have any solid motivation for fighting in so many wars and killing so many people and seems to do it to satisfy his desire for death and destruction. Or it could just be {{Revenge}}. It's hard to say.
--> '''Reaper:''' Die! DIE! '''DIE'''!
* BadassBandolier: Wears a belt holding shells, which is odd considering he [[ThrowAwayGuns doesn't reload]].
* BadassBaritone: He has a very deep, rasping voice with an otherworldly reverberation to it. The ''Uprising'' event reveals that he also had this as Reyes, though it was far smoother and more natural-sounding.
* BadassBiker: His ''Biker'' skin.
* BadassBoast:
** When he respawns.
--->''"The grave cannot hold me."''
** Delivers one in a bit of pre-battle banter with Soldier: 76.
--->'''Soldier: 76:''' One of these days, someone's gonna put an end to you.\\
'''Reaper:''' I invite them to try.
** When a friendly Reaper uses Death Blossom.
--->''[[{{Understatement}} "Clearing the area..."]]''
** When he's on fire.
--->''"I'm on fire. Better stay out of my way."''
* BadassCape: His ''Biker'' skin replaces his BadassLongcoat with a long, black one.
* BadassLongCoat: He wears a long black coat used to store an endless amount of shotguns.
* BalanceBuff: Reaper was infrequently picked in higher-levels of play due to how clunky Shadow Step was to use and the fact that he was stuck in Wraith Form once it was used until it wore off, which made him predictable in one-on-one duels. But after some quality-of-life fixes (i.e. making his Shadow Step lines and footsteps quieter and allowing Wraith Form to be canceled and having it automatically reload his ammo for him when he exits it), he's a far more dangerous and tricky duelist who can easily turn an unprepared team into swiss cheese.
* BaldOfEvil: [[http://i.imgur.com/9guaL1g.jpg As seen in one piece of official artwork]], he used to keep his head shaved, and even back in those days, while he was on the force of good, he was still a ruthless soldier not known for his 'nice' personality.
* {{Bandito}}: His "El Blanco" and "Mariachi" skins seem to be partly based on this, as they have a ''Di­a de los Muertos''-themed ''vaquero'' look, complete with sombrero.
* BeardOfEvil: Subverted when he was Gabriel Reyes, as he had a beard but was not evil... but he was ruthless enough to be something like a TokenEvilTeammate amongst the Overwatch leadership. It's currently unknown if he still has a beard after he became Reaper, but we can assume it's hidden underneath his mask.
* BecomingTheCostume:
** His [[{{Bandito}} "Mariachi" and "El Blanco"]] skins (where he has a guitar on his back) adds a pre-game line: "First you listen, then I kill" in a Spanish accent.
** His "Nevermore" and "Plague Doctor" skins gives him a bonus Elimination line: "Nevermore."
** When his ''Junkenstein's Revenge'' counterpart named [[SpellMyNameWithAThe "The]] Reaper" first appears before the team, he will say "The Reaper comes for your souls!" In his "Pumpkinhead" skin that uses the exact same model, this line becomes one of his new respawn quotes. He also gains a few miscellaneous Halloween-themed lines, including "Trick or treat." This is extend to his "Dracula" skin as well.
* BetaOutfit: Reaper's "Dusk" skin represents his appearance during "Code of Violence", in turn his early stints in Talon. Considerably more drab and utilitarian than his refined present-day look, it also features an early version of his skull mask where Reyes' eyes are still visible.
* {{BFG}}: Wields the Hellfire Shotguns, a pair of deadly double barrel shotguns. Qualifies as CoolGuns too.
* BigBad: He is one of the principal antagonists in ''Overwatch'' alongside Doomfist, having been one of the people responsible for Overwatch's initial downfall and a member of Talon's inner council of leadership.
* BigBadDuumvirate: With Doomfist, given that they're both part of Talon's inner council of leaders.
* BlackCloak: Complete with a hood.
* BlessedWithSuck: Having the ability to turn into a wraith and come back from a OneHitKill? Cool! Having a severely screwed-up body where your cells die and grow at the same time, giving you excruciating pain all the time? Not so cool.
* BloodKnight: It's implied that he takes a little too much satisfaction in his job.
* BlingBlingBang: His "El Bianco" skin adds golden ornament to his shotguns.
* BodyHorror: The bodies of his victims have been described in his biography as pale, lifeless husks with signs of intense physical degradation. This could also apply to Reaper himself. In the comic "Old Soldiers", when Ana rips his mask off, [[FacialHorror she looks horrified to see his face and asks what happened to him.]]
* BoringButPractical: He has a period of invulnerability, a long-range teleport, and some shotguns. Despite his ult being much flashier than his other abilities, he doesn't have anything exceptionally unique to work with. What he ''does'' have, however, is high survivability, insane damage output, and incredible flanking potential.
* BottomlessMagazines: Usually averted, but played straight when he unleashes his ultimate.
* BusmansVocabulary: Even when using what can only be described as supernatural powers, he still uses military terms and call-outs, such as saying "Clearing the area..." when performing his Death Blossom, or "Repositioning..." when teleporting.
* ByNoIMeanYes: One of his voice lines that also doubles as a ShoutOut.
--> '''Reaper:''' I'm not a psychopath. [[Series/{{Sherlock}} I'm a high-functioning psychopath.]]
* {{Calacas}}: His El Blanco and Mariachi skins replace his standard skull mask with a more elaborate calavera one.
* CardCarryingVillain: Despite his sympathetic backstory, it's clear that he ''really'' enjoys being a villain.
* CastingAShadow: Can become a shadow to teleport, become ImmuneToBullets, or unleash a barrage of his own.
* CloseRangeCombatant: His {{Short Range Shotgun}}s are his only firepower and they rapidly become ineffective at longer distances. However, he has lots of options for moving along the flanks and closing in on the enemy while intangible, and he boasts some of the highest damage in the game at shorter ranges, shredding through tanks with ease and taking down valuable targets like Mercy in as few as one or two shots.
* TheComicallySerious: Reaper never loses his dark, angry demeanor. Not even when Sombra pranks him with a door, or when he tries to steal Santa's cookies.
* CoolHelmet: Wears a biker helmet in his Biker skin.
* CreepyCrows: His "Nevermore" and "Plague Doctor" skins are heavily crow-themed, with feathers decorating the fringe of his coat, shoulder armor that looks like crow skulls, and a PlagueDoctor-esque mask.
* CripplingOverspecialization: He's very good at killing people that get too close, ''especially'' Tanks (his LifeDrain gets more mileage when his pellets hit their large hitboxes), but his shotguns don't have the range for anything other than point-blank combat, making him a poor choice for handling objectives and pitched firefights.
* CursedWithAwesome: So he claims, but his words may actually have some merit; because his body is in a rapid state of regeneration and decay, he can come back to life FromASingleCell. It's implied that he feels every moment of it, and it's excruciatingly painful.
-->''(after respawning) This... is my curse...''
* CutscenePowerToTheMax: In the ''Infiltration'' short, Reaper manages to OneHitKO several footsoldiers, even at longer distances, while gameplay requires a minimum of three shots for an elimination at close range, and his shotguns are somewhat ineffectual at long range. This could be a case of GameplayAndStorySegregation, or a showcase of just how powerful the Overwatch members are in comparison to regular humans.
* DarkIsEvil: An imposing, Grim-Reaper-esque figure that appears to be actively hunting and murdering ex-superheroes.
* DarkIsNotEvil: As Gabriel Reyes, during his stint as a Blackwatch operative. As shown in Soldier: 76's Origin trailer, he was part of Jack Morrison's original strike team during the Omnic crisis. The Halloween and Retribution comics shows he used to be just as warm to his friends as he was ruthless to his enemies. Upon turning into Reaper, however, only ruthlessness remained.
* DarthVaderClone: A major villain wearing a predominantly black outfit with red accents and a distinctive mask. He used to be on the heroes' side, but he eventually turned evil and battled his former friend, almost dying in the process. He recovered, but at the cost of constant pain, and now fights against the heroes, who are starting to come back after a sharp decline.
* DeadpanSnarker: Surprisingly, despite how serious he normally acts, he still has time for a few occasional quips when speaking to teammates.
-->'''Mercy:''' What happened to you?\\
'''Reaper:''' You tell me, Doc.
* DeathByIrony: Should he be KilledMidSentence while using his Ultimate.
-->'''Reaper:''' Die! Die! Di—aurrrggh!
* DesertSkull: His mask can be construed to resemble one of these, fitting in with the Western motif his student Cassidy has, and that he might fit into as well.
* DevelopersForesight: One of Reaper's taunts has him throw his guns on the ground, do a gesture, and pull out a fresh pair. This actually reloads his guns, as his usual reload animation also includes throwing away and busting out new guns.
* DidYouDie: Can be asked this by Soldier: 76 before the start of a match.
-->'''Soldier: 76:''' Aren't you supposed to be dead?\\
'''Reaper:''' ''Didn't take.''
* DifficultButAwesome: His teleport is tricky to use. Use it where someone can see it and Reaper may arrive with a Bastion's assault cannon or Widowmaker's sniper rifle trained on him, but if he can close in to enemies [[InTheBack from their backs]] with it, Reaper can blast them back to the spawn point before they can react or drop down from a ledge right into the enemy team [[TotalPartyKill with his Ultimate in full swing]].
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Reaper was first presented as a dreaded mercenary/terrorist who owed loyalty to nothing and no one; it was implied that he was merely an associate or favoured bounty hunter for Talon. When Talon's character roster was expanded and its hierarchy was ironed out, Reaper was instead shown to be one of its highest leaders, sitting on its high council alongside Doomfist, Moira, and other villains. In a way, though, his behaviour as a "mercenary" — fighting in a string of wars, for different sides, and creating a vacuum of chaos and conflict — was actually quite in line with Doomfist's [[TheSocialDarwinist ideology for Talon]].
** In his very first appearance in the cinematic trailer, Reaper briefly utilised the bandolier at his hip to toss about grenades. This ended up ''not'' being a part of his moveset.
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: A closer look at Reaper's biceps show that they are scarcely covered in straps, revealing deathly white skin. His appearance before his transformation shows that he has ([[TheFaceless or had]]) dark-colored hair.
* EmergencyTransformation: {{Downplayed|Trope}} in that he was already afflicted by unnatural changes, but after the explosion at Overwatch's HQ mortally wounded Reyes, he was revived by Moira using a "juiced-up" version of the substance that gave him his form-shifting powers. This greatly worsened Reyes' genetic instability and made him closer to [[SuperSmoke the ghastly form of the present-day]], but Moira insisted it was necessary for him to survive.
* EmpoweredBadassNormal: Subverted. As Gabriel Reyes, he was made into a super soldier just like Jack Morrison, but these only increased his speed/strength/stamina/etc. After he was "resurrected" as Reaper, he gained additional abilities such as being able to turn into mist and to teleport.
* EnemiesList: Occasionally references one in various pre-game interactions and combat quips.
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes:
** "Bastet" and "Code of Violence" confirm that Reyes had a wife and son long before he descended into villainy, with the latter story demonstrating that [[FallenHero even during his start in Talon]], he kept them in his memory, [[BeingEvilSucks lamenting needing to abandon them with his current trajectory in life]]. [[AmbiguousSituation Their current fate is unclear]], though in the "Reflections" comic, Reaper is seen quietly watching a happy family from the shadows, with Michael Chu confirming "[[https://www.reddit.com/r/Overwatch/comments/6b63j3/ama_request_michael_chu/dhlgs6l/ It's not a random family.]]"
** Very, very downplayed, as he does still intend to kill her, but he is depicted as taking it a little easier on Ana. In addition to their history together, he pretty much tells her that she reminds him of himself.
* EverythingsBetterWithSpinning: Death Blossom consists of him spinning around in a circle while rapidly unloading his shotguns in every direction.
* EvilFormerFriend: He's Gabriel Reyes — Jack Morrison's best friend-turned-villain.
* EvilGloating: Reaper's [[FatalFlaw key flaw]] as a soldier is that whenever he has the chance to win the day, he instead takes the time to rub salt in the wound, which often costs his mission success. He delivered a PreMortemOneLiner to Winston and Soldier: 76, giving the former a HeroicSecondWind while giving Ana enough time to [[BigDamnHero save the latter]], whereas in the cinematic trailer, Reaper triggered Winston's BerserkButton by stepping on [[TragicKeepsake his glasses]] when he had him at his mercy. If Reaper could [[TaughtByExperience stop letting his arrogance get the better of him]], he could very well be [[TookALevelInBadass a much more successful Talon agent]].
* EvilIsPetty: Goes out of his way to step on Winston's glasses in the cinematic trailer. True to the trope, [[DickDastardlyStopsToCheat it bites him in the ass]].
* EvilLaugh: He lets out a pretty deep and sinister chortle from time to time.
* EvilMentor: He mentions teaching Cassidy "everything he knows" — whether or not he was actually evil when he taught him these things is still up in the air.
* EvilSoundsDeep: He speaks in a very deep, baritone voice with an ethereal quality to it.
* EvilWearsBlack: His outfit is primarily black with touches of red and silver, and he's one of the nastiest villains in the game. Subverted as Gabriel Reyes, who wore black but was one of the founders of Overwatch ''and'' the former commander of Blackwatch.
* FaceHeelTurn: His true identity is Gabriel Reyes, a former commander of Overwatch and head of Blackwatch. The comic "Old Soldiers" implies some of what might be behind the betrayal. When Ana asks what happened to him, he vaguely alludes that Overwatch made him what he is now and abandoned him. Whether this is true or perhaps a misunderstanding has yet to be explored.
* FallenHero: Formerly one of the heads of the heroic Overwatch and its Blackwatch division, but at some point became one of the world's biggest villains, and one of the leaders of Talon.
* FantasticRacism:
** He refers to Omnics as "tin cans."
--> '''(Upon killing Bastion, Zenyatta, or Orisa):''' Tin cans. A dime a dozen.
** If his interactions with Winston are anything to go by, he doesn't hold intelligent gorillas in high regard, either. He constantly refers to him as a "monkey" in a derogatory manner.
--> '''(Upon killing Winston):''' Stupid monkey.
* FatalFlaw: Blizzard has said that his skills as a soldier are what people hired him for before he became Reaper, not his personality. Evidently, he hasn't gotten any better; in both the Cinematic Trailer and ''Recall'', Reaper has Winston set up for the kill, but both times, [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim he decides to rub salt into the wound first]]. [[KickTheDog He breaks Winston's glasses]] in the Cinematic Trailer and gives a PreMortemOneLiner in ''Recall''. Both times, Winston got a HeroicSecondWind and drove him off.
* FateWorseThanDeath: Gabriel Reyes survived the explosion in the Swiss HQ that killed many others, but at great cost. Revived as an undying wraith through a combination of his stunted SuperSoldier genetics and Moira's experimentation, now he lives in a state of constant agony and is wishing that he could die. Additionally, it's implied that he's become so disfigured by both the explosion and the procedure that he can't remove his mask, or people would be ''terrified'' by what they see. This means he can't even go out in public anymore, forcing him to live the way he does. Yes, he's a bad guy, but having to live like that is something that no one deserves.
* FireForgedFriends: With Jack Morrison and Ana when they were younger. While he was presumably a cold and distant towards most of his teammates, he befriended Jack and Ana because they fought in the Omnic Crisis together. After Overwatch's destruction, his friendship with Jack soured to the point of nonexistence, though he is willing to be more civil with Ana.
* FlashyTeleportation: His ability ''Shadow Step'' allows him to mark a location in his field of sight and teleport there, with animations on use and arrival, though, it's not intended be used in combat or as a direct initiation, but to safety cross open ground, or reposition to an otherwise unreachable or out-of-the-way area.
* {{Foreshadowing}}:
** Soldier: 76's origin story video, which aired before Reaper's true identity was revealed, shows Reyes during the heyday of Overwatch.
** If one looks at his character reference sheet on the official Overwatch website, an inverted Overwatch symbol can be seen hanging from his belt.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: In-game, when everyone is on the same team. Only 76 and Cassidy actually take Reaper seriously due to having a personal relationship with him — everyone else either hates him, ignores him, rebuffs him, or (in the case of Junkrat and Tracer) ''mocks him''. Averted by Ana, who's at least still civil with him, and Widowmaker, as a strictly professional relationship.
* FrontlineGeneral: Reaper (or Reyes) isn't the type to let others do his dirty work. As the leader of the original Overwatch Strike Team, he personally led the group into battle against the berserk omnics, and is implied to have personally led/participated in several clandestine operations as the commander of Blackwatch. Now he is a member of Talon's highest leadership, but that doesn't stop him from spearheading assaults himself. So far, he has personally led the attacks on Watchpoint Gibraltar, the Overwatch Museum, Volskaya Industries, and the Helix Security prison holding Doomfist. Besides these, he has personally ambushed Soldier: 76 and Ana in Giza, and he personally took part in Doomfist's "[[ThePurge house cleaning]]" of Talon members who did not share their vision.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: His "Nevermore" and "Plague Doctor" skins give him rather piercing purple/green glows coming out of his mask's eye holes. Same with his Halloween skin.
* GunsAkimbo: He dual-wields ''[[ShotgunsAreJustBetter shotguns]]''.
* GunFu: His ''Death Blossom'' ultimate looks like something out of Creator/JohnWoo's movies.
* GutturalGrowler: His voice sounds as damaged as we can assume his body to be. He also had a bit of this as Reyes.
* TheGunslinger: The "Vaporizer" type. In the cinematic trailer, he was shooting everywhere trying to kill Winston and Tracer, not caring that there were children in the area, and his ultimate even has him spraying bullets in hopes that his target(s) would die from the rain of fire.
* {{Hammerspace}}: There is no explanation for where he keeps all those shotguns. In the animated shorts, they just sort of appear in his hands whenever they're offscreen or behind his back.
* HandicappedBadass: His physical state is unique because of Moira's experiments, but he's in constant pain and agony whenever he uses his abilities, his face is also said to be so deformed and mutated that it even horrified Ana. His abilities can make him difficult to deal with and he's succeeded in killing some former Overwatch agents.
* HandSignals: One of his intros and emotes has him doing the '[[ThroatSlittingGesture throat slash]]' gesture.
* HeroKiller: In-universe; it's believed by some that he is hunting down and killing former Overwatch agents. The reason why is unknown, though his old ties to Overwatch may have something to do with it.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: He used to be best friends with Soldier: 76 before the rift in their relationship formed, sticking with him through pretty much everything (the army, the first Omnic crisis, Overwatch).
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: He was the original leader of Overwatch, fighting for a more peaceful and stable world and standing on the ideas of heroism and justice. But when he was reassigned to be the leader of the secretive black ops branch, Blackwatch, due to the necessity to help keep the world stable and peaceful, as well as Talon's rapid escalation as a threat that couldn't be solved within the law, his tactics became more brutal and not something that most people would call heroic. Now Reaper is a force of disorder, chaos, and terrorism, seeking to destabilize the world he once helped.
* HiddenDepths:
** The Halloween special reveals that in life, Gabriel Reyes had a passionate interest in costume design and was able to tailor elaborate costumes for the occasion. Mercy even suggests that he use his gift to design their uniforms. This, of course, takes a darker twist when it leaves the implication that he made his Reaper getup.
** In-game dialogue, the comics, victory poses, and some sprays also hint that Reyes was once a far more affable man, even a bit of a goof to those close to him (when not on assignment). Some even pointing out that his Reaper garb is an extension of his former goofy personality, being edgy to the point of humor.
* HumanoidAbomination: Although it's clear that his powerset is something relating to a wraith, ''no one'' knows what he truly is, although the theories of what he is don't point to anything natural or remotely human, either.
* {{Hunk}}: Not currently (presumably), but his past life as Gabriel Reyes shows that he used to be ruggedly handsome.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Reaper can allow Sigma's Gravitiv Flux give him a strong boost upwards. Activating his Wraith Form in the right time will allow him to use it as a ramp with many possible tactical applications. If the Reaper player manages to do that, the Sigma better hope that his Death Blossom isn't ready.
* HyperspaceArsenal: The guy seems to have an endless supply of loaded shotguns.
* HypocriticalHumor:
** He mocks the outfits and appearances of both Cassidy and Winston in his pre-match banter. They [[LampshadeHanging shoot back]], naturally, and have a lot of material to work with.
--->'''Winston:''' I don't think even ''children'' are afraid of you.
** [[spoiler:For all his talk of wanting to stick as close to the plan as possible, ''Retribution'' shows that before he became Reaper, Reyes did not stick to the original details of the mission, instead going rogue and killing the target he was supposed to be apprehending.]]
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: His rationalization behind killing Antonio.
-->'''Reyes:''' We followed the original plan, and infiltrated the manor. From there, I evaluated the situation and made my decision. And I stand by it. When you're on operation, things don't always go according to plan.
* ImmuneToBullets: His ''Wraith Form'' ability temporarily makes him immune to damage, though it leaves him unable to attack.
* ImplacableMan: Outside of gameplay, almost nothing has any real effect on him. Getting slammed into a concrete floor by Winston does nothing, a hit from a HumongousMecha seems to hurt him but doesn't do any real damage, one of Ana's sleep darts have no effect, nor does pushing him off a two-story wall. Only Winston's Tesla Cannon has done any real damage to him by ''vaporizing'' Reaper, but even that doesn't keep him down for long, since dark vapor can be seen condensing and leaving the watchpoint by the end of the cinematic.
* InstantDeathRadius: Let's just say, if he ever performs ''Death Blossom'' in the middle of your team without interruption, [[TotalPartyKill you will all end up very dead]] in ''very'' short order. It's telling that he's one of the more popular characters featured in frag vids, wiping entire teams single-handedly.
* InTheHood: He wears a black executioner-type hood as part of his "Grim Reaper" get-up. An old photo from Ana's Origin trailer showed that he already wore the hood back when he was still with Overwatch.
* InsistentTerminology: One of his voice lines has him insist that he's not a psychopath, but a "''high-functioning'' psychopath".
* ItsAllAboutMe: His in-game quips implied that he expected decent folks like Cassidy and Ana Amari to side with him, simply because he was their mentor (in Cass's case) or good friend (in Ana's case). In "Old Soldiers", he assumed that [[spoiler:Ana was left behind to die, just so that he can use a NotSoDifferentRemark. He didn't know that Ana deliberately chose to hide her survival]]. In addition, he believes that every misfortune that befell him, from losing his few remaining friends and his transformation, was all a deliberate attempt to ruin his life either by Jack Morrison or Overwatch.
* {{Jerkass}}: Even when Reaper's ''not'' killing people, he's still very arrogant and condescending.
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: Gabriel Reyes ''wanted'' to do good, but the flawed world set before him set him on the path to making increasingly bad decisions that sent him over the edge. He became a SuperSoldier and co-founded Overwatch to combat evil around the world, but became increasingly impatient by the [[TheFettered fettered nature of the organization]] and [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight began working on darker acts for "the greater good"]]. When that still left him [[PowerfulAndHelpless no closer to stopping the cycles of suffering around him]], he began pushing his luck even further, committing even darker acts that led Overwatch to [[BrokenPedestal completely falling apart]]. By the time he was recruited into Talon, Reyes StoppedCaring about the limits of heroism and decided that if whatever he does next in the name of a better world will get him cast as a villain, [[ThenLetMeBeEvil so be it]].
* KickTheDog: Does this to Winston by deliberately stepping on his glasses as he moves to finish him off. It backfires spectacularly, since it only triggers Winston's BerserkButton.
* KnuckleCracking: After [[SurroundedByIdiots seeing how worthless his men are]] in ''Recall'', Reaper cracks his neck before going to fight Winston himself.
* TheLancer:
** Gabriel Reyes was formerly this to his friend, Jack Morrison (Soldier: 76), when they led Overwatch together both during the Omnic Crisis and after. While Jack was the head and public face of the organization, Reyes was the leader of its dark side: its black ops branch, Blackwatch. He contrasted his friend with his more brutal, anti-heroic tactics.
** With the return of Doomfist to Talon's council, Reaper now fills this role in the organization, while still the same rank as Doomfist. Reaper is more concerned with destroying the last sparks of Overwatch's light and deploys Talon's forces for this agenda (always leading them from the front), while Doomfist handles the more long-term, diplomatic, and financial side of the organization.
* LifeDrain: He regains a fraction of damage dealt to enemies as health. Previously, his passive skill caused enemies that died near him to drop a glowing red orb that restored some of his health.
* LightIsNotGood: When equipped with the "Wight" or "El Blanco" skins, which are colored white.
* LikeBrotherAndSister: The narration in "Bastet" mentions that Ana, Jack, and Gabriel were like siblings to each other during Overwatch's golden years.
* LooksLikeOrlok: His Vampire skin is fashioned after the likes of [[Film/BramStokersDracula Bram Stoker]]'s and ''Franchise/{{Castlevania}}''[='=]s Dracula[[note]]more specifically the ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaSymphonyOfTheNight Symphony of the Night]]'' incarnation in the latter case; Dracula changes his look fairly often throughout the ''Castlevania'' series[[/note]], but the lack of nose, long fangs, and pointed skull shape of his mask definitely evokes this trope.
* MalevolentMaskedMen: Wears a skull-themed WhiteMaskOfDoom, and he's a VillainProtagonist.
* MaliciousMisnaming: He occasionally refers to Winston as "Monkey" (when he's clearly a gorilla).
* ManOfKryptonite: His shotguns ''rip'' Tanks apart. Tank characters have [[LargeAndInCharge huge hitboxes to make it easier for them to lead the charge and defend allies,]] so they'll eat the full brunt of his shots. And at close range, those shots ''hurt''.
* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Only because nano-superscience is considered "mundane" in the setting. It's not clear if his powers are purely through scientific exploits, or if something more supernatural is going on.
* MeaningfulEcho: Before the attack commences, Reaper may tell a friendly Cassidy that he didn't teach the latter all his tricks, to which the cowboy replies that he still has a few tricks of his own. If Reaper kills an enemy Cassidy, one of his possible [[BondOneLiner Bond One-Liners]] is him repeating that he didn't teach him all his tricks.
* MeaningfulName: Reaper is a ''very'' obvious reference to TheGrimReaper. His real name, Gabriel Reyes, consists of the name of an archangel and the Spanish word for "kings", respectively.
* MultiDirectionalBarrage: His ultimate involves spraying the surrounding area with shotgun shells.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: ''Reaper'', as in Grim Reaper, is an enigmatic assassin who specializes in taking down the former agents of Overwatch, who were some of the greatest super soldiers in the world. His ''Hellfire'' Shotguns, which can turn HumongousMecha into scrap, are also a notable example.
* NeckSnap: Reaper performs one on an unsuspecting Russian soldier in the ''Infiltration'' short, who was distracted by Widowmaker. [[GoryDiscretionShot The deed itself is hidden from view]], but we see him grab his victim by the chin and temple and hear the guy crash to the floor.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:''Retribution'' shows that in killing Talon agent Antonio, Gabriel Reyes not only caused Blackwatch to be exposed publicly and Overwatch to come under scrutiny by extension, but he also helped Talon expand its ranks by creating a power vacuum that resulted in multiple new agents and leaders appearing to take his place, such as Maximilien and Doomfist.]]
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: In the cinematic trailer, his MultiDirectionalBarrage knocked Winston down and disabled Tracer's equipment, rendering both of them helpless. [[BerserkButton Then he stepped on Winston's glasses.]] In ''Recall'', it is his failed assault on Winston's base that pushes Winston to reactivate Overwatch.
* NightmareFace: [[NothingIsScarier The audience doesn't get to see it]], but judging by Ana's reaction, whatever's underneath that mask ain't pretty.
* NoSell: In the "Old Soldiers" webcomic, Ana hits him in the neck with a sleep dart, but he pulls it out with no ill effect. ([[GameplayAndStorySegregation Fortunately, the darts do affect him as they should in-game.]])
* NotSoAboveItAll:
** In the Summer Games event, he gets an Olympic based spray and pose just like everyone else, and his Olympic voice line has him quote sportscaster Chick Hearn.
** Likewise, in the "Junkenstein" comic, he appears in the end in a costume that he made himself to mess with Reinhardt. Another line implies that he made ''all'' the costumes seen in the comic.
* ObviouslyEvil: Practically everything about his design has a clearly "evil" connotation. His outfit is all black leather and scuffed chrome, with shiny metal claws, four different belts, and no exposed skin. He dual-wields weapons called the "Hellfire Shotguns." His voice is low, gravelly, monotone, and very bitter. He can also ''dissipate into black smoke.'' While even Roadhog has been shown with cute plushies and vegetarian flair, Reaper is about as evil as it gets.
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome:
** In the ''Infiltration'' short, Reaper is floored by a HumongousMecha and leaves the rest of the assassination mission in Sombra's hands. When we catch up with him, the robot is a pile of [[CurbStompBattle smouldering rubble]] with Reaper casually departing the scene.
** Reaper broke Doomfist out of prison, curb-stomping over a dozen heavily-armed guards. We didn't get to see that outside of a news report, though.
* OldSoldier: Aged 50 as of the Venice Incident, putting him at 58 in the present day. Not that it slows him down in the slightest.
* OwlBeDamned: His mask resembles a stylised barn owl face and he resembles a flying owl while he's in wraith form (which would also fit with a silent, swooping killer motif). This would fit with background material indicating that Reyes is part of LA's large Latino population if this theory is correct, as the barn owl is [[http://cryptidz.wikia.com/wiki/Lechuza a symbol of death in Mexican culture.]]
* PerpetualFrowner: While he can occasionally be seen smiling in the game's lore, his default expression is an angry scowl.
* PetTheDog: His interactions with Ana are relatively civil, all things considered. This may be due to her personality, rather than his.
* PlagueDoctor: His "Nevermore" and [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Plague Doctor"]] legendary skins give him the aesthetic of one.
* PoisonousFriend: Described as such by the developers, and ''Retribution'' shows when he started to become this towards Jack. [[spoiler:Killing the target that he was supposed to apprehend set off the chain reaction that lead to Overwatch's downfall and Reyes's rebirth as Reaper.]]
* PowerEchoes: Reaper possesses incredible powers of regeneration. His voice also has an otherworldly reverb in it.
* PowerfulAndHelpless: Reyes believed himself to be this, a major reason for why he [[FallenHero fell so hard as he did]]. "Code of Violence" details that he used to be a cop, but felt he and [[PoliceAreUseless the police could do little]] to fix [[InherentInTheSystem the widespread systemic problems of the world around him]], and even after he became a SuperSoldier and co-founder of Overwatch, that only formed a larger cage to be stuck in where they remained no closer to directly fighting the root causes of suffering, corruption, etc. [[DrivenToVillainy His descent into nominal heroism in Blackwatch towards villainy among Talon]] is built on a belief that it's the only way he can meaningfully change the world.
* PsychoForHire: He's now preoccupied himself with selling his services out to various organisations around the world, and [[AxCrazy he enjoys what he does]].
* PreAsskickingOneLiner:
** When he used his ultimate in the beta, he said, "Time to reap." Come the official release, it was changed to "Clearing the area…"
** The enemy team hears "[[IllKillYou Die! DIE!]] ''[[PrepareToDie DIE!]]''"
* PumpkinPerson: Reaper's Halloween outfit has a jack-o-lantern for a head. Reyes wore this costume back during the Overwatch days, though in the present day, he's found a way to make the pumpkin light up.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: His "Mariachi" skin's color scheme consists of mainly black and red.
* SarcasticClapping: One of his unlockable emotes in-game, appropriately titled "Slow Clap", makes him do this.
* SecretIdentity: To the general public, at least. [[GameplayAndStorySegregation Despite what some of the in-game dialogue suggests]], WordOfGod confirms that the only characters in-game who currently know that Reaper is Gabriel Reyes in-canon are Jack/Soldier: 76, Ana, and Sombra.
* SeeYouInHell: One of his Anniversary-exclusive voice lines is the always-classic "I'll see you in hell."
* ShortRangeShotgun: Like Roadhog, his shotgun's extreme damage kicks in only when he's rather close to his target(s), turning most heroes into swiss cheese with a few well-placed shots. However, at longer range, the incredible spread and damage falloff means that Reaper will only be doing negligible damage, forcing him to sneak around to close the distance.
* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: At first, he'd seem like your typical assassin-type character, with the ninja-esque mask and dark cloak. Then he whips out the [[DualWielding twin]] shotguns and all expectations go out the window, though they do make up for it in doing ''very'' high [[ShortRangeShotgun close-range]] damage.
* SimpleYetAwesome: Unlike most other damage-focused heroes, Reaper's only real way of dealing damage consists of his trusty dual shotguns, which don't have any fancy abilities other than firing in all directions during his Ultimate. They deal ridiculous damage up close, quickly turning anyone who makes the mistake of getting in front of him into Swiss cheese.
* SkillGateCharacter: Like Soldier: 76, Reaper isn't mechanically difficult and can easily decimate newer players who attempt to fight him at close range one-on-one, and his ultimate also remains one of the most effective ways to clear an objective or a payload due to the fact that the enemy team is bound to stick close to it. However, he lacks mobility outside of his rather slow ''Shadow Step'', meaning that he suffers if he can't properly close the distance and/or gets shot from out of his range. His duelling power can still be threatening in higher levels of play, it's just easier to punish and can require some sneaky tactics and coordination to get around.
* SpinAttack: ''Death Blossom'' has him spin around while rapidly firing his shotgun. Done right, it can quickly kill off every surrounding enemy.
* StartOfDarkness: The Venice mission in ''Retribution'' proves to be this, marking the first first time he's murdered a person in cold blood, [[UnscrupulousHero overstepping the fettered nature of Overwatch's modus operandi]] and staking a path of becoming even worse. "Code of Violence" additionally marks the point where he eschews "heroism" altogether, accepting his new role in Talon as a Reaper to uphold [[DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans a new vision for the world]].
* TheStoic: His dance emote seems to invoke this even more than others. Reaper just simply folds his arms and repeatedly taps his foot. Even characters like [[TheAtoner Hanzo]], [[MalevolentMaskedMen Roadhog]], and [[KnightInSourArmor Soldier: 76]] have more animated dances than him.
* StuffBlowingUp: Fires grenades from his shotguns in the cinematic trailer. It's likely that he had the ability to fire grenades at some point in development, but it was later removed.
* SuperSoldier: As Reyes, he was part of the same super soldier program as Morrison, giving him speed, strength, and reflexes superior to that of a normal human. However, while Morrison made it out fairly stable, Reyes was dealt a much more mixed bag that informs his current "Reaper" abilities, namely his [[SuperSmoke ability to transform into a semi-tangible, smoke-like entity]]. The reason he hired [[MadScientist Moira]] during his time in Blackwatch was because even back then, his [[BodyHorror genetic instability]] was already such a pertinent issue, but after he was nearly killed from the decimation of Overwatch's HQ, Moira juiced his body up with experimental treatments that revived him, [[BlessedWithSuck but further worsened his stability and made him even more wraith-like]].
* SuperSmoke: The cinematics depict his wraith form as a trailing smoke cloud, while in-game, he retains a fairly humanoid shape.
* SurroundedByIdiots: He gives this sort of expression in the ''Recall'' trailer when one of the {{Mooks}} he brought along to deal with Winston goes flying through the window of the room he's in and smashes into a table. He's able to do this despite wearing a completely static mask.
* TakeOurWordForIt: Ana once tore his mask off and got a good look at whatever is left underneath; the panel cuts away to make sure the audience doesn't see. Even Ana, who's SeenItAll, is left horrified.
* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: As part of Blackwatch, most of his operations were "off the books" due to their controversial nature. Part of why he turned against Overwatch was that he wanted his story told.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck:
** He's clearly exasperated when one of his men is hurled across Winston's lab and he realizes that he has to deal with the problem personally.
** In the animated short ''Infiltration'', the way he pauses as he looks up at a MiniMecha seconds before being thrashed into a wall just screams, "I'm doomed."
* ThrowAwayGuns: He doesn't reload his shotguns; he simply discards empty ones and then draws another pair from within his coat. If playing on the same team, Cassidy may call him out on this, saying that the mercenary wasn't allowed to carry weapons to "toss 'em around like trash." Reaper, on the other hand, completely dismisses him in an arrogant tone.
* ThrowTheDogABone: After infamously getting [[TheWorfEffect worfed]] numerous times with no major successes to his name, Reaper ''finally'' got an awesome moment when he broke fellow Talon councilman Doomfist out of prison in a CurbStompBattle. This gave him a major success that eluded him for so long, as Doomfist is being set up as being one of the current {{Big Bad}}s and his return will make Talon an even bigger threat than before. [[OffscreenMomentOfAwesome We didn't get to see him actually do it, though.]]
** The ''Masquerade'' comic also retroactively added some successes to his prior defeats: He got part of the agent list in ''Recall'' when it previously looked like Winston was able to shut him out, and he knows that Sombra was double-crossing Talon in ''Infiltration''.
* TookALevelInJerkass: In "Junkenstein", we see that Reyes used to be a ''much'' nicer and happier guy than what we've seen in other media (usually taking place at least midway or towards the end of Overwatch's first run; if not, then there wasn't enough material to provide more evidence of nice guy Reyes), as the comic presumably takes place earlier on in Overwatch's glory days.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: According to a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcRkaouAP9U stop motion short]], he ''really'' likes cookies.
* TragicVillain: Once in life, Gabriel Reyes was a genuine hero. (And, as the ''Bastet'' story mentions, he had a family too.) However, as conflicts escalated and things went increasingly wrong for Overwatch, Reyes became more ruthless and extreme, especially when his friend Gerard was put in mortal danger and Overwatch's hands were tied; this caused Reyes to snap and kill a target on mission. Between his past and the time of the game, ''something'' happened to Reyes that made him go from a man to Reaper, an AxCrazy terrorist defined by being bloodthirsty, vengeful, and spiteful. In the ''Reflections'' comic, this is cemented with Reaper standing in an alley, watching a family on Christmas, unable to interact with them at all after his descent.
* TrenchCoatWarfare: One of his [[http://i.imgur.com/eAEY8AW.png unique sprays]] shows where he keeps his guns.
* UndeathlyPallor: From what can be seen of his skin (his exposed upper arms), his skin is extremely pale white — a far cry from his originally dark skin tone.
* {{Understatement}}: He announces to his teammates that he's "clearing the area" when using ''Death Blossom''.
* UnorthodoxReload: When his shotguns are emptied, Reaper just drops them and pulls out new ones. In-gameplay, he also fully reloads whenever he exits Wraith Form or finishes using ''Death Blossom'', even though the latter just had him riddle everything within eight meters of him with bullets. Cassidy will [[LampshadeHanging comment]] on how wasteful this is in practice.
--> '''Cassidy:''' You weren't given those guns to toss 'em around like trash.
--> '''Reaper:''' I don't take lessons from you.
* VillainousCheekbones: Though not to the extent of Moira's, he has pretty prominent cheekbones.
* VillainousUnderdog: In the ''Infiltration'' short, Reaper is knocked away by a HumongousMecha made for fighting enemy Omnics with far greater firepower. It possesses a particle beam larger than Reaper's whole body, a copy of Reinhardt's shield, and who knows what else. Meanwhile, he has to fight him while injured and only possessing a pair of shotguns [[ThrowAwayGuns (or several)]]. He wins.
* VillainProtagonist: He's unambiguously a villain, yet he's one the playable characters.
* VocalDissonance: A rather glaring example occurs between current Reaper and when he used to be Reyes. In-game, the Blackwatch Reyes skin [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin (depicting Reaper as Reyes when he was still in charge of Blackwatch)]] speaks with the exact same [[EvilSoundsDeep deep and]] [[GutturalGrowler growly voice]] as Reaper. However, as was later revealed during the ''Uprising'' event, which takes place when that skin would be canonically accurate, his voice was much more normal-sounding and nowhere near as guttural.
* WasOnceAMan: His abilities notwithstanding, Mercy's in-game dialogue indicates that she, a professional doctor, ''can't tell what had happened to him''.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: A former teammate and friend of Jack Morrison, aka "Soldier: 76." It's implied through pre-match dialogue that 76 already knows this, [[spoiler:with the "Old Soldiers" comic implying that he discovered Reaper's true identity during their first post-Switzerland reunion]]. Surprisingly, Jack reacts less with fiery rage and more with passive, venomous hatred.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Despite what Reaper's profile says, it's implied that Gabriel wasn't always as ruthless as he seemed, but when Talon's attacks against Overwatch became increasingly brazen and was killing its members, Gabriel's fury got the better of him. He believed that if he didn't play by Overwatch's rulebook like Talon did, he'd be able to deal a crippling blow to them. Unfortunately, when he finally had Antonio, the Talon member responsible, in front of him, knowing that he couldn't secure the man without Talon's connections allowing him to walk later, Gabriel snapped and crossed the one line even Blackwatch didn't cross. He murdered Antonio in cold blood, the fallout of which exposed Blackwatch publicly, and began not only Overwatch's fall, but his transformation into Reaper.
* WhatTheHellHero: Is called out by Cassidy after he murders Antonio in the Venice mission, since [[EvenEvilHasStandards not even Blackwatch was supposed to kill their targets in cold blood]].
* WhiteMaskOfDoom: Reaper wears an off-white mask that resembles a barn owl's face. Barn owls are a symbol of death in Mexican culture, which fits his bloodthirsty character.
* TheWorfEffect:
** The shorts and comics released shortly before and after the game's release don't do Reaper's reputation any favors. He's failed to steal the gauntlet, failed to extract the information on the Overwatch agents, and failed to kill Jack and Ana (though it should be noted that he had Jack dead to rights until Ana showed up). It seems his main purpose is to give the good guys someone strong to thrash. Compared to his counterpart [[ColdSniper Widowmaker]], who's shown to be effective at almost everything she's done at an almost frightening level, this can leave something to be desired.
*** The "Masquerade" comic states that at least some of the information on the agents was downloaded successfully. And he has taken members out — offscreen, though. He also wasn't fooled by Sombra's clandestine meet-up and is keeping tabs on her actions.
** Reaper himself uses this trope in his favor in ''Infiltration'', when he ([[OffscreenMomentOfAwesome off-screen]]) reduces a HumongousMecha to a flaming pile of rubble with only his shotguns. The mecha in question [[strike:is]] was supposed to tip the war between Russia and the omnics in the former's favor.
** Finally averted when he broke Doomfist out of maximum-security prison. He [[CurbStompBattle killed over a dozen heavily-armed guards with ease]] and freed Doomfist, which allowed them to propel Talon into further power. [[ThrowTheDogABone Finally, he got a major success that eluded him for so long.]]
* WouldHurtAChild: In the Cinematic Trailer, he performs his ''Death Blossom'' ultimate with no regards for the children within the area.
* XanatosGambit: Talon's original mission to assassinate Katya Volskaya would have guaranteed a second Omnic Crisis if it was successful, but thanks to Sombra going behind Talon's back, she managed to blackmail her and keep her alive instead. However, Reaper wasn't fooled by it and in fact, is taking advantage of the deal to further Talon's goal, but is still keeping track of Sombra in case she does something funny.
* YouAreNumber6: His Soldier: 24 skin indicates his designation of the same name for the experimental super soldier program that he and Morrison were part of.
* YourSoulIsMine: His old passive caused any nearby dead enemies to drop "soul globes", which Reaper can pick up to recover health. Lore articles about him also mentioned that his victims were left as pale, desiccated husks, as if someone had ripped their souls right out of their bodies.
[[/folder]]


[[folder: Soldier: 76 - ''United States'']]
!!John Francis "Jack" Morrison / Soldier: 76
!!!'''Species:''' Enhanced human
!!!'''Age:''' Mid-to-late 50s[[note]]His exact age is never given, but the [[https://twitter.com/SegadorYSoldado/status/1096884401755975680 narration]] in Junkenstein's Revenge mentions that he's two decades older than The Gunslinger (Cassidy) and The Archer (Hanzo).[[/note]]
!!!'''Occupation:''' Vigilante
!!!'''Base of Operations:''' Unknown[[note]]Currently residing in Necropolis, Egypt[[/note]]
!!!'''Affiliation:''' Overwatch (formerly)
!!!'''Appearances (shorts):''' ''Cinematic Trailer'' ([[EarlyBirdCameo cameo]]), ''Soldier: 76 Origin Story'' (focus), ''Hero'' (focus), ''Ana Origin Story'' (cameo)
!!!'''Appearances (comics):''' "Legacy", "Old Soldiers" (focus), "Reflections" (cameo), "Uprising" (focus), "Retribution"
!!!'''Appearances (short stories):''' "Bastet" (focus), "Valkyrie"
!!!'''Appearances (Archives events):''' Uprising (on comms), Retribution (ending cutscene)
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/52470b95f71bc91b4c1592ce47aef880.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:''"I've still got it."'']]

->''"We're'' all ''soldiers now."''

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/FredTatasciore (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Creator/CarlosSegundo (Latin American Spanish), Ramón Langa (European Spanish), Creator/ToruOkawa (Japanese), Patrick Borg (French), Roberto Draghetti (Italian), Martin Keßler (German), José Augusto Sendim (Brazilian Portuguese) Seung-jun Kim (Korean), Yangshao Wen (Taiwanese Chinese), Liu Yao (Mandarin Chinese), Andrzej Chudy (Polish), Maxim Pinsker (Russian)[[/note]]
\\\
Currently the target of an international manhunt, the vigilante known as Soldier: 76 wages a personal war to expose the truth behind Overwatch's collapse.
\\\
Soldier: 76 revealed himself in a string of attacks that crisscrossed the globe, targeting financial institutions, shadowy corporations, and secure Overwatch facilities. Though to the outside world his motives are inscrutable, there are those who claim that he is a former Overwatch agent, determined to shed light on the conspiracy that brought down the organization.
\\\
While his true identity remains a mystery, he is believed to have been trained as a member of the American "soldier enhancement program." He possesses physical capabilities exceeding those of a conventional soldier's, as well as other augmentations that make him a peerless combatant. In addition, he utilizes a cutting-edge arsenal, much of it stolen in raids on Overwatch installations.
\\\
Unrelenting in his search to find those responsible for Overwatch's fall, Soldier: 76 will stop at nothing to bring them to justice.
\\\
His identity is in fact the celebrated Overwatch hero and leader Jack Morrison. Formerly just a mere farmer's son from Indiana, Jack joined the military at the age of 18, eventually undergoing a "super soldier enhancement" program alongside his best friend Gabriel Reyes. When the first Omnic Crisis struck, Jack and Gabriel were among the first inductees into the newly formed Overwatch. Jack's kind nature, idealism, and charisma led him to become the main face of Overwatch and its first official commander. Eventually, the Overwatch he helped build started to show signs of corruption, and people began to lose their trust in the organization, regardless of how hard Jack tried to quell their doubts. It all fell apart when Jack and Gabriel came to blows at Overwatch's Swiss HQ; in the ensuing battle, Jack was believed to have perished along with Gabriel when their fighting triggered an explosion that destroyed the facility, and Morrison was officially buried with honors after his apparent death. However, unknown to the public, Jack survived the destruction. Disillusioned with how his idealism got him nowhere in preventing the world from plummeting into darkness and was in fact used to corrupt the organization he protected and cost him some of his dearest friends, he no longer believes in those old ideals, deciding instead to try to focus only on what matters most to him: uncovering the truth behind Overwatch's fall, no matter the cost, [[FallenHero how many rules he has to break, and what brutal methods he has to use]]. After completing various raids to steal cutting-edge technology, including a prototype pulse rifle from a former Overwatch base, he began undertaking vigilante missions, referring to himself only as "Soldier: 76."
\\\
Soldier: 76 is a highly versatile hero, having efficient damage, mobility, and self-sustain.
* His weapon '''Heavy Pulse Rifle''', is both powerful and highly accurate when fired in short bursts,
* His rifle fires a volley of '''Helix Rockets''', which deal heavy burst damage in a small radius upon exploding.
* '''Sprint''', which allows him to move at increased speed for as long as he wants, although he's unable to fire while sprinting.
* '''Biotic Field''': He can deploy a device on the ground that heals him and any allies within its range over time.
* '''Tactical Visor''': In his ultimate, Soldier activates his targeting visor for a few seconds, during which his attacks will automatically aim towards the enemy closest to his crosshairs, greatly improving their accuracy to output reliable damage.
----
* TheAce: Was this as Jack Morrison during the Omnic Crisis and during the early days of Overwatch. He was a charismatic leader and a good soldier, and had the uncanny ability to unite different people from all over the world into a cohesive and powerful force. Under Jack's leadership, Overwatch agents were lauded as heroes and Jack became the "face" of Overwatch, as well as a global symbol of hope. Even after his (supposed) death, Jack was fondly remembered by all.
* TheAlcoholic: ImpliedTrope. A bottle of booze located next to his sleeping bag in Necropolis suggests that he's turned to alcohol to help ease his sorrows. The fact that he has hardly anything else with him besides the drink also lends credence to this. Ana also makes a sarcastic remark about carrying around whiskey just in case she runs into him.
* AlwaysAccurateAttack: His ''Tactical Visor'' ability grants very generous aim assist that makes it almost impossible to miss anything in his line of sight, it can blocked though.
* AntiHero: While he attempts to do what he believes is right by finding the people that caused the downfall of Overwatch, there ''is'' the fact that he raided former Overwatch installations to steal weaponry in order to accomplish that goal. He's also ruthless and brutal when dealing with criminals, and doesn't hesitate to shoot them to death if it means ridding a city of their influence.
* AreaOfEffect: The healing from his ''Biotic Field''. When deployed on a moving payload, it compliments the payload's healing marvelously.
* AscendedMeme: Soldier: 76 has been referred to as "Dad: 76" by fans. First Blizzard teased it by picking golf for his Summer Games sport (a stereotypical "Dad" sport) and his Halloween spray being a grumpy dad, he later got the below interaction with Tracer, and both dad jokes and Dad fashion (socks with sandals) from his Grillmaster: 76 skin (a stereotypical barbecue dad skin) in Summer Games 2017. The below bit with Tracer has her hint he's TeamDad:
-->'''Soldier: 76:''' You need to slow down. Think about your actions.\\
'''Tracer:''' Okay, ''dad''.
%%* BadassBandolier: Wears a bandolier of grenades of his left arm.
%%* BadassBaritone: Speaks with a very deep and gruff voice.
%%* BadassBoast: When on fire:
%%-->''I'm a man on a mission. Stay out of my way.''\\
%%''Get out of my way, or I'll run you over.''
%%** Or after eliminating another player:
%%-->''You'' don't ''want to go to war with me.''
%%* BadassLongcoat: Wore one of these during the Omnic Crisis. He also gains this when equipped with his Origins skin.
* BayonetYa: His Formal: 76 skin's weapon has a bayonet afixed to it, but it is just an OrnamentalWeapon.
* BeardOfSorrow: Not really, but after Overwatch fell and he lost most of his idealism, it's shown that underneath his mask, he's starting to grow some gray stubble on his face.
* BecomingTheCostume:
** His "Daredevil: 76" and "Stunt Rider: 76" skins give him a bonus respawn line referencing UsefulNotes/EvelKnievel: "Bones heal, pain is temporary, scars look good."
** For "Night Ops: 76" and "Commando: 76," he gets a new respawn line in [[GratuitousLatin "Sic transit gloria"]] ("Thus passes glory").
** His "Grillmaster: 76" changes a ton of his lines, including replacing all his quotes for deploying ''Biotic Field'' (or in this case, a can of Diet HEAL UP), changing his ultimate callout to "Tactical sunglasses activated!" All the while reinforcing his AscendedMeme of "Dad: 76." It also affects a few manual voice lines as well; "Smells like victory" becomes "[[PatrioticFervor Smells like freedom]]", and "Respect your elders" (exclusive to Lunar New Year boxes) becomes "Respect the chef."
** His "Alpine: 76" skin lightly modifies a few lines, changing one of his respawn lines to "Not on ice yet," and his ultimate callout to "Tactical goggles activated!"
* BlueIsHeroic: Blue features prominently in many of his outfits. While the "heroic" part is [[AntiHero a little shaky]] in the present-day, he was definitely this while being the leader of Overwatch.
* BoringButPractical: His skill set is far from flashy and can even come across as a little underwhelming compared to some of the other offense heroes, but his long-range precision and burst damage allows him to rapidly take down most non-tank heroes, while his ''Sprint'' allows him to rapidly get away from danger, re-position himself in a fight, or get to the front lines much more quickly. His ''Biotic Field'' also greatly increases his and his team's ability to remain in a protracted firefight, and his ultimate, ''Tactical Visor'', is basically an aimbot that can quickly stop a push dead in its tracks (and net you Play of the Game). The fact that his play style is similar to other first-person shooters such as ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' and ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}'' also means he's the perfect hero for beginner players. There's a reason why the basic tutorial is a walkthrough of his abilities. This skillset has also ensured his spot as one of the top-picked Offense heroes in professional play, due to how he's able to cover his team's bases without producing any glaring weaknesses.
* BrokenHero: He was once the IdealHero of Overwatch, then the public started turning against him, and he barely survived a bomb attack in their headquarters. Now he is on a quest for vengeance, seeking the ones responsible for destroying Overwatch.
* BrokenPedestal: Many people accused Jack, their former hero, as being part of the DirtyBusiness Overwatch was revealed to be behind. Jeff Kaplan has stated that part of his downfall was his willingness to [[https://twitter.com/Autolikescake/status/928528808445014019 "defend Reyes' questionable actions".]]
* CameraAbuse: One of his highlight intros shows him sprinting towards the camera and straight-up knocking the camera out with the butt of his rifle just because it was in the way.
* CaptainGeographic: His "Daredevil: 76" skin, based on the iconic costume worn by motorcycle stunt rider UsefulNotes/EvelKnievel, gives off a "ComicBook/CaptainAmerica meets Music/ElvisPresley" vibe.
* CaptainPatriotic: Definitely. Not only does he have an American flag-themed costume that is equal parts Captain America and Winter Soldier but his name "Soldier: 76" is a reference to the year of formation for the United States.
* CivvieSpandex: His gloves and jacket look like they were taken from a hockey uniform or some other sport, especially with the number emblazoned on the back.
* ColorMotifs: As Jack Morrison, his outfit was predominately blue with white and silver. After he became "Soldier: 76", his outfit now has more black and red areas than blue, to symbolize [[FallenHero how far he had fallen]].
* CombatMedic: The only non-support character to have the ability to heal allies.
* CoolMask: Especially if it has a targeting visor that lets you aim at enemies without even trying.
* CoveredWithScars: Whether from the blast in Switzerland or from a long career as a soldier, Grillmaster: 76 reveals that his face, arms, and legs are all covered in various scars.
* TheCowl: As can be seen in the ''Hero'' short, he does his local hero work starting from sundown. And his methods are not unlike ComicBook/{{Batman}}, so…
-->''[[PunctuatedPounding These! Aren't! Your! Streets! Anymore!]]''
* CreateYourOwnVillain: Accepting the position of Strike Commander, basically supplanting his former superior commander, Gabriel Reyes, ensured that the downfall of Overwatch and the rise of Reaper was inevitable.
* {{Cyborg}}: His [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Cyborg" skin turns him into one,]] with lots of cybernetic implants seen all over his body, namely his feet and arms.
* CynicismCatalyst: Overwatch's fall into disgrace and destruction, as well as his "death", turned him into a [[KnightInSourArmor cynical]] WellIntentionedExtremist obsessed with catching the people responsible.
* DeadpanSnarker: Not too often, but he has his moments.
-->'''Soldier: 76:''' I'm the one who does his job. I'm thinking you're the other one.
* {{Determinator}}: His respawn line "Knock me down and I'll keep getting back up" invokes this.
* DiseaseBleach: One can assume that his near-death experience had something to do with the whitening of his hair.
* DoNotRunWithAGun: Downplayed. He can still move at his usual movement speed while shooting, but he cannot shoot while using ''Sprint''.
* EarlyBirdCameo:
** He's the guy who's seen holding the hand of a young child in the cinematic trailer.
** In the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBaWAxeHcw0 Doomfist Preview video]], Soldier: 76 could be seen with an unfamiliar skin on his weapon. That weapon skin turned out to be for his Summer Games 2017 skin.
** The photo of him and his ex-boyfriend, Vincent, was shown in the "Reflections" comic, two years before the "Bastet" short story revealed its meaning.
* FakingTheDead: People thought he died along with Overwatch when its headquarters was blown up by its enemies, when in actuality he survived. He now uses it as a chance to hide his identity until the ones responsible for Overwatch's downfall were brought to justice.
* FallenHero: As an in-universe news post says:
--> "The Morrison I knew wouldn't hide behind a mask. He wouldn't plant bombs and steal weapons while the world suffered through another year of war and heartache. That Morrison was buried here six years ago. All that's left is the shadow of the hero we once knew."
* FarmBoy: Being an all-American hero type, he naturally grew up on a farm in rural Indiana. The Halloween update reveals that he is specifically from Bloomington.
* FeelingTheirAge: After a respawn, he'll complain that he's not a young man anymore.
* GoodIsNotNice: Even as the FallenHero, he intends to do what he believes is right, but is known for his skills, cunning, and ruthlessness. He has zero qualms about killing criminals to rid the city of their influence, in other words.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: Has what looks like a slash mark on his forehead. Underneath his mask, he also has at least a scar across his mouth.
* GogglesDoSomethingUnusual: Well, visor. It pinpoints potential targets for him, and seems to be linked to his pulse rifle for aim assist.
* GrumpyOldMan: He comes across as fairly impatient and irritable, and even has a couple of "BackInMyDay" quotes, such as, "Young punks. Get off my lawn!" It's hilariously addressed for his Halloween "Trick or Treat" spray, where instead of portraying a child version of himself in a crudely-made Halloween costume like every other hero except Ana (who's instead shown with her daughter, Pharah), [[https://hydra-media.cursecdn.com/overwatch.gamepedia.com/b/b3/Spray_Soldier_76_Trick_or_Treat.png he's just an old grump in a sweater sitting on a rocking chair.]]
* GuiltyPleasures: Lunar New Year 2019 gives him an emote where he endulges in playing with a monkey drum before looking around to see if anyone saw him.
* GutturalGrowler: The man sounds like he gargles broken glass.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: His Origins skin depicted him (as Jack Morrison) with golden blonde hair, yet in early promotional material and the cinematic trailer, his hair was white. After he became Soldier: 76, though, most of his Heart Of Gold went bye-bye.
* HavingABlast: His ability ''Helix Rockets'' allows him to shoot explosive, helix-shaped energy rockets from his heavy pulse rifle.
* HealThyself: His ''Biotic Field'' allows him to heal himself and his teammates in its canister's range.
* HealingFactor: Part of his SuperSoldier treatment gave him some slight regenerative abilities, with wounds able to heal themselves over time, even from a necrotic state. In "Old Soldiers", he gets his back blasted by ''a close-range shotgun'', [[MadeOfIron but not only does he survive]], "Bastet" reveals he's already beginning to regenerate from it. That said, [[DentedIron he's not invincible and still requires proper treatment for all the abuse his body takes]].
* HelmetMountedSight: The Tactical Visor built into his mask can project a holographic aiming reticle. With it, Soldier: 76 can line up expert shots, never missing in gameplay.
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Since the fall of Overwatch, he's done so many questionable things in the name of justice that he doesn't see himself as a hero anymore. In the ''Hero'' animated short, a young girl named Alejandra asks him if he was one of the heroes her mother told her about. Soldier: 76 stops for a moment before sadly answering: "...Not anymore."
* HeterosexualLifePartners: He used to be best friends with Reaper before the rift in their relationship formed, sticking with him through pretty much everything (the army, the first Omnic crisis, Overwatch). He even defended most of Reyes' dubious actions which eventually led to Overwatch's downfall.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: In desperately chasing after those responsible for Overwatch's fall into disgrace, Soldier: 76 is often seen by the general public as being almost as bad as his targets. [[HeroicSelfDeprecation He not only knows this all too well, he doesn't contest the opinion.]] [[spoiler:Ironic in that his actions as Soldier: 76 mirrors Reyes' during the golden years of Overwatch. His tactics being on the line and brutal enough to blur the line between him and his targets.]]
* HockeyMaskAndChainsaw: His "Slasher: 76" skin decks him out in this style, with a bulk of his rifle being made to resemble a chainsaw.
* HurricaneOfPuns: His "Grillmaster: 76" skin, which is the strongest [[AscendedMeme ascension]] of the [[Memes/{{Overwatch}} Dad: 76 meme]]. His apron reads "raise the ''steaks''", his gun reads "''a salt'' rifle"… The list goes on.
* HypocriticalHumor: Expresses surprise that Ana did not inform him that she's still alive. This, coming from a guy who also faked his own death without telling anyone. Ana, of course, immediately calls him out on this.
* IdealHero: Deconstructed and, as more information is revealed, subverted. While Jack Morrison was the pure, idyllic, and charismatic Face of Overwatch, he couldn't do much about problems within his own team. From internal corruption, to Reyes' growing resentment caused by [[DudeWheresMyRespect being continually denied recognition]], to Ana Amari's deteriorating mental health, Jack could only do so much before it all (literally) blew up in his face.
* ImNotAHeroIm: He doesn't consider himself a hero anymore. Just an old soldier still fighting a war with no end. However, as the ''Hero'' short demonstrates, his heroic ways are still with him. When faced with pursuing enemies or rescuing an InnocentBystander, Jack chooses the latter.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: ''Tactical Visor'' gives him this for a brief time.
* ItsAllMyFault:
** Morrison's cynical turn could be interpreted as him believing he could have stopped Overwatch's downfall, if his way of thinking had been different at the time.
** Further implied by equipping the Witch skin on Mercy, where she'll offer him to "undo the choices [he] regrets."
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Before the fall of Overwatch, Jack was in a happy relationship with a man named Vincent, but eventually lost contact. Vincent eventually moved on and married someone else, and Jack says that he's glad he found someone that could give him a life that Jack himself never could — but Ana is unconvinced that Jack is completely truthful.
* IWasQuiteALooker: Years ago when he was one of the leaders of Overwatch, he had a fuller head of hair and was quite handsome. Now his face is scarred, his hair has gone white, and his hairline seems to be receding. He's still quite attractive for his age.
* JackOfAllStats: He's a great all-rounder, competent at almost everything but specializing in nothing. His assault rifle has good long-range accuracy in short bursts, meaning that he can snipe, but not as well as dedicated snipers like Hanzo and Widowmaker. He can heal a team, but not as well as dedicated healers like Mercy and Ana, and his ability to heal means he can tank some damage, but not as much as dedicated tanks like Reinhardt or D.Va. His rockets mean he can do his part to crack dug-in defenders and tanks, but not quite as well as a demolitions expert like Pharah or Junkrat. And his sprint means he can flank, but not quite as well as speedsters like Tracer and Genji.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Not as bad as Reaper or Widowmaker in the "Jerk" part, but he's not particularly nice and comes across as fairly aggressive and dismissive towards his teammates. He does seem to have a soft spot for some of his former teammates, especially Pharah, whom he compliments on her accuracy and positively compares to her mother. He's still on very good terms with Ana, enough so that he actively sought her out to recruit her help in avenging Overwatch's fall. In the ''Hero'' short, he has a brief moment of hesitation when he has to choose between pursuing the fleeing Los Muertos gang for his self-assigned mission and saving an innocent from one of their grenades. While he actually begins to run after the gang, ultimately, he turns back to save her.
* KnightInSourArmor: Soldier: 76 has a very jaded world-view thanks to Overwatch's destruction, but is still trying to do the right thing, even if he's going about it differently than he used to.
* LanternJawOfJustice: Back when he was Jack Morrison, he had a square jawline to complete his all-American hero look.
* TheLeader: Even before taking formal command of Overwatch while serving under his friend, Commander Gabriel Reyes, Jack was seen as the more charismatic and inspiring leader. That's why the United Nations appointed him the Strike Commander of the first formal Overwatch team.
* LikeBrotherAndSister: The narration in "Bastet" mentions that Ana, Jack and Gabriel were like siblings to each other during Overwatch's golden years.
* MadeOfIron: A definite benefit to his SuperSoldier treatment, even if it still apparently hurts like hell. In ''Hero'', he's able to take being blasted by a grenade to the back, and in "Old Soldiers", he's also able to survive a shotgun blast to the back.
* MalevolentMaskedMen: He wears a face mask (along with a targeting visor) to hide his identity as Jack Morrison. Though he's more of a WellIntentionedExtremist or Anti-Villain than purely evil.
* MarriedToTheJob: While several members of Overwatch managed to start families during the organization's golden years, Jack was so dedicated to his duty as a soldier and peacekeeper that he ended up rejecting such a life, even after forming a relationship with another man.
-->''"We both knew that I could never put anything above my duty. Everything I fought for was to protect people like him… That’s the sacrifice I made."''
* MeaningfulName: Possibly unintentional, but his real name is ''Jack'' Morrison, and there isn't a single other hero in the game who can compete with him for best JackOfAllStats.
* MilitarySuperhero: A super-soldier and a (former) leader of Overwatch.
* MoralityPet:
** In the ''Hero'' short, Alejandra is shown to bring out the human side of him, even when he claims not to be a hero anymore. The fact that he abandons his mission against Los Muertos and saves her life from a live grenade proves that old habits die hard.
** It's not expanded upon much, but he's portrayed in-game as having a soft spot for Pharah. He tells her that her mother would be so proud of her in an interaction, and he compliments her aim when she gets a kill. Most of his other interactions are cold and distant, if not outright antagonistic, apart from Pharah's own mother, Ana.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:He gave Reyes the unofficial okay for the disastrous Venice incident. When it blew up in their faces, he responded by throwing Reyes and Blackwatch as a whole under the bus. This was the beginning of what would be the end of Overwatch.]]
* NotSoAboveItAll: Soldier: 76 plays the gruff, jaded, no nonsense vigilante, but he's not ''completely'' above having a little fun. He had the 3rd highest score in Murky Skeeball in Blizzard World [[{{Troll}} before Sombra came along]].
* OldSoldier: One of the founders of Overwatch as a specialized strike team during the Omnic Crisis. As evidenced by his official release, he's still going strong.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Jack is short for [[https://twitter.com/ChrisMetzen/status/918667883701342213 John]], but nobody called him that before he became Soldier: 76.
* PaperThinDisguise: Played with; in the ''Hero'' short, Alejandra realizes that 76 is the man on the poster she saw, even with his mask on.
* PassingTheTorch: His pre-match banter with Winston implies this.
-->'''Soldier: 76:''' So you think you can do my old job?\\
'''Winston:''' ''Someone'' has to.
* PatrioticFervor: {{Invoked|Trope}} [[PlayedForLaughs For Laughs]] in his "Grillmaster: 76" skin, which on top of turning him into a stereotypical suburban "barbecue dad", also replaces his "Smells like victory" voice line to "Smells like freedom."
* PetTheDog:
** For someone who normally acts cold to others, he has a few unusually soft in-game lines with Pharah, indicating he still has a soft spot. For example, he'll compliment that she got her aim from her mom if he sees her get a kill. He also tells Pharah that her mother would've been proud of her, to which Pharah responds that he must not have known her very well to say that.
** In the ''Hero'' short, he specifically abandons the mission at hand when he could've ended Los Muertos in order to save Alejandra from a grenade that was thrown at her. Even though he no longer views himself as a hero, there are some habits that will never die.
** If he sees Tracer get killed in battle, he'll say [[ToAbsentFriends "You won't be forgotten."]]
** He has the most civilized interactions with Ana, with all of them being friendly reminders of their past together.
* PistolWhipping: 76's melee strike knocks the opponent away with his rifle. In the "We are Overwatch" trailer, 76 knocks out a bank robber's tooth with the butt-stock of his rifle.
* PlatonicLifePartners: Lifelong friends with Ana, who served as his second-in-command of Overwatch. Even now, after Overwatch disbanded and they're wanted by both the law and Talon, they still fight together and look out for each other out of a bond that's lasted decades.
* PreAsskickingOneLiner: When using his ultimate.
--> ''"I've got you in my sights."''
* PrimaryColorChampion: His default outfit is mostly decorated with bright blues and reds with some white and yellow details.
* PunctuatedPounding: Repeatedly bashes a piñata against a thug's head, declaring "These! Aren't! Your! Streets! Anymore!", in the ''Hero'' trailer, terrifying the innocent on the scene.
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: When equipped with the "Night" skin. Subverted in that he's not evil; just being a WellIntentionedExtremist at worst.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: He doesn't have red eyes himself (his eyes are blue), but his tactical visor contains a red horizontal slit that he sees through.
* RefusalOfTheCall: He's shown to be among the more skeptical critics of Overwatch's return, as he bitterly recites this line when spawning at Gibraltar.
-->"Bring back Overwatch"? What's the point?
** The "Valkyrie" short story outright cements this, with him citing that the new Overwatch would simply fall apart once again.
* RocketJump: Possible with his ''Helix Rockets''. He still takes quite a bit of damage from it, and it's only a slight vertical boost, so it's not recommended for use in combat, but it can still get him onto some normally out-of-reach places.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: During the London hostage incident in Overwatch's waning days. [[spoiler:With the Prime Minister of London denying Overwatch clearance to deal with the situation, Jack finds his hands tied with Director Petras on hold for him in his office. After a meeting with then-cadet Tracer, he has his secretary tell Petras to call back before sending Reinhardt, Torbjörn, Mercy, and Tracer into London anyway.]]
* SecretKeeper: Subverted. Morrison was personally involved in Ana's failed mission. Given that he's the Number One to Ana's Number Two, he could have given the order to suppress the information in order for Ana to retire. However, in-game and in "Old Soldiers", he expresses surprise that Ana is alive.
* ShellShockedVeteran: The destruction of Overwatch was traumatic, and the intervening years haven't been kind.
* SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids: Once he survived the explosion at Overwatch's Swiss headquarters, he starts making progress to discard his idealism and only cares about results.
* SilverFox: His "Night Ops" and "Commando" skins shows that he is still quite attractive. He accredits this to whatever the government pumped into him long ago.
* SimpleYetAwesome: Soldier: 76 is the most straight-forward character in the game, with abilities that only require that a player point-and-shoot (or drop right where they are to heal). In the right hands, however, he's incredibly dangerous due to good mobility, decent damage and accuracy, and self-reliability.
* SoProudOfYou: Will specifically tell Pharah in their pre-game dialogue that her mother would've been proud of her, in a moment of unusual kindness. She responds that he must not have known her very well to say something like that.
* StraightGay: The short story "Bastet" reveals that, during the Golden Age of Overwatch, Jack had a boyfriend named Vincent, but lost touch with him. Nothing about Soldier: 76's behavior or demeanor had hinted at his sexuality before.
* SucksAtDancing: For the game's first anniversary, every character received a dancing emote. It turns out that most of the cast are really good dancers… except for Soldier: 76. He performs the most awkward, uncoordinated series of kicks and claps that [[https://thumbs.gfycat.com/ImpressionableWearyHagfish-size_restricted.gif really needs to be seen to be believed.]] [[NotSoStoic He tries so hard, though.]]
* SuperheroParadox: Despite putting an end to the Omnic Crisis, bad guys still keep popping up, and the public started blaming Overwatch and Jack Morrison for failing to keep the peace — even accusing them of causing the trouble.
* SuperSoldier: A member of an American soldier-enhancing program that gives him the standard enhanced reflexes and physical augmentations.
* TerrorHero: The ''Hero'' short shows him to be one, using his superior skills and equipment to terrify a bunch of gangbangers and arms dealers into staying off the streets. Other stories establish that while he won't use lethal force on non-criminals shooting at him, he's more than willing to injure them to shut them down.
* TechnicalPacifist: Though he is confirmed to use more aggressive and brutal methods than the other heroes and is seen as an extremely dangerous killer by the public, every depiction of Soldier: 76 shows him actively avoiding killing his targets if he can help it.
* ThatManIsDead: He prefers to not answer to the name of Jack Morrison, whom the world long believed to be dead anyway. However, old habits die hard and he still responds when Ana refers to him as Jack.
* ThisMeansWarpaint: His "Night Ops" and "Commando" skins gives him camo paint on his face.
* TookALevelInCynic: Originally an idealistic leader akin to ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, the falling of Overwatch from forces inside and outside of the organization turned him into a cynical, truth-seeking wild card who wouldn't be any different from a NinetiesAntiHero like ComicBook/ThePunisher and such. The opposite happened to Cassidy, a former crook and arms dealer who TookALevelInIdealism.
-->"[[VigilanteMan Call me a vigilante if you like.]] The truth is, I'm just a soldier."
* VagueAge: He's the only playable character whose age is unknown. All we know is that he's about two decades older than Cassidy and Hanzo, who are 37 and 38, respectively.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Ana. She is the first person he tracks down to reunite with, and their first dialogue is them joking if Ana would shoot him for ruining her stakeout.
* WearingAFlagOnYourHead: One of the American characters, and his outfit has a very obvious red, white, and blue color scheme.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: He ''was'' a close friend and teammate of Gabriel Reyes, but nowadays, they're enemies as Soldier: 76 and Reaper.
* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Downplayed. Despite being one of the playable characters, he's a WellIntentionedExtremist at best, and his rather questionable methods in dealing with criminals make him an AntiVillain at worst.
* WideEyedIdealist: Deconstructed. Jack Morrison worked tirelessly in ending the Omnic Crisis and ensuring global peace. This resulted in Overwatch being destroyed, his teammates reviled as criminals, and Jack becoming a ruthless FallenHero VigilanteMan.
* WouldNotShootAGoodGuy: [[https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/blog/19809235/ This Atlas News story]] implies that even after becoming a vigilante, 76 still does his best to not kill any non-criminals standing in his way, even if they're shooting at him. [[GoodIsNotNice He's still more than willing to inflict temporary injury on them, though.]]
* YouAreNumberSix: Often referred to as Soldier: 76, though his real name is Jack Morrison. If Reaper's Soldier: 24 skin is any indication, Morrison chose his new moniker based on his designation when he was inducted in the experimental super soldier program.
* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: He's the narrator for the Winter 2016 special brawl. He introduced the battleground, how you are selected for the mission because you are the best… and it's revealed to be a one big snowball brawl, and he gave this response. The start of the match also torments him.
-->"We're all scientists now… ugh."
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Sombra - ''Mexico'']]
!! Olivia Colomar / Sombra
!!!'''Species:''' Human cyborg
!!!'''Age:''' 30
!!!'''Occupation:''' Hacker
!!!'''Base of Operations:''' Castillo, Mexico
!!!'''Affiliation:''' Los Muertos (formerly), Talon (currently)
!!!'''Appearances (shorts):''' ''Infiltration'' (focus), ''Sombra Origin Story'' (focus)
!!!'''Appearances (comics):''' "Reflections" (cameo), "Masquerade", "Searching"
!!!'''Appearances (short stories):''' "What You Left Behind" (cameo), "Code of Violence"
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sombra_portrait.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"Where's the fun in playing fair?"'']]


-> ''"Everything can be hacked… and everyone."''

->'''Voiced by:''' Carolina Ravassa (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Lourdes Arruti (Latin American Spanish), Anahí de la Fuente (European Spanish), Creator/ChiwaSaito (Japanese), Lara Trautmann (German), Yeon-woo Kim (Korean), Emmanuelle Rivière (French), Tiziana Martello (Italian), Anna Cieślak (Polish), Carol Crespo (Brazilian Portuguese), Veronika Sarkisova (Russian)[[/note]]
\\\
One of the world's most notorious hackers, Sombra uses her skills to manipulate those with power to get what she wants.
\\\
Olivia Colomar was just one of hundreds of children orphaned by the Omnic Crisis. In order to survive in the world, she learned how to hack and manipulate people to get what she wants. She eventually joined Los Muertos on their rebellion against the government. After a while, she thought she was at the top of the world until she discovered a conspiracy that has spread out globally — and the conspiracy noticed her. Knowing that she was in danger, she erased all traces of her existence and re-emerged into the world as the woman named Sombra.
\\\
With her new identity, she launched a wide-spread string of hacks in order to figure out the truth about the conspiracy, which led her to be noticed by many people, including those within the ranks of Talon. She eventually joined Talon, and has assisted them on multiple attacks against organizations with ties to the government. But in reality, she is using Talon as a way to help her get what she wants.
\\\
Sombra specializes in using stealth to disrupt her foes and ambush weakened enemies.
* Her weapon is a fully-automatic '''Machine Pistol''', best used at close range.
* '''Hack''' She can use her technological prowess either on enemies to briefly prevent from using their abilities, or on health packs, making them useless to the enemy team while causing them to respawn faster.
* '''Stealth''' turns Sombra invisible and boosts her movement speed until she attacks or is damaged,
* '''Translocator''', which is a throwable beacon that stays in place after being deployed, during which Sombra can reactivate the ability to teleport to its location, but it can be destroyed by enemies.
* Her '''Opportunist''' passive that allows her to detect enemies at less than half health through walls.
* Her ultimate, '''EMP''', releases an electromagnetic blast that '''Hacks''' all enemies around her and destroys their barriers and shields.
----
* AchillesHeel: Sombra's ability to turn invisible and sneak behind enemy lines is useless when the enemy has ways to detect invisible enemies… like Widowmaker's ''Infra-Sight'' or Hanzo's ''Sonic Arrow''. Especially Hanzo, as ''Sonic Arrow'' is not an ulti, and can be spammed with impunity. Downplayed however, for Sombra players who prefer a more direct playstyle, using the ''Translocator'' as a substitute for FlashStep to outmaneuver the enemy and riddle them full of holes.
* TheAlcoholic: It's only implied, but she was seen in the same bar as Cassidy (where it's implied that she drunk him under the table) in the "Reflections" comic, she has a respawn quote that translates to "I'm ready for that drink now"[[labelnote:original]]"Ya estoy lista para ese trago"[[/labelnote]], and has "I need a drink" as an Anniversary voice line.
* AlternateRealityGame: The lead-up to her reveal was an ARG which started from July 2016 and lasted up until her announcement in November. Sombra had placed clues across official Overwatch trailers which led to numerous decryptions, separate websites, and a lot of waiting.
* AmbiguouslyEvil:
** She technically works for Talon, but it's obvious to anybody who has seen her short (and even other members of Talon itself) that she's using them for her own ends. The most evil thing we see her do is blackmail Katya Volskaya, and she's apparently in direct opposition of the conspiracy. However, we don't know whether her motives for opposing them are benevolent, selfish, or even if she's trying to take them down at all. That said, she still seems to have no problem with using lethal force against anyone who gets in her way, and she seems to have no problem with carrying out Talon's agenda when it doesn't immediately clash with hers, as shown in ''Masquerade''. And her pre-fight conversation with Hanzo has her actually try to recruit him; so even if she isn't Talon's most loyal operative, she at least doesn't appear to be bothered by their agenda.
** In "Searching", it's revealed that [[spoiler:Sombra is regarded as a hero in Dorado]], and if her conversation with Zarya suggests anything, [[spoiler:Sombra is actually preparing herself for a greater threat and that she is using Talon for this]]. This makes her either an AntiHero or an AntiVillain depending on your view point and [[HiddenAgendaVillain her true ulterior motives]].
* AmbiguousSituation: She supposedly tries to unravel a massive conspiracy, represented by an Eye, which has its fingers in every major organization in the Overwatch world, ranging from Talon and Overwatch to Vishkar and Oasis. However, she is also an UnreliableNarrator and not nearly as smart or clever as she thinks she is, so it is possible that she has blown the conspiracy way out of proportion.
* AntiFrustrationFeatures: While under stealth, Sombra can [[SeeTheInvisible still get her cover blown by accidentally bumping into enemies or being revealed by enemy abilities]] such as Hanzo's ''Sonic Arrow''. Even if the player never sees it being used, the screen will helpfully flash ''"DETECTED!"'' in red text to let them know they've been spotted.
* ArchaicWeaponForAnAdvancedAge: A {{Downplayed}} example: She uses a very modern looking machine pistol that goes at odds with the more futuristic and complex weapons used by other characters.
* ArcNumber: During her AlternateRealityGame, 23. On top of being a reference to the fact she would be the 23rd playable character in the game, the number 23 was also used for multiple rotating ciphers to crack many of the codes.
* ArchEnemy: As of the "Searching" comic, she has been set up as one to Zarya, as she is the only character who knows her real name, Olivia Colomar, the very thing that would threaten her position again if it were ever exposed.
* AscendedMeme:
** During her ARG, fans obsessed over a [[RedHerring suspicious, but ultimately irrelevant not-clue]] in the form of circular artifact in Dorado's sky nicknamed the "skycode." In the final product, the skycode is one of Sombra's unique sprays, and her "Amused" emote has her generate one, then laughing at it. It even includes musical tones as a reference to [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Overwatch/comments/4w7ey1/the_sombra_skysong/ a fan's suggestion to decode it by making music from it.]]
--->'''Sombra:''' Do you ever just take a moment and just... look up at the stars? I'm told you can find all sorts of things there.
** Another minor one also from the ARG revolved around Bastion being an espresso machine[[labelnote:Explanation]]One of the clues in the ARG revolved around several uncovered [=LumériCo=] messages, most of them about an espresso machine that was on the fritz and needed replacing. Around the same time, another clue was found in the [=LumériCo=] bank in Dorado where Bastion would beep in Morse code to a specific screen. This mutated into a joke that Sombra had somehow planted Bastion as an espresso machine to deliver the message[[/labelnote]]. It was first referenced in her [[https://imgur.com/QetS1Ti Archives-exclusive "Espresso" spray]], and later referenced in an interaction between her and Bastion where she'll comment how "You would make a good barista."
* BadassBoast: Her selection quote, "Everything can be hacked… and everyone."
* BaitAndSwitch: Her "Hacking" highlight intro in a nutshell, where it initially presents someone else's intro, [[https://gfycat.com/BigColdGopher only for it to be suddenly interrupted by Sombra.]]
* BalanceBuff: Sombra was given a pretty hefty rework in anticipation of ''Overwatch 2'', toning down (while not outright eliminating) her incredible disabling utility while upping her damage potential. Her ''Hack'' and ''EMP'' only [[PowerNullifier disable enemy abilities]] for one second, but as a tradeoff, hacked targets are revealed to Sombra's team for a much longer duration, Sombra herself deals bonus damage to hacked enemies, and ''EMP'' also deals its own burst of [[PercentDamageAttack percent-health damage]] (specifically 40% of an enemy's current health). Sombra was also allowed to now use ''Hack'' without being completely decloaked from stealth, though her health-pack hacking is also much more reduced, and ''EMP'' no longer goes through or shatters shields.
* BareYourMidriff: Her "Azucar" and "Los Muertos" outfits, which show off glowing, skeletal tattoos possibly from when she was a gang member Los Muertos. Her Tulum skin also does this (it ''is'' swimwear after all), albeit without the skull paint.
* BayonetYa: Her machine pistol has a bayonet attachment in her Talon skin, although it is simply [[OrnamentalWeapon ornamental]].
* BecomingTheCostume:
** Her "Tulum" skin has her use surfer's slang such as "Hey dude" and "Aloha".
** Her "[[VideoGame/DiabloIII Demon Hunter]]" skin gives her a few miscellaneous, but spooky lines, the most notable changing her ultimate callout to "¡La oscuridad te espera!"[[labelnote:Translation]]"The [[VideoGame/DiabloIII darkness awaits you!]]"[[/labelnote]]
* {{Blackmail}}: She does this to Katya Volskaya. All she wants is a "friend", but if she doesn't comply, she'll reveal to the public that their greatest new weapon to fight the Omnics [[spoiler:was supplied to them by the Omnics themselves]], including an implied threat aimed at her daughter. This backfires on her when Katya sends Zarya after her.
* BoringButPractical: Her weapon is nothing more than a low-tech machine pistol, similar in appearance to an [=H&K MP7=]. What makes her stand out is that the guns of other characters who use regular bullets are all highly stylized and even futuristic looking. Cassidy's revolver, Reaper's shotguns, Ana's sniper rifle, and especially Soldier: 76's assault rifle all have futuristic styles to them.
* BoyishShortHair: Sombra gains one such hairstyle with her "Talon" skin, where she also has dyed her hair red to better fit in with Talon's color motif.
* BrokenMasquerade: She uncovered a conspiracy running deeper than Overwatch, Talon, or any other group in the setting.
* {{Calacas}}: Health packs and enemies hacked by Sombra display electronic sugar skulls, and she also wears calavera face paint in her Los Muertos skins.
* ChildProdigy: She's been a hacker since she was a young child, using her talents to get into the Los Muertos gang.
* ColorMotifs: More blatant than almost any other hero, her outfit, abilities and sprays have a purple/violet coloring theme. Sombra fits the wisdom and exoticism bills of the interpretations. Like how purple is interpreted as being poisonous, Sombra's hacking abilities can be seen as such. Her skull theme and her association with the Los Muertos Gang also fits the colors' association with death.
* CombatPragmatist: Sombra's direct combat capability is rather lacking, but ''boy'', does she make it up for it with extremely dirty tactics. Sneaking behind enemy lines to disable their medipacks, preying on critically-wounded enemies thanks to her passive, setting up ''Translocator'' as an instant escape route when things get hot, disabling their key player's ability… The list goes on.
* ConfusionFu: Sombra's specialty, and what contributes to her DifficultButAwesome status. Most other Offense characters can thrive in a direct firefight, using their mobility skills to set up flanks or reach high-priority targets. While ''Opportunist'' and ''Stealth'' certainly allow Sombra to pick off low-health opponents, plenty of other characters (including the rest of the Offense line-up) can out-damage her in a straight fight. Sombra's specialty lies in making her enemies' lives a living hell; sneaking into their back lines with Camo, Hacking med-kits or Supports to prevent healing abilities, or blasting the enemy team with a well-placed ''EMP'' to leave them sitting ducks, then blinking back out with ''Translocator'' before they can retaliate.
* CoolButInefficient: While being able to disable an enemy's usage of abilities is undeniably awesome (and sometimes crippling if used properly), newer players might be tempted to use her hacks during the middle of the fight. Ignoring the fact that her hacking process resets upon taking damage, making a mid-fight hacking ''extremely'' risky, as well as the fact that even if she's successful, enemies can still shoot and kill her, even then you have to consider: "Is hacking this guy going to do me any better than [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim simply riddling his head with bullets?"]]
* CuteMonsterGirl: Her "Bride" skin turns her into a Film/BrideOfFrankenstein lookalike.
* CutscenePowerToTheMax: When she was first added, her ''Translocator'' in the game only lasted for 15 seconds (this was patched about a year later to make it last indefinitely, but the trope certainly applied for long enough). In the short ''Infiltration'', it lasts long enough for Sombra to chase down Katya, take out her bodyguards, and [[spoiler:directly blackmail her]].
* TheCracker: Naturally, since she's a hacker.
* {{Cyborg}}: She has cybernetic implants along her spine and in her skull to aid her hacking.
* DarkActionGirl: Just like Widowmaker, if not even ''more'' so, for several reasons. The first being that she's a close-range combatant compared to Widowmaker being a long-range sniper. The second reason is that, unlike Widowmaker who was [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashed into being evil and had no choice in the matter]], Sombra has a completely free will and commits all of her evil actions fully willingly and with pleasure.
* DarkSkinnedBlonde: Her "Augmented" legendary skin gives her blond hair with neon blonde glowing highlights.
* ADayInTheLimelight: She's the protagonist of the ''Infiltration'' short.
* DeadpanSnarker: When not taunting somebody (which is almost always), she just settles for short dry remarks.
-->'''Reaper:''' Try to stick to the plan, Sombra.\\
'''Sombra:''' Look, someone has to be ready when all your careful planning doesn't pan out.
* DeathOfAThousandCuts: The damage of her machine pistol's individual shots is very low, but its very high rate of fire and high magazine capacity compensate for it.
* DelightingInRiddles: The Overwatch community ended up playing a drawn-out [[AlternateRealityGame ARG]] in the leadup to the release of [[PlayfulHacker Sombra]], with many of the clues originating [[BreakingTheFourthWall from the character herself]]. These included ciphers, dead ends, a fake website, red herrings, and a months-long countdown — all peppered with teasing hints and encouragements [[TeasingFromBehindTheLanguageBarrier in Spanish]]. When she was finally introduced in the ''Infiltration'' short, Sombra was shown to be exactly as much of a troll in-universe as her teasing during the ARG indicated her to be.
* DelinquentHair: She sports a long mohawk with purple tips, a fashion choice necessitated by the fact that the sides and back of her head have cybernetic hacking augmentations running across them. Her "Los Muertos" skins gives her a punk mohawk.
* DidntSeeThatComing: When confronted by Zarya in "Searching", Sombra tries to make her escape with her translocator, but Lynx gives Zarya enough advanced warning that instead of making an escape, Sombra ends up trapped in Graviton Surge. [[FullNameUltimatum Then Zarya drops Sombra's real name to top it off.]]
* DidntThinkThisThrough: Sombra thought she was free and in the clear when she wiped out all records of her identity and scampered off into hiding, but she neglected to account for one crucial detail. As ''Searching'' demonstrates, [[spoiler:if you continue to frequent places of business in the town where you grew up, and you have a [[DelinquentHair feature]] that is immediately distinguishing, ''someone is going to remember you'']].
** Psst! Hey, Sombra, [[spoiler:maybe if you wanted to keep your identity a secret, you should have changed your haircut and not gone out in public in the place where you grew up]].
* DifficultButAwesome: Her profile currently puts her at three difficulty stars, and for good reason: Sombra's only damaging ability has terrible range and a mediocre damage rate even at point-blank, while her ''Hack'' ability has a substantial 8-second cooldown. This is, however, balanced by ''Hack'' being an incredibly powerful shutdown tool, restricting the enemy team from using anything from medkits to even Ultimates, and Sombra has all the tools to be obnoxiously evasive. Her ''EMP'' is easy to activate… but at the cost of requiring you to have situational awareness to get into position and keeps track of which critical enemies to be hit as well as requiring your teammates to follow up, since it only lasts for 6 seconds. A Sombra player that makes their ''Hacks'' and ''EMP'' count while staying alive can virtually control the fight, but it requires a lot of timing, quick-thinking, and team coordination to make her more than [[CoolButInefficient a flashy but ultimately impractical hero]]. This is evident in the massive difference in her pick and win rate in ladder (where she is generally regarded as a terrible pick until the very highest level) and tournament (where she is regarded as a solid to crucial pick in any team composition).
* DirtyCoward: Downplayed, because she's still willing to put herself at risk in order to achieve her goals… but usually from a safe vantage point. At her core, Sombra is a bully and an opportunist who shuns fighting fair in favor of striking from the shadows while depriving others of their talents, and her fallback strategy whenever things don't go her way has always been to run away and hide in the company of something tougher, whether gangsters or terrorists.
* DuelingHackers: Can be done with both hacking and bullets if Sombra is played on both teams.
* EarlyBirdCameo:
** Aside from her AlternateRealityGame, she was hinted at in [[http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/overwatch/images/c/c4/Dorado_Sombra.png/revision/latest?cb=20160613163202 a Dorado newspaper in-game asking "¿Quién es 'Sombra'?"]], and in Numbani [[http://i.imgur.com/UnOU4Jv.jpg a generic newsreel with an added-in headline: “Lumerico reports massive breach at Dorado power plant, latest attack in global hacking spree,”]], which represented events happening in the ARG.
** In the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBaWAxeHcw0 Doomfist Preview video]], Sombra could be seen with an unfamiliar skin on her weapon. That weapon skin turned out to be for her Summer Games 2017 skin.
* EasterEgg: She has a unique death animation that also counts as a ShoutOut: If she's killed as she's bumped into while under stealth, slightly revealing her, [[https://gfycat.com/LastRepentantIraniangroundjay she'll die in a similar fashion to]] [[https://youtu.be/lAcYUt2QbAo?t=55 this scene from]] ''Film/{{Tron}}''.
* {{EMP}}: Her ultimate, which [[AntiArmor shatters shields]] (both physical barriers and life-bar passives), shuts down turrets, and stops players from using their abilities.
* EnigmaticMinion: Despite being a Talon operative, she clearly has her own agenda and will even sabotage operations if she thinks she can gain something out of it.
* EverythingIsOnline: She's able to hack anything from enemy abilities to first-aid kits. Even her own gun has Wifi, judging by the Wifi symbol embedded in it on her "Azúcar"/"Los Muertos" skins.
* EvilTastesGood: She truly loves her unscrupulous occupation, and admits that she's addicted to hacking and data manipulation.
* FauxAffablyEvil: She has a playful personality with an impish streak that makes her come off like a mischievous teenager. She keeps it at all times, such as when threatening Volskaya's daughter with her {{Blackmail}}.
* FemmeFatalons: On her gloves, but the general effect is visually the same. Her "Los Muertos" and "Azúcar" skins give her very long, painted nails for a similar effect.
* FiringOneHanded: She holds her SMG in one hand, leaving the other free to hack. [[SubvertedTrope this might be why it has such a large bullet spread.]]
* FlashyTeleportation: Sombra can toss a translocator that she can teleport back to at any time, including while it's still in flight, with visual effects to show its use, but [[StealthyTeleportation it becomes invisible]] if used with her {{Invisibility}} active.
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: Her "Hacking" highlight intro involves her hacking the Play of the Game from another player.
* FragileSpeedster: Sombra has average health, but she gets a speed boost when she activates her ''Stealth'' and teleports across the map with her Translocator, allowing her to infiltrate nearly any location for as long as she isn't caught in the crossfire. It also makes her excessively hard to pin down if her Translocator is ready, since she can easily hop over a wall or obstacle once cornered before turning invisible and walking away.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: She comes across as this in-game no matter what her team is, because she's pretty much the only character in the cast who has no positive or even neutral interactions with anyone.[[note]]The 2019 short story "What You Left Behind" reveals that she and Baptiste have been friends since before he left Talon, but this has yet to be referenced in game.[[/note]] Even in canon, she has a working relationship at best with her Talon colleagues, who are consummate professionals who stick to coordinated plans while Sombra likes to play fast and loose with the agenda while [[{{Troll}} pushing everyone's buttons along the way]]. Reaper at least seems willing to tolerate her antics for the sake of the mission, but Widowmaker implicitly ''[[ShameIfSomethingHappened threatens]]'' her.
-->'''Sombra''': Ah, my favorite spider. I wonder what sort of web you're spinning now.\\
'''Widowmaker''': It'd be a shame if something happened to you on our next mission. A real pity.
* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: She's a {{Troll}} in-universe, and it reflects in her playstyle, which, while lacking in direct combat, makes her extremely obnoxious and disruptive. So you as Genji just retreated due to low health and no healer close by… wait, that medpack's been hacked, so you can't use it to recover your health. Then you hear [[OhCrap a familiar blinking,]] and shortly after, your abilities have been disabled, and here she comes for the kill without you being able to Deflect her shots nor running away. You try to fight back, and managed to get the upper hand and almost kill her, but then she just used ''Translocator'' right onto the hacked medpack, heal herself to full, and lands the killing blow on you. And to top it all off, you think you got Play of the Game when you did that 3-man Dragonblade? [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou Yeah, she just hacked your [=PotG=] and replaced it with her own, too…]]
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: In her gameplay, hacking a Hero stops their active abilities and nothing else. In-story, it should be much more effective on some characters, and much less on others, but [[RuleOfFun that would be completely unworkable balance-wise.]] Notably Averted with Ashe and [=B.O.B=], as if [=B.O.B=] is doing something and Sombra hacks him, he stops what he's doing (that is, serving as an auto-piloting AssistCharacter) and just slumps until the hacktime ends.
* GirlsLoveStuffedAnimals: In her room in Castillo, she has a teddy bear on her bed, which according to one interaction is named Arturito.
* HackYourEnemy: Sombra's in-game specialty, having the unique and valuable power to disable an opponent's abilities for several precious seconds at a time.
* HackedByAPirate: No crossbones, but the general symbol for representing something being hacked is a skull.
* HiddenAgendaVillain: Is ultimately just using Talon for her own benefit, to unknown ends. Notably, "Masquerade" reveals that Reaper is completely aware of the fact that "she's been up to some extracurricular activities," but still, nobody has any clue as to what exactly she's planning.
* HighTechHexagons: Her hack animation generates hexagons and the icons in her conspiracy web are hexagonal.
* HighlyVisibleNinja: For a character with a sneaky and stealthy kit, Sombra parades about in very noticeable shades of bright purple. During "Code of Violence" -- where she was wearing [[BetaOutfit her white/red "Talon" skin]] -- [[LampshadeHanging Reyes took mental note of this among other traits of hers that scream "liability".]]
* HitAndRunTactics: Not unlike Tracer, she's also capable of this (fitting, as her Translocator is basically reverse-engineered from Tracer's tech). Drop a ''Translocator'', pick a fight with an enemy somewhere else to whittle their health, then teleport back. Rinse and repeat until enemy is dead (assuming they don't get healed, but you can also hack the medkits around the map to deny them healing too). This doesn't work as well against healers, as they could always heal themselves. Unless you hack their healing abilities.
* HollywoodHacking: She can hack just about anything, no matter how mundane; from factory lifts to someone's ability to sprint. Even her method of hacking is incredibly unrealistic [[RuleOfCool (though admittedly cool-looking)]], mostly just by using her glove device to activate or deactivate anything she wants. Her most egregious "hacks" in-game is somehow hacking things that are ostensibly ''biological'', not mechanical (Soldier 76's sprinting and Reaper's ''Wraith Form'' come to mind), as well as not entirely shutting down fully-mechanical opponents, such as Zenyatta, Orisa, and Bastion, which should stop them from attacking (or moving) altogether.
* ImpossibleGenius: Sombra's so good with computers and other machines that she can hack not only computers, but mechanical devices in general and even ''people''.
* InjuredVulnerability: Sombra's ''Opportunist'' passive allows her (but only her) to see enemies at critical health through walls, allowing her to know when to sneak up and finish the job. Scavenging kills like this is encouraged in her playstyle, as her low damage output discourages straight fights, while her multiple movement skills and ability to restrict medkits makes it easy for her to corner and kill weakened opponents. This is especially prominent in free-for-all Deathmatch mode, where she can effectively monopolize the primary source of healing on the map and simply steal kills from others while keeping herself topped up all the same.
* InterfaceScrew: A minor auditory version occurs when she hacks opponents — among other ailments, hacked targets lose their directional audio, an ability you never really appreciate until it's gone and you can't tell which direction Sombra's running off to.
* InterfaceSpoiler: If the Play of the Game segment begins with Sombra's "Hacked" intro, it's a dead giveaway that that particular Sombra player is being used to set up another Sombra's [=PotG=], as a "Hacked" intro never appears by itself in a [=PotG=].
* {{Invisibility}}: She's capable of completely concealing herself from enemies using her ''Stealth'', although attacking and being attacked disables it. Also, she can still be picked up by vision-granting abilities (like Widowmaker's Infra Sight) and Soldier: 76's Tactical Visor will still lock onto her. (If a friendly Zarya shields her while cloaked, [[SoMuchForStealth the shield bubble will be visible]]. If you see an empty Zarya shield running through the battle zone, pay heed.)
* ItsAllAboutMe: Whether or not she's [[UnreliableNarrator honest]], whether or not she's [[WildCard loyal]], one thing about Sombra that is certainly not ambiguous is that she is not a team player. A lot of her pre-fight banter revolves around musing about what all she can steal and mess with, and in ''Infiltration'', she's perfectly willing to [[spoiler:throw the mission under the bus, lie to her allies, and threaten a woman's — and, by implication, her child's — well-being, all for the sake of her own personal benefit]].
** Heck, she even manages to pull this off on a ''meta'' level. ''Hero'' takes place in her hometown, features Los Muertos gang members as the antagonists, and its SupportingProtagonist Alejandra later returns in ''Searching'' to [[spoiler:give Zarya a lead on Sombra's identity]], which retroactively makes it more relevant to Sombra's character than to Soldier: 76.
* {{Jerkass}}: Maybe not [[FauxAffablyEvil quite]] to the same degree as some of her Talon compatriots, but she gets a kick out of needlessly antagonizing those around her, tends to view people less like individuals and more like tools to help her get what she wants, and if she ever has any kind of leverage over someone or knows something they don’t, ''boy howdy'', does she ever love to lord it over them.
* KnightOfCerebus: Her origin video hints that there's much more at stake than Talon and Overwatch settling their old reignited feuds, and ''Infiltration'' is the first animated short where human beings are actually killed on-screen with several being murdered by Sombra herself.
* KnowledgeBroker: As a hacker and computer expert, Sombra is able to blackmail people into subservience. She is aligned with Talon as their technologist and chief informant on vital targets but she's not ''as'' evil as them.
* LackOfEmpathy: She has no problem with threatening people's well-being, livelihoods and loved ones to get what she wants, and her propensity to smirk while on the job suggests she even enjoys it.
* LaserGuidedKarma: In ''Infiltration'', she's willing to implicitly [[WouldHurtAChild threaten a woman's young daughter]] in order to force her into compliance. In ''Searching'', [[spoiler:another young girl plays an instrumental role in compromising and exposing her identity]].
* MakeUpIsEvil: While Sombra is not the only female Hero to wear makeup, hers is easily the most noticeable and striking in the game, including heavy purple eyeshadow and lipstick as well as nail polish on some of her skins.
* ManipulativeBitch: Her Origins video establishes her as someone willing to manipulate people like she manipulates machines.
* ManOfKryptonite: While every character has/are specific counters to other heroes, Sombra's ''Hack'' makes her this to ''everyone''. She can turn heroes who are dependent on mobility into sitting ducks (Tracer, Winston, Pharah), disable self-healing heroes (Roadhog, Soldier 76, Ana), and her ''EMP'' instantly shuts down all barriers (including Lucio's ''Sound Barrier'') and shields, temporarily leaving heroes such as Symmetra and Zenyatta at half health or less.
* MeaningfulName: "Sombra" means "Shadow" in her native Spanish, fitting considering her status as TheSneakyGuy.
* MechanicallyUnusualFighter: Sombra is the only character with a true stealth ability, and can interact with the map differently than any other character by hacking health packs to deny their use to the enemy and cause them to respawn more quickly for her team. She's also the only character that can directly lock other characters' abilities so they can't be used at all, as opposed to stunning the character altogether or physically blocking or otherwise countering them.
* MinoredInAsskicking: A hacker without the same training and combat background that most of the other characters have, but can still put up a fight nonetheless.
* NegatedMomentOfAwesome: Enemies that get hacked can't activate their ultimates, and if certain enemies are in the middle of using their ultimate, getting hacked during it will immediately end it.
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Sombra is not a good person by any means, but the world of ''Overwatch'' has a really twisted sense of humor. So, naturally, it's the one legitimately good and honest thing she has done — being a reliable patron to a small local business in her hometown — that comes back to bite her in ''Searching'', [[spoiler:as Alejandra, who works there, is able to recognize her picture and give Zarya a lead that potentially compromises her carefully hidden identity]].
* NoItemUseForYou: Sombra can hack health packs that temporarily cannot be used by the enemy team.
* NonconformistDyedHair: She has dark hair with bright pink extensions in her default skin. She's a former member of the Mexican gang Los Muertos and has been a rebellious {{Hackette}} since.
* NotInThisForYourRevolution: She is aligned with Talon, however, her reasons for joining are a bit more complex. She joined them for protection from an unknown threat, she helped Baptiste escape from Talon, and her targets (i.e Katya Volskaya and Guillermo Portero) appear to have had it coming for their corruption and treacherous behaviour. Interestingly, she's regarded as a hero in her home town despite being an international cyberterrorist.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Sombra has always had a playful side, but has mostly relegated her hacking abilities to actual business that matters in terms of her own personal goals or for Talon's sake. She even seems somewhat baffled when D.Va accuses her of being the "Cheating in video games" type of hacker, even though she isn't a gamer. Then we see the maxed-out high score of 9999 on the skeeball game in Blizzard World, where "SMB" has permanently knocked "DVA", "JRT", and "S76" into 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place. She also live hacks the Azmodunk basketball games when she approaches them.
* NotSoStoic: Her mannerisms are calm, cool, and collected in all of her appearances. At least until toward the end of ''Searching'', when she visibly freaks out at [[spoiler:hearing Zarya say her real name]]. She manages to recover herself by the end, but by that point, her smirking demeanor is less "I'm in control of this situation" and more "Fuck you and the horse you rode in on."
* NotTheIntendedUse: When Sombra was initially released, hacked health packs granted her ult charge whenever she or an ally were healed by them. When combined with their increased regeneration rate, a strategy was formed in making her a quasi-healer, with allies taking damage then retreating back to a hacked health pack to rapidly build up her ''EMP'', allowing her to wreck shop much faster than normal. This strategy was so unintended that Blizzard patched this feature out in early 2018, requiring her to work harder for her ultimate.
* OhCrap: Has this reaction when [[spoiler:Zarya reveals she knows her real name]].
* OlderThanTheyLook: Her appearance would suggest she's in her late teens/early twenties, but she's actually thirty.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Initially, "Sombra" was her only title, as she had to wipe out her real identity, even rendering her name as "██████████" in her official bio. Later on in "Searching", [[spoiler:Zarya refers to her as "Olivia Colomar", which she reacts to with a bit of shock]].
* OnlySaneMan: She's a troll who's addicted to hacking, but she's not [[AxCrazy completely unstable like Widowmaker or Reaper]].
* PayEvilUntoEvil: The closest thing she has to a selfless quality is that she seems to be willing to broaden her conniving shenanigans to people who actually deserve it, such as the [[CorruptCorporateExecutive executives]] of large [[MegaCorp corporations]] who profit from the suffering of others, including those affected by war in her native Mexico[[note]]Granted, all we have from both sides is hearsay, so the CEO of [=LumeriCo=] could be innocent, but the [[CrapsaccharineWorld state]] of the world and his willingness to cozy up to Vishkar is at least cause for suspicion[[/note]]. Although, if we're being completely fair, her most vocal group of supporters is still a collection of unapologetic criminal thugs.
* PetTheDog: For what it's worth, she ''does'' seem to like that bakery. Alejandra even asks if Sombra has done anything wrong when shown her picture, which would imply she has otherwise been a perfectly honest customer. Of course, just abstaining from being a lying thief isn't exactly a high benchmark.
* PlayfulHacker: While she does use her talents for blackmail and villainy, she also isn't above using them to troll Reaper.
* PowerNullifier: Her ''Hack'' ability renders an enemy's abilities unusable for a brief period of time. Her Ultimate, ''[=EMP=]'', hacks all nearby enemies in addition to breaking shields and barriers and hacking all health packs in range instantly.
* PragmaticVillainy: Having the most powerful woman in Russia in your back pocket is ''far'' more useful than simply killing her. While he's still in the shadow of exactly what she plans on doing with her, Doomfist (who didn't approve of the plan to assassinate Volskaya) thinks it was a good idea to keep her alive.
* PreAsskickingOneLiner: When activating her EMP, depending on her skin:
--> "Apagando las luces!"[[labelnote: Translation]]Literally "turning out the lights," essentially "lights out!"[[/labelnote]]\\
"La oscuridad te espera!"[[labelnote: Translation]]"Darkness awaits you!", heard when using her Demon Hunter skin.[[/labelnote]]
* [[PsychopathicManchild Psychopathic Womanchild]]: A more subdued example in that she isn't [[AxCrazy kill-happy]] in the same way Reaper and Widowmaker are, but she's definitely not above hurting and making life difficult for people to further her own goals, usually [[PsychoticSmirk smirking]] every step of the way. She's also an unrepentant [[{{Troll}} mischief-maker]] who gets a kick out of childishly taunting and mocking her opponents (or even her own allies for that matter), and she apparently sleeps with a teddy bear.
* PurpleIsPowerful: She wears a lot of purple in her outfit and hair, and most of her technology is purple. She's also a very talented and competent hacker.
* RemovingTheEarpiece: During ''Infiltration,'' she does this when she meets up face-to-face with Katya Volskaya in order to have a private conversation from Reaper so she can personally blackmail her. It ultimately did her no good, because Reaper ''still'' knows what she did.
* RockBeatsLaser: A non-combat example. Sombra is a tech wizard who went to exhaustive lengths to ensure that any trace of her identity was wiped clean before she went into hiding. Despite her efforts, her identity winds up coming to light anyway in ''Searching'' thanks to the one thing she could never hope to control: [[spoiler:her fellow townsfolk's memories of her]].
* SmallNameBigEgo: Sombra may be a very dangerous hacker whose deeds have made international news, but she's hardly special in a world where the entire cast does that regularly. Sometimes she's prone to not being as clever as she thinks she is either, particularly when sabotaging the mission to assassinate Volskaya for her own gain. Despite her planning, Reaper still figured her out and seems to have had little trouble with keeping tabs on her ever since.
* SigilSpam: Sombra's skull logo appears in almost everything associated with her, from a tattoo on one of her skins to a spray to an ultimate symbol.
* SigningOffCatchPhrase: Sombra appears to have a habit of saying "Boop" when signing off, even playfully tapping the person they're leaving if they're in person. [[https://lumerico.mx/MISDIRECTION/index.html She says it during the "Misdirection" string message]] during the ARG, and she says it twice in ''Infiltration,'' once to Katya Volskaya, and another to the [[ScreenTap camera]].
* SlasherSmile: In her "Pulse" highlight intro, she flashes the viewer a menacing smile before using her EMP.
* SkeletonMotif: Sombra is commonly associated with a calavera-style [[https://glemda.com/overwatch/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/sombra-skull.jpg skull that]] [[https://g.redditmedia.com/1WeIELyyAMjyGitvo7isV0nqaed7ZxIlilkLZG2zm1A.gif?w=320&s=5a1c461e3662371d160c10897e091e52 appears several times]] [[https://wiki.gamedetectives.net/images/a/a2/LumericoHacked.jpg during the]] AlternateRealityGame, and appears in-game as a recurring insignia, including as her ''EMP'' ability's icon.
* SmugSnake: Not nearly as bad as Widowmaker, but Sombra's penchant for stealth, interference and blackmail often grant her an edge over others in ways she knows cannot be conventionally countered. She is very aware this puts her in the most advantageous position, and she is more than ready to bask in it. She has all the hallmarks of someone who thinks she is untouchable.
* TheSneakyGuy: In addition to her hacking skills, she's also capable of stealthing with her… ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Stealth]]'', making her the only hero capable of flat-out {{Invisibility}}.
* SpicyLatina: She may not be MsFanservice, but she's got the playful part of this trope down.
* StatusEffects: Her in-game hacking is functionally the same as a typical silence, blocking enemies from using their abilities.
* StealthyTeleportation: Her teleporter, which is FlashyTeleportation normally, but all effects are removed when it's used with her {{Invisibility}} effect, making that case, this trope.
* StringTheory: She has a [[https://i.imgur.com/KDBmWSL.jpg digital web of connections]] set up in her hideout to help her uncover an unknown conspiracy.
* SweetTooth: Actually a plot point in "Searching", as her predictable visits to the local bakery allows Alejandra to drop dimes on her.
* TattooedCrook: While it's most likely body paint, she features some glowing body art in her "Azúcar"/"Los Muertos" skins much like other members of the Los Muertos gang that fits the general image.
* {{Technopath}}: What most of her [[HollywoodHacking "hacking"]] turns into. Best demonstrated in ''Infiltration,'' where she uses her hacking to hoist an operational lift and even a giant mecha hand to catch her fall and boost her to higher ground simply through touching them.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: ''No one'' likes working with Sombra. Not even Reaper and Widowmaker, her colleagues. Reaper is particularly distrustful of her (he even says as much to Widowmaker in a pre-battle interaction added in April 2020). It doesn't help that she [[{{Troll}} intentionally brings up stuff she did in the past to piss them off]], such as her stealing Tracer's chronal accelerator technology, or [[DoNotCallMePaul calling Reaper "Gabe" because it drives him up the wall]].
** Funnily enough, D.Va dislikes her because she thinks Sombra cheats at videogames, to which Sombra replies that she's not ''that'' kind of hacker.
* TimeMaster: Not nearly to Tracer's extent, but given that her translocator is a heavily modified chronal accelerator, it most likely functions by bringing Sombra through time to a different location.
* TrickedOutGloves: She just has to touch something to hack into it.
* {{Troll}}: She loves having a laugh at others' expense.
** In ''Infiltration,'' she messes with Reaper by opening a door for him, then closing it just as he's about to slip inside. She does this just to annoy him.
** She also had a habit of doing this ''to the fans'' during the AlternateRealityGame, with most of the codes being included with [[PlayfulHacker playful comments]] to whoever managed to decode them. The most notable of which was when [[https://www.reddit.com/r/Overwatch/comments/4w7ey1/the_sombra_skysong/ fans got a little too analytical with a strange artifact in the Dorado map sky]] (which gave birth to the [[Memes/{{Overwatch}} memetic suggestion to try and make it into music]].) [[ShaggyDogStory It turned out to be just a]] RedHerring, and in the next part of the ARG, [[TakeThatAudience Sombra uploaded a datamoshed picture of Dorado that when decoded read:]]
--> "Por que estan mirando al cielo? La respuesta no esta sobre sus cabezas, esta detras de ustedes. A veces, necesitan analizar sus logros previos." [[labelnote:Translation]]"Why are you looking at the sky? The answer isn't over your heads, it's behind you. Sometimes, you need to analyze your previous achievements."[[/labelnote]]
** This extends to ''the game, itself'': her [[https://gfycat.com/RightLimpingAlbatross "Hacking" highlight intro]] shows the intro for another player before Sombra hacks it to show it's an intro for her!
** She also tries to make coy, taunting remarks to her teammates in her upcoming pre-battle banter. Tracer[[note]]pissed off that her trans-locater is built from stolen notes for her chronal accelerator[[/note]], Zarya[[note]]angry that she'd ever imply Volskaya is doing something very bad[[/note]], and Reaper[[note]]angry that Sombra never follows the plan of attack[[/note]] can hardly stand her. Genji, on the other hand, [[NoSell completely shrugs her off]].
--> '''Sombra:''' You wouldn't ''believe'' what I learned about you… ''Sparrow''.
--> '''Genji:''' I am at peace with who I was. Your threat does not concern me.
* TronLines: She forms several on objects she's hacking, and she even has a few forming a design on her back.
* {{Understatement}}: PlayedForLaughs when an enemy team is capturing a point.
-->"They're taking the objective. [[CaptainObvious We should probably stop that.]]"
* {{Unperson}}: She did this to herself, erasing all traces of her former life and identity once she caught the eye of a powerful conspiracy. Not even the official website knows her real name. [[spoiler:Makes it all the more impressive that Zarya found it out. Olivia Colomar.]]
* UnreliableNarrator: Described as such by the game devs.
* UnusualEyebrows: She has a shaved streak in both her eyebrows.
* VaguenessIsComing: [[spoiler:In "Searching" she gives Zarya ominous warnings of a greater threat than Talon and Overwatch.]]
* VillainousFriendship: According to WordOfGod, she considers her fellow Talon operators to be genuine friends.
* VillainProtagonist: Naturally, since she's a playable Talon operative. She's also the protagonist of the ''Infiltration'' short.
* VillainsOutShopping:
** Suggested in one of her pre-game lines in Dorado, in stark contrast to other maps where she has more insidious plans:
--> "Back home... I should go drop by the bakery."
** She's seen in "Reflections" celebrating Christmas by drinking at a bar along with a passed-out Cassidy.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: The people of Dorado, particularly her old friends in the Los Muertos gang, seem to regard her as a Robin Hood-esque figure who looks out for the little guy despite how she knowingly aids and abets the world's most notorious terrorist organization which openly kills innocent people for no reason other than to instill conflict. Downplayed, because outside of her hometown she's regarded with exactly the kind of suspicion and hostility you would expect.
* WeakButSkilled: She is very likely to lose against all other Damage heroes in direct combat, due to her mediocre damage output, even point-blank. She compensates for this with her abilities making her very evasive and making life hell for her enemies, allowing her to prey at them when they're vulnerable.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: If she truly cares about ending the conspiracy for the good of all, she is willing to join an unambiguously evil group and murder innocent lives to get what she wants.
* WalkingTechbane: If she wants to be one, she can create an {{EMP}} with her body.
* WildCard: [[spoiler:While she does work for Talon, she appears to have her own goals, since she sabotages an AssassinationAttempt that would've further disrupted human-omnic relations if it had succeeded.]]
* WouldHurtAChild: Implied when she threatens to blackmail Katya Volskaya. While making her threat, she holds up a picture of Volskaya's daughter, but whether that means the blackmail would get her involved or if Sombra would also hurt her if Volskaya didn't cooperate is up in the air.
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: In "Searching", it's revealed that [[spoiler:[[HeroToHisHometown Sombra is regarded as a hero in Dorado]] despite being a wanted cyber-criminal and aligned with the terrorist organization Talon]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Symmetra - ''India'']]
!!Satya Vaswani / Symmetra
!!!'''Species:''' Human
!!!'''Age:''' 28
!!!'''Occupation:''' Architech
!!!'''Base of Operations:''' Utopaea, India
!!!'''Affiliation:''' Vishkar Corporation
!!!'''Appearances (comics):''' "A Better World" (focus)
!!!'''Appearances (short stories):''' "Stone By Stone" (focus)
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/satya_portrait.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:''"Such a lack of imagination."'']]

->''"The true enemy of humanity is disorder."''

->Voiced by: Creator/AnjaliBhimani (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Carla Castañeda (Latin American Spanish), Silvia Sarmentera (European Spanish), Creator/HitomiNabatame (Japanese), Tulika Srivastava (French), Sanam Afrashteh (German), Deborah Morese (Italian), Guilene Conte (Brazilian Portuguese), Yun-seon Im (Korean), Zhang Naiwen (Taiwanese Chinese), Zhāng Yù (Mandarin Chinese), Agnieszka Kunikowska (Polish), Karina Dymont (Russian)[[/note]]
\\\
Symmetra literally bends reality. By manipulating hard-light constructs, she crafts the world as she wishes it to be, in hopes of engineering a perfect society.
\\\
Following the Omnic Crisis, the Vishkar Corporation of southern India began the laborious process of creating new, self-sustaining cities to house the nation's displaced population. One such city, Utopaea, was created using radical hard-light technology that enabled its architects to shape the city's streets, utilities, and living spaces in the blink of an eye.
\\\
After she was identified as one of the few capable of becoming a light-bending architect, young Satya Vaswani was plucked from extreme poverty and placed in the care of Vishkar's architect academy, never to return home. Isolated and lonely in her new life, Satya immersed herself in her education and training. She quickly grasped the applications of the technology and was one of the top students in her class. Satya approached hard-light manipulation differently from her peers, with their more procedural, mechanical constructions, instead weaving her constructs in the motions of the traditional dance of her homeland.
\\\
Though she was one of Utopaea's top architects, the Vishkar Corporation saw far greater potential in Satya's abilities. Giving her the moniker "Symmetra," Vishkar sent her on clandestine missions around the world to uphold its corporate interests and expand its influence into other countries.
\\\
Symmetra believes her actions serve the greater good in society. But there are times when she wonders whether the control and order she desires are truly best for humanity.
\\\
Symmetra is a Damage character (formerly a support character) who can lock down choke points with sentries, shields, and projectile spam, as well as assist her team's positioning via teleportation.
* Her weapon is the '''Photon Projector''', which can both fire out a short-ranged beam that ramps up in damage the more it damages a target, as well as refilling ammo when used against barriers. She's able to fire explosive energy balls for her secondary fire, either in rapid succession or to charge them up for heavy damage.
* '''Sentry Turret''', has her launch up to three turrets at a time that stick to the first surface they hit, firing lasers that damage and slow down any enemies near them after they deploy.
* '''Teleporter''', summons a teleporter pad a long distance away and a second one at her feet, granting her team access to new heights and flank routes.
* Symmetra's ultmate, '''Photon Barrier''', deploys a very durable, map-spanning wall of light that blocks enemy gunfire.
\\\
Symmetra has had two major reworks as of June 2018. Prior to her second rework in June 2018, '''Photon Projector''' would lock on to targets, she could place up to six turrets, but only in close range (and could still only deploy three turrets in one sitting before having to recharge), her '''Photon Barrier''' was a normal ability that fired an automatically-advancing shield, and two placed ultimates: a '''Teleporter''' that connected between her current location and her team's spawn, and a '''Shield Generator''' that would grant passive shields to all allies within range. Prior to her first rework in December 2016, she only had '''Teleporter''' as an ultimate, and instead of '''Photon Barrier''', she had '''Photon Shield''', which placed a small, flat amount of regenerating shield around an ally, lasting until they died.
----
* AlwaysAccurateAttack: Her ''Photon Projector's'' primary fire used to fire a beam that would tether to a single foe and continuously damage them. It would continue to damage that target no matter how much they jump around unless they either got out of Symmetra's line of sight, got out of range, or placed a barrier ([[HumanShield or a teammate]]) in range. This was removed in favor of a straight beam like Zarya's after her second rework.
* AntiVillain: Symmetra is a good-hearted lady, but she works for the Vishkar Corporation, something of a nefarious MegaCorp that has dabbled in plenty of shady practices, while feeding her information that it's all for the greater good. She does have her doubts, but due to having been groomed to be a top enforcer of Vishkar from a young age, she appears unable to turn against the corporation.
* ArchEnemy: To Lúcio, who stole her organization's technology and ruined their efforts in Brazil, which makes him the epitome of everything in society she despises.
%%* ArmorPiercingAttack: Prior to her second rework, her ''Photon Projector's'' secondary fire could pass through shields like Reinhardt's and Winston's at the cost of of being a PainfullySlowProjectile.
* TheArtifact: Much of Symmetra's gameplay identity as [[SquishyWizard a heavily utility-based Damage hero]] is a result of [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness her foundation, built on design ideas which Blizzard eventually strayed away from]]. She was originally released as an unorthodox Support [[TheEngineer whose team-supporting power came through indirect gadgets like turrets and teleporters]] rather than through direct buffs like healing, but as the regular metagame developed, the ability to heal was deemed to be so vital to Supports that Symmetra only became an unpopular exception. Rather than sacrifice her unique gadgets to make her another healer, Blizzard has since opted to double down on her utility and attempt to make it more palatable, putting her somewhat closer to a heavily zoning-based Damage hero like Torbjörn, and even he has strayed further away from his utility for more personal firepower[[note]]The original plan was for her to move from Support to Defense, a category given to heroes whose theoretical specialty was controlling zones in this way. However, during the move, the Defense and Offense labels were collapsed into a single Damage category (both of them were effectively about dealing damage and were more flexible than suggested, so the separation was deemed redundant), taking Symmetra with them[[/note]].
* ArtificialLimbs: Her left arm is very mechanical-looking and features a palm-mounted device to construct with, and it was confirmed to be an artificial replacement.
* AsceticAesthetic: The technology she uses is very sleek and white, namely her ''Photon Projector'', her left arm, and her turrets.
* BalanceBuff:
** She was given a significant kit change in December 2016 in response to complaints that she was too situational (being only effective at point-A defense) and increase her versatility. Among minor changes such as an increased lock-on range for her primary fire[[note]]in absolute terms. Relatively speaking, it was a ''40%'' increase on her old lock-on range. Once locked-on, the beam's maximum range has remained unchanged[[/note]] and being able to put down more turrets and put them down faster, she got an active dynamic barrier in ''Photon Barrier'' rather than the tiny "fire and forget" +25 shield buff. She also got a second ultimate in ''Shield Generator'' to give her more options alongside her ''Teleporter''.
** When the first rework ended up creating some problems of its own (mainly exacerbating the "[[SkillGateCharacter incredibly powerful at low levels, near-useless in higher levels]]" nature of her kit), she was given a second, even bigger rework in June 2018 to even things out. Her primary fire lost its lock-on feature in exchange for more damage, her secondary fire became an explosive projectile instead of a piercing one, she gained a reduced amount of turrets in exchange for being able to deploy them from afar, her ''Teleporter'' was demoted from an Ultimate to a normal, foundationally different ability, she lost her ''Shield Generator'' and regular ''Photon Barrier'' ability, but gained a completely new ''Photon Barrier'' that became her new Ultimate ability.
* BeamSpam: Both her weapon and her turrets fire continuous beams at enemies. There is even an achievement for hitting a single enemy with four beams at once.
* BecomingTheCostume:
** Her "Dragon" skin changes and adds a bunch of lines to revolve around sorcery and dragons, borrowing some lines from The Summoner in ''Junkenstein's Revenge''. Most notably, she refers to her ''Sentry Turrets'' as "Sentry Wards" and her ''Teleporter'' as a "[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Teleportation Portal]]" (before it was removed, she also called her ''Shield Generator'' a "Shield Well").
** Her "Magician" skin has her say "Presto!" and "Just a bunch of hocus-pocus!" after a final blow, as well as "Abracadabra" while placing a turret.
* BellyDancer: Symmetra's Dance emote is inspired by Indian-style belly dancing.
* BilingualBonus: Originally, Symmetra only had English lines, but following demand from the fans, several lines in Hindi were added to the game.
* BlindObedience: While she is stated to have doubts regarding Vishkar, [[GameplayAndStorySegregation her in-game quotes don't seem to show much of it]], something which Lúcio will regularly mock her for.
* BlueIsHeroic: Her default outfit and gear are splashed with light blue; even her light constructs are blue. She's also one of the playable characters, and a NobleTopEnforcer when compared to [[CorruptCorporateExecutive the much more corrupt co-workers of the company she works for.]]
* BollywoodNerd: She's a genius in hard-light technology and incorporates traditional Indian dance in her construction methods.
* ChargedAttack: The secondary fire mode of her ''Photon Projector'' can be traditionally charged by being held down, making it deal more damage once fired. The primary fire, meanwhile, ramps up in damage if held on a target long enough, increasing up to ''triple'' its base for truly monstrous amounts of close-ranged firepower.
* ChildProdigy: She was identified as gifted enough to bend hard-light at a very young age.
* CloseRangeCombatant: Symmetra's ''Photon Cannon'' has two modes of fire: a PainfullySlowProjectile that's near impossible to aim with accuracy over any kind of range (useful more for denying access to chokepoints with its large size than actually securing kills), and short-range beam that grows in power the longer it's locked on, melting through enemies if she can keep her momentum going [[GlassCannon and stay alive]].
* CombatStilettos: She wears heels into combat, because RuleOfCool.
* CorporateSamurai: While she's officially an architech, she does occasionally partake in clandestine operations for Vishkar of dubious morality.
* CorporateWarfare: Was recruited to help enforce the Vishkar Corporation's interests.
%%* DeathOfAThousandCuts: Prior to her second rework, her Photon Projector's primary fire had the lowest damage per hit of any weapon in the game at first. But it's an AlwaysAccurateAttack that hits four times per second and ramps up over time, to the point that it's dealing 120 damage per second once it reaches maximum power.
* DeflectorShields:
** Her current ''Photon Barrier'' creates an ''absolutely enormous'' barrier field that spans an entire map and can block off up to 5,000 damage.
** Symmetra's previous kits also involved shields and barriers, including a previous, smaller-scale iteration of ''Photon Barrier'' that projected an automatically-moving shield to soak up to 1,000 damage. One of her ultimates was ''Shield Generator'', which automatically granted 75 shield health to all allies within range, which was itself a ramp-up of a normal ability that let her give nearby allies a permanent-until-death, non-stacking +25 shields buff to their HP.
* DraconicHumanoid: Her 2017 Halloween Terror skin, appropriately named "Dragon". It gives her red and purple-grey skin covered in scales and armor plates, horns, a draconic tail or crest growing from the back of her head and yellow VolcanicVeins along her chest and right arm. It also turns her skirt into a pair of dragon wings growing from the small of her back.
* TheEngineer: Her entire kit revolves around mobilizing the team and building additional defenses in any situation.
* EverythingIsAnIPodInTheFuture: Her left hand and gun are smooth and white, resembling the [[VideoGame/{{Portal}} Portal Gun]].
* EyesDoNotBelongThere: Her "Dragon" legendary skin puts two moving ones onto her ''Photon Projector''.
* GadgeteerGenius: Her entire powerset revolves around her inventions.
* GenderBlenderName: Satya is a gender-neutral name, and is more often given to men.
* GlassCannon: With her ''Photon Projector'' at maximum power and range, Symmetra can easily rack up a near team kill or at least melt through half of the opposing team. However, despite her small hitbox, she only has 200 HP and initiates the most of her damage at close range, where the majority of the cast can easily drop her.
* GoingNative: In "Stone by Stone", Symmetra spends several days with [[ReligiousRobot a religious omnic commune]] in India in order to figure out how to make up for Vishkar's accidental destruction of a sacred statue. With Zenyatta's mentorship, she better understands their faith and humanistic worldview enough to create a glorious reconstruction of the statue, and [[ButNowIMustGo while she eventually has to leave]], she keeps their lessons to heart.
* GoodSamaritan: Her mindset — she selflessly works to make sure people can rise above poverty and have better living standards, not for something in exchange. Sadly, her co-workers at Vishkar are majorly {{Bad Samaritan}}s. In "Stone by Stone", when she's assigned by Vishkar to create a new development as apologies for accidently wrecking a sacred omnic temple, she instinctively dismisses their proposals of luxury retreats and goes out of her way to personally understand what was lost in order to create a meaningful replacement.
* HardLight: Her entire kit is based around creating turrets and other gadgets with it. In her lore, Symmetra is capable of far more advanced HardLight manipulation, and is capable of building entire cities with nothing but HardLight, though the closest she gets in-game [[RuleOfFun for the sake of game balance]] is her ultimate, creating an entire map-spanning HardLight [[DeflectorShields wall]].
* HartmanHips: About as wide as her shoulders.
* HornedHumanoid: She received a skin from the 2017 Haloween Terror event that resembles a demonic dragon, with notable horns extending out of her forehead into the back.
* InspectorJavert: She's usually acting like this when it comes to Lúcio. While she is starting to doubt Vishkar's good intentions, what Lúcio did was pretty much theft, making him no better in her eyes. She either condemns him as a criminal, or demands the return of the technology he stole if she manages to score a kill against him.
* IronicName: Her cybernetic left arm makes her herself anything but symmetrical.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: She comes off as unapproachable and haughty in-game, in part due to her interactions being primarily with Lucio, who professes ideals that are diametrically opposed to her own, and Torbjörn, whom she sees using inferior technology compared to her. However, she does her work for Vishkar out of a genuine belief that she is creating a better world.
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: One of her highlight intros features her adjusting the position of the camera.
* LightEmUp: Manipulates hard-light constructs for her attacks and abilities.
* LightIsGood: Played with. She uses HardLight and her color palette is primarily white and blue, but she works for [[EvilInc Vishkar]]. At the same time, she is shown to be a TokenGoodTeammate and is canonically aware of their corrupt activities, but doesn't bring it up in gameplay conversations.
* LiteralMinded: The "Stone by Stone" short story shows she takes various sayings like "a drop in the bucket" very literally. She also briefly stumbles on Zenyatta's claim of "building bridges between human and omnics."
%%* MagikarpPower: Her Photon Projector's primary fire does piddling damage at the outset, but if she's allowed to keep it on her target it ramps up to become the weapon with the highest raw [=DPS=] in the game, shredding through entire teams if she can get the drop on them.
* MagicalGesture: [[ClarkesThirdLaw She's using]] HardLight [[ClarkesThirdLaw technology]], but whenever she creates something, it always comes with fancy hand gestures evocative of traditional Indian dance and finger-tutting.
* MeaningfulName: Her name "Symmetra" is based on the word "symmetry", which makes sense given her love for order. Her real name, Satya, means "truth" and/or "reality" in Sanskrit.
* ModestyShorts: She wears a black pair in her "Oasis" skin.
* MsFanservice: Her default outfit [[ShesGotLegs shows off her legs]], as well as her shapely form. Her Legendary skins, however, are Fanservice-incarnate. Her Hindu-themed skins [[BareYourMidriff show off her midriff]] and even ''more'' of her legs by way of a DangerouslyShortSkirt. Her Halloween "Dragon"-themed skin has her [[NonHumansLackAttributes technically naked from the waist up]] while adding a keen EvilIsSexy mystique.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Has this reaction after Sanjay detonates Calado's headquarters, killing everyone inside and burning the favela to cinders along with the face of the girl who helped her earlier. It was this incident that caused her to start doubting the true intentions of her own company.
* [[MyKungFuIsStrongerThanYours My Tech Is Stronger Than Yours]]: She looks down on Torbjörn's more 'traditional' turrets or armor, which are less advanced than the technology she specializes in.
-->'''Symmetra:''' Armor? How positively medieval...
-->'''Torbjörn:''' Everyone's a critic...
* NobleTopEnforcer: Symmetra is pretty much one of Vishkar's top enforcers... and is also one of the most morally upright, especially when compared to those that [[KnightTemplar endorse any shady activities as long as they serve the company's interests.]]
* NoblewomansLaugh: Her "Laugh" emote has her do the hand gesture associated with this, though the actual laugh is much more subdued.
* ObviousRulePatch:
** A very weird one. The "No Healers" warning on the hero selection screen was added because Symmetra was originally considered a Support hero, but one who had (and still has) absolutely no ability to heal her teammates, causing inexperienced teams to run without healers thanks to "No Supports" popping up, who learned the hard way that she is absolutely not a substitute for an actual medic.
** Eventually, Symmetra's more utility-based support looked more and more out of place in the category, especially as later Supports always provided [[TheMedic some manner of healing]]. With her second rework, it was decided to move her to being a Defense hero, which simultaneously collapsed with Offense into Damage, her current label.
* OneHitPointWonder: Prior to her second rework, the turrets she creates went down in one hit, but since she could put down multiple in the same place, the enemy could usually expect to shoot a lot of them if they wanted to proceed.
* OrderVsChaos: Strongly believes that order is the surest way to peace. If Lúcio is on her team, the two may argue over whether freedom or order is better, or they'll quip that they aren't too happy with each other's company. She has this debate pretty much verbatim with Doomfist as well, but he dismisses both stances as simply being a means to an end.
* PainfullySlowProjectile: Her secondary fire used to be this, until it was reworked to be a lot faster and therefore more reliable. It no longer pierces barriers as it used to do, however.
* PrimAndProperBun: Has this when equipped with the alternative "Vishkar" and "Architect" skins, which fits since she loves order. In the comic short "A Better World", it's confirmed that the aforementioned skin (and bun) is her standard employee uniform when working with her company.
* {{Qipao}}: Technically not a proper one, but her [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Qipao"]] skin recolors her default dress in the style of a traditional red/gold one.
* RagsToRiches: A light-bending architect prodigy, who originally came from an extremely poor family.
* RaisedByOrcs: Separated from her parents, she was raised according to Vishkar's beliefs, making her extremely loyal to them. At the same time, she has a genuine desire to do good in the world and is not so indoctrinated as to ignore the morally questionable actions her company sometimes takes, currently leaving her at an impasse where she is doubting her allegiance to Vishkar, but simultaneously does not yet seem ready to break away from them.
* RayGun: Her ''Photon Projector'' can fire either a medium-range beam and [[EnergyBall explosive energy balls]]. Prior to her second rework, her beam's range was shorter and could [[HomingLasers home in on an enemy]], and her energy balls instead [[ArmorPiercingAttack pierced through enemies]].
* RealityWarper: Symmetra announces "Reality bends to my will!" when she deploys her photon barrier. Considering it's a HardLight construct that expands ''infinitely'', she's definitely breaking the laws of physics in some way. Lampshaded with one of the unlockable quotes in Summer Games 2019.
-> "Reality is my playground."
* RegeneratingShieldStaticHealth: Half of her health is allocated in shields, allowing her to heal from all but the most serious injuries in just a few seconds, provided she can stay out of the line of fire long enough.
* ShesGotLegs: Especially evident in her default skin and its variations, as well as the Hindu-themed skins.
* ShoutOut: Her legendary "Dragon" skin from the 2017 [[HalloweenEpisode Halloween Terror]] event bears a striking resemblance to the [[VideoGame/StarCraft Queen of Blades]] herself.
* SituationalSword: Her ''Teleporter'' used to be this, being mostly useful for defending teams in charge of Objective A on Assault and Hybrid maps, as it's a ''long'' way to the objective. In most other situations, however, its value was debatable. Blizzard first tried to remedy this by giving her a second ultimate, ''Shield Generator'', but then scrapped it and reworked the teleporter to be a regular ability that is more valuable as a repositioning tool for Symmetra and her teammates.
* SkillGateCharacter: A slighter example than most in the game, since she requires a good knowledge of maps to find the best locations to place turrets and Ultimates. She also tends to not do very well in high-level play since a good flanker or anyone who can get behind her defenses and destroy them can shut her down, and [[SquishyWizard she herself is rather squishy.]] That said, a good Symmetra can be an absolute nuisance to most players, as her turrets and ''Photon Barrier'' interfere with pushes and good use of her teleporter allows her team (or Symmetra herself) to attack from an unguarded angle.
* SquishyWizard: Symmetra has some of the highest utility of any Damage hero, with turrets to divert enemy attention, teleporters for team mobility, a giant defensive ultimate that splits up the map, and even her primary weapon [[MagikarpPower can ramp up into crazy damage numbers with frequent use]]. Her biggest tradeoff is that she's very squishy, lacks resources to protect herself in the middle of a fight, and lacks range in her damage, meaning she needs to be very careful in how she coordinates her arsenal before going in.
* StageMagician: Her Anniversary-exclusive "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Magician]]" skin styles her as a classy performer with a NiceHat, suit, and translucent arm. The skin also indulges in some LovelyAssistant-esque fanservice [[ShesGotLegs by continuing showing off her thighs]].
* SmugSuper: Due to being the best in her field of expertise (architecture) and being raised by Vishkar in a very elite environment, Symmetra can be very smug towards others, especially if they're using something of a lesser caliber.
* StatusInflictionAttack: Her Sentry Turrets fire a laser that both damages and greatly reduces the speed of their targets.
* TheStoic: Regardless of any of the chaos that occurs around her, Symmetra is [[DissonantSerenity unusually calm and analytical]] almost all of the time. Best exemplified if her turrets go down; in contrast to Torbjörn, who acts frustrated or anguished when his turret gets destroyed, Symmetra simply responds with something along the lines of "My turret was destroyed", or "My defenses are weakened", without any hint of tension or even annoyance.
** Subverted (justifiably) in Retribution where she becomes genuinely incensed if an Assassin pounces her.
---> "Get her OFF of me!"
* {{Stripperific}}: Especially evident in her [[Myth/HinduMythology Kali-inspired]] "Devi" and "Goddess" skins, which give her nothing but a short skirt, some jewelry, and two pieces of cloth on her chest.
* SuperOCD: Symmetra is obsessed with order and perfection, though unlike most examples where it's part of an AmbiguousDisorder, Blizzard specified that it's linked to [[https://www.polygon.com/2017/3/9/14873308/overwatch-symmetra-autistic her being autistic]]. In one of her highlight intros, she is annoyed when the camera goes askew and corrects it. She has a similar problem during her meeting with the major in Rio de Janeiro, being distracted by a slightly crooked painting. She even questions how it isn't driving anyone else crazy and adjusts it. In-game, Torbjörn tries to use this to tease her, but it backfires because ''she's probably already checked'':
-->'''Torbjörn:''' Heh heh, there's something on your dress.\\
'''Symmetra:''' ''(disdainfully)'' No. There isn't.
* SupportPartyMember: While technically {{subverted|Trope}} since her June 2018 rework where she's been shifted to the Damage role instead of Support, Symmetra has possibly the highest potential utility of anyone in the category with her defensive turrets, ''Teleporter'' and ''Photon Barrier''. Prior to her second rework, she was categorized as a Support hero, which put her at odds with the others since she was the only one completely incapable of healing allies.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: Whenever Symmetra is placed on the same team as Lúcio, she makes it clear that she doesn't like working with him, a sentiment Lúcio shares.
-->'''Symmetra:''' To think I should have to work with a street ruffian.\\
'''Lúcio:''' I'm not all that excited about this arrangement either.
* TechnicalPacifist: Symmetra dislikes killing and usually puts her weapons on 'Energy Drain' mode to just leave her opponents unconscious, as shown during her mission in Rio de Janeiro. Other Vishkar employees are puzzled by this since they prefer the easy way of just killing anyone standing in their way.
* ThinkingUpPortals: One of her abilities is ''Teleporter'', which creates a portal within 25 meters that she, her teammates, and their abilities can travel back and forth through, [[https://gfycat.com/BaggyGleamingGrison which can result in all sorts]] [[https://gfycat.com/EnchantedIllfatedIcelandicsheepdog of wacky interactions]]. Previously, it was an ultimate that would one-way link directly to her team's spawn point.
* TigerVersusDragon: The dragon to Lucio's tiger; Symmetra is cold and calculated, she values logic and always treats it as a major factor in her decisions. This is reflected by her teleporter ability and Photon Barrier ultimate, as both require strategy and foresight. This comparison was stronger when she was originally a support class hero with Lucio before being moved to the damage class.
* TheTurretMaster: She's able to deploy up to 3 ''Sentry Turrets'' at a time that can be stuck on any surface and fire continuous beams at intruders.
* ToBeLawfulOrGood: Falls heavily on the Lawful side, although she's having doubts.
* TokenGoodTeammate: In-universe, she's the only Vishkar employee shown so far that has good intentions. In-game, she's also the only AntiVillain amongst the antagonistic characters, with Doomfist, Reaper, Widowmaker, Sombra, Junkrat and Roadhog being more akin to [[CardCarryingVillain Card-Carrying Villains]].
* TrapMaster: Compared to Torbjörn's turrets, Symmetra's turrets are more along the lines of traps that are best set within narrow corridors to ambush her foes.
* TrueBlueFemininity: She wears blue and is one of the more feminine, [[DissonantSerenity serene]] and classy characters in the game. It also represents loneliness due to being separated from her parents and raised in a secluded environment with no actual friends.
* UnorthodoxReload: Symmetra creates a small HardLight orb and feeds it into the side of her ''Photon Projector''.
* UnfitForGreatness: One of her voice lines for eliminating an opponent has her say that they were "not meant for greatness".
* WeakTurretGun: A single turret is nothing to write home about, but it slows enemies and can be created in bulk.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: She conducts various clandestine and illegal missions for the Vishkar Corporation, which include killing people (though she prefers to avoid doing so if possible), espionage, slander, and blackmail. She justifies these missions to herself as helping Vishkar create a better world, which is something she genuinely wants.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: The company Vishkar was responsible for this after seeing Symmetra's boundless potential as a light architect, taking her away from her parents and preventing her from going back. No doubt this had some effect on her. See RaisedByOrcs.
[[/folder]]
----

!!!'''Appearances (short stories):''' "What You Left Behind" (cameo)

* StartOfDarkness: The Venice mission in ''Retribution'' proves to be this, as it's apparently the first time he's murdered a person in cold blood. And as Cassidy notes, things just got worse from there.

* FatalFlaw: Blizzard has said that his skills as a soldier are what people hired him for before he became Reaper, not his personality. Evidently, he hasn't gotten any better, [[KickTheDog and lordy me]], [[BloodKnight does it show]]. In both the Cinematic Trailer and ''Recall'', Reaper has Winston set up for the kill, but both times, [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim he decides to rub salt into the wound first]]. [[KickTheDog He breaks Winston's glasses]] in the Cinematic Trailer and gives a PreMortemOneLiner in ''Recall''. Both times, Winston got a HeroicSecondWind and drove him off.
* FateWorseThanDeath: Gabriel Reyes survived the explosion in the Swiss HQ that killed many others, but at great cost. He was turned into an undying wraith through some unknown means. Now he lives in a state of constant agony, and is wishing that he could die. As Reaper, he views having to live as being his curse. It's no wonder he takes pleasure in causing harm; he has to live in a state of pain the whole time. Additionally, it's implied that he's become so disfigured by both the explosion and the procedure that he can't remove his mask, or people would be ''terrified'' by what they see. This means he can't even go out in public anymore, forcing him to live the way he does. Yes, he's a bad guy, but having to live like that is something that no one deserves.

* FreakLabAccident: {{Implied}} — while nobody's sure of what happened to him, it's implied that it might be something like that. All we can know for certain is that Moira was conducting experiments on him while she was in Blackwatch, and he is a constantly dying and regenerating phantom that exists in a constant state of pain.

** [[spoiler:For all his ruthlessness, he at one point did care greatly for innocent lives. In the Retribution comic, he was more than willing to rush into a burning building to save his comrades trapped inside and was seen with Morrison placing flags for fallen Overwatch agents.]]
** He was actually married at one point and raised a family, as revealed in the "Bastet" short story.
* HiredGuns: His biography calls him "one of the deadliest mercenaries on Earth."

** [[spoiler:For all his talk of wanting to stick as close to the plan as possible, ''Retribution'' shows that before he became Reaper, Reyes did not stick to the original details of the mission, instead going rogue and killing the target he was supposed to be apprehending. [[FridgeBrilliance The disastrous results may help to explain why he is now so adamant about sticking to the plan.]]]]

* HighlyVisibleNinja: For a character with a sneaky and stealthy kit, Sombra parades about in very noticeable shades of bright purple.

* AmbiguousSituation:
** According to his profile, the myth of Reaper has been around for decades, but Gabriel could have only been Reaper for 6 years at most. It has been confirmed that the wording is intentional.
** There's also the origin of Reaper's [[SuperSmoke strange]], [[YourSoulIsMine ghastly]] [[HumanoidAbomination present form]]. Reyes had "genetics issues" as far back as his time in Blackwatch, with one of the reasons he hired Moira being to help treat and/or monitor them. No word has been given on what his original problems were or where they came from, whether his current state is a result of their natural progression, as a result of [[MadScientist Moira's]] direct experimentation, or something else entirely.

* EmergencyTransformation: {{Downplayed|Trope}}; after the explosion at Overwatch's HQ symbolically destroyed the organization and mortally wounded Reyes, he was revived by Moira using a "juiced-up" version of the substance that gave him his form-shifting powers. This greatly worsened Reyes' genetic instability and made him closer to [[SuperSmoke the ghastly form of the present-day]], but Moira insisted it was necessary for him to survive.

* SuperSoldier: As Reyes, he was part of the same super soldier program as Morrison, giving him speed, strength, and reflexes superior to that of a normal human. However, while Morrison made it out fairly stable, Reyes was dealt a much more mixed bag that informs his current "Reaper" abilities, namely his [[SuperSmoke ability to transform into a semi-tangible, smoke-like entity]]. The reason he hired [[MadScientist Moira]] during his time in Blackwatch was because even back then, his [[BodyHorror genetic instability]] was already such a pertinent issue, but after he was left MIA from the decimation of Overwatch's HQ, Moira juiced his body up with experimental treatments that revived him, [[BlessedWithSuck but further worsened his stability and made him even more wraith-like]].
[[AmbiguousSituation Whether his current state is a simple evolution of these issues or a result of direct interference by Moira's experiments, we're not told.]]

** "Bastet" and "Code of Violence" confirm that Reyes had a wife and son long before he descended into villainy, with the latter story demonstrating that [[FallenHero even during his start in Talon]], he kept them in his memory. [[AmbiguousSituation Their current fate is unclear]], though in the "Reflections" comic, Reaper is seen quietly watching a happy family from the shadows, with Michael Chu confirming "[[https://www.reddit.com/r/Overwatch/comments/6b63j3/ama_request_michael_chu/dhlgs6l/ It's not a random family.]]"

* SuperSoldier: As Reyes, he was part of the same super soldier program as Morrison, giving him speed, strength, and reflexes superior to that of a normal human. UpToEleven once he was revived as (for all intents and purposes) an undead wraith, granting him even more durability, the ability to steal the life force of others, teleport short distances, and even become an invulnerable cloud of smoke. [[https://youtu.be/lPXKBFXS3wk?t=1152 Later, it was revealed]] that his "Reaper" abilities might have some direct connection to the program, as one of the reasons he hired [[MadScientist Moira]] during their time in Blackwatch was to assist him with his "genetics issues." [[AmbiguousSituation Whether his current state is a simple evolution of these issues or a result of direct interference by Moira's experiments, we're not told.]]

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: While [[TheGhost who they are]] and [[AmbiguousSituation what their current relationship is like now is unknown]], "Bastet" confirms that at some point, Reyes had raised a family. In the "Reflections" comic, Reaper is seen quietly watching a happy family from the shadows, with Michael Chu confirming "[[https://www.reddit.com/r/Overwatch/comments/6b63j3/ama_request_michael_chu/dhlgs6l/ It's not a random family.]]"

!!!'''Appearances (short stories):''' "Valkyrie" (cameo)

* RaisedCatholic: The dog tags on his Commando: 76 and Night Ops: 76 skins list his religion as Catholic, but there's no further mention of it in-game or in the lore. The only other indication given is his first and middle names: there are several important figures in the Bible named John, and Pope Francis is a real-life pope of Vatican City.

* BeautyMark: She has one under her left eye.

* BadassBeard: By the time of ''Overwatch 2'', he's without his usual mask, revealing that he's grown his stubble into a full, [[BeardOfSorrow unkempt]], but very badass beard.

* MightyGlacier: Reaper has higher than average health for a Damage hero, a LifeDrain mechanic that allows him to stay in a fight for longer, and Shotguns that absolutely murder anyone that comes close. Check. On the other hand, he has a slow-as-molasses teleport which is nigh-unusable in combat, a mobility tool that is more suited for dodging big damage, and short engagement range. Also check.

* BadassMustache: When he was Gabriel Reyes, he had a mustache and beard. It's currently unknown if he still has one under his mask.

* StandardStatusEffects: Her in-game hacking is functionally the same as a typical silence, blocking enemies from using their abilities.

* ItsAllAboutMe: His in-game quips implied that he expected decent folks like Cassidy and Ana Amari to side with him, simply because he was their mentor (in Mac's case) or good friend (in Ana's case). In "Old Soldiers", he assumed that [[spoiler:Ana was left behind to die, just so that he can use a NotSoDifferentRemark. He didn't know that Ana deliberately chose to hide her survival]]. In addition, he believes that every misfortune that befell him, from losing his few remaining friends and his transformation, was all a deliberate attempt to ruin his life either by Jack Morrison or Overwatch.

* ItsAllAboutMe: His in-game quips implied that he expected decent folks like Cassidy and Ana Amari to side with him, simply because he was their mentor (in Mac's case) or good friend (in Ana's case). In "Old Soldiers", he assumed that [[spoiler:Ana was left behind to die, just so that he can invoke the NotSoDifferent trope. He didn't know that Ana deliberately chose to hide her survival]]. In addition, he believes that every misfortune that befell him, from losing his few remaining friends and his transformation, was all a deliberate attempt to ruin his life either by Jack Morrison or Overwatch.

* NotSoDifferent: [[spoiler:Invokes this in the comic short "Old Soldiers" by telling Ana that Overwatch screwed her over as much as it did him, reminding her of the failed mission where she was left to die instead of receiving immediate medical aid when Widowmaker pulled a ScopeSnipe on her. Though he's not accurate on the details, as Ana deliberately chose to stay behind.]]

* NotSoDifferent:
** To Lúcio. Despite their philosophical differences, both are talented individuals with RagsToRiches backgrounds, and genuinely believe in improving the world (in their own ways).
** In the comic short "A Better World", Symmetra befriends a young girl whose impoverished living conditions remind her of her own childhood, motivating her to secure the contract her company is after so they can rebuild the favela. [[spoiler:This leads to Symmetra's MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment in the end when her efforts lead to her bosses blowing up Calado's offices, indirectly destroying parts of the favela and forcing its residents, who opposed the Vishkar Corporation, to accept its "improvements". In the end, the ruined homes aren't even replaced with new housing; instead, a city center is built in their place]].
** Additionally, there's someone who noted her preference for order and discipline which is similar to them despite being on [[ProfessionalKiller a more unsavory job.]]
-->'''Symmetra''': Order and discipline. That's the only way to live.\\
'''Hanzo''': Hm, I sense a kindred spirit.

** [=McCree=]. Reaper was [=McCree's=] commanding officer, his teacher, and, as seen from the Retribution comic, a friend. Now the two hate each other and will insult each other before a match. [=McCree=] also makes it very clear to Reaper that he follows a different path than his mentor. This goes a step further in the Retribution special event, where [=McCree=] spends the whole mission in livid rage at his commanding officer, and not without good cause. We hardly ever see any emotion out of [=McCree=] other than amusement, but Reaper seems to be enough to actually make [=McCree=] angry. Any faith or trust the two had in each other is completely shattered and the two will try and kill each other on sight.

* DesertSkull: His mask can be construed to resemble one of these, fitting in with the Western motif his student [=McCree=] has, and that he might fit into as well.

* EvilMentor: He mentions teaching [=McCree=] "everything he knows" — whether or not he was actually evil when he taught him these things is still up in the air.

* TheFriendNobodyLikes: In-game, when everyone is on the same team. Only 76 and [=McCree=] actually take Reaper seriously due to having a personal relationship with him — everyone else either hates him, ignores him, rebuffs him, or (in the case of Junkrat and Tracer) ''mocks him''. Averted by Ana, who's at least still civil with him, and Widowmaker, as a strictly professional relationship.

** He mocks the outfits and appearances of both [=McCree=] and Winston in his pre-match banter. They [[LampshadeHanging shoot back]], naturally, and have a lot of material to work with.

* ItsAllAboutMe: His in-game quips implied that he expected decent folks like [=McCree=] and Ana Amari to side with him, simply because he was their mentor (in Mac's case) or good friend (in Ana's case). In "Old Soldiers", he assumed that [[spoiler:Ana was left behind to die, just so that he can invoke the NotSoDifferent trope. He didn't know that Ana deliberately chose to hide her survival]]. In addition, he believes that every misfortune that befell him, from losing his few remaining friends and his transformation, was all a deliberate attempt to ruin his life either by Jack Morrison or Overwatch.

* MeaningfulEcho: Before the attack commences, Reaper may tell a friendly [=McCree=] that he didn't teach the latter all his tricks, to which the cowboy replies that he still has a few tricks of his own. If Reaper kills an enemy [=McCree=], one of his possible [[BondOneLiner Bond One-Liners]] is him repeating that he didn't teach him all his tricks.

* StartOfDarkness: The Venice mission in ''Retribution'' proves to be this, as it's apparently the first time he's murdered a person in cold blood. And as [=McCree=] notes, things just got worse from there.

* ThrowAwayGuns: He doesn't reload his shotguns; he simply discards empty ones and then draws another pair from within his coat. If playing on the same team, [=McCree=] may call him out on this, saying that the mercenary wasn't allowed to carry weapons to "toss 'em around like trash." Reaper, on the other hand, completely dismisses him in an arrogant tone.

* UnorthodoxReload: When his shotguns are emptied, Reaper just drops them and pulls out new ones. In-gameplay, he also fully reloads whenever he exits Wraith Form or finishes using ''Death Blossom'', even though the latter just had him riddle everything within eight meters of him with bullets. [=McCree=] will [[LampshadeHanging comment]] on how wasteful this is in practice.
--> '''[=McCree=]:''' You weren't given those guns to toss 'em around like trash.

* WhatTheHellHero: Is called out by [=McCree=] after he murders Antonio in the Venice mission, since [[EvenEvilHasStandards not even Blackwatch was supposed to kill their targets in cold blood]].

!!!'''Age:''' Mid-to-late 50s[[note]]His exact age is never given, but the [[https://twitter.com/SegadorYSoldado/status/1096884401755975680 narration]] in Junkenstein's Revenge mentions that he's two decades older than The Gunslinger ([=McCree=]) and The Archer (Hanzo).[[/note]]

* TookALevelInCynic: Originally an idealistic leader akin to ComicBook/CaptainAmerica, the falling of Overwatch from forces inside and outside of the organization turned him into a cynical, truth-seeking wild card who wouldn't be any different from a NinetiesAntiHero like ComicBook/ThePunisher and such. The opposite happened to [=McCree=], a former crook and arms dealer who TookALevelInIdealism.

* VagueAge: He's the only playable character whose age is unknown. All we know is that he's about two decades older than [=McCree=] and Hanzo, who are 37 and 38, respectively.

* TheAlcoholic: It's only implied, but she was seen in the same bar as [=McCree=] (where it's implied that she drunk him under the table) in the "Reflections" comic, she has a respawn quote that translates to "I'm ready for that drink now"[[labelnote:original]]"Ya estoy lista para ese trago"[[/labelnote]], and has "I need a drink" as an Anniversary voice line.

* BoringButPractical: Her weapon is nothing more than a low-tech machine pistol, similar in appearance to an [=H&K MP7=]. What makes her stand out is that the guns of other characters who use regular bullets are all highly stylized and even futuristic looking. [=McCree=]'s revolver, Reaper's shotguns, Ana's sniper rifle, and especially Soldier: 76's assault rifle all have futuristic styles to them.

** She's seen in "Reflections" celebrating Christmas by drinking at a bar along with a passed-out [=McCree=].

* BalanceBuff: Sombra was given a pretty hefty rework in anticipation of ''Overwatch 2'', toning down (while not outright eliminating) her incredible disabling utility while upping her damage potential. Her ''Hack'' and ''EMP'' only [[PowerNullifier disable enemy abilities]] for one second, but as a tradeoff, hacked targets are [[SeeTheInvisible revealed to Sombra's team]] for a much longer duration, Sombra herself deals bonus damage to hacked enemies, and ''EMP'' also deals its own burst of [[PercentDamageAttack percent-health damage]] (specifically 40% of an enemy's current health). Sombra was also allowed to now use ''Hack'' without being completely decloaked from stealth, though her health-pack hacking is also much more reduced, and ''EMP'' no longer goes through or shatters shields.

* BalanceBuff: Sombra was given a pretty hefty rework in anticipation of ''Overwatch 2'', toning down (while not outright eliminating) her incredible disabling utility while upping her damage potential. Her ''Hack'' and ''EMP'' only [[PowerNullifier disable enemy abilities]] for one second, but as a tradeoff, hacked targets are revealed to Sombra's team for a much longer duration, Sombra herself deals bonus damage to hacked enemies, and ''EMP'' also deals its own burst of [[PercentDamageAttack percent-health damage]] (specifically 40% of an enemy's ''current'' health). Sombra was also allowed to now use ''Hack'' without being completely decloaked from stealth, though her health-pack hacking is also much more reduced, and ''EMP'' no longer goes through or shatters shields.

->Voiced by: Anjali Bhimani (English)[[note]]'''Other Languages''':Carla Castañeda (Latin American Spanish), Silvia Sarmentera (European Spanish), Creator/HitomiNabatame (Japanese), Tulika Srivastava (French), Sanam Afrashteh (German), Deborah Morese (Italian), Guilene Conte (Brazilian Portuguese), Yun-seon Im (Korean), Zhang Naiwen (Taiwanese Chinese), Zhāng Yù (Mandarin Chinese), Agnieszka Kunikowska (Polish), Karina Dymont (Russian)[[/note]]

-->'''Torbjörn:''' Heh heh, there's something on your dress.
-->'''Symmetra:''' ''(disdainfully)'' No. There isn't.