Blizzard Entertainment's beloved Overwatch 2 has over 30 different playable heroes, each with their own unique powers, personalities, and lore. Although Overwatch 2 may seem like a bright and colorful hero-shooter on its surface, some darkness lurks beneath its depths.
It may be a surprise that several ruthless characters are in the Overwatch 2 universe. These are mostly the individuals that comprise the antagonistic extremist organization, Talon. They are an incendiary faction that will stop at nothing to incite chaos among humanity to achieve their own agenda.
6 Ramattra
Ramattra, Overwatch 2's confirmed new addition to the roster, will be released at the beginning of Season 2 on December 4th. Ramattra is the confirmed leader of the extremist Omnic terrorist organization, Null Sector, and his animated origin story sheds some insight into his character.
Ramattra is the catalyst that caused the levels of conflict between humans and Omnics to escalate, as he had been radicalized by the atrocities humanity had committed against his fellow Omnics. He says: "We [the Omnics] have meditated on the universe and our place in it. But humanity is not interested in sharing their world. How many more should perish to fuel mankind's dream? No more!" Although Ramattra originally wanted equality for Omnics, his inflammatory speech suggests he would go to any lengths and stop at nothing to liberate his people.
5 Sombra
Sombra is one of the world's most notorious hackers. Previously known as Olivia Colmar, she learned how to hack after the Omnic Crisis. She ruthlessly used the information she uncovered during hacking to blackmail people, realizing that humans could be as easily manipulated as computers. During her forays into computer hacking, she accidentally stumbled upon a global conspiracy that involved several organizations and was forced to wipe all traces of her digital existence and go into hiding. She re-emerged with the identity of Sombra, and Talon noticed her hacking skills.
The animated short, 'Infiltration,' shows Talon agents Widowmaker, Reaper, and Sombra infiltrate Volskya to assassinate Katya Volskya at Volskya Industries. Sombra used her technical prowess to hack open doors and disable enemy turrets. While the other two Talon agents failed, Sombra used her covert art of stealth to evade guards and reach Katya. Here, she shows Katya pictures of her secret deals with Omnics and manipulates her by showing a picture of her daughter, saying, "What would this do to the future of Russia?" as a subtle threat. Sombra's motives are unknown, and that is what makes her even more terrifying and unpredictable.
4 Doomfist
As the leader of Talon, Doomfist presents himself as a powerful and calculated individual. Initially hired as a lowly mercenary, he rose through Talon's hierarchy by killing his former mentor, Akinjide Adeyemi. He claimed the legendary Doomfist gauntlet and name for himself, showing that his ruthlessness and disloyalty knew no bounds.
Doomfist is also very philosophical, believing that humanity is trapped in stagnated development. He thought that the only way humankind would evolve was through the pressure of worldwide conflict. His agenda for Talon is to incite global conflict for humanity through any means necessary, regardless of the fatalities this may cause and the consequences, as seen by his interaction with Ramattra in the Storm Rising animation.
3 Widowmaker
Widowmaker wasn't always the soulless assassin players know today. According to the lore, she was previously Amelie Lacroix before being kidnapped and experimented on by Talon. She was subjected to neural reconditioning, turning into a sleeper agent that led to her assassinating her husband, Gerad, like a black widow spider, hence her codename of Widowmaker.
She was trained in covert arts, and her heart rate was artificially lowered to steady her aim, so she would never miss a shot. Moira's experimentation on her caused Widowmaker's skin to become blue, becoming the cold-hearted sniper players are familiar with today. Her most significant kill was the assassination of Mondatta, a peacemaker and activist for equality. Overwatch agent Tracer attempted to stop her but ultimately failed. Mondatta's death caused chaos to erupt between humans and omnics, resulting in the second Omnic Crisis.
2 Reaper
Previously known as Gabriel Reyes, Reaper became resentful of his ally, Jack Morrison. He organized an insider rebellion that ultimately led to Overwatch's disbandment and his own subsequent fatal injuries. After being experimented on by fellow Blackwatch member Moira, Gabriel became a sadistic undead wraith with superhuman self-healing abilities. He then later joined a terrorist organization known as Talon, adopting the alias and codename of Reaper.
Reaper becomes a masked assailant that would track down previous Overwatch operatives, as seen in the animated Overwatch short, Recall, where Reaper tried to assassinate Winston and hack into Overwatch's database, Athena. He no longer has any loyalty to his previous Overwatch allies, or even his wife, as noted in dialogue with Widowmaker. His hellfire shotguns will quickly decimate any opponents who stand in his way.
1 Moira
Moira is one of the most ruthless characters in the whole Overwatch canon. Cold and calculated, Moira is a scientist who understands no moral limits to her work. In several voice lines, many Overwatch characters express their disapproval of Moira's methods and past, some claiming that Moira's experiments were unethical.
Moira desired to further humanity's evolutionary potential and was able to fulfill this when she was recruited into Blackwatch by Gabriel Reyes. She began experimenting on Reyes, giving him supernatural healing abilities and turning him into the Reaper players know today. As of present-day Overwatch, Moira is a leading member of the terrorist organization, Talon's inner council, with Doomfist granting her funding to further her genetic studies.
Overwatch 2 is available to play on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.