Weekly Recall: Overwatch Pride Lore Guide

From all of us on the Community team and beyond, happy Pride Month! For many of you, this might be your first time celebrating Pride with our crew; the Reign of Talon brought in tons of new Overwatch enthusiasts and convinced quite a few of you to hop back into our fair queues.

It's easy enough to learn the ropes from Winston and pick a favorite Hero (or 5) but getting caught up on a decade of cinematics, short stories, comics, and other lore can be overwhelming. Worry not, gamers. Our resident lorehead nerds have done the heavy lifting for you.

In celebration of Pride Month, we'd love to introduce (or re-introduce!) you to the Overwatch Heroes who are canonically part of the LGBTQIA+ community and give you easy ways to learn more about them.

Tracer

It's impossible to play Overwatch without noticing Lena Oxton, the speedster Brit toeing the line between dimensional time travel and certain disaster. After Overwatch recruited her from the Royal Air Force, the failure of an experimental teleporting fighter ship sent Tracer into chronal disassociation. Long story short, she blipped in and out of time for multiple years until Winston saved her by inventing the Chronal Accelerator, the source of her time-twisting abilities.

Winston may be her savior (and best friend) but nothing anchors Tracer to Overwatch's current timeline more than one extraordinary woman: Emily. Originally introduced in the 2016 holiday comic Reflections, Tracer's long-term partner offers her a source of stability and sense. There's even an in-game spray of Emily and Tracer, modeled after a photo in Tracer's barracks at Watchpoint: Gibraltar.

One particular frame-a kiss between Tracer and Emily in Reflections-made her Overwatch's first confirmed lesbian Hero and paved the way for other Heroes to join her in the future.

More Tracer

We suggest the five-part comic series London Calling, which details Tracer's underground adventures throughout multiple time periods in the Overwatch universe. That includes a lot of bonus Emily, too! Tracer is also the centerpiece of two classic cinematics (Alive and the original Overwatch trailer) and her full origin story is in the book Overwatch: Declassified.

Pharah

With a strong sense of justice and an immaculate sense of when to rain it from above, Fareeha Amari is one of Overwatch's greatest assets. Not that her mother-famed sniper, Overwatch captain, and Fiji enthusiast Ana Amari-ever wanted it to be that way. Fareeha grew up under the sharp eye of Overwatch agents, longing to someday join their ranks.

She joined the Egyptian Army and later become an aerial specialist with Helix Security International under the callsign Pharah, but a long and winding journey still brought her to the shores of Gibraltar as a part of Overwatch.

After one intense mission, Pharah piloted an Overwatch dropship back to Gibraltar with combat medic Baptiste and sharpshooter Cole Cassidy, documented in the 2023 short story As You Are. Baptiste asked if Pharah was interested in Cassidy romantically. With a laugh, she informed him she was a lesbian and had no interest in a man she saw as a brother.

More Pharah

You can follow Pharah's path to Overwatch through several comics, including Mission Statement and the New Blood comic series. Issue 2 of New Blood is about Pharah's recruitment to Overwatch while Issue 5 explores the Busan mission that takes place before As You Are.

Baptiste

A good portion of Overwatch lore revolves around the Omnic Crisis, specifically about the heroes who fought against the deadly onslaught and came out victorious. Jean-Baptiste Augustin is a stark reminder that most regular people lost more than they gained. One of millions of children orphaned by the Omnic Crisis, Baptiste became a combat medic to make the world (or at least his native Haiti) a better place.

Until he joined Talon, lured by the promise of high pay and easy missions. Regular operations devolved into brutality and Baptiste eventually escaped the criminal organization with the help of his former teammate, Mauga. Though his past haunts him, Baptiste is determined to make up for his former mistakes.

When Baptiste asked about Pharah and Cassidy in the short story As You Are, it turned out he was sidestepping around an apparent crush on the charismatic cowboy. He's currently the only canon bisexual representation on the Overwatch roster.

More Baptiste

What You Left Behind is one of Overwatch's best short stories in this writer's opinion and follows Baptiste as his past (namely Mauga) catches up with him. Baptiste's journey to Overwatch, including a wild train fight and some light espionage, unfolds in New Blood issue 3 and culminates in issue 5.

Soldier: 76

No one is a better example of the glorious highs and devastating lows of Overwatch than Jack Morrison, better known as Soldier: 76. Originally a sergeant in the United States Army, he was recruited into the Soldier Enhancement Program (SEP) as the Omnic Crisis ramped up. The program's mysterious serum granted him genetically enhanced speed, stamina, and mental acuity.

He was one of Overwatch's founding members and later became the de facto leader of the organization. Though Morrison had a hand in many of Overwatch's victories, he was also implicated in many of its failures and transgressions. He was presumed dead after an explosion that leveled the Swiss Overwatch headquarters…but good soldiers are hard to take down.

In the present story, Soldier: 76 operates as a grizzled vigilante in the shadows, chasing clues to conspiracies and active Talon threats alike. But even super speed can't help him outrun a lifetime of regrets.

The short story Futures Past follows Soldier: 76 and Illari as they infiltrate an Oasis research facility capitalizing on the destruction of the Inti Warriors. Illari's grief stirs up memories of another life Morrison could have lived. While in the Army, he fell in love with a historian named Vincent and often dreamed of a simpler, safer future for the two of them. But duty called and Morrison answered. Unraveling the consequences of that decision-and letting go of the past-has taken him decades.

Vincent haunts much of Morrison's narrative, from short stories to a listing in the Overwatch Cookbook. He's even pictured in the Reflections comic if you squint. But he represents Soldier: 76's status as an openly gay man wrestling with his own decisions, not his identity.

More Soldier: 76

Considering his importance in Overwatch lore, Soldier: 76 is pretty much everywhere. But the highlights include a classic cinematic (Hero) and the short stories Lucky Man (with bonus Sombra) and Lost Ghosts, which also stars Ana.

Lifeweaver and Venture

As charming as he is brilliant, Dr. Niran Pruksamanee resisted the rigid parameters that Vishkar Corporation placed on his work and life. His rebellion came in the form of Biolight, an innovative material that could heal wounds. Vishkar sought ownership of his discovery and Niran fled to the Atlantic Arcology to avoid his former employer's security forces, adopting the name Lifeweaver. (Check out the short story Rebuilding Ruins for more.)

Last in this blog but first in line for every dubiously safe archeological excavation, Sloan Cameron has never met a relic they didn't love. They're a leading member of the Wayfinder Society and somehow seem to find themselves in the middle of danger more often than not. We recommend Venture's Adventures: Tangle With Talon! as an example.

Overwatch's first pansexual Hero-who also has a fabulous new skin-and our favorite nonbinary nomad team up in a new comic for Pride Month. Venture's Adventures: The Deep Sea Deception follows an underwater exploration that proves more dangerous than initially expected. Who could have seen that coming?

Thanks for joining us on this lovely literary journey. Happy Pride!