Reaper's Backstory Speculation - possible answer here

[Potassiumgluconate]

I think the cowboy we see in the flashbacks is now Reaper.

Most reasons are in the picture, but I think that as the group started to fall apart, the cowboy got butthurt and decided he was going to take out the Overwatch.

No one knows who The Reaper is, except that he's a terrorist who also seems focused on taking out the former Overwatch members. They have the same body shape, similar weapons, and similar style of dress. Chris Metzen hinted that he knew Reaper's backstory, and I think it will come about that he was our old cowboy.

Maybe there will be a redemption story and an unlockable skin to play the reaper as the cowboy.

[Colonel Sandor]

Yup. Pretty much this. I assume that they will do something where "We accidentally got the Cowboy dead" and now hes back from the 'dead' and trying to destroy the team or there was a fallout.

[Larynx]

http://media.mmo-champion.com/images...ster_Final.jpg

Uhh... So how is the Reaper in the same image as the Cowboy?

[Potassiumgluconate]

http://media.mmo-champion.com/images...ster_Final.jpg

Uhh... So how is the Reaper in the same image as the Cowboy?

Alter ego. Despite being in the same poster and possibly meaning he's playable at some point, I still think their similarities are strong enough that story-wise they might be the same person underneath.

[Slowpoke is a Gamer]

Possible. Or maybe the Cowboy is just the good alternative to Reaper that hasn't been revealed yet. They did say there will be more than 6 Heroes down the line.

[Arrashi]

Nr 1 death from darksiders fan. He wants to be like his idol.

[Colonel Sandor]

Possibly could be the cowboys brother.

[Olrox]

What I want to know is who the hell is the guy with the sword? He is in the trailer and the final roster but no word yet.
Reinhardt and Reaper both look pretty cool.
Also, Gorilla wearing glasses. Yes.

[Primalthirst]

This is extremely unlikely.
They aren't going to waste the roguish cowboy type character just on someone's backstory when they've produced all this art for him.
The cowboy is obviously just one of the characters not ready for announcement yet.

[Tastyfish]

http://media.mmo-champion.com/images...ster_Final.jpg

Uhh... So how is the Reaper in the same image as the Cowboy?

It's Jason Todd, clearly ^_-
Just a character line up prob.

[Larynx]

Alter ego. Despite being in the same poster and possibly meaning he's playable at some point, I still think their similarities are strong enough that story-wise they might be the same person underneath.

Yeah, that's a really terrible explanation.

How about, there's two different people on the poster cause they're two different people?

[Potassiumgluconate]

Yeah, that's a really terrible explanation.

How about, there's two different people on the poster cause they're two different people?

No, that's a really terrible explanation.

[Deleted]

well first of all Reaper uses SHOTGUNS not pistols,second of all it has been shown in an image(don't quite remember which,i think it was in the Solider 76 story video or something like that)that Reaper is Actually a BLACK person

[Kronik85]

Considering McCree is playable in game alongside Reaper then I doubt they are one and the same. Don't know why Reaper even bothers carrying the shotgun shells since when he reloads he just drops his Shotguns and pulls out a fresh pair lol (which is badass imo).

[Hitei]

Surprised no one has brought this up, but quite a while ago there was speculation going on that Reaper is actually Tracer from the future.

Nothing is really known about reaper beyond the fact he hunts former Overwatch agents.

Basically, the idea goes that Tracer, who is isolated from time and space due to the fighter incident, doesn't age in the same way as normal people. She continues to fight for decades and decades--watching everyone around her eventually get killed or die of natural causes, and she slowly starts to break down to the point that the only thing that seems real to her is death, because it's the only constant in her life.

Her anchor starts to break down without winston around to maintain and updgrade it, until eventually she's back to her original state, a ghost phasing in and out of time and space. Her downfall continues until eventually, she's basically given up on the entire world and is pursuing that singular goal of death, her only she can find no matter where her power takes her. She starts to regain a bit of control on her abilities, but it isn't as precise as it was with the anchor. She dons heavy combat armor (probably with futuristic cybernetic systems) and a mask (with voice modulator), loses her dual pistols for dual shotguns, and finds herself having phased into the past, where she begins to hunt down her former allies as Reaper.

It seems like a wild stretch at first, but there is some weight to it.

There generally aren't "super powers" in Overwatch, it's a moderately realistic world--reaper is the exception. He is able to blink through space, phase out of existence (time and space) in a ghost-like wraith form, and--if you actually look at his ultimate, Death Blossom, you'll realize that he's essentially defying the normal laws of space-time. He's effectively shooting in multiple directions at the same time... that is, he's basically rapidly phasing in and out of time and space to fire more rapidly that is physically possible.

All of these abilities are incredibly similar to Tracer's condition. She blinks through space, is able to shift herself through time-space back to previous points, and most important, without her anchor, she became "ghost-like" and would phase out of reality.

Of course, I'm sure Blizzard will never explain Reaper's identity. But an interesting theory all the same.

[Herecius]

Taken from the Soldier 76 backstory, here is Reaper. Right here.



A former member of the Overwatch team that went real, real bad following the attack that was supposed to have killed Soldier 76, the former Overwatch leader. It is possible he was either the traitor that allowed the attack to happen, or that the attack unhinged him and just made him want to simply kill everyone.

That's probably Widowmaker there as well, I'd imagine.

[Hitei]

Taken from the Soldier 76 backstory, here is Reaper. Right here.



A former member of the Overwatch team that went real, real bad following the attack that was supposed to have killed Soldier 76, the former Overwatch leader. It is possible he was either the traitor that allowed the attack to happen, or that the attack unhinged him and just made him want to simply kill everyone.

That's probably Widowmaker there as well, I'd imagine.

Wow, really nice catch.

[Maconi]

Surprised no one has brought this up, but quite a while ago there was speculation going on that Reaper is actually Tracer from the future.

Nothing is really known about reaper beyond the fact he hunts former Overwatch agents.

Basically, the idea goes that Tracer, who is isolated from time and space due to the fighter incident, doesn't age in the same way as normal people. She continues to fight for decades and decades--watching everyone around her eventually get killed or die of natural causes, and she slowly starts to break down to the point that the only thing that seems real to her is death, because it's the only constant in her life.

Her anchor starts to break down without winston around to maintain and updgrade it, until eventually she's back to her original state, a ghost phasing in and out of time and space. Her downfall continues until eventually, she's basically given up on the entire world and is pursuing that singular goal of death, her only she can find no matter where her power takes her. She starts to regain a bit of control on her abilities, but it isn't as precise as it was with the anchor. She dons heavy combat armor (probably with futuristic cybernetic systems) and a mask (with voice modulator), loses her dual pistols for dual shotguns, and finds herself having phased into the past, where she begins to hunt down her former allies as Reaper.

It seems like a wild stretch at first, but there is some weight to it.

There generally aren't "super powers" in Overwatch, it's a moderately realistic world--reaper is the exception. He is able to blink through space, phase out of existence (time and space) in a ghost-like wraith form, and--if you actually look at his ultimate, Death Blossom, you'll realize that he's essentially defying the normal laws of space-time. He's effectively shooting in multiple directions at the same time... that is, he's basically rapidly phasing in and out of time and space to fire more rapidly that is physically possible.

All of these abilities are incredibly similar to Tracer's condition. She blinks through space, is able to shift herself through time-space back to previous points, and most important, without her anchor, she became "ghost-like" and would phase out of reality.

Of course, I'm sure Blizzard will never explain Reaper's identity. But an interesting theory all the same.

Taken from the Soldier 76 backstory, here is Reaper. Right here.



A former member of the Overwatch team that went real, real bad following the attack that was supposed to have killed Soldier 76, the former Overwatch leader. It is possible he was either the traitor that allowed the attack to happen, or that the attack unhinged him and just made him want to simply kill everyone.

That's probably Widowmaker there as well, I'd imagine.

So much for that fan fiction lol.

[stoneblood2]

With the announcement of skins, we now know that Reaper is Gabriel Reyes, former leader of Overwatch, and was part of the covert ops division, Blackwatch. McCree's bio tells us that rogue elements within Blackwatch sought to bring down Overwatch and turn it to their own ends, so we can safely assume that Reyes went full rogue. The Fading Glory: On the Trail of Jack Morrison article tells us that "These records indicate that a rebellion tore the group apart from within. On one side was Morrison, determined to hold together what remained of Overwatch. On the other side was Reyes, whose agenda remains unknown to this day." This rebellion resulted in a battle that destroyed the Overwatch HQ, and was the death blow for the organization. We know Morris survived and has gone on to become Soldier 76, so assuming Reyes went on to become Reaper is entirely plausible.

[Deleted]

Yep that is Reaper. Noticed it as soon as I saw the guy holding the shotguns in the Soldier: 76 story.