Where in the world are the heroes of Overwatch?

Between the cinematics, comics and ARGs, it can be easy to lose track of what every hero (and villain) in Overwatch is currently up to. Blizzard’s been slowly arranging a chessboard of conflict, where each hero is starting to advance their journey, and in some cases, meet up with one another. If you’re wondering where a specific hero is at this point in the greater Overwatch story, we’ve combed through the bonus material to deliver this guide.

Ana and Soldier 76

Ana and Soldier 76 are off the grid, both wanted criminals, and hanging out in the new Arena map Necropolis. They’re not exactly living it up at the moment; Ana has a sleep dart by her bed, next to pictures of her old squad and family, and Jack has a magazine open to an Overwatch story under a bottle of booze. In the Christmas comic Reflections, these two old agents celebrated the holidays by having Jack stare at old photographs while Ana fell asleep. When they’re not thinking about the past, the surveillance footage they’re analyzing suggests that they’re trying to find Reaper before he finds them.

Bastion and Torbjorn

After the events of The Last Bastion, Bastion eventually wandered up to Northern Sweden, where he encountered Torbjorn. Torbjorn, originally intending to dispatch the machine, realized that this Bastion in particular is actually quite friendly. Too friendly. The townsfolk, furious at this seeming betrayal, ran Torbjorn out. Bastion and Torbjorn are currently wandering Northern Sweden while Torbjorn tries to figure out what, exactly, is up with this nice robot and his bird friend. It’s unclear whether Torbjorn answered Winston’s call to arms in Recall.

D.Va

While everyone else is worried about things like “hunting down the shadow of Gabriel Reyes” and “what’s up with this kind omnic”, D.Va is currently starring in movies and dressing up like an elf for Christmas commercials in-between military engagements for her home nation of South Korea.

Genji and Zenyatta

Genji was an agent recalled by Winston, but he chose not to answer; he is still being trained by Zenyatta in Nepal, and staying in at least some contact with Hanzo and Mercy.

Lucio

Lucio is continuing to focus on his DJ career at the moment after freeing his neighborhood from Vishkar oppression, although he took a break at New Years to deliver skates to all of the kids back home.

Hanzo

In the Dragons cinematic, Hanzo found out that his brother, who he thought he killed in a violent rage, was actually alive. Also, a ninja cyborg. When the game launched, they only had hostile exchanges, but post-Dragons they seem to be getting back on somewhat cordial terms.

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Junkrat and Roadhog

Junkrat and Roadhog continue to travel the world to commit ludicrous crimes, and it is completely awesome. The problem is that the fruits of these crimes are eventually going to catch up with them, as half the cast seems to be aware that they have some kind of treasure in storage.

McCree

Last time we saw McCree for more than one panel was in his comic, Train Hopper, where we learned he was an outlaw actively on the run. While he landed in Houston, he immediately needed to jet after Talon agents (with Blackwatch training, and a grudge against the cowboy) framed him for a train heist. While his profile was briefly featured in Recall, he presumably didn’t answer the signal in favour of spending Christmas hanging out in a bar, alone and drunk. He still wears a BAMF belt buckle at the age of 37.

Mei

Mei, at this point, is the world’s Cassandra, desperately trying to get the word about the wild climate change out. We briefly saw her in Reflections, giving an interview on the news.

Mercy

Mercy was one of the agents featured in Recall, but as far as we know, she did not respond to Winston’s signal. We last saw her in some kind of field camp, tending to the injured, and exchanging a letter with Genji.

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Orisa

Orisa is just a couple of months old at this point, and is focused on learning how to be a hero in Numbani with the help of her genius creator, Efi.

Pharah

Even though Pharah dreams of joining Overwatch, she’s continuing to serve as a security captain with Helix Security International. While she shares in-game lines with her mother, Ana Amari, it’s not clear how much she knows about her mom’s current state. In Reflections, she was having dinner with an unknown man, presumed to be her father.

Reinhardt

Reinhardt is currently a one-man army, the last of Germany’s Crusaders. He has a travelling partner, Brigitte, who helps him maintain his failing power armor (and is his wiser half). He’s on good enough terms with Torbjorn to drop by at Christmas, and enjoy some time with Torbjorn’s four thousand children.

Reaper and Widowmaker

Reaper and Widowmaker were last seen in Infiltration, trying to assassinate Katya Volskaya. Widowmaker seemingly has no commitments or interests outside Talon operations; we’ve only seen her for one panel while not on a job, and that was a rare Christmas time visit to her husband’s grave. Reaper works with Talon at least part time, but spends his off-hours trying to hunt down Soldier 76 and Ana in an elaborate, two-sided game of espionage. He also has an interest in some kind of family - specifically, one that he stalks from the alleyways on Christmas

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Sombra

Sombra has aligned herself with Talon, but as Infiltration showed, she’s not really loyal to the organization. She’s really seeking friends who can help her uncover the shadowy conspiracy that once threatened her. This is proving especially difficult because she delights in being obnoxious, and literally no other character has positive in-game interactions with her in the spawn room. Oops.

Symmetra

Symmetra is actually Overwatch’s answer to traditional superhero stories. By day, she works as a Vishkar architect, but by night, she works to maintain order and protect people from chaos. She seems to be starting to understand that Vishkar are up to no good as of her comic A Better World, but she’s also emotionally invested in believing her superiors are good people. She’s currently opposed to Lucio, who’s fighting Vishkar expansion in the public sphere.

Winston

Winston has Recalled Overwatch in violation of international law, and is starting the long task of rebuilding the organization while evading the law. So far, it seems to be a lonely job, but Tracer, Tracer’s girlfriend Emily, and Athena form not just the foundation for the future, but also fill the role of Winston’s family.

Zarya

Zarya was called in at the end of Infiltration by Katya Volskaya. We don’t know what task Katya gave her, but we do know that it has something to do with counteracting the influence Sombra has over not just Katya, but her young daughter. Presumably, Zarya does not know the blackmail Sombra holds that shows Katya dealing with omnics; when Sombra offers to share Katya’s secrets in a pre-game interaction, Zarya is completely uninterested.

While a fair few of these heroes are still scattered to the winds, we’re also seeing threads start to come together and tell a larger story in the Overwatch universe. As we gear up for Season 2 of Overwatch shorts and wait for more comics, it’ll be interesting to see which heroes continue to meet, and which ones go their own way.