What's up everybody this is Master Ian Gamer and today I'm going to take another look
at Reaper to this time explore his actions, motives, and overall grim circumstances within
the world of Overwatch.
Believe it or not we might actually be able to tell already why exactly he defected to
Talon and even the identity of this family in the Reflections comic and why they're
so significant.
So, given that Blizzard may be soon showing off more of his backstory, let's see if
we can't beat them to the punch by examining what has already been revealed.
First I'll say that if you haven't seen my previous video examining Reaper, I strongly
recommend you watch that first.
I'll be referencing it frequently in this video, so be sure to check it out through
the card on screen if you haven't already.
Also be sure to Subscribe and turn on Notifications to keep up with all my future Overwatch content.
Anyways, now let's talk about Reaper.
So for starters, let's take a look at his vicious actions.
While I explained in my previous video how Gabriel Reyes most likely acquired his wraith
like abilities, it doesn't explain why he's constantly killing people.
Even during his time in Overwatch and Blackwatch, he would regularly don his Reaper persona
to take part in seemingly random conflicts, all for the sake of just killing people.
If he was really that hellbent on simply murdering people, it seems unlikely that he would have
ever managed to successfully become one of the leaders and founders of Overwatch.
So there must be something else at play here.
And, as I'm sure many of you have already concluded, it's likely tied to his genetic
alterations.
Since we know that his cells are constantly undergoing a process of simultaneously decaying
and regenerating, it's not hard to imagine that a side effect of this process is an overall
depletion of his "life force" so to say.
We know from his official bio that "the few bodies recovered of those he kills are
pale, empty husks drained of life, their cells showing signs of intense degradation".
So it's safe to assume that he's somehow sucking the life out of those he kills, which
even matches up with his vampiric life sap ability in game.
So then his brutal killing is done just to sustain himself?
Well, it might actually be even darker than that.
You see, I don't believe that Reyes is a bad person, or at least, he didn't used
to be.
According to his bio, the Reaper is only mentioned as appearing in terrorist attacks and armed
conflicts.
Now, if he was in fact always just a maniacal killer, then wouldn't he rather be going
for easier, more common targets such as random people in the streets?
Why would he only steal life on battlefields where doing so would most likely be a much
greater hassle.
Well, my theory is that he prowls battlefields due to the fact that people there would end
up dying regardless.
Not wanting to bring suffering to innocent people, he would target active soldiers and
perhaps even people who were already fatally wounded in order to minimize his catastrophic
impact on humanity.
Keep in mind, he was almost definitely already afflicted with his genetic alterations when
he helped form Overwatch, which is an organization designed to bring about peace.
Doesn't really align with the philosophy of a psycho killer, now does it?
Furthermore, I think his need to kill isn't simply to prevent himself from dying, but
rather to prevent himself from suffering.
Assuming that Reyes was a good person, at least in the early days, then I imagine he
would have taken the bullet for society by letting himself decay away just so that others
wouldn't have to die for him.
However, once again referencing my first video, there's evidence to support that he might
be canonically immortal.
If this is the case, then his reason for killing wouldn't be to keep himself alive, but rather
to keep his cells from decaying into a state of eternal agony and suffering.
Yes, quite edgy, and therefore quite fitting for his character.
Now, I will say that this is highly speculative and there's not a ton of evidence to indicate
this specifically.
However, we do know that over time, his condition grows worse and worse.
It's his reason for recruiting Moira into Blackwatch, and presumably at some point it
prevents him from even being able to take on his former human appearance, as indicated
by Ana's shock upon seeing his face in the Old Soldiers comic.
But, perhaps most importantly, this is likely the leading factor for why he ultimately ends
up joining Talon.
And it's all because the Overwatch organization and Jack Morrison specifically left him helplessly
to his fate.
Once again reiterating what I said in my previous video, Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes were
both part of the United States soldier enhancement program.
Because of this, Morrison likely had a good understanding of what Reyes went through in
the program, and how it made him into the genetically altered being that he is.
And, as his condition grew worse and worse, neither Morrison, nor the organization they
helped form together did anything to help him.
We don't know exactly how much the other Overwatch founders truly knew about his cell
degradation, but it's likely that they would have known something, especially Morrison
given that they had both gone through the same program.
Could the other founders possibly have shunned Reyes for being the grotesque thing he'd
become, perhaps even seeing him as the black sheep, thus explaining why they placed him
as the head of Blackwatch where the public eye would not be able to see him?
Once again looking at the Old Soldiers comic, it appears that he blames Overwatch and even
Morrison specifically for abandoning him in his time of need, leaving him to decay and
become the monster we see in game.
But beyond what they did to just him, his reason for rebelling was also likely influenced
by the way they treated the rest of Blackwatch.
Looking at its other known members, it appears that Reyes specifically assembled former criminals
and societal outcasts, possibly because he sought to build a dark army, but more likely
because, like him, they had in one sense or another been left behind and had nowhere else
to go.
Unfortunately, this is where we encounter a major hole in the series of events.
We know that at some point after Moira joins in, both Talon and Blackwatch begin working
together in some fashion or another.
At the time of me making this video I don't think we can determine which of the two parties
reached out to the other first, but once negotiations had been started, we can see why Reyes would
be willing to play a hand in bringing down Overwatch.
Even if Overwatch was doing great things on the global stage, they were clearly at fault
when it came to taking care of their own members, and he personally likely felt betrayed.
The final nail in the coffin here could have been the mysterious Venice Incident, which
both exposed Moira's involvement with Blackwatch and also caused many Overwatch officials to
disavow all knowledge and association of her and possibly Blackwatch as a whole.
This final severance from the organization that Reyes had helped create, which over time
had only pushed him farther and farther away as he needed their help more and more led
him to become the dark and horrid person that he is now.
Keeping Moira close by, who at this point for all we know might be the last thing holding
his body together, the two of them make their transition into Talon where they'll have
the freedom to continue their respective pursuits.
And all this while, Reyes must continue to kill in order to satiate his needs.
And who better to target now than his "old friends".
The ones who, in his eyes, were frauds and traitors.
Having left him to die, he's now returning the favor.
But, it gets even worse.
While the Petras Act which disbanded Overwatch may have torn their proverbial family apart,
Overwatch through how it abandoned Reyes may have torn his literal family apart.
That's right.
We're finally coming to the conclusion of the theory and wrapping up all the loose ends.
This mysterious family, as seen in the Reflections comic, and which has been described by both
Michael Chu and Jeff Kaplan as being more than just some random family, is, perhaps
unsurprisingly, most likely Reyes' family.
From what I can tell, based on Gabriel's age and the way the family is portrayed here,
I believe that this is his son, along with his daughter in-law and grandson.
The reason I think this is that, not only is a father-son relationship something we
haven't really seen yet in the world of Overwatch, but also, this guy definitely seems
like what Gabriel quite possibly would have looked like in his younger days.
I can only imagine what kind of horrible home life Reyes may have had thanks to his genetic
alterations.
If his family was aware of the killings he performed simply to survive, then it's understandable
why he would eventually grow distant from them.
Maybe they forced him out because of what he was and what he had to do, or maybe he
left on his own out of fear of how he may influence his son.
Regardless, it's safe to speculate that Overwatch could have torn Reyes' life apart
through their negligence, and thus explains his tremendous resentment for the organization
and its members.
His affiliation with Talon likely isn't from him wanting to rule the world or anything,
but rather simply because it gives him the means to both satisfy his need to kill while
also letting him exact his revenge on those who betrayed him.
Furthermore, assuming that the soldier enhancement program was in fact the origin his genetic
alterations, his hatred might even stretch beyond just Overwatch.
Maybe he's grown to despise major organizations as a whole, which would only make his goals
align even more with those of Talon.
This could even explain the mentioning of his "world view" by Jeff in his forum
comment about Reaper.
So I do want to reiterate once again that this all has been largely speculation based
off of the bits of information we already have, however, hopefully we'll know more
about his backstory one way or another fairly soon.
The fact that Jeff even made this forum comment at all and especially since he mentions their
desire to tell his story makes me think that they've at the very least currently got
something for him in the works.
The question is now, what is it and when?
So the first thing people might expect is an animated short.
And, given that the last one we got was at Blizzcon, which was four and a half months
ago from the time of me making this video, I'd say that it's actually a realistic
expectation for us to get a Reaper focused animated short sometime soon.
Given how significant they are, Blizzard usually only releases new animated shorts at crucial
times, such as during a convention, so we probably shouldn't expect a new cinematic
to just pop up randomly one day on the Play Overwatch YouTube channel.
I'd say just keep an eye on any conventions that Blizzard is present at, which could vary
greatly depending on when you're actually watching this video.
Probably the more realistic thing we might see is Reaper's backstory being told in
a future comic.
Now, believe it or not, the most recent non-event comic was released longer ago than the last
animated short, being almost six months ago from the time of me making this.
Therefore, regardless of who it focuses on, we could probably expect a new comic before
anything else.
And given how they played it last year, we can probably expect a new comic alongside
this year's Uprising event, so the question is just whether or not there will be one between
now and then.
And speaking of Uprising, I've seen a lot of people speculate that we might get something
about Reaper during this event this year, but I'm not so sure.
While we certainly can learn more about the game's heroes and the Overwatch universe
through story events like this, I don't think they would try cramming something as
major as Reaper's backstory into a limited time event.
Both the event and Reaper's story are each quite significant in their own right, which
would just lead to content hype overlap, which is something that is best for Blizzard to
avoid.
And, since I know many of you will be asking, yes I've got ideas for Uprising 2018, and
don't worry I'll start making videos talking about it pretty soon.
So overall, the strongest indicator we have for Blizzard to reveal more on Reaper is simply
the fact that the developers themselves have said time and time again that it's something
they want to do.
Given the slow nature of Overwatch's development, the best I can really say with regards to
when we'll learn more about Reaper is that I think it'll be "relatively" soon.
But in the meantime, hopefully you've enjoyed my own theory about his backstory and origins,
and I'd love to hear your thoughts about it or even your own Reaper theories in the
comments below!
Thank you all for watching, and if you did enjoy this video than be sure to leave a like,
subscribe, follow me on Twitter, and turn on notifications to both help out my channel
and keep up with all my future Overwatch content.
This is Master Ian Gamer signing off, and until next time have a great day!
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