Reaper is the alias of Gabriel Reyes, a character who first appeared in the 2016 video game Overwatch, a Blizzard Entertainment–developed first-person hero shooter, later featured in its resulting franchise and subsequent 2022 sequel, Overwatch 2. Conceived by Jeff Kaplan in the early development phases of the game, his design was fleshed out by Arnold Tsang and other Blizzard artists.
Conception and development While working on a massive multiplayer online game concept for Blizzard Entertainment, developer Geoff Goodman suggested the idea of a large number of character classes for players to select, but with class specialization for each. Fellow developer Jeff Kaplan took this idea to heart, salvaging character concepts from Titan—a then-recently cancelled Blizzard project—and character artwork by artist Arnold Tsang for that project. Kaplan created an eight-page pitch for a first person shooter concept to propose the idea which included a series of proposed characters, among them a character called "Reaper" clad in a black trench coat and a face mask. Reaper's weapons and visual effects were devised by artist Ben Zhang, with several concepts considered on how he would move and appear visually. Various weapons were considered for his character, including a magnum pistol, dual submachine guns, and a grenade launcher. Ultimately, they chose to go with two shotguns, as they felt these would be heavier and more threatening. However, elements of the grenade launcher weapon carried into his finalized design, which features several bandoliers of grenade rounds around his body. The weapon concept was also featured in Overwatch's debut cinematic, with Reaper using it to attack the character Winston.
Design Reaper stands approximately 6 feet 1 inch (185 cm) tall. Like other Overwatch characters, Reaper received skins, unlockable cosmetic items to change his in-game appearance. One of which was "Mariachi", which added a large sombrero to his design. While the development team was initially worried the hat would make his silhouette too similar to that of fellow character Cassidy, they felt his unique posture and animations made him easily recognizable despite it.
Appearances Born in Los Angeles, Gabriel Reyes was a veteran officer of the United States Armed Forces who was subjected to a "soldier enhancement program", where he and the other selectees were genetically enhanced to become "perfect soldiers"; Reyes became known as "Soldier: 24". When the United Nations formed Overwatch to combat the Omnic Crisis, Reyes was on the shortlist to join up and became its first leader, commanding Overwatch through the first omnic crisis until he was ultimately supplanted by the UN, who gave the position of First Strike Commander to Jack Morrison instead. There is evidence in lore that Reyes actually preferred this role, as he was not fond of the limelight that First Strike Commander came with, and was not envious of Morrison for taking the job, suggesting that Reyes much preferred to work behind the scenes. Reyes was then named commander of Blackwatch, Commander of Overwatch's black ops division, but ultimately, Reyes began to fall victim to the persuasion of Doomfist who reinfiorced what Reyes was starting to believe, which is that Overwatch as an organization was flawed and had its hands tied in terms of what they could, and could not do. This would ultimately twist Reyes' mind into a darker mindset, which eventually lead to him betraying Overwatch, which ended in a massive explosion that took place in Switzerland. Both men were believed dead, but in reality survived, although Reyes's cells are now simultaneously decaying and regenerating, causing his body to fall apart and rebuild itself over and over again, a condition he allegedly received from the ethically bankrupt Geneticist, Moira O'Deorain, during the time of Blackwatch and especially during the time of Retribution. Reyes resurfaced years later as "the Reaper", a mysterious mercenary responsible for terrorist attacks all around the world, having been consumed by his hunger for fame to the point that he no longer cared what he was known for. Moira went with him, and through her, he has developed the ability to steal life essence from his enemies, and also become incorporeal to avoid harm. Ultimately, the two would join the terrorist organization known as Talon. His true identity is unknown to the rest of the world, as are his motivations, though a pattern of his movements indicates that he is hunting down former agents of Overwatch. He appears in the cinematic trailer, teamed with Widowmaker in a raid in the Overwatch Museum to steal Doomfist's gauntlet for Talon. He also appears in the animated short Recall, where he raids Winston's lab at Gibraltar to steal his list of Overwatch agents, though he was unsuccessful. After the character Vendetta takes over the organization in Overwatch 2, he and several other members leave Talon and are now on the run. In 2026, Reaper was one of several characters included in Overwatch Rush, a mobile game developed by Blizzard.
Gameplay Reaper is a flanker/assassin type of character, able to teleport behind enemy lines and attack from the rear to single out targets of importance, before using Wraith Form to escape. The ability to heal from dealing damage helps him in taking out tanks, due to their large bodies and health pools making it easier for him to heal rapidly. Reaper is vulnerable while executing his Death Blossom, so proper usage of it relies heavily on the element on surprise, taking enemies out with its massive damage output before they get the chance to react.
Promotion and reception
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