Overwatch’s New Hero Is Hot For A Reason, Not To Be Gooner Bait, Devs Say

Regardless–and though the team didn’t invoke quite the same language as game developer Hideo Kojima did when Metal Gear Solid 5’s Quiet was revealed–it’s clear that you might want to withhold your judgement about Shion’s looks until her story has been revealed. 

“This hero is one of the most integrated into the story that I’ve seen,” Hudson said in response to me asking him if there was any validity to the “gooner bait” claims. “The art and the narrative have been weaved together in a very deep and meaningful way that was super awesome to work on and see take shape. It wasn’t just a, ‘We’re gonna throw something out there for the sake of throwing something out there’ [situation].” 

“[Shion] is someone who, despite her very clear position of power, has a lot of baggage,” Moyer later added. “She had to go through a lot to get to where she is today, and as you’ll see with some of her upcoming content, it’s something that’s very much explored in her story–this idea of what this depiction of herself means to her, why she likes suits and motorcycles, and all this other stuff. I think it’s something that is definitely incorporated into her grander narrative in a way that I think is super interesting.”

Suits, motorcycles, ’90s cyberpunk anime, and action films like Kill Bill and John Wick all played a role in Shion’s ideation, the team told me. Kill Bill’s O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) was a particularly notable inspiration for the Omnic, as much like O-Ren, Shion is a “strong character who has that same chip on her shoulder about her past,” and wants to make it “very clear to everyone under her command that [it’s] something that’s not to be questioned.” According to Moyer, this quality is part of what inspired Vendetta to reach out to Shion; turns out, the new head of Talon sees “a lot of herself in Shion.”

Of course another part of Shion’s appeal to Vendetta could be the impressive crime empire she’s amassed in Japan–one that could aid Vendetta as she continues to grow her own syndicate. As a key member of the Hashimoto clan, Shion holds immense control over the area and its inhabitants. In fact, it was recently revealed in the Overwatch comic Facing Demons that Shion is directly responsible for creating a new generation of villains–villains like Mizuki. 

After Mizuki was left orphaned, Shion decided to take in the young boy and raise him “to be a weapon,” emphasizing to him repeatedly that the world is cruel, betrayal comes swift and often, and survival should always be his top priority. Through her words and “tough love,” Shion successfully honed Mizuki into one of the Hashimoto Clan’s sharpest weapons–a survivor, through and through. However, when Mizuki ultimately opts to forge his own path and forsakes Shion, we witness how her misguided but deep affection towards him is contorted into something ugly.

All of this has led me to speculate that, like so many of Overwatch’s well-written villains, Shion is likely concealing a heartwrenching and sympathetic backstory that makes her desire for power and respect understandable. It could very well be that, as an Omnic, she was stripped of both, leading to her desire to “put on a performance of what it means to be a human as an Omnic in this very human-heavy world,” according to Moyer. Some fans have begun to theorize that Shion’s backstory could be one of the most mature in the Overwatch universe–and based on what the team told me, I’m inclined to believe that too.

Overwatch: Reign of Talon’s third season, Into the Tiger’s Den, is officially live, and is sure to give us proper answers to some of these questions as well as insight into how Genji, Hanzo, Mizuki, and Kiriko plan to confront the Hashimoto tyrant.