The lore of Overwatch 2 is truly fascinating, adding a layer of complexity to the diverse cast of playable heroes that could not be achieved through gameplay alone. While the lore and backstories of these heroes have great utility in providing a more informed sense of personality for the different characters, it is also beneficial at portraying the motivations and plights that many of the heroes face.
Within the lore of Overwatch 2, many of the heroes are directly linked to a conflict against highly intelligent robots who revolted against the human race, known as Omnics. Some characters hold grudges larger than others toward the Omnic species, and the damage hero Torbjorn holds a hatred that runs deeper than most.
The Background of Overwatch 2's Torbjorn
Torbjorn is a veteran hero of the Overwatch franchise, being one of the original 12 heroes to launch with the first title in 2016. As a damage hero, Torbjorn is unique in-game due to his incomparably small hit-box and ability to deploy self-building turrets. While many will be familiar with Torbjorn in-game, some fans may be surprised to learn the nuanced background lore of the character.
A Swedish national, Torbjorn Lindholm was an invaluable member of the Overwatch group due to his incredible engineering prowess. Torbjorn is largely considered to be one of the best mechanical engineers in the world, and his skill set and technology made a key difference in the fight against Omnics. The popular support hero Brigitte is Torbjorn's daughter, with the two being extremely close with Reinhardt, a tank hero.
Torbjorn's Hatred For Omnics
With the heightened sci-fi technology of the Overwatch universe came a form of complacency throughout the human race, in which societies around the globe became entirely dependent on artificial intelligence and robotic workers. Many of these robots were produced by the Omnica Corporation, who instilled automated robot-producing factories around the world. As this technology became increasingly unchecked and sentient, Omnic robots developed a disdain for the human race and wished to live beyond subservience, leading to a global conflict known as the Omnic Crisis.
Prior to this crisis, Torbjorn had worked closely with many different governments in developing defense weaponry and tech, a lot of which would be turned against the human race by Omnics during the war. Torbjorn had consistently held a negative opinion of Omnics even prior to the conflict, believing that such a level of robotic intelligence would inevitably lead to catastrophe.
The knowledge of his own creations being turned against innocent humans was enough to spur hatred within Torbjorn toward the Omnics, an animosity that was only exacerbated during Operation White Dome. During White Dome, Torbjorn, along with other Overwatch members, traveled to Istanbul to combat Omnic forces, only to be met with unpredicted levels of resistance. During the ensuing firefight, Torbjorn lost his arm as well as an eye, explaining his metallic prosthetics in both Overwatch titles.
Torbjorn was also one of the primary designers of the Bastion unit model, a form of robotic peacekeeping robot for the human race that were produced in their thousands, only to also be turned on their creators by Omnics. The Bastion unit is considered to be the unequivocal symbol of the Omnic Crisis, only further fueling Torbjorn's hatred for the AI species.
Torbjorn did reluctantly form a friendship with the damage hero Bastion, an autonomous reclaimed Bastion unit that helped ease Torbjorn's robotic prejudice. Despite this, the use of his tech against the human race combined with his own personal loss at the hands of Omnics makes it clear as to why Torbjorn held this animosity to begin with.
Overwatch 2 is available in early access for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
