Soldier: 76
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About
Soldier: 76 is the call sign for Jack Morrison, a playable Offense hero in the multiplayer first-person shooter Overwatch. Armed with an experimental pulse rifle, Soldier: 76 is also able to heal his teammates and make use of his tactical visor, entering auto-aim mode for a brief period of time.
Origin
On July 2nd, 2015, video game developer Blizzard Entertainment teased[1] a new hero named "Soldier: 76" for then-upcoming first-person shooter Overwatch. On July 7th, an announcement video for the hero was released[2] followed by a Gameplay Preview video posted on July 9th.
Spread
On July 15th, 2015, several Blizzard team members held a Q&A session on /r/Overwatch subreddit[3], answering questions about the new hero. On August 12th, 2015, a Gamepedia[4] entry for the hero was created.
On May 24th, 2016, Soldier: 76 was released as one of the initial 21 playable heroes in Overwatch.
Dad 76
Dad: 76 refers to fan art and memes featuring Soldier: 76 in which the hero is portrayed as an overprotective paternal figure who takes care of the younger members of the cast and recurrent maker of dad jokes.
We're All Soldiers Now
We're All Soldiers Now is a voice line uttered by the hero in the game. Since the release of the game, the phrase has gained popularity in the Overwatch community, often appearing in memes related to the character.
"Bastet" Short Story and Sexual Orientation
On January 7th, 2019, the canon short story "Bastet" exploring the lore of the Overwatch universe was released.[5] In the story it was revealed that Soldier: 76 / Jack Morrison used to be involved with a man named Vincent. A photograph of two men together seen in the story was earlier shown in 2016 "Reflections" comic[6] in which another Overwatch character, Tracer, was revealed to be homosexual.
On the same day "Bastet" writer Michael Shu tweeted[7] that both Jack Morrison and Vincent identified as gay.
Online, people shared their reactions to the announcement on Twitter and other social networks. Some users poked fun at the fact that Blizzard took over three years to reveal the Soldier: 76's sexuality and speculated whether the decision to make the character LGBTQ was made at a recent point.
The reveal and online reaction to it was covered by several news outlets, including Kotaku[8], Polygon[9], The Daily Dot[10], Mashable[11] and Forbes[12].
Search Interest
External References
[1] Twitter – @PlayOverwatch's Tweet
[2] Twitter – @PlayOverwatch's Tweet
[3] Reddit – Hey r/Overwatch! We're here for a quick Q&A about Soldier: 76.
[4] Gamepedia – Soldier:76
[5] Overwatch – Bastet Short Story
[6] Overwatch – Reflections Comic
[7] Twitter – @westofhouse's Tweet
[8] Kotaku – The Internet Reacts To Soldier 76 And His Ex-Boyfriend
[9] Polygon – Blizzard quietly confirms another LGBTQ Overwatch hero
[10] The Daily Dot – Blizzard confirms ‘Overwatch’ hero Soldier: 76 identifies as gay
[11] Mashable – Blizzard confirms second canonically queer 'Overwatch' character
[12] Forbes – Yes, 'Overwatch' Making Both Soldier: 76 And Tracer Gay Is A Big Deal
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