Overwatch’s 2026 reboot has put narrative at the center, and it all began with a cinematic showing newcomer Vendetta defeating long-time series antagonist Doomfist in a one-on-one battle. Doomfist was thrown out a window from the top of a Talon stronghold, and Vendetta usurped his role leading the terrorist organization. For several months, Overwatch’s comics, short stories, and audio dramas have treated Doomfist as if he was dead, and the game itself completely removed his character bio in the hero select screen. Now, we officially have signs that he will be returning to the story, and that he’ll be different, somehow.
Granted, it was pretty obvious that Blizzard had every intention of bringing Doomfist back into the fold somehow. Even when the team first announced the big shake-up earlier this year, they were very particular about saying Doomfist had been “defeated” and not killed. Even so, that didn’t stop longtime fans of the powerful puncher from debating whether or not he had been treated “correctly,” a debate which director Aaron Keller says he appreciated, despite the backlash. Now, we finally see that the guy survived his fall from Talon headquarters, and is reflecting on how he got to the bottom of a chasm without his iconic fist.
Successors is the latest Overwatch short story, and it’s viewable on both the game’s social channels and in the story section of the game. Doomfist actor Sahr Ngaujah puts his whole doomfussy into the performance as he narrates the audio drama, which shows the hero thinking back on when he claimed the gauntlet from his complacent mentor Adeyemi years ago, and reflecting on how he had shown a similar stagnation when Vendetta had come knocking on his door. Doomfist’s whole deal, and by extension that of Talon writ large, was that humanity needed to “adapt or die,” and its many acts of terrorism were motivated by this idea as he attempted to strengthen humanity through brute force. Now, he reasons, he has to do the same, so he picks himself up off the ground.
In the current lore, Doomfist still doesn’t have his gauntlet after Vendetta sliced it off his arm earlier this year. So will he try to reclaim it, or could he take on a different fighting style as part of this whole “adapt” plan? If so, could we see Doomfist’s kit get reworked in Overwatch itself? We’ll see as the story progresses.
