Evaluation of Sombra’s Character from Overwatch

feverentmaim:

I actually wrote this about a year a go when Sombra was first released as a new hero in the game. At the time, of course, not very much was known about Sombra other than some back story and a short that displayed, to many, a rather calculating and self-serving nature that verged on psychopathic, and so I didn’t really become interested in posting anything online. However, with the bits of lore that have been released over time to cover many of our favorite characters in Overwatch, Sombra’s additions were incredibly revealing.

Since a lot of people seem to like the evaluation I did for Hanzo, I decided to go ahead and finish this one. This is the following I’ve noticed during my research and the various lore surrounding Sombra.

– Olivia’s (Sombra) greatest fear is being vulnerable. She defines her self worth by how much she knows, how much she controls, and having no control is equivalent to weakness. Likewise, she has also ensured to great lengths that no one controls her, having any trace of her identity or existence wiped from the digital world, and always watching to keep it that way. To this extent, I would argue this fear is so ingrained, such a terrible anxiety for her, that destroying her own identity so that she does not have to ever face it is preferable to dehumanizing herself, both mentally and physically.  

– Olivia is a moral survivalist; she believes in protecting others from what is wrong in the world. She does understand, however – and perhaps all too well, given how she may have been raised – that in a violent, man-eating world, it is better to survive than to die a saint. Thus, she does not care about what is the right thing to do, but what is the necessary thing to do. Her alliance with Talon is an example of this attitude: she could care less for Talon’s goals – in fact, I am very certain another omnic war is the last thing she wants- but she does know that Talon’s connections will lead her to her evil ‘Eye’, therein to her goal of achieving justice. To fail (tying into her fear of vulnerability) would crumble her obligation to protect, and in consequence, herself.

– While Olivia may be driven by a muddied moral compass, Sombra runs incredibly on her selfish ambitions. The same power she believes she needs to protect, she also uses extensively to establish her fame by exposing her digital persona and crimes to the world. She taunts her victims. She forces them to play her game, and is unapologetic for it. In this context, I dare say she is narcissistic in the worst, figurative means.

– We see in Olivia’s often infantile, sarcastic behavior; with the way she plays around and taunts nearly everyone around her; and the teddy bear in her hideout, that she is stuck being a child. In all other aspects of her personality, she has matured into an adult and beyond: she has a near god-like understanding of logic and math, intuitive deductive reasoning and critical thinking that rivals actual computers. However, from what we know of her past, I am suspicious Olivia has never been allowed to develop emotionally, or at least towards a healthy state.

– Indeed, there were adults in Olivia’s life, however I doubt if any them provided the emotional guidance that she needed as a child. Many were perhaps criminals who lacked any emotional stability themselves, but she nonetheless gave her trust as she used her prodigy to steal, and they provided for her needs. I draw this mostly from her affiliation with Los Muertos; that she was willing to participate in such a violent gang I feel was not just out of misguided vigor, but that these people were her neighbors and friends who were the only sort of family she had.

– Of the Los Muertos gang, it is I believe somewhere along her years as a member where she developed her moral standing. Whatever she committed in their name have left scars of guilt; in that same community that she valued, she was inflicting harm, and by the time she left Los Muertos, I’m sure she knew this. Hence, in her actions as a solo vigilante, she is convinced she making up for the damage. Yet, it is obvious she does not realize, as she vies for her cause, that she continues to inflict damage on both others and herself.  

– For someone who relies on social connections to achieve her goals, and may by unawares crave human relationships, Olivia is not very good at actually building them, and is perhaps is so afraid of doing so that it is easier to tear people down in her favor. All who have played the game, and who have played as a Sombra main, will know to what I am referring: we can all notice that not a single character has anything nice to say about Sombra. Characters who are not inclined to showing aggression, such as Orisa or Genji, can only behave neutrally towards her. In other words, Olivia has made herself out to be that one busy-body kid everyone hates.

– The copious amounts of alcohol that also exists in her hideout suggests Olivia is a shameless alcoholic.

– In her personal life, Olivia is not the ‘neat and orderly’ type, but she is exceedingly self-sufficient.

– It is not uncommon for Latinxs to be obsessive with their looks (I’m married to one, so I know this with certainty) but the bright colors and choice in hair-style attests to Olivia’s rebellious and ambitious side (the part of her that is Sombra), dressing herself in such a way that she will stand out among the crowd.

– Her ability to survive in heavy combat suggests that Olivia was taught much more than the tag-and-run style of fighting that many gangs tend to use. Someone taught Olivia martial arts and acrobatics, and given how expertly she uses those skills, that someone was a master.

The bottom line is Sombra is a confusing character for many; some say she is a cold-hearted killer, and others an incredibly ambitious woman with a desensitized conscious. I view her as neither; she is not a truly villainous character, but neither has she enough a wholesome character to be a hero. Despite the humanity she does have, her perception of herself, her values, and of her relationship with other people is warped, and I fear is becoming more so with her obsessive chase after her ‘Eye’ adversary.