Aside perhaps from Tracer, Soldier 76 - also known as Jack Morrison - is probably the most recognizable and iconic character in Overwtach. Those who have even casually played as this Hero can likely understand why, with his straight-forward FPS mechanics and a vast arsenal of useful skills. These include fast-movement, powerful rockets, and self-healing.
Though his appearance might tell you otherwise, 76 isn't just some basic stock military man. This battle-hardened soldier actually has quite a bit of history and richness to his character. The events of his life are full of turbulence and significant events which are interwoven into Overwatch lore.
With that said, let's lock and load as we take a look at ten things you didn't know about this famous Overwatch Hero.
10 Overwatch's First Official Commander
Overwatch's resident soldier has quite a track record when it comes to fighting in battle. Soldier 76, aka Jack Morrison's battle-tested origins trace back to his teenage years, where he signed up for the US military, and later joined the Armed Forces to defend his country in the Omnic Crisis.
This is where a rift with Reaper - then known as Gabriel Reyes - began. Morrison was recognized as the team's moral fabric despite Reyes leading major strikes to deal with the Omnic. The rivalry would carry on into the Overwatch agency, as Soldier 76 became Overwatch's first squad commander, while Reyes/Reaper would lead the more marginalized Blackwatch operations. He now fights to uncover the truth behind the collapse of the Overwatch team.
9 Was Proclaimed Dead
The aforementioned rebellion led by Reyes eventually reached a falling out that nearly killed both Reyes and Morrison. Jack had answered the call to put down Blackwatch's rebellion to help save Overwatch, which was already coming unglued. After a firefight at Overwatch's Swiss headquarters triggered an explosion that destroyed the facility, Morrison vanished for a time and was thought to be dead.
A funeral was even held at Arlington National Cemetery, and various plaques and statues would memorialize Morrison and the sacrifice he had made. It wasn't until several years later that this marred man would be "reborn" as it were, with the alias "Soldier 76."
8 Overwatch's Memed Father Figure
As a sort of unofficial bit of Overwatch lore, Soldier 76 has become a sort of iconic father figure who watches out for all of the other younger, more naive Heroes. The role of Soldier 76 as the game's "dad" has taken on a life of its own, with various memes depicting Soldier looking after the smaller and youthful Overwatch heroes in the scenes with him.
Blizzard appears to recognize this role, as Soldier comes with the cheeky bit of dialogue "I'm not your father" in the game. Voice actor Fred Tatasciore also remarks that he sees Soldier as a father figure himself.
Funny enough, he isn't technically the oldest Hero - as Ana, Reinhardt, Torbjorn, and Reaper are all out-rank him in that department. Though his white hair, and marred face punctuated by a facial scar likely can be attributed to this image. He also has a ton of experience being a soldier, starting his US military service at age 18.
7 The Second LGBTQ+ Hero In The Game
As it turns out, despite being revealed as the first gay character of Overwatch, Tracer isn't the only LGBTQ+ Hero. As revealed in the short story called Bastet, and confirmed in a Tweet from lead writer Michael Chu, Soldier 76 identifies as a gay man. In the story, a relationship between Morrison and his lover Vincent is shown. Though, the relationship had fractured on account of Morrison's focus of military duty above all else.
While Soldier remains dedicated to fighting for Overwatch, he seems to look back at the separation with some regret. In the story he says, "he deserved a happier life than the one I could give him. Everything I fought for was to protect people like him. That's the sacrifice I made."
6 He Stole His Pulse Rifle
Many years after Jack Morrison had been proclaimed dead, he reemerged with a newer and more grizzled identity with a bit of an ax to grind. During this time he essentially went rogue until being called upon by Winston to reunite the lapsed Overwatch fighting force.
No longer tethered to the military or Overwatch, Soldier took matters into his own hands when he broke into Watchpoint: Grand Mesa and stole his trademark pulse rifle. Despite being guarded by Helix Security personnel, 76 managed to slip by and escape without being apprehended. Surely that speedy Soldier sprinting ability must have come in handy there!
5 Multiple Theories Behind The "76" Significance
It's not exactly known what the significance is behind the seemingly random choice in numbers following Soldier's name. There are a few theories, however. It is speculated that he could have been named as the 76th soldier enlisted into the Super Soldier program, a government program to equip their fighters with enhanced abilities. Or it could simply be a random number assigned within this program to identify them more easily. This would make sense, as Reyes, another participant in this program, was known as "Soldier 24."
Though another theory states that this is a reference to the US year of independence from Britain, 1776. This would fit given Soldier's ties to the US military, and his going rogue representing his "independence" from both the military and Overwatch.
As an amusing side note - there are apparently more Soldiers sporting higher numbers too, as setting up a custom game with multiple 76's will have displayed names as "Soldier 77, 78, 79," etc...
4 His Voice Actor Plays Another Well-Known Video Game Soldier
That trademark deep, gritty voice definitely seems to be an excellent fit for fighters and soldiers in action-oriented video games. Voice actor Fred Tatasciore certainly seems to be aware of this talent, as he has voiced a ton of characters in action-based cartoons and games. These include Titanfall 2's Captain Tai Lastimosa and the Hulk from Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell.
One of his most notable performances is his role as Damon Baird, who is himself a tech-savy soldier fighting off a growing enemy threat. Just swap out 76's robotic Omnic opposition with the Locus hordes that Baird fights, and the two gunners would seem virtually identical!
3 The Most Widely Played Hero In The Game
Given his versatility and offensive effectiveness with his Pulse Rifle, sprinting, and healing abilities, it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Overwatch's resident dad is a highly popular player. But as it turns out, despite the abundance of Hero choices with more added recently - particularly in the DPS department, 76 is reported to be the single most played Hero as of September 2016. This certainly goes with the lore of this designated commander of the Overwatch agents.
2 His Tactical Visor Is A Reference To A Popular FPS Hack
Soldier 76 is known for having an Ultimate that's both devastating and effective in taking out multiple opponents in the heat of battle. The ability, Tactical Visor, features a heads-up display which allows for precise aiming that essentially auto-aims onto targets near his reticle.
This Ultimate is essentially a reference to a commonly-used hack in FPS games called Aimbot, which allows players to hit their targets far more easily. It's a fitting homage to the first-person shooter, given Soldier's traditional FPS loadout and mechanical style.
1 A Carryover Concept For An Unreleased Comic Series
As it so happens, 76's concept isn't merely a paint-by-numbers design of a Call of Duty-style soldier. His character is actually a carryover from a character design of a comic book series that was never to be.
Known as "Sons of the Storm" as confirmed by a Redditor, former Senior VP of Blizzard Chris Metzen had created art concepts of a gunner whose wardrobe resembled Soldier 76. In one amusing piece of artwork, he's sporting something of a vigilante-superhero appearance with a head-shrowding mask. Compared to his current rendition, this masked vigilante appears to be more of a nemesis for 76 than Soldier himself.