Overwatch Short Story Appears To Tease New Mercy Skin

Mercy is, first and foremost, a healer. Her real identity is Dr. Angela Ziegler, a peerless surgeon who made some serious breakthroughs in the field of nanobiology. The latest Overwatch short story, Valkyrie, shows off her abilities as a scientist and a combat medic, as well as a sneak peek at what appears to be a rather casual new Mercy skin. 

One of the final pages shows Mercy looking like a proper doctor in a white lab coat and glasses. She even has a name tag and a stethoscope to complete the look. With this understated outfit, she would blend in at any hospital if only she wasn't wearing those wicked, metal combat heels. And her wings, of course. Other than those additions—which only seem to cement this new look as an upcoming skin—Mercy looks remarkably normal. This is in stark contrast to some of her most popular skins, like the fan favorite Witch skin, fresh from a PG-13 rated Halloween party. 

The Valkyrie story tells the tale of before Mercy was Mercy again. Jack Morrison, better known as Soldier 76, came to her in Egypt with a new job offer: head of medical research at Overwatch. The position offered funding, technology, and free reign over a whole department. In spite of all this, Angela wasn't interested. Overwatch was just a tad too militaristic for her, and she wanted to work on more peaceful projects. At the time, however, the Omnic Crisis was over and Morrison assured her Overwatch was more focused on keeping the peace than fighting in wars. 

But then Talon struck. We won't spoil too much more, the story is free to read on the Blizzard site, after all. It gives a good slice as to how Angela feels about Overwatch's place in the world and her own place in Overwatch. In the upcoming Overwatch 2, we'll finally find out what happens next, rather than looking to the past. The sequel, which doesn't yet have a release date, will at last feature a story mode. 

Until the release of Overwatch 2, we have short stories and comics like Valkyrie to get a taste of the deep lore of Overwatch.