Reaper

Gabriel Reyes AKA Reaper is a villain from the 2016 game Overwatch. He was a former member of the Overwatch team and currently a mercenary for Talon.

Story
The man who would later be known as Reaper was originally known as Gabriel Reyes. He was born in Los Angeles. Prior to the Omnic Crisis, he joined the United States military, where he achieved a senior officer position. He achieved veteran status, and was highly respected. At some point he met John "Jack" Morrison, a fellow soldier, and the two became friends. Subsequently, in the midst of the Omnic Crisis, they joined Overwatch together—a small, elite taskforce created by the United Nations to deal with the omnic threat. Reyes was given leadership of the group.

Overwatch succeeded in defeating the omnics. Morrison, who had played a key role in shaping the group, was given the position of strike commander, acting as the first, official commanding officer of Overwatch. Reyes was passed over in the process, which created a rift between the two men.

At some point, Reyes was part of Overwatch's Blackwatch unit.

As time went on, the tension between Reyes and Morrison worsened. Overwatch met its end through a combination of accusations that tainted the organization's reputation, and Reyes himself. Officially, Reyes and Morrison were killed in the blast that destroyed Overwatch's Swiss headquarters, an event the UN ruled as an accident. In reality, Overwatch had become split down the middle, with Reyes leading a rebellion against Morrison's leadership. As a battle was waged within the base, their fighting triggered an explosion that destroyed the facility, and apparently took Reyes and Morrison into the inferno with it. To this day, Reyes's true agenda remains unknown.

Reyes resurfaced as a volatile mercenary known as "Reaper." His identity and motives remained unknown. Now a ruthless and remorseless killer, he was responsible for terrorist attacks throughout the world. He fought in many armed conflicts over the decades, showing no loyalty to any cause or organization. Survivors described him as a black shadow ghosting unscathed through the most hellish battlefields. The few bodies recovered of his victims were pale, empty husks drained of life, their cells showing signs of intense degradation. It was speculated that Reaper was a byproduct of failed genetic alteration which forced his cells to simultaneously decay and regenerate at a hyper-accelerated rate.

Those attempting to track his movements began to see a pattern in his appearances. They believed that Reaper was hunting former Overwatch agents and systematically eliminating them.

Alongside Talon operatives, Reaper entered Watchpoint: Gibraltar in an effort to gain a list of Overwatch agents. The Talon soldiers kept Winston occupied long enough for Reaper to begin downloading the agent database, but soon found themselves overpowered, forcing Reaper to enter the fray. He quickly incapacitated Winston, and mocked the ape that he'd send his fellow agents his regards. Winston stunned Reaper by activating a shield device that detonated, and then used his tesla cannon on Reaper, incinerating him. Yet despite this, a cloud of black mist was seen leaving the base awhile later.

Apparently having regained physical form, Reaper teamed up with Widowmaker in order to steal Doomfist's gauntlet, but was hampered by former Overwatch agents Tracer and Winston. While he initially held the advantage, breaking Winston's glasses was enough to send the ape into a berserk fury, and Reaper and Widowmaker were forced to retreat without the device, having been used by a bystander to punch Widowmaker which ended up damaging the gauntlet, their foes hot on their heels.

Personality
Reaper admits himself to be a high-functioning psychopath, having a passion for murder and vengeance and is willing to kill even without a solid motivation. He's often conceited and petty, as shown in the Cinematic trailer where he goes out of his way to step on Winston's glasses before attempting to kill him.

Reaper also expresses dislike for omnics, according to his insult whenever he defeats Bastion or Zenyatta. He additionally has a tendency to get annoyed,an example of this being his reaction to Mercy resurrecting enemy teammates.

In spite of how cold-hearted he is, Reaper doesn't seem to mind cracking jokes related to death and The Grim Reaper, showing that even he has the time to display his own sense of humour.

Trivia

 * The character of Reaper was inspired entirely by concept art for the game—his actual character was developed after his appearance was presented.
 * Reaper bears resemblance to the Grim Reaper, from various real-world cultures.