Sombra
The world is a lie; she hacks the truth to set it free.
Sombra is the alias of Olivia Colomar, a character who first appeared in the 2016 video game Overwatch. In the game's narrative, she is an exceptional black bag operation hacker from Mexico that had joined Talon, a criminal organization aligned against Overwatch. In game, Sombra has stealth-based abilities to move around the battlefield, and is able to hack any opposing character to briefly prevent them from using their special abilities. Sombra was the second new character to be added to Overwatch after launch, and was introduced formally during the November 2016 BlizzCon event.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Overwatch
- First
- Overwatch (2016)
- Creator
- Arnold Tsang
- Designer
- Ben Zhang
- Voice
- Carolina Ravassa
- Class
- Damage
- Nationality
- Mexican
Lore & Background
Sombra's real name is Olivia Colomar, revealed in the Searching virtual comic released in September 2017. She was born within the fictional city of Dorado, Mexico, the same year that the Overwatch organization was established, and is a native speaker of Spanish. While young, she lost everything from the Omnic Crisis and became an orphan. She recognized her talents in hacking and the value of information, and later joined the fictional Los Muertos gang in Dorado. Eventually, she was recruited by Talon, an antagonist organization that includes Reaper and Widowmaker. As a hacker, she employed the name Sombra, Spanish for 'shadow', and eschewed her birth name. After Vendetta takes over Talon in Overwatch 2, she and several other members leave the organization and are now on the run.
Reader's Guide
Sombra is classified under the 'Damage' role in Overwatch. She is equipped with a low-damage, high-capacity machine pistol for short-range combat. Her abilities allow her to hack enemies and their deployables, which prevents them from using their abilities for 1 second after the hack is executed, though they may still use primary skills. Sombra's hacks also relay information about the opponent's health and ultimate ability status to her teammates, as long as they are within line-of-sight of the opponent, for about a minute from the hack. Her hacks can also be applied to health packs, allowing them to recharge at three times their normal speed, while also disabling their use for enemies. While her hacks on enemies are short, lasting ten seconds, her hacks on health packs last for 45 seconds, unless hacked again before this period ends. Sombra may also throw a 'translocator' to teleport, making her invisible for 5 seconds and gaining a burst of speed to hide behind enemy lines to perform her hacks. Her ultimate ability is an EMP blast that destroys all enemy barriers and shields, along with hacking enemies and dealing 25% of their current health in the process.
Did You Know?
- Voice actress Carolina Ravassa is originally from Colombia but developed a northern Mexican accent to win the role.
- Sombra's 'Los Muertos' skin features a neon green skeleton tattoo that required new display effects to show the glowing ink.
More in Heroes & Villains
Elsewhere in Overwatch
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