Overwatch 2 is fast approaching its latest collaboration event, with the Autobots and Decepticons of the Transformers franchise the latest guests set to appear within the title.
Initially revealed as a micro-teaser at the end of the Season 11 Trailer, the social media accounts for Overwatch 2 have now dropped a small narrative comic to better explain how the worlds came to collide – and in a curious twist, it seems to be turning the established rules for how Overwatch collaborations work on their head.
“You and I want the same thing - Peace. At any cost.” 🤖
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) July 5, 2024
Learn more about Rammatra and Megatron’s mysterious new alliance in the comic, ‘Transmission,’ and jump into Overwatch 2 x TRANSFORMERS when it arrives July 9 💥
📖 https://t.co/fId8x0OljV pic.twitter.com/60ZJNOpdlp
Within the comic, we actually get a narration from Megatron himself as he looks over the world as we know it – before the big bot actually contacts Ramattra directly to offer him an assist. With some neat dialogue asking big lad Ram “What are you willing to give to achieve your goal”, the response is a pretty resounding “Everything”.
Megatron then literally sends a robo-macguffin across time and space to lend the leader of Null Sector some Cybertronian strength:
After a quick interstitial showing Ramattra powering up with his newfound Decepticon swagger, we get a cutaway to the good guys, concerned about Megatron teaming up with new friends.
They mention that they too must seek out new heroes, and offer them the ‘Power of their world’:
What makes this setup unique, and quite different is the fact that even as a non-canon side story there is an actual interaction between the collab guests and their Overwatch friends. Overwatch 2 art director Dion Rogers spoke to ComicBook.com a while back mentioning that their crossover strategy was “treating the skins like the characters from Overwatch 2 were cosplaying as the characters from that series” as a way to “emulate what’s inspiring the character.”
It’s a pretty straightforward way to keep your visual aesthetic intact while also celebrating properties external to it – but one could argue it may be difficult to meet that distinct visual balance when such a collaboration deals with massive transforming robots. As cool as cosplay is – and there is no doubt it is mega cool – it may not quite translate to “emulating a characters inspiration” within the game world.
What I am saying is, people likely want to FEEL like Optimus Prime – not a carboard representation of the Truck Man.
Overwatch 2 Transformers Collab Ramattra Megatron Skin?!
— Naeri X 나에리 (@OverwatchNaeri) July 5, 2024
The #Overwatch2 x Transformers Collab official comic, it looks like Ramattra will be getting a new Megatron skin. pic.twitter.com/7X2T50HBzm
So it is neat to see that the Overwatch 2 art team is willing to bend their own rules, if it means that the end product is something super neat for the fans and players of the game. I might be biased as a card-carrying member of the Transformers SLASH Giant Transforming Robots fan club, but that doesn’t stop me seeing the quantifiable cool factor.
I look forward to seeing how the full thing materialises, which is likely going to be soon given all the signs.
What do you think about giant transforming robots lending a hand to Overwatch? Do you think Torbjörn and Wheeljack would be mates? Tell us all about it in the comments or on social media.
