Overwatch is gearing up for the October 6 debut of its newest hero, Doctrine. Since his BlizzCon announcement, he has been given a gameplay trailer and, most recently, a ten minute deep dive into his deeply nuanced backstory. Released as a dubbed comic, “Cost of Life” tells Doctrine’s story as narrated by the character’s voice actor, Tashinga Bepete.
Doctrine is described as a “brilliant cybernetic engineer.” Although he is confirmed to be a human, he speaks with a vampire like accent, introducing himself as the “appointed end of [his] kind.” The comic reveals that he spent several years behind bars after designing a “technology that could turn the clock back on one’s body by draining the life force of others.” He compares this drone technology to the Adze, a “creature born of West African cautionary tales who created havoc once transformed into a human.” He further equates this creature to a mosquito, explaining that it “required… other life to be sustained.”
These drones were not designed purely for personal gain, however. Doctrine explains that after the death of his parents, he “was left alone to take care of a six year old who had struggled his entire life in ways no doctor could remedy.” This child, Doctrine’s younger brother, Tatenda, became the “one person he cares about,” driving him to work tirelessly to create a cure. After being recruited by Ogundimu Synergies, Doctrine and Tatenda were caught in an explosion that resulted in Tatenda’s death. It is at this moment that Doctrine “rejects the limits of life and death,” ultimately “solv[ing] the riddle of creation itself.” Decades after his arrest, Doctrine was broken out of jail by Doomfist and given a new controller for his drones, which he immediately used to restore his “youthful appearance.”
This backstory directly relates to one of Doctrine’s in-game abilities, previously highlighted in the Gameplay Trailer. This ability, Invigorating Drones, grants him the power to increase allies’ attack speed and healing rates. Players are reminded that Doctrine will launch alongside Season 5 of Overwatch, which will be available on both PC and consoles.
