astro-librium:

It’s been a really good week for villainy, and Blizzard
certainly doesn’t want to be outdone by Nintendo, so at Blizzcon they listened
to the community and gave everyone exactly
what they wanted, a Talon-aligned healer with questionable goals, named Moira.

According to the playoverwatch site, Moira O’Deorain is a
brilliant geneticist who was shunned and discredited for her work due to the
ethical questions it created, but was taken in by Blackwatch. Moira created new
weapons and technologies for Blackwatch, until the organization fell apart and
was disbanded. Her employment was kept secret, but recently uncovered during
investigations following the Venice incident, which we now know to be the
events of the “Masquerade” comic that was put out shortly after Doomfist’s
release.

Moira was then invited into the scientific collective in
Oasis, and there are whispers of an affiliation with Talon as well… So something
is clearly up.

It’s fantastic to see that Moira adds another character to
Talon’s roster, but the main question I found myself asking was where she fits
into the storylines that we have surrounding the other Talon operatives.

And I came to realize that Moira might be the Big Bad, or at
least close to it.

Moira is responsible for why the Talon members we know are
the way they are. She’s the de facto scientific lead and is responsible for
many of Talon’s achievements.

Mercy didn’t create Reaper, Moira did. Mercy saved Gabriel’s
life, but he couldn’t show his face with Overwatch disbanded and Blackwatch
condemned. So a wounded Gabriel is essentially rotting his life away hidden
because Mercy didn’t have the heart to see him die. And then Moira approaches.
She offers to give him a new persona, to enhance his abilities, to give him a
purpose – revenge. Reaper’s abilities seem to be prototypes of Moira’s own. He
has a much longer, drawn out teleport and a much weaker life-stealing ability. For
Moira, Reaper was a test, and also a way to shift the dynamic. Moira doesn’t
work for Gabriel and Blackwatch – Reaper works for Moira and Talon.

EDIT: Her new origin story now all but confirms this, with the biggest question being when exactly the experiments and testing on Gabriel began.

Widow, too, could also be a result of Moira’s experiments,
but this is more guesswork at this point. Amelie was kidnapped by Talon and
changed into an unfeeling killing machine. Who better to make these changes
than Talon’s resident geneticist?

It’s possible to tie in Doomfist as well, because if we take
a look at all of Talon’s members, the common link is their ethically
questionable genetic and cybernetic enhancements. Widow has no emotion but is ruthlessly
efficient. Reaper is in constant pain but he can’t seem to die. Doomfist is a
man consumed by his ideals of progress and advancement – of course he’d get
along with Moira and go along with her experiments. While it’s probably a case
of gameplay and story disconnect, Doomfist’s resilience and strength are almost
superhuman, even without the gauntlet.

Moira is at the very least a part of Talon’s council of evil
leaders, and is likely one of the higher members. She’s likely the one behind
the genetic augments within Talon’s membership. In return for the genetic
weaponry she provides, she is able to continue her research and further her own
purposes – science for science’s sake, ethics be damned.

I cannot wait to
see how her storyline pays out. Of interest is the fact that Moira and Reaper are
clearly acquainted, as they should be. Reaper has the following reaction with Sombra
on Oasis:

Sombra: So what are we doing here boss?

Reaper: I need to pay a visit to a friend.

What business does Reaper have with Moira, the woman who
likely made his life a living hell? And how did Sombra weasel her way into a meeting
with such a powerful member in Talon’s hierarchy?

Shit’s about to go down,
and I think Moira is going to be the missing puzzle piece of Talon’s storyline.