Mercy (Overwatch)
Mercy is a female video game character who features in Overwatch.
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Biography
Angela Ziegler
As a child, Ziegler grew up during the Omnic Crisis. The last day she saw her parents alive were when they left the house to volunteer at the local hospital as they usually did, as Switzerland dealt with the consequences of the war. Both of them were killed in an airstrike. Waiting for them to come home, she learnt the truth when a police officer came to her house, delivering the news. People assured her that the pain would lessen over time. In truth, the emotional pain would return at the slightest reminder. Despite this tragedy, Ziegler was consumed not by a thirst for revenge, but by a desire to aid the imperiled and advocate for peace. As a teenager, Ziegler established herself as a medical prodigy. While still studying, 14-year-old Ziegler visited Torbjörn in the hospital after the loss of his arm in Operation White Dome. Later as she was still a student in university she would visit the Overwatch base and once posed for a photo with Torbjörn, other Overwatch members and a young Fareeha Amari.
After obtaining her MD and PHD in Switzerland, Ziegler rose to become the head of surgery at a prominent Swiss hospital before pioneering a breakthrough in the field of applied nanobiology that radically improved the treatment of life-threatening illnesses and injuries. It was this expertise that attracted the attention of Overwatch. She personally met with Commander Jack Morrison at Overwatch HQ. He was impressed with a paper she had written on nanobiotic healing. She believed that it had the potential to completely revolutionize the way that medical care was given, not just in the examination room, but also throughout the entire structure of the medical profession. She believed that Overwatch would give her the opportunity to quickly get her ideas out into the field. Morrison told her that he wanted her to become head of Overwatch's medical research. Ziegler was greatly tempted by the offer, but stated her reservations—she wanted to focus on the civilian and peacetime applications of her work. She didn't want to create new ways for Overwatch commanders to send soldiers into danger. Morrison was cordial in his response, and pointed out that if she joined Overwatch, she would not have to worry about grants or haggle for new equipment. Whatever she needed, she would get which led to the smiling Ziegler agreeing to join Overwatch.
As her parents had been taken by war, Ziegler was opposed to the organization's militaristic approach to keeping global peace. Ultimately, she recognized that Overwatch offered her the opportunity to save lives on a much larger scale. As Overwatch's head of medical research, Angela sought to leverage her work for healing in frontline crises. The result was the Valkyrie swift-response suit, which Ziegler herself piloted on many Overwatch missions. She became Overwatch's most prominent combat medic. However, this was a point of contention for her. The Valkyrie suit had been created to prove her technology worked. But her teammates wanted her to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them, and she acquiesced. This marked the beginning of her "Mercy" persona, while Doctor Angela Ziegler faded into the background.
At some point she and an Overwatch team helped people in Venezuela in the aftermath of a massive storm.
Despite her contributions to Overwatch, she was often at odds with her superiors and the organization's overarching aims. Despite Morrison’s word that her research would not be misused, Angela sometimes found herself at odds with the commander, and felt the technology she developed was being exploited and weaponized for war. One example was the development of the biotic rifle by Torbjörn. Torbjörn provided assurances that the device was only intended for healing, but Ziegler maintained that this was setting Overwatch down a road that could lead to the weaponization of biotic technology, and that she had only conducted research in the field on the condition that it would not be used for offensive purposes.
Eight years ago, Ziegler treated Gerard Lacroix for injuries he received after surviving a Talon attack on the Blackwatch Rome facility. She reported that she expected him to make a full recovery. A year later, Ziegler was involved in an unsanctioned mission authorized by Strike Commander Jack Morrison to end the King's Row Uprising in London, England. Earlier the same day, Ziegler argued with Morrison over Overwatch's inability to intervene in the conflict due to the English prime minister expressly forbidding any Overwatch action within the United Kingdom. Dr. Ziegler expressed her concern for the thousands in the city who needed medical aid, and lamented how Overwatch was made to help people, not sit on the sidelines. After Jack authorized the mission, while preparing to board an aircraft, Ziegler welcomed Cadet Lena Oxton to the team. She commented on how her inspirational words convinced Jack to authorize the mission, and how he was very invested in her career, and had asked Ziegler to keep an eye on her. Ziegler then told Oxton how she could call on her if she ever needed any help.
Six years before the present day, Ziegler took part in an operation in Havana alongside Winston, Tracer, and Genji. Under the command of Captain Sojourn, their mission was to extract Maximilien, an omnic in league with Talon. The Talon forces were moving through the city in a convoy; one which the Overwatch agents engaged. Mercy swept over the convoy, causing one of the vehicles to crash. Fighting their way through the city on foot, the team was able to apprehend Maximilien, who suggested they could make a deal. Mercy said that he was in no position to negotiate and that they already knew about his associates. However, when asked what Overwatch was in the market for, Mercy stated 'an introduction'. In the end a deal was indeed struck, as Maximilien told Overwatch that Doomfist would be in Singapore in three weeks and in exchange requested that Overwatch not tell Doomfist of his betrayal. The group was faced with a series of allegations, and Ziegler was interrogated in the hearings conducted by the United Nations. In light of the fight between Overwatch members Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes, Ziegler admitted that the outcome had been inevitable. They had drifted further and further apart ever since Morrison had been chosen over Reyes for the position of strike commander, and that rift had widened despite her efforts.
Ziegler ultimately left Overwatch due to being conflicted with the organization's militaristic methods. When Overwatch dissolved, Ziegler sought distance from the agency and re-dedicated herself to helping those affected by war, caring for the broken and dispossessed in crisis areas around the world. Though she spent most of her time caring for the broken and dispossessed in crisis areas around the world, Dr. Ziegler could be counted on to don her Valkyrie suit whenever innocents were imperiled, hoping to make a more peaceful world. The fallout of Overwatch's disbandment and disgrace damaged her professional reputation, and she went by her real name rather than 'Mercy' during this period. Ziegler continued to work in medical facilities, but with less advanced technology than what she had access to within Overwatch. These locations included Poland, South Korea, and Venezuela. Wherever she went however, she felt the echoes of Overwatch, and the guilt over the problems it had left behind when it had fallen apart. She was regularly visited the Lindholms during Christmas. Ziegler worked in an aid camp on the outskirts of Cairo for two years. She held Overwatch responsible for much of the country's suffering, and wanted to help fix it. However, the people there told her to "go home. You've done enough damage." Nevertheless, she remained in the country and worked as a doctor, reminding herself that she hadn't become a doctor to be thanked. She may have applied to work at a proper hospital, but as she commented, "being a prominent ex-Overwatch official isn’t the sort of experience on your CV that people are looking for."
Overview
Personality and attributes
During her Overwatch years, she once dressed as a witch for Halloween.
Ziegler was a longtime family friend of the Lindholms.
Powers and abilities
In the field, she wore a form-fitting Valkyrie swift-response suit that was created by her as a type of personal armor.
She could equip herself with a Caduceus Blaster as her sidearm that was best reserved for emergency personal defense.
Notes
- Mercy was created by Blizzard Entertainment where she was voiced by actor Lucie Pohl and featured in the Overwatch setting.
Appearances
- Overwatch: (2016)
- Overwatch 2: (2022)
External Links
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