Monitoring have ticked a few boxes over the past few months that had long been left unfilled. After appearing in Baptiste's lore, players spent years pushing for Mauga to be a playable hero, and while this wish ultimately resulted in a divisive character, it was still granted. In recent times, Overwatch'The big Season 1 relaunch brought two characters that players have been dying to see introduced since the early days of the game to the roster: Emre and Jetpack Cat. The former is one Halo-as Monitoring hero with a promising story involving the series' God AI, while the latter is… exactly what it sounds like. And while a flying cat may seem strange, it may just be the tip of the iceberg.
I've always been one of the many Jetpack Cat supporters; maybe it's my love of felines in the real world, or my appreciation for the absurdity of the concept. But since Winston and Wrecking Ball have been playable for years, I always thought there was an opportunity for Jetpack Cat to join Monitoring the list. And now she's finally here, and I couldn't be happier with the game's latest quirk. The Lorebands for Brigitte are adorable, the fact that Jennifer Hale voices Fika is ridiculously cool, and the hero is genuinely fun to play because of the wacky ability combos players can do with her grabs. Sure, Jetpack Cat might be insta-banned competitively at the moment, but she's gotten a lot of eyes on Blizzard's big free-to-play game, so that's a win. And with Jetpack Cat proving that quirky heroes are as popular as ever, I hope we finally get to see Mama Hong, the star of many, many memes, sooner rather than later.
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Who is Overwatch's Mama Hong?
There is no official lore for Mama Hong, as she never left the conceptual phase of Project Titan (the dead MMO that became Monitoring), but it's easy to imagine her being worked into the story via a new Chinese gang taking inspiration from the Hashimoto clan. In the only image we have of her, she's an older, overweight woman with hair rollers in her, and that alone helps her stand out from the rest of the existing roster. Her looks are inherently exaggerated, but that's part of what has drawn society to her designs; another older character in the spirit of Ana feels overdue, and there are plenty of real people who look more like Mama Hong than Mercy, so the extra bit of representation would be welcome.
The flashback to Anran's face change is a good example of Monitoring players who want a variety of looks instead of simple “attractive” characters.
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In addition to Mama Hong's judgmental mother vibes, which would surely produce some great voice lines, her suggested ability “Manslaughter” has increased interest in her character. This is a fun dark name for the colorful ones Monitoring universe, but it fits her mob boss vibe well. And although Mama Hong was probably the second most controversial character ever Monitoringshe lost to Wrecking Ball, a character that has been an official part of the game for years now. With this in mind, it's not out of the question for Blizzard to eventually dig up the ideas for Mama Hong and release her at some point.
How could Mama Hong even play in Overwatch?
There would certainly be interest in Mama Hong becoming a reality, as she has been regularly teased whenever a new hero reveal has been hyped. Monitoring skin concept designers have drawn several outfits for her as well as potential abilities. One idea, from ArtStation user Inkarat Mittongtare, gives Mama Hong a flamethrower with a firework. Another idea comes from Redditor JakeUbowski and can be seen above, and it's even complete with little animations showing how her abilities might work.
If this idea for Mama Hong was embraced by Team 4, her kit would give her the following abilities:
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Mama Hong leeches some healing from enemies healed near her.
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Mama Hong uses a Cleaver that can bend after every third turn.
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Mama Hong throws a fish bomb that can reduce the amount of damage taken by enemies.
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Mama Hong can interrupt the use of the enemy's ability for a short time by shouting at them.
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Mama Hong can mark a chosen enemy for death (eg Marvel Rivals' Daredevil) uses her ult, increasing her movement and attack speed to pursue them, and if the enemy is killed, she retains a majority of her ult charge.
These are hardly the only ideas for Mama Hong that could fit the concept of a scary old mob boss. Personally, I have always imagined her as a vocation; think about how Ashe uses Bob, but let it be part of her regular kit instead of an Ultimate. Perhaps players could take control of these summoned gang members, essentially letting Mama Hong pilot them to do her dirty work. If she's melee-focused, whoever she calls into the fray can deal ranged damage, giving her flexibility but leaving her body exposed to create a risk-reward game loop. Regardless of which route is taken with Mama Hong, though, she's been a meme for so long that it would be great to see her follow in Jetpack Cat's footsteps.
If Mama Hong ever becomes a reality, 2027 is the earliest she could appear
Mama Hong fans shouldn't give up hope that she'll one day arrive since Jetpack Cat was just added (and since Hazard came straight from an old Titan concept), but they also won't see her until at least 2027. The remaining five heroes for 2026 have been teased via silhouettes, and while there are some promising concepts like another co-can and an Omnic, a mech and an Omnic that remotely resemble Mama Hong can be seen. Hopefully, though, it will happen as long as players keep pushing for her to debut. She might just be starting out Monitorings spin on the landlady from Kung Fu Hustlebut she has taken on a life of her own due to years of jokes and some genuinely creative hero concepts.
- Released
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24 May 2016
- ESRB
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T for Teen: Blood, Tobacco Use, Violence (Online Interactions Not Rated)
- Engine
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Proprietary
