Overwatch Crossover potential #2: Hanzo Shimada · 3:10am Jun 16th, 2016
Hanzo Shimada has great potential for being in a crossover fic with MLP, and I would love to see him utilized in one. However, without knowing exactly how to portray him, this can either become a quickly abandoned project or a very bad portrayal of this amazing character.
So, without further ado, let’s get to work on detailing the redemption-seeking assassin/mercenary: Hanzo
Incidentally, I need more Hanzo screenshots.
Official Backstory
Link here, but here’s what you need to know.
Eldest son of the leader of the Shimada clan, a powerful Japanese crime family that specialized in the trade of arms and illegal substances, Hanzo was trained from a young age to succeed his father upon his passing, and he excelled at it. Along with leadership, strategy, and tactics, he also showed great talent in martial arts, swordsmanship, and (his obvious preference) bowmanship.
When Hanzo did take charge, the clan urged him to straighten out his younger brother, who was clearly behaving in a manner that was not befitting as a member of the clan. When his younger brother refused, the tension between the two grew until Hanzo eventually killed him.
Distraught, and most likely supremely guilty at what he had done, Hanzo abandoned the clan and all that he had spent nearly his whole life trying to obtain.
He now travels the world seeking to improve himself as a warrior, restore his honor for the murder of his brother, and put the haunting ghosts of his past to rest.
Abilities
Storm Bow: A powerful bow that does have a bit of a drop rate, but can deal a critical hit of up to 125 damage in-game (Tracer, the one with the least health in the game, has 150 HP). As revealed in the animated short Dragons, though, the normal arrows from this bow can do much more than go forward and down. Hanzo reveals an uncanny ability to curve his arrows at amazing angles, sending them around a corner (without the use of ricochet) with enough accuracy to take out a cell phone while in use. The exact maximum range, as well as limit of Hanzo’s accuracy, is unknown, but you can feel free to take creative liberties with this astounding accuracy and skill of bowmanship. Just don’t have him hit the wings of a fly on the other side of a city. He is still human, and thus he does still have limitations. At the same time, he is far beyond your average marksman archer.
Sonic Arrow: this arrow’s in-game effect is to create a shield at its point of impact that will reveal enemy locations within 10 meters of it to you and the entire team, even with buildings, ground, and anything else blocking your view. How this would translate outside of the game is a bit of a mystery, and is thus up to the discretion of the author. Or he or she can just omit this arrow’s use completely.
Scatter Arrow: This is a fun one. The arrow flies until striking a surface; upon which, it will shatter into five separate, ricocheting arrows that are able to ricochet up to three times in-game. As revealed in Dragons, though, this number is clearly much larger as the arrows continue to ricochet much more than three times, even when the green, cyborg, ninja dude (I’m holding off using his name till a bit later) deflects them..
Wall Climbing: pretty straight-forward. Hanzo can climb walls with amazing speed and dexterity. In-game, this applies to any flat, vertical surface. Out of game, however, is up for debate. While we do see the use of this ability in Dragons, Hanzo is using very obvious handholds and footholds. So whether he is able to climb smooth walls in a story context is up to your discretion as an author. Just be aware that you may want to have some plausible explanation on hand to give to your readers in case they aren’t willing to suspend their disbelief enough to accept Hanzo’s apparent disregard to physics when it comes to walls.
Dragonstrike: save this one for scenes that you want the most dramatic of impacts for. Hanzo summons twin spirit dragons that travel through the air at a mysterious cost of the arrow he uses to fire them (seriously, what happens to that thing?) while shouting his infamous cry “Ryuu ga waga teki wo kurau“, which translates into either “The dragon will devour my enemies,” or “Dragon, devour my enemies”. In-game, this thing will deal a serious number on you if you stay within its area of effect. This move was initially made infamous thanks to the initial gameplay trailer for Overwatch (changes have been made to actual gameplay displayed in it). Out of game, its exact effect is unclear. We see it used in Dragons, but the cyborg redirects it right back at Hanzo, who appears to be merely drained by it rather than killed. However, the drained effect could simply be a result of either pure astonishment or due to the fact that he was the one who fired the dragons in the first place . Nonetheless, this is an ability that you need to plan on using, and plan on using at the right moment to leave a lasting impression on your readers.
Leadership: While not an actual ability in-game, authors still need to remember that Hanzo was trained to become the next leader of the Shimada clan. This means he was taught all the skills a leader would need. This can include many things, but the question all authors should consider is: what skills and attributes would a good leader of the Shimada clan, a crime family, need? That’s the mentality the clan itself would have taken in assisting in Hanzo’s growth.
What this does mean, however, is that Hanzo is not one who will be easily flustered, nor will he be one to panic when either trouble or the unexpected occur. He will be able to take the lead, and get the situation under control at the bare minimum.
Important Character Notes
Motivation:
Hanzo’s motivation is initially made obvious thanks to both his official character bio, and his signature quote “with every death comes honor. With honor, redemption.” From this, it’s clear that Hanzo’s primary motivation is redemption, and his secondary motivation is guilt for the murder of his brother.
There’s a bit of a wrench thrown in those motivations, though, that comes from one official source: the animated short, Dragons.
To understand what that is, there are a few details that you need to know about another playable character from Overwatch: Genji.
Ready for a bombshell? As is revealed in both Dragons and Genji’s official bio, Genji is Hanzo’s younger brother, the one Hanzo was stated to have killed! As it turns out, Overwatch found Genji in a near-death state following Hanzo’s violent encounter with him and saved him via cyberization (they turned him into a cyborg). More on that when I actually review Genji.
Here’s where the monkey wrench is potentially thrown into Hanzo’s primary and secondary motivations. *Necessary spoiler warning!* In Dragons, Genji reveals himself to Hanzo and informs him that he has forgiven him. *Necessary spoiler end.* With the knowledge that his younger brother is still alive, and that he has forgiven him, Hanzo’s motivations are now in a potential state of flux. His guilt could potentially be removed, and his desire for redemption could be severely mitigated. To figure out which it is, we need to delve into what exactly it is that caused his motivations in the first place.
“But, Little Voice,“ you may say, “we already know what caused Hanzo’s motivations.” To this I respond with: “Maybe, but can you put it into words accurately?” We may know the event in which Hanzo’s motives were born, but a more in-depth analysis is necessary to specifically pinpoint what actually gave birth to his motives. Was it the belief that he had killed his brother that generated the motives, or his trying to kill his brother?
If it’s the belief that Hanzo had killed his brother, then both his desire for redemption and his guilt over his brother’s death would be resolved upon learning that Genji is still alive. This, however, would be a bit shallow of Hanzo, and would make our interest in him null.
The more likely option is the fact that Hanzo had actually tried to kill his brother. If this is the case, then it would lead Hanzo to question what had led him to do such a thing. Was being a leader to the clan really more important to him that his brother?
This puts Hanzo at war with himself. Sure, he may have achieved what he had been raised his whole life for, but was it really worth him taking the life of his brother? Evidently, Hanzo did not think so, as can be seen by his abandoning the Shimada clan afterward.
This leaves Hanzo in one of two positions that an author is free to pick and choose from. The first is the possible disgust with what he has become. He doesn’t like being someone who puts the clan before family and, while wishing to change, doesn’t quite know how. So, he now seeks redemption for the crime he has committed via the only means he knows how: assassination. This offers the chance for someone to come and show a willing Hanzo the way to change.
The other position is sad acceptance of what he has become. The difference between this and the first one is small but significant. In this one, Hanzo doesn’t believe that he can change. He did what the clan desired of him because it was his duty, and he hates himself for it. So, he abandoned the position that would require such duties of him. However, if placed in a position where he would be faced with either the same choice or a choice very similar, he would likely make the same decision.
While this paints Hanzo in a very non-dynamic light, he still can learn and change from either experience or from someone who he knows understands his pain.
Of course, there is the option for fanfic authors to ret-con Dragons so they can write the Genji reveal themselves. This is fine as Blizzard has yet to release additional lore that builds off of Dragons. Once they do, ret-conning Dragons is still possible, but very much more difficult to have received well. My advice if you choose the route of ret-conning: make sure you establish the retconning quickly so that your readers can enjoy the anticipation without getting upset.
Not an all-frowns character:
Despite the tragic backstory, Hanzo isn’t always serious. Some of his in-game voice lines show that he is quite willing to crack a few jokes on the job. For example, on the map Hanamura, Hanzo can sometimes be heard saying: “My enemies fall like, heh, cherry blossoms.” On the map Durado, he says the same thing, but using “destroyed pinatas” instead with a great deal more laughter.
He also has a voice line that shows how he also takes the time to appreciate the finer things in life. “I always have time for a bowl of ramen.”
As such, it would behoove an author to show their reader this side of Hanzo as well as his more serious and guilty side, as it’s clear that he does have levity in his life. Don’t confuse this as Hanzo being a goofball whenever he’s not being serious. Hanzo was raised specifically to be the leader of a crime family. This does mean that he had to have been taught to be mature. No one would listen to him otherwise. He can have fun, and he can be serious. It is the author’s job to show both of these sides of Hanzo.
Other details:
Given the fact that Hanzo is Japanese, it might be a good idea for authors planning on using him to do a bit of research on Japanese customs. While Hanzo is likely familiar with many different world customs from his travels, he will be most comfortable with the Japanese customs that he was born and raised with.
Notable Character Interaction Possibilities
In studying Hanzo’s backstory, you may have noticed a lot of similarities between him and a certain princess. Both are leaders, have shown to place duty above all else, willing to have some fun and enjoy themselves every now and then, and have had violent confrontations with their younger siblings in which they won at great personal cost. Of all the characters of MLP, Hanzo is shown to have the most in common with none other than Princess Celestia.
Being able to empathize with Hanzo’s guilt, Celestia herself would be the most qualified of the known MLP cast to help guide Hanzo on the path of self-forgiveness if she has forgiven herself for Luna's banishment. If she hasn’t forgiven herself, this opens up the potential for the both of them to potentially go down that road together in a manner of the author’s choosing. Remember, as of today (June 15th, 2016) we haven't seen any firm sign of Celestia having forgiven herself for this. Overjoyed at having her sister back, yes, but her not forgiving herself is still an option.
Hanzo's profession of being a mercenary also opens up the possibility of him working for any of the royals for a number of jobs for either pay, help in getting home, or both. In order of possibility, bodyguard, special ops soldier (if the author provides a use for it), fight-breaker, peace-keeper, and finally assassin.
Otherwise, it’s up to the author to see if he/she can possibly make a good, platonic (NOT ROMANTIC) relationship with any of the other characters.
Conclusion
Hanzo is a very strong character with a tragic backstory involving a serious familial dispute. A successful story involving him must take advantage of this. Like Hanzo when playing Overwatch, he is a high-risk high-rewards character for authors. Successful execution of him will garner large hype for each of your story updates. Failure will result in disappointment in your story.
I hope that this post has been helpful to you in understanding this fantastic character. In my next post, we’ll be going over Hanzo’s younger brother, Genji, otherwise known as the green cyborg ninja dude.
In the meantime, you can check out the blog post prior to this one in which I detail Lena “Tracer” Oxton.
Thank you for reading to the end. I'm Little Voice, and if there’s something that you think I got wrong, or something important that I missed, please let me know in the comments section below. If you liked this and look forward to more, then please follow me here on fimfiction.net and on my new Tumblr blog. If you do reply with something that I might need to change, please include your reasoning and (if you can) source material so that I can update this post to be accurate as possible. I will also give you credit if help to correct my post, so don’t worry about me plagiarizing you.
