Overwatch Hero 31: 5 Fun Facts About Sigma
By Jack O'Dwyer
Overwatch Hero 31 came out this past July to the excitement of Overwatch fans everywhere. Sigma, also known as Dr. Siebren de Kuiper, is the product of a gravitational experiment gone horribly wrong.
He suffered severe brain damage, was packaged up, restrained, and placed in a secret government asylum. De Kupier was nicknamed "Subject Sigma" and kept away from the world for years until he was "rescued" by Talon. Once freed, he agreed to work with them and has slowly been obtaining control over his new powers.
Here's five facts about Hero 31, Sigma.
Overwatch Hero 31: 5 Things We Know
1. Sigma Shatters Records
Sigma is currently the oldest hero available to play in the game. He is 62, beating out Reinhardt by one year at 61 and Ana by two at 60. Interesting to think that they could have run into each other at one point. He is also technically the "tallest" at 8'1", towering over both Reinhardt and Bastion who both clock in around 7'.
2. Neil DeGrasse Tyson Fan
Sigma's hero select line is actually a quote from the popular American astrophysicist, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, who is currently serving as Director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York City. The line is "there is no obligation for the universe to make sense to you", which is a direct quote from the fellow scientist. Does this suggest the two could exist in the same universe?
3. His Astronomical Namesake
Keeping with the space theme, Sigma gets part of his real name from the famous American-Dutch astronomer, Gerard Kuiper. He is considered to be one of the fathers of modern planetary science as well as the namesake behind the Kuiper belt—a stretch of the solar system just beyond Neptune.
4. The Inner Machinations of My Mind
One of Sigma's sprays, "Damage", is actually an electronic medical record (EMR) scan of his head, most likely an EEG which is used to examine brain activity. As players have noticed, Sigma's brain is quite different from the average. This image actually resembles the first ever image taken of a black hole.
5. Musically-Inclined Mind
Since the release of his backstory trailer, Sigma has had a certain song segment associated with him. It even plays during his ultimate, and he is constantly mentioning hearing the "melody" of the universe around him. The song is actually very similar to Erik Satie's Gnossienne n°1, which is known to be composed without a time signature. This is an interesting reflection of the connection between time and space.
Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment