Overwatch’s 31st Hero is the Gravity-Controlling Mad Scientist, Sigma

After a weekend of cryptic teases, Blizzard has unveiled the 31st hero for Overwatch. Really, I should say “villain” rather than “hero,” as Sigma falls pretty squarely into the classic mad scientist archetype. After an attempt to tap into the power of black holes goes badly awry, Sigma finds he’s gained the power to control gravity…and lost his mind. You can check out a trippier-than-usual origin trailer for Sigma, below.

Here’s Blizzard’s official description of Sigma:

The 31st Overwatch hero, Sigma is a kind and brilliant scientist who has been irreparably changed by an experiment gone wrong, gaining the ability to manipulate gravity in the process. During that tragic experiment Sigma sustained serious psychological damage, deemed a threat to humanity and locked away for years in a secret government facility. He was eventually freed by Talon and used as a living weapon.

Update: Sigma is now available for testing on the Overwatch PTR. Here’s a rundown of his abilities:

Hyper Spheres – Sigma launches two gravitic charges, which implode after a short duration, dealing significant damage in an area.

Experimental Barrier – Sigma propels a floating barrier to a location of his choosing. He can recall the barrier at any time.

Kinetic Grasp – Sigma stops incoming projectiles in midair, converting them into shields.

Accretion – Sigma gathers a mass of debris and flings it at an enemy to knock them down.

Gravitic Flux (Ultimate) – Sigma manipulates gravity to lift nearby enemies into the air and slam them back down.

There’s quite a bit going on in the world of Overwatch at the moment — the annual Summer Games event is in full swing and Blizzard recently began testing the game’s somewhat controversial new Queue System that locks teams into a specific lineup (2 damage, 2 support, 2 tank). You can get details on the latest PTR patch, right here.

So, what are your thoughts on the new character? I don’t expect Sigma will be as popular with the fan art community as some other recent additions, but his gravity-control powers do sound promising. Overwatch could also use some more strong villains, and Sigma seems like a quality twisted bad guy.

Overwatch is available now on PC, Xbox One, and PS4.