Character
Reinhardt
Writing & Narrative
Arts, Music & MediaWho is Reinhardt in the Agency editorial?
Reinhardt, a character of the video game Overwatch, is the protagonist of The Return of Reinhardt, a short tale about leadership that opens the argument of Issue.14 of the Agency editorial. He is a soldier knocked down by a grenade in a trench who gets up, takes a deflector shield and holds his ground while a song plays in his mind and his platoon forms around him.
In short
Reinhardt is a character of the video game Overwatch who appears in the Agency editorial only in Issue.14, in the short tale The Return of Reinhardt. The edition does not name the game. In the tale, a pulse grenade explodes near his trench during a conflict between empires. Believing his end has come, he remembers why he joined Porpax, his daughter and his childhood, then takes a deflector shield from a downed colleague and roots himself to the ground under enemy fire. With his eyes closed he hears a song, whose vocals the English edition names as those of Frank Sinatra, and when it ends his platoon has made a formation around him and eliminated all threats. The edition says the story sets the stage for its main topic, music.
Key facts
- Where does Reinhardt appear?
- Only in Issue.14, in the short tale The Return of Reinhardt, placed before the chapter 14.2.
- What is Reinhardt in the tale?
- A soldier with a platoon, a daughter and a lifetime of training, who joined something the tale calls Porpax and fights in a conflict between empires.
- How does the tale of Reinhardt end?
- He opens his eyes after the song and sees that his platoon made a formation around him and resisted the attack. The English edition ends with the line that he was back.
What happens to Reinhardt in the tale of Issue.14?
The tale starts with Reinhardt on the ground, regaining awareness after a pulse grenade explodes near his trench and sends his helmet flying. He hears gunfire and orders to retreat and concludes that his end has arrived sooner than expected. In a moment of hyperfocus he remembers why he had joined Porpax, glimpses memories with his daughter and a childhood when peace reigned between empires, and foresees the dystopia that would form if he did not resist the surprise attack on his platoon.
He regains his balance, maps out a strategy and closes his eyes. Music begins to play and he sees thousands of musical notes floating over the battlefield. He takes the deflector shield staff from a downed colleague, runs through the trench, kneels on the slope like a stone colossus and receives countless shots on the shield. The lines of the song run through the tale between quotation marks. When the song ends, no enemies remain: in an act of inspiration and honor, his platoon had formed around him.
What is the tale of Reinhardt for in the edition?
The heading presents it as a short tale about leadership. It comes right after a passage in which the author says that delegating blame is an easy shortcut to avoid taking action. The chapter that follows, 14.2, says that the story sets the stage and the instrumentals for the main topic of the issue, which is music and the meaning behind song lyrics. The edition does not say where the character comes from and gives no other information about Reinhardt, about Porpax or about the world of the tale.
Source editions
Where this entry comes from in the Agency editorial.