Overwatch: New Hero Teaser Shows New Shield, and Jetpack Cat

Overwatch has been teasing -- aggressively teasing -- its newest hero, which should be revealed some time very soon. This morning we reported an image which showed some design sketches, presumably from the hand of our new hero, who is designing a hammer. Overwatch just followed up with an additional tweet showing off a new image, which depicts a shield.

“Last minute check! Everyone squared away?” pic.twitter.com/67cBBvIgzs

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) February 27, 2018

Obviously the hammer and the shield make us think of Reinhardt right away. If you haven't been paying attention, the current theory is that the new hero is Torbjorn's daughter Brigitte, who is a long-time ally of Reinhardt's. It could be argued that Brigitte is the main reason that Reinhardt rejoined Overwatch, and she's deeply rooted in the game's lore. Is this her hammer and shield, or are they simply designs for a new weapon and shield for Reinhardt? You may have noticed something else very peculiar in that image...

Several fans noticed some strange details right away. If you look over to the left, you'll see a few coffee circles or drink stains. The rightmost seems to be circling a drawing of a cat (or an animal with a tail) with a jetpack attached.

This, of course, has led to a chorus of fans saying "Jetpack Cat confirmed!" and "Rocket Cat confirmed!" It's a bit of running joke at this point, since the Overwatch developers originally planned to include a cat with a jetpack as one of the heroes. The idea was shot down, but the dream lives on.

Could we actually see Jetpack Cat make its way to the Overwatch roster? I think Brigitte is the more-likely option, but hey, she could very well be accompanied by a cat, and we think that would be perfect. Now I'm imagining Brigitte storming onto the map with a paladin's hammer and shield, and a freaking cat hovering around her shoulders, ready to unleash a barrage of rockets or machine gun fire.