five riders ain't traditional, but it'll do.

Here in Overwatch town, we thrive on alternate universes.

It's also a very rare example of something actually seen in-game, either by collections of skins that follow the theme or special game modes that take place in that respective universe. Really, to have these AUs is to promote fandom growth: seeing as we have such fragmented lore, an AU presents a concept to play around with and allows the players to run with it as far as they please.

(Some of us may even go on to write a hundred and twenty thousand words and an entire story in an established AU setting… but I am an outlier, and probably should not be counted.)

Ashe features prominently in two AUs, being Junkenstein's Revenge and Starwatch. There is also Mirrorwatch… and whilst Ashe did not receive a skin, the implications of a mirrored universe are certainly felt. I won't talk about it in-depth, but I'd love to see an Ashe taken to Blackwatch instead of Cassidy and for her to be fully tied up in Overwatch if this universe theme is ever returned to – there was certainly demand for it, and the devs have mentioned they would like to. Please, Ashe lore? Ashe in Mirrorwatch? I would like more Ashe AUs, please.

I would also. Accept an Ashe who inherited her parents' empire, one that is extremely cold and cruel and nothing like herself in that she perceives sentimentality as a flaw to be removed. This is acceptably heartbreaking, to me. But I would enjoy her in Blackwatch more.

Junkenstein's Revenge

Junkenstein's Revenge was introduced in October 2016 as part of the Halloween Terror event, and has returned in some form annually ever since. Whilst the event is active the map Eichenwalde in standard gameplay is replaced by Adlersbrunn – one of the best maps in the game. The core mode is PVE, a co-operative brawl that sees four heroes defend Adlersbrunn's castle doors from waves of zomnics (zombie omnics) and various bosses, ending with The Witch who resurrects Junkenstein and all the previous bosses to be fought off at once.

Junkenstein is a lot of fun. It is in itself a reference to camp horror tropes and themes, with zany plot developments and over the top practical effects – not really that scary, and certainly not in a threatening way. The surrounds are based out of folklore and the supernatural and though Doctor Junkenstein himself champions science, heavily seeped in magic. This gives it a lot of potential. You can do so much with the worldbuild. There's banshees, werewolves, vampires, fortune tellers, witches, dragons and dragonslayers… as an AU, Junkenstein is perhaps the most extensive, awash with new voicelines in standard gameplay whilst wearing respective skins that also have unique lore descriptions attached to them, and features the highest numbers of characters; some of them are even duplicated.

For the game mode, every character, be they hero or villain, has a moniker. The Narrator, Reinhardt, comments on actions and individual deaths. Each boss has an arrival cutscene where the camera snaps to them: this means you can photobomb if you so choose, and small clover symbols were added on the floor at their varying spawn points to assist you in doing this. The first year of Junkenstein saw Soldier: 76, Hanzo, Cassidy and Ana as selectable heroes – but the roster was heavily expanded upon multiple times to include others, being Torbjorn, Zenyatta, Genji, Widowmaker, Brigitte, Tracer, Baptiste… and importantly to us, Ashe.

an exiled outlaw on the hunt for wealth, and treasure.

Ashe was added to the game mode in 2020 as The Outlaw, wearing her Little Red skin. Her primary incentive is money, and the implication is she is here to defend the door because she wants what's in the King's treasure vault once the night is over. She also experiences the rare instance of knowing other characters – for real. All interactions are considered canonic to the alternate universe, and there are many.

One of my favourite is with The Huntress… Widowmaker. She asks her what she thinks of when she looks down her scope, to which the Huntress responds the target; nothing else. It's simple, but it gave me so many thoughts…

In 2022, we got a sequel to the classic mode, called Wrath of the Bride. Bride plays more like a progressing mission rather than defending an entity and eliminating waves, and has four players traverse Adlersbrunn to reach the castle where The Bride is planning to resurrect her beloved, culminating in a final fight with a boss bar. It's definitely a callback to Archives missions and was clearly using tech designed for the PVE missions (may they rest in peace). It's also fun to look at it from a technical standpoint, as to move you to a different point of the map without the player immediately aware of being reloaded, the screen fades to black and snaps you back in to an arrival cutscene that doubles as a jumpscare. You can also break this by emoting and forcing the camera into third person if you so desire, or, if you just don't like jumpscares (me, it's me).

Wrath of the Bride has an established cast and does not deviate. The playable heroes are the three Overwatch 2 launch heroes, Sojourn, Junker Queen, Kiriko… and, surprisingly, out of left-field, Ashe. Again. Even more shocking was that they changed her skin – to Warlock, and gave it unique voicelines… for everything.

“ If I'm not mistaken, you knew that crackpot doctor? ”
“ 'Course! He paid through the nose for my carcasses. Dunno why. ”
“ Honey, when a mad scientist asks to buy your corpses, you say "no". ”
-- The Outlaw (Ashe) and The Butcher (Junker Queen) in Bride of Junkenstein

Warlock was the first time Ashe ever got unique voicelines for a particular skin. And my like for it soared, because it was so interesting. She's still The Outlaw, but now with additional depth and layers: she's a user of dark magic, she has a bound demon, she's seen the void, she's been to Hell itself… did you know death is a woman in Junkenstein lore? Because The Outlaw has met her. Not a month later I resurrected my concept for Bloodstains and wrote it for Nanowrimo because I was so enamoured by it. Shakes this AU I love it so much.

I really enjoyed Wrath of the Bride, because it's just a night out with the girls, silly and nonserious, a good time. Classic Junkenstein's Revenge was the first time my duo and I went meticulously through an event mode for attached achievements, because the movie poster sprays as rewards are really good. It's also just, fun to play. I'm glad they always bring it back, because October vibes would not be complete without Junkenstein on Halloween, to me.

Starwatch

Starwatch was the theme of season 4 in Overwatch 2, in early 2023. It revolves around Sigma's mythic as the Emperor of the Infinite Empire, and is predominantly space opera.

It is, in essence, pretty much Star Wars. At the same time, it is a fascinating read of Sigma. Sigma's mind broke during a space accident that splintered his link to reality… but this is a Sigma duly terrifying with the gravity based abilities he possesses. But, it still is just Star Wars.

There isn't a Luke, but we have a Leia substitute, a prince. We have 3CH0, whose name was not-so-suspiciously erased from her skin name after the season ended (the mouse is scary). We have the Watchers, the resistance literally identified as rebel scum; and the Infinite, those loyal to the Empire. Many of the minor characters for this AU experienced swapped alignments – many of Sigma's underlings are those that work in Overwatch, and some of the Watchers are those that work in Talon or belong to minor factions that otherwise don't get a lot of screentime.

Now. Who do you think Ashe equivalently is in a Star Wars-based universe.

i'm a rebel.

That's right. She's Han Solo: an intergalactic smuggler who wants out of this little space war and nobody in twelve parsecs can beat her. Nice of you to come ask her to do a thing in the cantina, Bonecruncher, she ain't interested. Bob is a missed Chewbacca opportunity but he too fulfils the same role, minus the roars.

Ashe has unique voicelines in her Intergalactic Smuggler skin: a more limited selection than Warlock though more robust in the two categories they do feature in, as these voicelines replace her usual respawn lines entirely and the majority of her final blows.

Starwatch: Galactic Rescue has returned once as a game-mode since the end of its season and has not been seen again since. It featured a reimagined, heavily modified version of the map Horizon Lunar Colony garbed in red and black, and was PVP – one side would be the Watchers, the other the Infinite. The idea was the Watchers were breaking in to retrieve 3CH0 and the data she carried that could win them the war. Depending on which team won would trigger a unique cutscene of either the Watchers getting away with their prize or them imprisoned and planning an escape… hooks that never went anywhere, alas.

This AU had a comic that led up to the beginning of the game mode, as well as an epilogue. These have since been removed from Overwatch's website and privatised on youtube.

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