B.O.B.

This article is about the character. For Ashe's ultimate ability, see Ashe.

B.O.B.
Overwatch 2 Overwatch 1
Real Name	B.O.B.
Status	Active
Nationality	American
Occupation	Butler, bodyguard
Affiliation	Deadlock Gang

B.O.B. is Elizabeth Ashe's loyal, lifelong omnic butler and bodyguard.

Story

“	You're too nice, you know that, B.O.B.?	„
	~ Ashe

Kind-hearted, B.O.B. is unable to speak. He communicates through body language such as blinks and hand gestures.

Background

B.O.B. served as the butler of Elizabeth Ashe's family. Her parents paid little attention to her, and care of their daughter was mostly relegated to B.O.B. Thus, B.O.B. was there when Ashe's parents weren't. He was present when she partook in target shooting on the family estate. Throughout her youth, Ashe spent a lot of time talking to B.O.B., even though he couldn't talk back.

Omnic Crisis

“	I'm not hungry! I just wanna be left alone.	„
	~ Ashe to B.O.B.

When Ashe was thirteen, the Omnic Crisis began. On the first day of the conflict, her parents were away (again), and she angrily refused the food B.O.B. made for her, lashing out at the omnic due to her loneliness. She yelled at B.O.B. to leave her alone, and he walked off. Unknown to Ashe at the time, B.O.B., like every other omnic on the planet, had come under the control of Anubis. He fought in the war, and suffered damage as a result.

B.O.B. survived the conflict, and like all omnics, experienced the Awakening, making him sentient. When the war ended, B.O.B. returned to Lead Rose after two years' absence. Now fifteen years old, Ashe ran out to greet him, stopping a few feet away as she beheld B.O.B.'s physical damage, and sensed the mental change he had undergone, even if she couldn't explain it. However, she hugged him, and slowly, tenatively, B.O.B. embraced her.

B.O.B. returned to service in the Ashe family, and remained at Ashe's side.

Deadlock Rebels

B.O.B. picking up Ashe

Three years later, on the day of her graduation, Ashe was arrested yet again, causing her parents to disinherit her. She teamed up with B.O.B, intent on recovering her fortune. When Ashe founded the Deadlock Gang, B.O.B. remained at her side and partook in heists himself.

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Misc. Events

At some point after joining the gang, B.O.B.'s chassis was fitted with armor plating.

At some point after Jesse McCree left the gang, Ashe had B.O.B. upgraded with arm cannons.

Reunion

“	Sorry about that, B.O.B. No hard feelings?	„
	~ McCree after decapitating B.O.B.

Ashe and B.O.B.

B.O.B. and other gang members took part in a heist on Route 66. A military cargo train was derailed, and they began to help themselves to the spoils, before Cassidy arrived on the scene. He told the gang that they could help themselves to the spoils bar a single crate, which he wanted for himself. This piqued Ashe's interest, and she ordered B.O.B. to open the crate. He obliged, and both servant and master looked at the contents with interest. Ashe told Cassidy to tell her what it was, but he refused, and a standoff developed, followed by a gunfight. Despite being outnumbered, Cassidy quickly incapacitated most of the crew, though grabbing a Route 66 signpost, B.O.B. was able to deflect some bullets away from Ashe. His master yelling at him to do something, B.O.B. activated his arm cannon and opened fire, forcing Cassidy to take cover. However, Cassidy threw some grenades their way and used his revolver to detonate them. The resulting blast separated B.O.B.'s head from his body.

B.O.B., having failed to get ahead

In the aftermath, Cassidy loaded the gang members on a hover dolly, sending them down the road. He hoped there were no hard feelings between him and B.O.B., to which the omnic simply blinked. To add insult to injury, Cassidy took off on Ashe's own hovercycle, heading straight past them. After venting her frustrations, Ashe asked B.O.B. what he was looking at, a question to which again, the omnic remained silent.

Luck of the Draw

“	You okay, big guy? Don't you dare pull anything like that again, you hear me? And don't give me that look either. I said what I said and I meant it. Beginning to end, B.O.B., you and me...You and me.	„
	~ Ashe

Months after the showdown with McCree, and not long after Null Sector's attack on Paris, Ashe agreed to a meeting with the Jackpot Gang in the Spectacle Resort & Casino, Las Vegas. B.O.B. was among the members of the Deadlocks who accompanied her. He stood at Ashe's side when they met with Lark and Folly of the Jackpots, and kept Ashe's temper in check. The meeting was interrupted by Null Sector, which attacked the city similarly to how they'd attacked Paris.

Ashe and B.O.B.

B.O.B. and the Deadlock Rebels remained in the casino along with Lark and Folly, along with some civilians who were too smart (or scared) to run into the Las Vegas Strip, which was crawling with warbots. They holed up in the casino as Vegas was overrun by Null Sector.

14 hours since the initial attack, while watching events from a window, Ashe was confronted by a search drone. Ashe raised the Viper to take a shot, despite knowing it would give away her position, but B.O.B. crushed it, saving Ashe from exposing them. Ashe bitterly reflected that they should never have come here.

Eight hours later, the situation hadn't improved—the Deadlocks still couldn't call for help, and Ramattra's message of "liberation" was being broadcast across the city. B.O.B. didn't have any ideas to escape, and nor did anyone else for that matter. They were interrupted as a voice came from outside the ballroom, requesting entry. Ashe suspected it was a ploy, but she couldn't bring herself to forsake the possibility that the plea for help was genuine. She ordered B.O.B. and Bars to cover her while she opened the doors, finding two humans and an incapacitated omnic, all of whom had fled from another establishment on the Strip. Jumping the gun, Lark tried to remove the helmet clamp from the omnic's head, only to inadvertantly kill her.

Things were tense, as Lark suggested using Bars and B.O.B. as bait, as it was clear that Null Sector was only really interested in "liberating" omnics, otherwise mostly ignoring humans. She insulted B.O.B., pointing out that B.O.B. didn't even talk, and that this could be an opportunity to get a new model. Ashe raised her rifle, but B.O.B. put a hand on her shoulder; a calming gestured that seemed to say, "It's all right." However, Ashe was still irate at the disrespect shown to B.O.B. She tossed him the Viper, who with Bars, kept the rifle trained on the Jackpots. Folly backed down, but Lark assaulted Ashe, only for Ashe to knock her out. Ashe retrieved the Viper from B.O.B., and made it clear that neither he nor Bars would be used as bait.

The group headed for the casino's roof to escape in the sightseeing ships stationed there. Despite the hatred she'd shown earlier, B.O.B. picked up Lark's comatose form, much to Ashe's amusement. They made it to the roof without incident. P.T. took the first ship with the civilians, Zeke, and Terran. Ashe planned to have B.O.B. take the second ship which would take the Jackpots, herself, and Bars. The first ship got away, but before the second could take off, they were confronted by warbots. B.O.B. put Folly in the cockpit and after giving Ashe's shoulder a squeeze, leapt out to confront the warbots, even though it would mean his destruction or enslavement.

Ashe leapt out of the ship and the two fought against Null Sector together. B.O.B. ran out of ammo and started to take damage, but Ashe realized that Null Sector was trying to subdue rather than destroy him. They kept fighting, but B.O.B. was damaged further, and Ashe ran out of ammo herself. They were surrounded by warbots, and a Subjugator approached, ready to apply a neural suppressor to B.O.B. However, they were saved by Bars, who shot at the warbots from the returning ship. The two escaped and headed back to Deadlock Gorge, Ashe chastising B.O.B. for his actions, but also thanking him for them.

Trivia

• B.O.B.'s name stands for "Big Omnic Butler," but can also stand for "Big Omnic Bodyguard" or "BOB, Omnic Butler."
• Michael Chu has joked that B.O.B. can be considered "hero 29.5" (Ashe being the 29th hero of the game).
• As of October, 2023, B.O.B has been called out 182,522,380 times.

Development

The first sketch of B.O.B. and Ashe

B.O.B. is a rare exception among characters in Overwatch, having required virtually no iteration before reaching a finalized design that satisfied the team, with Jason Hill comparing him to a unicorn and saying "B.O.B. was just meant to be." The initial pitch for B.O.B. came from Jason Hill; up to the point of his design, the only omnic types had been the standard humanoid omnic or Bastion. He reasoned that omnics "should come in all shapes and sizes." The artwork initial as done by Mio, while the concept was refined by Jungah Lee.