Not showing Hog's face is dehumanising

It feels like Hog wasnt made to be an actual person, like Winston for example, but a funny caricature of an obese person.

Showing his actual face in game, comic or cinematic would subvert this

I guess you’re joking?

His bio says: “Adapting to his environment, he donned a mask and took to the broken highways of the Outback on his ramshackle chopper. Little by little, his humanity was forgotten. The last vestiges of Mako faded away and the ruthless killer Roadhog was born.” So, both yes and no on the dehumanizing part. It’s not because of his weight but because of what happened to him and his world in the past. If you read his bio and then Wasted Land, he’s not depicted as a caricature at all. He doesn’t show his face because he’s not Mako anymore (or at least he feels that way).

We haven’t seen Gabe/Reaper’s face post-Swiss HQ incident either.

14 Likes

That and he uses the mask to intake the hogdrogyn he uses to mitigate the effects of the radiation that plagues Junkertown, and after so many years he probably feels more comfortable in it than not

also if youre a criminal going on a world crime spree its probably better to hide your face?

1 Like

I feel like Roadhog is the kind of guy you’d be able to recognise even if you couldn’t see his face.

Otherwise you’re right.

Winston and Roadhog are, by philosophical definition, persons- self-aware, rationally thinking, and autonomous. Despite neither of them being fully human (anymore, in Roadhog’s case), they are still intelligent and capable beings, thus they are persons.

The fact that Roadhog put on the mask of his own volition is a testament to that. He’s violent because he chooses to be. Part of it is the requirement of the outback to be ruthless and unflinching, but Roadhog waxing on the apocalypse himself (“We’re all animals”) proves that he is very much capable of seeing, thinking and feeling.

1 Like

I feel like Hog isn’t meant to be one of those characters that is easily relatable or “humanised”.

The males for some reason dont have a good looking face. Ofcourse males are evil so it makes sense.

And for OP to suggest otherwise would be disrespectful to Hog’s present identity.

“Not showing Hog’s face is dehumanising”

Pyro: Hold my beer

But we know what reaper looked like from lots of different sources. Also the point is moot, because the only thing “different” about Reaper is that he’s black, and OW actually has quite a few black male heroes.

But Hog is the only fat character, male or otherwise. Its fine that he owns it by taking the Hog persona, but the fact that the only fat character has their fatness played up feels … Not OK.

A) dehumanization isn’t always a bad thing. I do it to politicals all the time. And they do it to everyone who isn’t on their side.

B) You cannot dehumanize that which is not human to begin with.

C) I and a lot of friends were a similar kind of mask quite often.

I’m pretty sure he’s like that from mutation!

Are you implying that Hog isn’t human?

He literary isn’t. He’s a program.

like…literally?

He has his fatness played up by… exactly one highlight intro, and maybe a couple of bacon jokes?

If anything, Roadhog is a better obese character than any other character throughout media over the past however many years. He isn’t some obnoxious, farting, always hungry dimwit- he’s quiet, calculating, smart, goal-minded and ruthless. Even when the standards you’re examining him by aren’t Junkertown, Roadhog is fairly philosophical, capable of higher thinking. He believes the world forgot about them. Let the omnics take their land and leave them stranded. Now he’s seeking revenge, giving the world what he believes it deserves. This is basically just Soldier: 76’s character arc with extra steps. Soldier isn’t any more human just because he’s thin and we’ve seen his face. He’s still performing illegal activities and being reckless for purely personal motivations.

There’s still room for improvement in the portrayal of various different minorities, from sexuality to race to body type. But I don’t pity Roadhog. I don’t think he’s inhuman. Like Baptiste, like Doomfist, he had choices. And he made them. “But when you think you’re a big man, it’s even harder to admit, you are not a brave one.”

3 Likes

I would like to know what fat Overwatch players think about Hog’s characterization

1 Like

he’s beautiful in every way!

People can’t be too offended as barely anyone has a body like his since he was mutated!

As a thin person, I’m in the majority. But I definitely want to see heroes with different body types. In a military organization, it is more likely that its members may have a requirement for their physical condition- weight is a considerable factor in combat. But Overwatch isn’t strictly like that- we’ve seen civilians, celebrities, near nobodies fighting for what they believe in, overcoming incredible odds and defying everything their doubters have been told to believe. Anyone can make a difference. And I hope that Blizzard takes that message to heart, and tries their best to show that everyone can.

I believe those are in reference to the fact that he doesn’t eat pork (as evidenced by one of his pins).