Blackwatch was Overwatch’s covert operations division, led by Gabriel Reyes. While the main organization handled international peacekeeping, Blackwatch conducted secret missions that governments and the public were not meant to know about.
Reyes originally served as Overwatch’s commander, but Jack Morrison’s battlefield success led to Morrison becoming the organization’s leader. Reyes was then placed in charge of Blackwatch. The division recruited specialists such as Jesse McCree, Genji Shimada, and Moira O’Deorain for missions requiring secrecy and unconventional methods.
Blackwatch was used against threats including Talon, a terrorist organization. Its operations eventually included morally and legally controversial actions such as assassination, kidnapping, and coercion. The exposure of those activities fueled public distrust and helped trigger the United Nations investigation into Overwatch.
Blackwatch is often confused with Helix Security International, a separate military contractor, or Null Sector, an omnic extremist movement. Talon is also separate: it is an enemy organization that Blackwatch fought. After Overwatch fell, Reyes re-emerged as the villainous mercenary Reaper.