#like not even hypothetically she canonically inspired various rebels

[jeronandor]

so you mean to tell me that after the destruction of the death star, tynnra pamlo was tasked by mon mothma to create and distribute rebel propaganda to capitalize on the rebel alliance's victory... so she drew up a recruitment poster... and used jyn erso's silhouette

[captainofthetidesbreath]

Est. 1976: Two Logos, Two Founding Years, Two Deadlocks?

Here’s a tinfoil hat theory: Deadlock Rebels the Gang founded by Ashe and McCree is a different entity from the Deadlock Rebels established 1976.

The TL;DR:

There are two versions of the logo—the eyepatch-less version we see on Ashe for the Gang and the eyepatched version we see on McCree for the Rebels. This is why the eyepatched version only ever appears on McCree. Strangely enough, the eyepatched version actually makes a comeback after Ashe’s reveal, rather than disappearing as many expected.

In addition, the in-universe and real-world verbiage around Deadlock very consistently exclusively refers to them as “Deadlock Gang” instead of as “Deadlock Rebels” per the wording in their logo. The only time “Deadlock Rebels” appears in a minor usage for a player icon, it is actually attached to the eyepatched version of the logo.

With this, it’s possible there is a suggestion that there are two Deadlock groups and that McCree was a member of the Deadlock Rebels established in 1976 before he went on to found the Deadlock Gang with Ashe.

Ground Rules

This post assumes that this mixture of logos is intentional. It is absolutely possible that it is simply originally an error made when John Polidora referenced old concept art instead of the updated live version (more on that later) or that it is simply a retcon—and that corrections on this mistake or retcon have been implied inconsistently for whatever reason.

I am not absolutely ruling out that it is a mistake or recton. It is very deeply possible this is just the most inconsistent imagery.

I am simply trying to propose an alternative theory to that.

For the purposes of this post, and to keep things as clear as possible, "Deadlock Rebels” (or, the Rebels) will only refer to this hypothetical non-criminal motorcycle club established in 1976 and “Deadlock Gang” (or, the Gang) will refer to the group founded in roughly 2056 by Ashe, McCree, and two unnamed others. Simply “Deadlock” does not refer to either group and is used in contexts where I don’t want to refer to specifically one or the other.

Branding History

First, a timeline of the various Deadlock logos just to establish the different versions and how we got here.

During development of the Route 66 map, the design team went through a number of iterations of the logo. The Art of Overwatch shows two iterations:

[Portion of a page from The Art of Overwatch showing two variations of the Deadlock logo.]

The one we’re interested in is the one on the right, which is more similar to the version we see most often—but more on that later. This version of the logo notably features an element stating “est. 1976″ and has an eyepatch over its right eye (our left).

The version featured repeatedly on the Route 66 map, the logo’s first canonical appearances, is slightly different.

[Screenshot of the Route 66 map during the Overwatch beta, showing the Deadlock logo sprayed on the front of The High Side saloon.]

[Screenshot of the live Route 66 map, showing the Deadlock logo sprayed on the wall inside the Deadlock Gang hideout.]

The logo that appears on the Route 66 map lacks the “est. 1976″ element and is eyepatch-less. (It also has two less chains, but that isn’t important. I consider that to be a negligible variance, even though it does vary.)

[Concept art of Blackwatch McCree by John Polidora as seen in The Art of Overwatch. Insets are of the tattoo from the concept art and of the tattoo and belt buckle from the live skin.]

The Deadlock logo appeared again on the Blackwatch McCree skin for Uprising Archives. The skin features the eyepatch version of the logo both on his belt buckle and on his tattoo, which also features the “est. 1976″ element. This is the first time the 1976 version of the logo appears in the canon. The concept art for the skin, by John Polidora, shows the eyepatched version of the logo, though only on the tattoo and not the belt.

[Screencaptures from “Reunion” of two bandanas, the back of Ashe’s jacket, the engraving on BOB’s arm, and Ashe’s tattoo.]

“Reunion” introduced members of Deadlock Gang other than McCree, and with that, many more instances of the logo. The logo worn by all members of Deadlock Gang—on bandanas, jackets, engravings, tattoos—are the version appearing on the Route 66 map: the version without the “est. 1976″ and without the eyepatch. (Again, these versions tend to have four chains, while the map logo has only two, but I believe that it’s literally the same logo and such difference is negligible.)

I do not have screenshots handy, but this is the version of the logo used in-game on Ashe and BOB.

At this point, it was assumed that either Team 4 retconned the “est. 1976″ portion to make room for Ashe and McCree founding Deadlock Gang when they were younger or that Polidora made a mistake when designing the skin and referenced an old, scrapped version of the logo rather than the finalized live version.

However, for Storm Rising Archives, the Deadlock McCree skin was revealed.

[Screenshots from the Deadlock McCree reveal trailer showing the eyepatched Deadlock logo on the back of his jacket and on his bandana.]

This skin, like Blackwatch McCree, features the “est. 1976″ and an eyepatch in every single place possible: his jacket, his tattoo, his bandana, his belt buckle, his gun. This logo makes a return despite the establishment date it cites being contradicted by the previous reveal that Ashe and McCree founded Deadlock Gang.

At this point, disregarding the number of chains in the logos, we have two major variations of the Deadlock logo being used more than once in the canon.

[Images of the two Deadlock logos: one eyepatched and with the “est. 1976″ date, the other eyepatch-less and with no displayed date.]

Watch Your Language

All verbiage surrounding the group founded by Ashe and McCree exclusively refers to them as Deadlock Gang. Not once in the entire What’s Next panel at Blizzcon 2018 are they referred to as the Deadlock Rebels.

But amid the fading monuments of that earlier era, the outlaws of the Deadlock Gang are planning their biggest heist yet. [Official description of Route 66 map]

McCree had already made a name for himself as a member of the notorious Deadlock Gang... [Official McCree Bio]

Affiliation: Deadlock Gang

Ashe is the ambitious and calculating leader of the Deadlock Gang and a respected figure in the criminal underworld. [...] Along with the other three founders of the Deadlock Gang, Ashe started to make a name for herself with bigger and more extravagant heists. The Deadlock Gang’s rapid rise to prominence... [Official Ashe Bio]

Ashe is the leader of the Deadlock Gang, a group of bandits and criminals who menace the American southwest [Ashe gallery description]

In their younger days, Jesse McCree and Elizabeth “Calamity” Ashe co-founded the Deadlock Gang. [Deadlock McCree gallery description]

Courtesy of the Deadlock Gang. [Ashe elimination line]

Deadlock Gang must’ve wanted it bad. [former McCree Route 66 line, now removed]

Reyes should've cleaned up the Deadlock Gang a long time ago. [Soldier: 76 Route 66 line]

One goal of Route 66 was establishing the Deadlock Gang. [The Art of Overwatch]

Even down to Ashe’s cosmetics. The one time the “Rebels” verbiage comes close to being used in reference to Deadlock Gang is as the name of one of her sprays. There is a player icon associated with her that is named “Deadlock Rebels” but this icon uses the eyepatched version of the logo rather than the eyepatch-less version actually associated with her.

[Left, Ashe’s “Rebels” spray. Right, the “Deadlock Rebels” player icon.]

To continue digging, when Deadlock is mentioned in the teaser ahead of the McCree reveal, the group is mentioned as having a biker rally, but they are referred to simply as “Deadlock” with neither “Rebels” or “Gang” attached to them.

[The teaser released ahead of the McCree reveal. Deadlock is mentioned in the lower right hand corner: “Deadlock Biker Club National Rally”]

It’s worth mentioning that the Artbook captions the concepts for the Deadlock logo as “Deadlock Gang logo”, both of which are variations of the eyepatched logo. However, I consider this non-issue, as it’s like captioning the much more Egyptian-inspired Zenyatta concepts as “Zenyatta”. And, being it isn’t an in-universe verbiage, it carries lesser weight.

But... why call them exclusively the Deadlock Gang when their logo states Deadlock Rebels? Isn’t that unnecessarily complicated?

Tinfoil Cowboy Hats

This is a really tiny point, it’s also strange that McCree is seen wearing what appears to be the Deadlock Gang bandana—at the exact moment that Deadlock Gang is founded, so he would’ve owned the bandana before the Gang existed. His Deadlock skin, after all, shows him wearing the bandana with the eyepatched version of the logo—and the same hat, though I imagine he keeps that hat for a long time after.

[Screenshot from Ashe’s Origin Story, depicting the moment of Deadlock Gang’s founding between Ashe, McCree, and two others.]

[McCree’s Deadlock skin.]

There’s a lot of explanations for why these repetition of elements: the short already establishes Deadlock wears yellow bandanas, the skin’s design is pulling from Ashe’s Origin video. But, I’m tinfoiling.

On tinfoil notes from Ashe’s Origin video, the Viper rifle is seen hanging on the wall when she is a child, and it displays the Deadlock logo.

[High quality still of Ashe’s Origin story from Nesskain.]

Again, there are alternative explanations for this: the gun was referenced off her final model, which has the logo on it. It reflects the reference used irrespective of timeline rather than suggesting than the logo existed before Ashe founded Deadlock Gang.

However, I’m weaving tinfoil hat theory here.

99% of Motorcyclists—And The Remaining 1%

So, if I’m searching for answers other than an inconsistent retcon, what explanation am I offering? I suggested this in November after the Ashe reveal, and I alluded to it even earlier, but: suppose there were two very separate, even contemporaneous groups using the name Deadlock Rebels?

The Deadlock Rebels Biker Club is established in 1976, and it designs for itself a logo of a eyepatched winged skull. Decades later, a young Jesse McCree is a member of this group.

Maybe he’s in it because he’d fallen in with them after the Crisis. Maybe it’s because his family historically is a member of the Rebels. I do not know. Possibly, the Deadlock Rebels are also one-percenter, and it is through this group that McCree establishes himself as a “budding miscreant” (to quote the What’s Next 2018) and “local ruffian”.

He goes on to form a partnership with Ashe, arguably leaving the Deadlock Rebels, and together with two others they found the Deadlock Gang. They adopt for themselves the same iconography with slight changes—they drop the eyepatch and the “est. 1976″ flair—and they operate out of Deadlock Gorge just like the Deadlock Rebels.

However, McCree, having been a member of the Deadlock Rebels, already has the eyepatched version in his tattoo and on his clothing. So, for pragmatic reasons, and because tattoos are not easily changed, he continues to display this version.

It forms a sort of arc for McCree where is he constantly leaving one group to go to another because “he can do better”: from the Rebels to the Gang, from the Gang to Blackwatch. McCree has a running theme of being “far from home” and of moving right along through life, constantly leaving groups and found families. (His new Archives line well illustrates this: “I ain’t gathering no moss.” He keeps moving on and moving on and moving on.)

Arguably, this might also explain why Reyes had a difficult time clearing out Deadlock Gang. Ashe, McCree, and their cohorts were using their similarity and tenuous connection to the Deadlock Rebels as a way to cover their tracks and misdirection their activities onto the other group. This line of argument does not feel strong, but it is tenuously possible.

A Matter of Historical Record

Overall, it isn’t uncommon for outlaw gangs in the West to share the same name. If they weren’t named for their leaders, they were often named after geographic regions. The most famous example is the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, which is actually a coalition of several gangs who all used the Hole-in-the-Wall Pass, Wyoming as a hideout but largely stayed out of each other’s business and adhered to a system of rules to maintain the peace within the Pass.

This should sound familiar. The story point of Ashe forming a coalition between the Southwestern Gangs to put an end to their in-fighting and adhere to a system of rules to keep things civil between them was probably inspired by the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang.

In slight variation to what I described above, it’s actually possible McCree’s agreement to found Deadlock Gang with Ashe and the two others saw the Rebels absorbed into the Gang, but the name was kept because simply that’s what gangs operating out of Deadlock Gorge are called: the Deadlock Rebels, synonymous with the Deadlock Gang. This second iteration of Deadlock redesigned elements of the branding to represent this new coalition between the four of them (and possibly whatever other gangs the two others may have represented), but McCree continues to display the old logos in significance of his membership in the first iteration.

Which version is more likely, that both groups continue to exist distinctly different forms or that they two groups are now closely tied together as a result of the agreement between McCree and Ashe, I am unsure at this time. Whether or not it materially matters is another thing entirely.

The important point here is that there are, or were, two Deadlocks that existed close in time and McCree was part of the other one before he founded the 2056 iteration.

In Summary

There is a very long history of the Deadlock logo, and for some reason, the logos McCree displays differs significantly from the logos Ashe, Bob, Route 66, and the others display. It’s odd, given that the “est. 1976″ date displayed by McCree directly contradicts that he and Ashe founded the group circa 2056.

However, notably, the verbiage surrounding the group founded by Ashe and McCree exclusively refers to them as “Deadlock Gang” rather than “Deadlock Rebels” per the logo. It’s almost stunningly consistent in how the group is literally never called the Deadlock Rebels. In fact, the only reference to a “Deadlock Rebels” is to an eyepatched version of the logo, the one McCree displays.

Given historical record, the commonality of Old West gangs to have similar names due to shared geography, and McCree’s own thematic arc, what if there was two Deadlocks: the Deadlock founded in 1976 and the Deadlock founded in 2056—and they both count McCree as a member. Due to being part of the 1976 group first, McCree acquired their logo first, and he continues to display it for that reason.