Why Apex Legends players are wrong about Overwatch 2 hero Junker Queen
Blizzard Entertainment/Respawn EntertainmentSince the newest Overwatch hero Junker Queen was introduced, Apex Legends players have been cheekily comparing her to their own game’s legend: Mad Maggie. While they do share many similarities, Junker Queen being a Maggie ripoff definitely isn’t the case.
The big Overwatch 2 news ahead of the next beta was the reveal of Junker Queen, a brand new tank hero. It didn’t take long for some players to compare her to Apex Legend’s Mad Maggie, accusing Blizzard of taking a page out of Respawn’s playbook.
However, that’s definitely not the case, as anyone who’s been paying attention will know Junker Queen actually predates Maggie by years.
Overwatch 2 Hero Junker Queen Plagiarism 🤔
Some communities say she's similar in concept to Mad Maggie. Do you know that? Junker Queen basic concept was unveiled in 2017.
I hope they don't say nonsense like "Blizzard copied the FFXIV cutscene to make a Dragonflight trailer". pic.twitter.com/ftd2EgxWIt
— Naeri X 나에리 (@OverwatchNaeri) June 14, 2022
Junker Queen accused of “copying” Mad Maggie
Across social media, posts comparing Mad Maggie and Junker Queen started popping up almost immediately after the new Tank hero was revealed.
While they do look similar, Overwatch insider Naeri hit the nail on the head when she pointed out that Junker Queen’s concept has actually been around years longer than Maggie.
The first image of the Queen we ever saw was on a poster in the Overwatch map Junkertown, which was released in 2017. Maggie, on the other hand, didn’t come out until February 2, 2022.
Blizzard EntertainmentBesides this poster, there have also been countless amounts of concept art created by Overwatch fans in the almost five years we’ve had to wait for the Junker Queen to become a reality.
Despite being unofficial creations from fans, these actually got her final look pretty darn close to what was revealed at the Xbox Games Show on June 12.
Looking at all this, it’s obvious Junker Queen came first. But, beyond that, both characters are sufficiently unique enough that saying one is a “copy” of another doesn’t give the game’s designers the credit they deserve.
Like Naeri pointed out too, since the release of Mad Max fury road in 2015, plenty of characters have been inspired by the film’s post-apocalyptic heroine Furiosa. Instead of one being a rip off of the other, we prefer to think of Maggie and the Queen as sisters instead.