Tanner Banks, April 7, 2016, at 9:04 p.m.
Rejoice, my fellow gamers! The Tracer pose controversy has seen the light! Bask in the bounty that our savior Blizzard has bequeathed to us, for it shows bright days ahead. Before I get accused of blasphemy I’ll go ahead and say that the Overwatch team knocked this one out of the park. Ever since this whole stupid controversy started, Blizzard has been caught in the middle of two groups that seem to be offended by anything.
What started as a simple criticism over a rather mundane pose became an all-out shitstorm. With people slinging poo all over the place, with nasty words like “censorship” or “over-sexualized,” Blizzard’s team was put in a place nobody wants to be. If they removed the pose they’d be seen as bowing down to the easily offended minority. If they kept it, they’d be seen as willing to sexualize anybody just because they’re female.
They decided that it would be better to take out the pose and replace it with something else. This was met with anger by the side claiming censorship. They believed their voice was being ignored in favor of a vocal minority. The controversy and ridiculousness only amped up from there as Blizzard quietly stepped away. When they came back with the new pose though, they answered all the critics  with a middle finger pointed every which way.
Those cheeky bastards at Blizzard decided to get tongue-in-cheek about the whole controversy. They told the censor haters that they run the show, and they told the puritans that if Tracer’s ass-ets are shown, it’s their choice. The pose itself is based off a pin-up shot, which were commonly painted onto warplanes during WWII. Now the great thing about the pose is that it addresses what the original criticism, while making fun on the ensuing controversy.
The original pose was said to be “out of character” and not fitting her “spunky” attitude. With Tracer’s origin story describing her as a former pilot, she’d have to know about pin-ups like this. And as someone whose body “seems to be comprised of 95% spunk,” Tracer would probably have a little fun about this situation as well.
The pose itself is fun, relevant to the character, and keeps the  controversial derriere right there.
I’ll be the first to say I was probably a little harsh on Blizzard about bowing down to the calls for change. And man, this is why Blizzard makes games while I just write about them. The pose is an absolute improvement over the original, and they’ve managed to keep Tracer’s character intact while having fun with the situation.
Good job Blizzard, you kicked ass on this one.
