The attack on the Australian omnium's fusion core forever altered the landscape of the Outback. After the detonation, the area was transformed into a harsh, irradiated wasteland, littered with debris and the twisted fragments of the ruined facility, and unlivable to most.

But there were some who survived. Calling themselves the Junkers, they scavenged the husk of the omnium and formed a lawless, cutthroat society in its shadow. Junkrat was one of them, eking out a living reclaiming metal and components from the ruins. Like many others, he was affected by the lingering radiation. This touch of madness made him ideal for handling dangerous explosives, a love he turned into an obsession.

He came to notoriety when he discovered an extremely valuable secret in the bones of the omnium. Though few knew the nature of what he found, he was nonetheless pursued by bounty hunters, gangs, and opportunists wherever he went, until he made a deal with the Junker enforcer Roadhog, who grudgingly agreed to be his personal bodyguard in exchange for a fifty-fifty share of the spoils. After a string of offenses against the Junker Queen, Junkrat and Roadhog were officially exiled from Junkertown. They turned their sights beyond the Outback to embark upon an international crime spree, leaving nothing but havoc and bedlam in their wake. "No job too big, no score too small." Though they racked up a considerable bounty on their heads, they’ve been able to evade capture through the very same methods they’ve used to acquire such a bounty: mainly those involving loads and loads of bombs.