I mean, who knows about his Overwatch and/or Blackwatch days, but the Reaper getup is definitely designed to be intimidating. He looks terrifying coming right at you, between the death mask and the over-exaggerated figure, and I can’t help but think that was the point, even if there’s personal symbolism involved — or we tease him for being an overdramatic edge lord in the fandom, haha. Psyching someone out isn’t exactly going to hurt you in combat. Winston’s “you’re not so scary” supports too.