Glenn Talbot was a former high-ranking officer for the United States Air Force. Following all the terrorist attacks connected to the HYDRA Uprising, Talbot was tasked with capturing the remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. facilities, for which he was promoted. Despite their long-standing feud and constant attempts to outdo one another, Talbot had grown to respect S.H.I.E.L.D. new Director, Phil Coulson, accepting his help in the War on HYDRA. All his experiences in dealing with S.H.I.E.L.D. had resulted in President Matthew Ellis putting Talbot in charge of the ATCU, which was re-purposed to serve as the public face of S.H.I.E.L.D. after Rosalind Price's death, as Talbot used his position to assist S.H.I.E.L.D. with their wars against Gideon Malick and Hive, while also successfully destroying HYDRA for good and ending their long conflict.
With the return of S.H.I.E.L.D., Talbot was tasked with finding their new Director, and developed Project Patriot to find a new Captain America with Jeffrey Mace. However, Talbot's missions soon made him a target, as he was shot through the head by a Life-Model Decoy sent by Aida. While Talbot survived, these injuries allowed Hale to take advantage by kidnapping him, having Talbot tortured for months, while undergoing Faustus. After being rescued, Talbot's struggles with his mind caused him to send the Remorath to attack inadvertently. As he sought a solution, Talbot absorbed Gravitonium into his body and gained incredible power, only to become corrupted and insane as Graviton. Upon stealing a position of leadership in the Confederacy, the delusional Graviton sought to protect Earth from Thanos, so he attempted to gain more Gravitonium and then endangered the entire world in doing so, which forced Quake to challenge him, as she eventually launched Graviton into space and ended his rampage.
Glenn Talbot joined the United States Air Force, achieving the rank of Colonel over the years. On one of his missions, he had spent five long months in an enemy war camps.[7] Talbot had participated with the War on Terror, for which he was awarded with two medals.[8] He was also present in New York during the Battle of New York, where he saw the sky being torn apart and the army of the Chitauri invading New York City.[9]
"It's troubling how deeply embedded HYDRA was within your ranks." "Especially troubling for us, sir, but I assure you we're going on the offensive. The Hub is secure. All remaining agents stand ready to assist you in whatever-" "I think we've had about all the assistance we can handle from S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm sending in a peacekeeping force."
In 2014, through the sudden and drastic actions of Captain America, the United States Government had then unexpectedly discovered that S.H.I.E.L.D. had become secretly infiltrated by HYDRA over the last few decades, with the plot to unleash Project Insight being foiled at the last moment by Captain America and his allies. In the wake of this discovery, S.H.I.E.L.D. was declared to be a terrorist organization and Talbot was ordered to locate and take over as many S.H.I.E.L.D. facilities as he could and gather all the intelligence so that they could understand what happened, and how HYDRA gained such power.
Talbot called up the Hub and demanded to speak with whoever had been put in charge there, before Phil Coulson stepped forward, with Talbot noting that the organization was in considerable trouble due to this recent discovery. Because Talbot had still doubted the stability of S.H.I.E.L.D. after HYDRA Uprising, Talbot then informed Coulson that the United States Air Force would be arriving shortly to take over the base. Despite all of Coulson's efforts to assure him, Talbot stated he would be leading his team to take over their Hub, prompting Coulson to then take his team on the run before Talbot had arrived there.[10]
"At the very least, you're fugitives. And running away puts a bit of a guilty stink on it, don't you think?" "We're not HYDRA. We're agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.." "Well, right now, to the rest of the world, that's the same thing."
With the help of Maria Hill, Talbot managed to find another one of the secret facilities known as Providence within Canada, which had been established by Nick Fury where several agents were seemingly hiding out since escaping from the Hub. With his soldiers surrounding the base and with their guns raised and ready for a fight, Talbot stepped inside with his unit covering him; as he then called for these agents to drop their weapons and surrender, as Phil Coulson had then questioned if there were not better things for Talbot should be doing.
As Talbot warned him not to push his luck, Coulson had then finally put his guns away and stepped forward once Talbot promised not to shoot him, he noted that their Providence base was one of the most secure facilities on the planet, and had then demanded to know just how the United States Armed Forces had been able to find it. Before Talbot could answer, Hill stepped out and convinced Coulson's Team to put down all their guns, noting that she was the one who had told Talbot about the base, as the rest of Coulson's Team had then finally surrendered as well, handing their guns over to Talbot's soldiers.
With their agents now captured, Talbot allowed Hill and Coulson time to talk, so that Coulson could surrender the other S.H.I.E.L.D. bases. In the meantime, Talbot questioned the other members of Coulson's Team, telling them to surrender to the military, as they were fugitives even if they were not criminals. While Antoine Triplett then reassured him that they were not agents of HYDRA, Talbot simply noted that to the rest of the world there was simply no difference between HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. Talbot offered a brief prison sentences, in exchange for some high-level intel, while Leo Fitz told Talbot to do his worst.
Talbot offering his protection to the agents
Becoming frustrated over the situation Jemma Simmons argued that they should not be his priority as Grant Ward, a known HYDRA agent who was working for John Garrett, was now getting away, while they were speaking, noting that Ward took Skye as hostage, claiming that by keeping them there Talbot was putting her in more danger. Talbot, however, showed little sympathy towards their wishes to track down and capture Ward, instead noting that he was their only friend in their current situation and instead suggested that they show him why they were valuable as assets, to get protection by the Armed Forces.
Finding that he was still getting nowhere with his own interrogation of Coulson's Team, as they were still remaining loyal to the organization, Talbot had instead went to speak to Hill and Coulson to find out how they were doing. However, during the had conversation, Hill had also learned from Coulson about Skye's abduction, and Ward's defection and decided that Coulson's Team were better served tracking down Ward and his leader HYDRA Garrett. When Talbot returned inside the room to complete his deal with Hill, he expressed a desire to pull the room apart, while Hill and Coulson had readied themselves.
Before they even had the chance to react, Hill and Coulson had both attacked Talbot and his men, taking all of them by complete surprise. While Hill had knocked out all Talbot's men, Talbot and Coulson had engaged into a fierce brawl, with Talbot finding Coulson to be a more formidable enemy than he had expected. Their brawl had eventually concluded as Coulson had then managed to knock Talbot back and had then shot him with an I.C.E.R. Coulson, Hill and the others then escaped Providence to hunt down Ward, while Talbot eventually had regained consciousness and then took control over the base.[11]
"The corrupt institution has been dismantled, yes. We cut down the tree, we pulled up the roots, but let's just say I'll rest easier when we put them all on the bonfire."
For his actions in dealing with the HYDRA Uprising and successfully capturing the Hub and Providence bases for the military, Talbot was promoted from Colonel, to the rank of Brigadier General. Talbot also became the United States Air Force official representative, doing his several interviews with George Stephanopoulos about their current situations. During one such interview, Talbot bragged about how the military had taken down both HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. and that he had a Storage Facility which housed S.H.I.E.L.D. paraphernalia, vowing that all of the remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would be found.
While spending time with his wife and son at Potomac Plaza, Talbot jokingly expressed his complete horror that his son was considering joining the United States Navy rather than the Air Force, insisting that he would have to change his son's mind about this. While Talbot was speaking to his wife, he was then bumped into by a stranger, as that stranger quietly placed his phone inside of Talbot's pocket. When the phone rang, Talbot was at first confused about where the phone had come from, as he then ordered his wife to take their son away, for his own protection while he kept his eye out for any potential ambush.
With his family out of harm's way, Talbot answered their phone as he spoke with Phil Coulson who warned him he was currently in danger as he was about to be attacked by the Absorbing Man, insisting that they were there in order to ensure his safety, while Coulson had then demanded that Talbot listen carefully for his next instructions. Talbot, however, still seeking to arrest Coulson, put more thought into finding his target rather than protecting himself, refusing Coulson's help and promising that he would have Coulson sent into Guantanamo Bay for all his crimes before Talbot had then snapped the phone in two.
While looking around for dangers coming towards him, Talbot got his real phone and called for reinforcements from the military to come to his location immediately in order to protect him and his wife, while he also sought to locate and arrest S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. However, before they could arrive onto the scene, Creel, who had just recently learned from HYDRA that the Obelisk was in Talbot's storage facility, sneaked up on Talbot as he attacked him. However, Talbot was warned of the attack by Melinda May just in time and was then able to spin around and punched Creel in the face, which took Creel off guard. Talbot had then been able to defend himself long enough for May to come assist him, who had charged forward and then knocked Creel off his feet.
While Talbot watched on, May battled Creel while he transported his body to brass and had then furiously attacked the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with the ball and chain which he then swung at May, although May's vastly superior fighting skills had given her the advantage during her skirmish with the Absorbing Man. With his reinforcements now finally charging on the scene, Talbot saved by the combined efforts of May and Skye, who had assisted Talbot's men in managing to take down Creel by shooting two shots from the Taser Projectile Launcher which had managed to subdue the assassin, before escaping while Talbot's soldiers had then surrounded Creel and took him into custody.
Talbot was covered by Lance Hunter and Isabelle Hartley, who were disguised as Air Force personnel. While Talbot ordered his men to secure Creel, Hartley pulled him from the scene in order to get him to cover. However, as Mason had then sought to take him away for his safety, Talbot was already kidnapped by Hunter and Hartley who then took him to a S.H.I.E.L.D. SUV where May smugly held Talbot at gunpoint. Realizing he had just been tricked, Talbot had cursed out Coulson's name before he was driven away from the scene without his soldiers knowing what had happened, while they then took Creel away.[12]
"Kidnapping me and tying me up in your honeycomb kill room is not helping your case. Do you think I'm an idiot?" "Oh, no. You're the real deal. But you're surrounded by people who constantly underestimate the threat they're up against. Me and my people swore an oath we don't intend to break."
Confined onto the Bus, Talbot was visited by Phil Coulson, who then attempted to convince Talbot that S.H.I.E.L.D. was never the terrorist organization he was convinced they were and suggested they work together. Talbot, however, noted how the last time they saw each other at Providence, Coulson and Maria Hill had both assaulted him and his teams, to which Coulson noted that this was done to stop Grant Ward and John Garrett, while Talbot had gotten a promotion.
Despite him noting that he did actually have considerable respect for Coulson for managing to evade detection for so long, Talbot insisted that while Coulson might claim that S.H.I.E.L.D. was still on the good side, kidnapping Talbot was not helping his case. When Coulson had changed tactics, and suggested that S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents had sworn their oath to stop HYDRA and protect all innocent lives, like Talbot's son from those wishing to do them harm, Talbot became increasingly angry at that mere mention of his family, gripping his chair's handles tightly while threatening Coulson to never mention his son's name.
While Talbot was still insisting that his own men were up to their task of protecting him before Melinda May had charged in and kidnapped him, noting how the military now had Carl Creel in custody. Coulson, however, explained that Creel's plan was to go onto the Government Storage Warehouse, to steal their Obelisk, noting how this had been something that Talbot had mentioned on his numerous appearances on television. Despite knowing Coulson was correct, Talbot refused to help as he furiously vowed to destroy all their work, to which Coulson drew his I.C.E.R. and had shot Talbot, knocking him unconscious.
Talbot awakes in a car and calls for backup
As Talbot woke up inside his car, he immediately called in the military to pick him up, using his passcodes to get past security systems. He was not aware, however, that Coulson had tricked him into revealing the location and codes for the Storage Warehouse, so they could get inside. Coulson was forced to use a voice-altering software to mimic Talbot's voice when Tilden had refused to allow the undercover team Coulson sent inside of the warehouse to enact the Infiltration into the Government Storage Warehouse, before they had encountered Creel again, and had successfully stolen the Quinjet from the base.[12]
"Look, Hunter, I think we're pretty like-minded guys, so let's not waste each other's time. You know what I'm after." "I'm guessing it's not Carl Creel." "Creel's small time. Think big fish."
Later, the United States Air Force captured Lance Hunter, after all of Hunter's friends and teammates were killed by Carl Creel, during the horrific car crash, as they had been attempting to make their escape from the Government Storage Warehouse. Hunter was taken by Talbot's men and was thrown into the boot of a car and driven to a field where he had met with Talbot. While Hunter had remained confused about his situation, Talbot greeted him with respect as he shook his hand, before offering Hunter a lift in their military helicopter.
During a helicopter ride, Talbot commented on Hunter's history, as a part of the British Armed Forces, reminding him of Hunter's previous and highly decorated missions in Sierra Leone and Basra, although Hunter insisted that he was no longer a Lieutenant. When Talbot had questioned why Hunter became a mercenary, Hunter confessed that it was because he had met a girl. Changing the subject, Talbot noted that he believed Hunter knew what they were after, commenting that Creel was a mere small fish compared to Phil Coulson, as Talbot had insisted that Coulson was nothing more than another vigilante.
Talbot had tried convincing him to give up S.H.I.E.L.D.'s base by then offering him money, since Christian Ward could provide this, although Hunter was still less than convinced. Once Talbot finished making his arguments against Coulson's leadership; however, Hunter seemingly agreed to the offer in exchange for two million dollars and a proper burial for Isabelle Hartley, who was killed by Creel. Hunter was dropped off back on the ground, and given a car to drive him back to Coulson's base. However, Hunter had actually decided not to accept Talbot's offer as he had instead continued working for Coulson.[13]
"Our intel says you don't have enough manpower or artillery to take down a convenience store, so I'm sorry. I'm gonna have to say no to that deal." "I don't know. I think we're good on artillery. And in case you get any ideas, General, that's just the tip of the iceberg."
At the specified amount of time, Talbot, along with several soldiers, confronted Phil Coulson in a field, while Coulson greeted Talbot by calling him by his first name, although Talbot insisted he not. Talbot questioned where Lance Hunter was, noting that clearly, Hunter had kept up his end of the deal by bringing Coulson to him. When Talbot questioned why he was there, Coulson explained that he felt bad about kidnapping him and had bought Talbot a peace offering.
Pointing over into the truck behind him, Coulson then told Talbot that he was handing over Carl Creel, who had been turned into stone by with Overkill Device after his fight with Coulson's team and had been left within the Cryostasis Chamber, which would run out in fifty-eight minutes time. Coulson recommended that they had Creel to a facility which was considerably more secure than their Government Storage Warehouse for soon as possible, which Talbot noted that this gesture of good faith was extremely generous from Coulson, who once again noted that they were the good guys during this still ongoing fight.
Coulson had then offered a new deal as he had then asked Talbot to consider giving S.H.I.E.L.D. breathing room, to continue with all their missions in exchange for Creel's arrest and further gifts, which would undoubtedly give Talbot yet another promotion. Talbot, thinking they had the advantage, tried to capture Coulson, noting how little artillery he had. Coulson, however, corrected Talbot just as the Bus had then deactivated its cloaking and showed its aimed guns, as Coulson then departed in the cloaked Quinjet while Talbot was left in complete awe of the power that S.H.I.E.L.D. had recently managed to obtain.[13]
"Just to be clear, this is all about a mask that this guy put on and made him look like me?" "Yeah." "You know, I spent five long months in an enemy war camp. You people make me miss those days."
Talbot was later contacted by Phil Coulson who informed him that Sunil Bakshi had just been caught while he had been impersonating Talbot in order to gain the five-hundred-year-old Virgin and Child painting with the Words of Creation inscribed onto its back. As Coulson had his video chat with Talbot, Talbot questioned how Coulson could have been fooled as Talbot had no interest with art.
Talbot then requested the painting, however, Coulson claimed that it had been destroyed during the fight between Melinda May and Agent 33, while claiming that it was not actually as valuable as HYDRA had believed it to be. As he confirmed that the Photostatic Veil was what had caused the entire situation, Talbot noted that his dealings with HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. had made him miss his days in an enemy war camp. Talbot asked Coulson to talk to him longer on the secure line that they had hacked, so he could then trace his call back to the Playground, but Coulson then abruptly disconnected the line.[7]
"We stood idly by while they collected super-powered individuals, garnered alien weapons, built bases on virtually every continent. We thought S.H.I.E.L.D. was protecting us, but, in truth, they took advantage of our good faith, and they still are."
During his hearing with the United Nations Headquarters, Talbot gave a speech about how S.H.I.E.L.D. had, in his personal view, used their public's trust and resources to further their own goals, and still does. Talbot noted how back in 2012, he was in New York City and had witnessed Loki bringing the Chitauri to Earth, a moment which had then changed everything, and the moment when S.H.I.E.L.D. had finally revealed themselves to the public, causing the world to put their blind faith in S.H.I.E.L.D. to protect them from any future attacks.
While his speech to the board had continued, Talbot also commented on all the reports regarding how S.H.I.E.L.D. were secretly collecting enhanced individuals, put bases across the Earth, without giving any real explanations for their purposes, and had also inadvertently been responsible for their Battle for New York City, which Talbot witnessed first hand. Once Talbot was done with his speech, Adamo Dioli stood up as he questioned Talbot's arguments and claimed that Talbot had no proof to these views, expressing his mistrust that Talbot had even encountered S.H.I.E.L.D. while they had been back in operation.
Before their debate could continue, Dioli was then struck directly into the chest by a Splinter Bomb, causing him to scream in terrible pain as his body disintegrated in a matter of seconds. Their building came under attack by HYDRA operatives, posing as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, as they were led by Marcus Scarlotti, who had thrown the bomb at Dioli and threw a second at one of the guards. As Talbot tried to evacuate their building with the others, Scarlotti claimed that S.H.I.E.L.D. was done hiding, and threw his Splinter Bomb in Talbot's direction. Talbot managed to evade the bomb, as he escaped with a broken arm.[9]
"I don't think anything before today matters now, does it? S.H.I.E.L.D.attacked the United Nations, for God's sake, under your watch." "The people who attacked us may not have been S.H.I.E.L.D.."
In the wake of the deadly attack led by Marcus Scarlotti, Talbot had then gone back to Washington, D.C. to have a private meeting with Senator Christian Ward to discuss their recent events. Once Talbot stepped into Ward's office, he had commented that Talbot was lucky to have come away with just a broken arm following Scarlotti's attack which killed Adamo Dioli and several others, as Talbot claimed it was his lucky day.
Ward then berated Talbot for allowing S.H.I.E.L.D. to attack him and the United Nations so publicly, while he also questioned exactly why Talbot had claimed that the organization had since been destroyed in the wake of the HYDRA Uprising. Talbot, however, had then informed Ward that he did not actually believe he was attacked by S.H.I.E.L.D. but by somebody else. Ward commented that, in the wake of such a public attack by the S.H.I.E.L.D., he now needed to step in and deal with their situation himself, now fearing that the press would soon be coming after him personally following this latest deadly attack.
Talbot commented that Ward was clearly fearful that the press would learn about his brother, before he then reassured the senator that he has not revealed Ward's true connection to his brother, insisting that he did not have an interest in playing politics. Ward decided to make a statement condemning S.H.I.E.L.D.'s actions and called for a multi-national police force, to target and prosecute all those organizations with ties to S.H.I.E.L.D., going onto WHiH World News to make their announcement for the entire world, as Ward again called S.H.I.E.L.D. a terrorist organization in the wake of this most recent attack.[9]
While their hunt for Marcus Scarlotti had still continued, Talbot and his team had eventually gotten word that Scarlotti and his men had just successfully attacked a S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House in Bruges, killing all the agents who were inside the base, which had included Noelle Walters. However, Scarlotti had then been defeated by the combined efforts of Melinda May, Bobbi Morse, and Lance Hunter, and May then contacted Talbot to have Scarlotti and his people handed over to Talbot's custody to be followed for all of the many deaths which they were directly responsible for.
Talbot eventually went to the Safe House in Bruges, in order to arrest Scarlotti and his HYDRA team, while also managing to capture Julien Beckers who had been attempting to get across the border having been revealed to be working for HYDRA. As Scarlotti and his team of HYDRA agents were being transported into the custody of the United States Air Force, Talbot gave his condolences to May for the deaths of six agents, telling her that it was always a shame when a good agent dies. The pair shook hands and departed, showing their mutual respect for each other following the recent attacks.[9]
"Sunil Bakshi... the man tied to the Navywedding massacre, the U.N.attack, and who tried to kill you, Coulson." "While dressed up as you, sir." "Safe to say, I'm not a fan." "Perfect. I'll trade him to you to add to your collection."
Eventually, Talbot was called by Phil Coulson once again as Coulson had informed him that they now wanted to trade Sunil Bakshi over to the United States Armed Forces, in exchange for Talbot's continued assistance with their current mission of destroying any remaining cells of HYDRA. Talbot confirmed with Coulson that Bakshi was found to be connected to several terrorist attacks, including a Naval Wedding Massacre, as well as the recent Attack on the United Nations, and the impersonation of Talbot himself during another mission.
Noting how he was not any fan of Bakshi following his actions under the orders from Daniel Whitehall, Talbot had agreed to their deal and Coulson transported Bakshi to him to be put in his jails. Before their exchange took place, however, Coulson had secretly used Bakshi as bait to lure out all the leaders of HYDRA and assassinate them with a combined effort, including Octavian Bloom among several others, in which Coulson took advantage of their paranoia. Once their mission had been completed, Bakshi was recaptured and sent back to Talbot for imprisonment for these many acts of terrorism for HYDRA.[14]
"There is a mole on our base, this mole infiltrated security by posing as my wife and could be anyone in this room right now. Make no mistake, this is an enemy combatant, one not to be taken lightly. But rest assured, I will find this perpetrator, because if there is one thing I cannot stand, it is a spy in my house."
While in his office at the Air Force Facility in Washington, D.C., Talbot was speaking to Decker about the positives of the new lawnmower he had purchased when he received a call that his wife had just arrived and had left her I.D. at home, so Talbot allowed her to come up. Before she arrived, however, Talbot then received a phone call from Carla saying that she was actually still stuck in traffic.
Talbot realizes the base has been attacked
Realizing that someone must have come into the base while wearing the Photostatic Veil to disguise themselves and get past Campbell on security, Talbot called for an immediate lock-down of the entire base until he found the spy. Turning to Decker, Talbot called for every single female member of staff at the base to be gathered together, and not to allow anybody to leave the base, not even him, much to Decker's confusion. Talbot then began cursing the mask for its deception, remembering when it was last used by HYDRA to trick S.H.I.E.L.D. by disguising the user as Talbot himself.
Talbot gathers all his female staff members
Talbot had every female member of staff line up in front of him, as he knew whoever had disguised themselves as his wife was clearly a female spy. Once all the women had been gathered, General Talbot explained the situation to them all, telling the United States Armed Forces soldiers that there was a spy in the base who could have disguised themselves as anybody in that room. Despite the staff members being highly confused by this concept, Talbot remained confident and vowed that he would find the spy and bring them to justice as he hated the concept of being tricked.
In an attempt to catch the spy out, began to ask each of the women personal questions to test them, such as asking one woman if her daughter went to the same school as his son, to which she reminded him that she did not have a daughter, at which point smiled and agreed, making it clear he knew she was not the spy. When Talbot came to Meredith Tredwyck, he became convinced she was the spy, announcing it to everyone and even trying to pull off the mask, only to learn that he was mistaken. He apologized to Tredwyck before cursing at his failure to discover the true spy anywhere.
With his agents cleared of suspicion, Talbot was leaving the office with Decker when he came across his wife. Talbot pulled his gun on her and ordered her to lie face down on the floor, believing her to be the spy. Carla, however, explained that the guard behind the desk was missing and she had just come to drop off their lunch, before bursting into tears due to confusion. Talbot quickly realized that the woman was indeed his wife. He learned that the spy had escaped the facility alongside Grant Ward and Sunil Bakshi, whom they had broken out of prison.
Talbot later called Phil Coulson and Melinda May to inform them of the incident. He explained to Coulson that his men had spotted on the CCTV camera from outside, Ward with the spy kidnapping Bakshi and driving away with him. Talbot expressed his grief at having lost three good soldiers during the attack as well as nearly losing his own marriage due to the confusion and chaos they had caused, so Coulson assured him they would do everything in their power to find Ward and bring him to justice, as S.H.I.E.L.D. had their own reasons to want Ward dealt with as soon as possible.[15]
"I'm technically your boss now, right? But I'd prefer to be partners." "You are not now, nor will you ever be my boss, and we will never be partners! I didn't ask to get up in front of this sideshow circus."
Once Carl Creel was able to break free of the Faustus brainwashing while in prison and renounced his loyalty to HYDRA before Talbot had hired Creel as his personal bodyguard.[16] Talbot was named by President Matthew Ellis as the newest head of the Advanced Threat Containment Unit in the wake of the Assassination of Rosalind Price at the hands of Grant Ward.[17] However, almost immediately after his promotion, Talbot's son was targeted and then kidnapped by Gideon Malick, who blackmailed Talbot into betraying Phil Coulson for HYDRA, wishing him to be handed over to their custody.
Talbot's wife Carla Talbot blamed her husband and his career position for losing their son and decided to get on a plane and leave him. Talbot took her to the airport and tried desperately to get her to change her mind, insisting that he could not turn down the promotion with the ATCU when the President offered it to him, to which Carla noted that since he always chose work over family, they were now paying the price. Carla had then taken her bag and walked away, leaving Talbot behind while he still continued to promise that he would find a way to fix this problem and get their son back, but she ignored his pleas.
While Talbot watched her leave he was visited by Coulson, who came to speak to him about how the future of the relationship would work between both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the ATCU. Once he saw that Coulson was there, Talbot questioned what he was doing there and asked if Coulson had been spying on him, furiously noting that his own personal life was none of Coulson's business. Coulson had then noted that the ATCU had now become his business and since Talbot was not taking his calls, he had no other choice but to come to speak with Talbot in person, to which Talbot claimed he had been busy.
Although Talbot still attempted to ignore him and continued marching through the airport, Coulson had still followed closely behind and had then reminded Talbot that he was technically his boss from his point onwards, although he had claimed he preferred them to be partners, which greatly annoyed Talbot as he insisted that Coulson was not going be his boss and that they would never be partners. Talbot had complained that he had never wanted to be involved with the ATCU and made it clear that he suspected that Coulson had put him up for it, although Coulson insisted that it was President Ellis' idea.
While they walked through the airport, Talbot and Coulson discussed the upcoming Symposium on Alien Contagion where the future of the Inhumans would be discussed, and which Ellis wished them to attend together to give their own viewpoints. Coulson noted that S.H.I.E.L.D. was less interested in the Symposium itself, but the intel they could gather, to which Talbot confirmed that this would become a sneaky spy mission. Coulson also expressed his belief that Malick would likely have his mole at the meeting who they needed to find and arrest so that Malick could be brought to justice.
Upon reaching the car park, Talbot then joked that Malick's tactics to use an undercover operative reminding him of S.H.I.E.L.D., to which Coulson agreed but insisted that they were still the good guys. As Coulson prepared to leave in his car in commented that he genuinely wished that Talbot and his wife repaired their relationship for their own son's sake. Coulson asked about George, as Talbot had confirmed that he was now twelve which Coulson commented was a good age. Talbot and Coulson had then shaken hands and prepared to leave, only for Coulson to pause just before he got in his car.
When Coulson was suddenly warned by Melinda May that an enemy target was heading their way, Coulson looked across the car park and saw the target was Carl Creel and assumed Talbot was Creel's target, so he then threw Talbot inside his car for his own protection. Coulson, May and Lincoln Campbell then battled Creel until they were able to use his powers against him and defeated him, at which point Talbot was freed from the car. Talbot furiously rushed over and demanded an explanation, before he informed them that Creel was not there to assassinate him but was there to protect him.[16]
"He's from the streets, he made some mistakes, he's reformed." "I believe everyone deserves a second chance, but taking him with us on a covert mission doesn't seem like the place to test it." "It's a crazy world out there, full of powered people. I finally have one of my own. I don't leave home without him."
Back at the Playground, Talbot clashed with Lance Hunter who had still utterly despised Carl Creel for his part with the deaths of two of Hunter's closest friends, Isabelle Hartley and Idaho during a previous mission, although Talbot had insisted that this was purely due to Daniel Whitehall's brainwashing which Creel was now cured of. Bobbi Morse noted that Creel was a murderer with a long criminal record, but Talbot still defended him and called Creel a good kid.
When Phil Coulson expressed his own concern about bringing Creel on the upcoming mission with them, Talbot insisted that he trusted Creel with his life and refused to give him up, vowing that he would not attend the Symposium on Alien Contagion without Creel by his side. Despite Daisy Johnson arguing that they did not need Talbot, Coulson explained that they did need the head of the ATCU for some political reasons and had finally agreed to allow Creel to join them on their mission, while still acting as Talbot's personal bodyguard, much to the considerable displeasure of both Hunter and Morse.
While traveling onboard Zephyr One towards Taiwan, Talbot listened alongside May and Bobbi Morse as Director Coulson briefed them on what to expect from the mission. Coulson explained that the other delegates attending the meeting would be Anton Petrov, Xiao Chen, Ellen King, Haruto Yakimura or Nathi Zuma and one of these people would be most likely be Malick's mole, feeding him vital information on the status of the Inhumans around the world. Coulson explained that their mission would be to find a way towards a peaceful solution to their Inhuman Outbreak while also locating Malick's mole in there before to ensure HYDRA could not learn of their intentions.[16]
"I think it's Chen. She's too nice. Never trust nice. Although, did you see the scar on down under's face? Maybe she tangled with one of the Inhumans, got her all hotheaded, you know?" "Congratulations. You've just narrowed it down to everyone."
General Talbot was furious when Phil Coulson convinced him to wear a traditional long-gown at the meeting, while Coulson argued it was a respectful gesture as Talbot was now President Matthew Ellis' official representative, insisting that the irritated Talbot that he looked highly dignified. Once inside, Talbot was then first introduced to Anton Petrov, who thanked Talbot for attending, as he expressed his gratitude to President Ellis for arranging the event, while Talbot then introduced Coulson to Petrov as Sean Lundwall from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who was Talbot's own personal guest.
Coulson shook hands with Petrov, using his Prosthetic Hand to scan his fingerprints, in order for the rest of the team to get inside of their hotel rooms and search for any more evidence which they could then exploit. While Petrov compared the Inhumans with creatures, he was then pulled away by Haruto Yakimura to have a private conversation. Once they were alone, Talbot had insisted that Petrov was the target, noting how he did not trust him as Petrov was from Russia, claiming that he might also be working for Gideon Malick along with Yakimura, although Coulson was less than convinced by Talbot's theories.
As their day continued and they walked around the room, Talbot had stayed with Coulson, as he continued shaking hands with their other delegates, with Xiao Chen expressing her delight to be seeing Talbot wearing the traditional long gown, as Talbot awkwardly joked that he did not put on this dress for just anyone. Finally, Talbot and Coulson were introduced to Ellen King from Australia, who then questioned if Coulson had found the cure for the Inhumans yet, to which Coulson, still using their current cover of Doctor Lundwall, simply claimed that only diseases needed a cure which had seemed to intrigue King.
Talbot explains who all his suspects are
Once they were alone, Talbot explained his theories on who Malick's inside man could be, however, it soon became clear that Talbot had simply suspected everybody who was in attendance, accusing Chen of being too nice and King of being hotheaded, as Talbot had noted a scar on King's face and theorized that King may have been attacked by one of the Inhumans, and was seeking revenge. Upon hearing his theories, Coulson jokingly complimented him on all his efforts, noting how Talbot had narrowed their hunt down to everybody there, which Talbot was still proud of as he had overlooked the Symposium.[16]
"This man has violated our lives, he's violated our rooms, and he's violated our trust. He's a liar and a fraud. This man is not Dr. Sean Lundwall. His real name is―" "This is Phil Coulson… The Director of HYDRA."
Once Talbot had changed out of the traditional long gown back into his military uniform, he then joined Phil Coulson and their delegates gathered in the meeting room and Talbot then gave his brief opening statement during which he had thanked them all for attending the Symposium on Alien Contagion on behalf of President Matthew Ellis. Once Talbot had tried to make some awkward jokes regarding all the delegates names, the conversation had then quickly turned to Inhumans as Talbot explained the situation to those in the room.
Coulson attempted to convince the group that these Inhumans were only seeking peace, despite Ellen King then questioning if they called themselves Inhumans to intimidate the Humans, which Coulson had insisted was not the case. Talbot listened while Coulson continued to explain the origins of Inhumans, although Haruto Yakimura remained skeptical, as he noted how the Inhumans' abilities put innocent lives in considerable danger, to which Coulson noted that it depended on how they treated the Inhumans, claiming that they should not think of them as their enemies but as an opportunity for their compassion.
Hearing Coulson's statements, Anton Petrov spoke up and had then suggested that Russia was potentially willing to make themselves a sanctuary state for these Inhumans, to keep them from harm if their numbers had still continued to increase in the wake of their Inhuman Outbreak; however, Yakimura warned that their situation was akin to an arms race and following Petrov's suggestion would be like giving Russia all their nuclear weapons. Nathi Zuma agreed with Petrov and called for a vote, although King still called the concepts naive. Talbot and Coulson had then briefly discussed what their options were.
Talbot had suggested that if Petrov was working for HYDRA, then the voting could be a bad thing for them, if Petrov could soon potentially end up with an army of Inhumans onto HYDRA's side. Just moments before Xiao Chen called for their vote, Talbot had then stood up as he had interrupted her and called their guards in, announcing that there was a traitor in the room, before shockingly accusing Coulson. Talbot ripped off Coulson's arm sling and showed their guests how Coulson had been spying on them all ever since their meeting had begun, also noting that he was not Sean Lundwall, as he had claimed to be.
Before Talbot could continue, Gideon Malick then entered the room and accused Coulson of being the Director of HYDRA. Coulson then discovered that Talbot was the traitor, in which he simply responded by saying Kumbaya. Greeting all their other delegates by introducing himself as the former member for the World Security Council, Malick had then claimed to be revealing the truth about Coulson as he used the images of Lash's victims and the Suspension Gel to accuse him of wanting to exterminate Inhumans while Talbot reluctantly stood by his side, as Coulson questioned how Malick blackmailed him.[16]
"I kept up my end of the bargain. I delivered Coulson, all the delegates are on your side, now give me back my son!" "I'm sorry I can't do that." "No! We had a deal!" "Yes, but unfortunately, you must all be sacrificed."
Talbot rejoined Gideon Malick as he had Phil Coulson taken into the basement for execution, as Talbot demanded that Malick finally give him back his kidnapped son now the agreement had been completed, with Coulson now handed over and all of the delegates from the Symposium on Alien Contagion on Malick's side. As Coulson cursed Malick for going so low as to kidnap a child, Talbot watched while Malick's men hit Coulson in the stomach to keep him quiet.
However, Malick refused to complete the deal on his end and instead locked Talbot inside the cage beside Coulson, handcuffing them to each other while Talbot still furiously cursed at him, noting how they had made a deal to which Malick claimed they must all be sacrificed for the greater good. When Coulson had questioned his motives for what he was doing, Malick explained that he was building an army, while Coulson insisted that another army would stand against them, only for Malick to remain confident before leaving the room and then ordering all of his HYDRA operatives to execute the pair of them.
While waiting for their deaths as Malick's men loaded their guns and took aim at them both, Talbot had joked that he would prefer it if they shot Coulson first so he could be left in peace from listening to him at long last, while Coulson questioned how Talbot had not known that Malick would betray him since Malick was the leader of HYDRA, which offended Talbot as he noted how he felt Coulson still had very little faith in him. When Coulson questioned why he still remained confident despite the circumstances, Talbot explained that he had a man on the inside while he had awaited the incoming rescue.
At that moment Carl Creel burst into the room and touched a nearby marble pillar, which then transformed his body and allowed him to become bulletproof. Using his incredible strength, Creel had then defeated all of the guards, while Talbot reminded Coulson that he trusted Creel with his life. Creel then explained that he and Lance Hunter had found Talbot's son trapped within Suspension Gel. When another guard burst in, Talbot and Coulson were forced to run while still they were still handcuffed together, with Talbot then also taking Coulson's Prosthetic Hand on their way out of the door.
With Creel still fighting against Malick's guards, Talbot and Coulson ran through the hallways while still handcuffed to each other, as Coulson stopped to reattach his hand and questioned why Talbot had kept this a secret from him. Talbot explained how his son was taken when he got his recent promotion into the Advanced Threat Containment Unit and had threatened to kill him if Talbot had told anybody, which Talbot believed Malick was capable of. Talbot also then noted that Carla Talbot also knew about the situation and had blamed Talbot, so he had sent her away for her own safety.
Once Talbot explained his situation with Malick to Coulson, they then regrouped with Creel, Lance Hunter and Bobbi Morse, before Creel used his enhanced strength to finally free them of their handcuffs. The furious Talbot grabbed a nearby HYDRA guard who Morse had used subdued with her Battle Staves as Talbot furiously demanded to know where his son was, pinning him against the wall and yelling in his face. However, when the man failed to answer and could only not that he did not know where his son currently was, Talbot knocked him unconscious with a single hard punch directly to the face.
While Coulson then ordered Hunter and Morse to go to Russia after Malick, who was leaving with Anton Petrov to continue making the agreement they had come to regarding all the Inhumans during the Symposium. While Talbot listened, Coulson had explained that the rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. would all escape once Talbot's son was found and brought to safety, only for Melinda May to simply interrupt their conversation to explain that she had located George Talbot inside the van where he was being kept in Suspension Gel for transportation as she then collected the group and they then escaped together.[16]
"He's gonna be okay. He just needs some rest. He won't remember any of it. Carla would be very happy to know you made it right." "I had a little help." "That's what partners are for, General." "Call me, Glenn... Occasionally."
Back on Zephyr One, Talbot sat beside his sleeping son as he slowly recovered from his ordeal of being kidnapped by Gideon Malick and kept trapped in the Suspension Gel for several days until finally being rescued by his father. While Talbot was holding tightly onto his sleeping son's hand, Phil Coulson had arrived and stood by, while he then commented on how happy his wife would be now that Talbot had rescued their son and finally fixed the situation.
They briefly discussed how George would not remember anything of what had happened with him, while Talbot expressed his gratitude to Coulson for his help. Coulson noted that this is what the partnership was for and when Coulson casually called him General, Talbot told him to call him Glenn, although he clearly noted this would only be occasionally.[16] Returning to the ATCU, Talbot assisted in the arrest of Oscar when he was captured by Daisy Johnson during a later mission to track down the Watchdogs led by Felix Blake.[18]
"I was looking forward to making that traitor talk. You all right?" "Yeah, fine. I just I thought we'd seen the last of HYDRA." "Well, don't worry. After today, you'll never have to see one of those squids again."
When S.H.I.E.L.D. had successfully captured and questioned Gideon Malick, he proceeded to tell Phil Coulson everything that he had ever known about HYDRA, to avenge the demise of his daughter who had recently been killed by Hive. Coulson then immediately sent all of the information regarding HYDRA's current whereabouts to Talbot, who had then proceeded to lead the United States Air Force, as well as the ATCU, in the successful worldwide offensive against HYDRA, effectively wiping them out for good with his single strike.[19]
Having learned through Malick's confessions that HYDRA's influence had even infected the US military, Talbot took a team of soldiers and burst inside Fischer's office and demanded that he surrender, having learned Fischer was an undercover HYDRA spy. Seeing that Fischer was speaking with Hale in his office, Talbot then advised her to move aside for her own safety while his soldiers kept their weapons aimed at Fischer. However, before Fischer could get arrested by all Talbot's men, he definitely gave the HYDRA salute before then biting down on a hidden Cyanide Pill, as he had then collapsed in terrible agony.
With Talbot furiously cursing out his men for allowing Fischer to take the suicide pill, he then ordered his men to get Fischer to medical to try and save his life. Along with Hale, Talbot expressed annoyance as he wanted to interrogate Fischer personally. When Hale had seemed shaken, Talbot questioned if she was alright to which she noted that she had believed they had seen the last of HYDRA in the wake of the deaths of both Daniel Whitehall and Baron Strucker, only for Talbot to promise her that, following that night, she would never have to worry about seeing another one of the "squids" ever again.[20]
"I'm here because the President sent me. The Sokovia Accords are the law of the land now and he's concerned you might have some undocumented "assets" working for you."
In response to the United Nations decisions to push forward with the newly formed Sokovia Accords, Talbot had then been personally sent by President Matthew Ellis to speak to Phil Coulson about any of the enhanced soldiers that he may have at S.H.I.E.L.D.. Talbot soon met Coulson at Buck's where he questioned him about failing to show off his base while also asking about Coulson's damaged leg, as Coulson was now walking with his cane due to his recent injury. Talbot explained their situation and advised Coulson to reveal the truth, so that S.H.I.E.L.D. could be recognized by their governments again.
Much to Talbot's annoyance, Coulson continued to refuse to give up any information about those Inhumans he may have working for him, noting that the Accords had led to their Avengers Civil War, and that his teams worked with the shadows while the Avengers were public. Talbot advised Coulson to reveal the truth about his work, promising that he would find out the information with or without his help. Upon hearing this, Coulson finally agreed to cooperate, as he promised to take Talbot to the Playground, revealing that the bar held their secret entrance taking them straight down to the base underneath them.
Talbot admired how he had been unaware of the SSR base while had Coulson explained that its location was never on record while asking him not to report all his Secret Warriors to Ellis, claiming that soldiers like this required secrecy to function. While Talbot requested to know how many Inhumans Coulson had, he was introduced to the now just arriving Elena Rodriguez, who claimed that if her name was put onto record then she would become a target. Rodriguez demonstrated her super-speed by stealing Talbot's own medals from his uniform before Talbot and Coulson continued their debate, discussing the Index.
Talbot was then brought to Lincoln Campbell, whom he remembered for trying to kill Carl Creel during their first encounter. Talbot pitched the Sokovia Accords to Campbell, explaining that they were there for the protection of any enhanced individuals like Campbell, noting that clearly, Campbell had control issues. Campbell then questioned how registration would work and agreed to sign the Accords and register his powers, much to Coulson's surprise. Talbot then questioned why Campbell did not use his powers to escape from their base, while he explained that while he could he would not get far enough away.
Wishing to see the ugly side of Coulson's Inhumans, Talbot was then taken to Lash, who was being kept inside the Containment Module to ensure he could not escape. Talbot was utterly mortified but Coulson explained that the monster was once Andrew Garner before he had undergone his Terrigenesis while Talbot questioned why it was being kept at the base, recommending it be kept in Suspension Gel. Talbot asked where Daisy Johnson was before revealing that he had already known Johnson was with the believed dead Grant Ward, noting that he had wanted to know if Coulson would ever lie to his face.[21]
"Why do you think this Lash can defeat Hive? And who in tarnation names these things?!" "Every Inhuman is here for a reason and serves a purpose. I believe Lash's purpose is to kill Hive."
Going inside of Phil Coulson's office, Talbot was informed that Daisy Johnson had become a slave to the Hive. All the theories of Hive were explained by Leo Fitz, but Coulson insisted that Hive was not the devil, simply another Inhuman who had taken over the corpse of Grant Ward. Talbot argued this situation proved why the Sokovia Accords were needed as Jemma Simmons was explaining that Hive now had the Kree blood and Terrigen Crystals that he needed to create more Inhumans.
As Talbot began to furiously demand to know how they could hope to stop Hive considering the power he had, Coulson told him to calm down, which then caused Talbot to really lose his temper before then questioning how Coulson stayed so calm, who explained that he was getting used to these situations. Talbot insisted that their next move must be to call the United States Air Force to bomb Hive, but Coulson refused, arguing that it would take too long. Fitz confirmed that Hive had stolen something from the ATCU which could help his plans while Coulson asked Talbot to put some trust in them.
The group then realized that Johnson had hacked into their systems and helped Lincoln Campbell to escape his room, seemingly so he could regroup with her and join the Hive's army. While Talbot berated Coulson about the break out they encountered Melinda May, who had claimed that Campbell could escape the way Talbot had gotten in through the bar. Despite doing whatever they could, eventually it seemed Campbell had escaped inside a Quinjet after attacking and subduing Alphonso Mackenzie, but May appeared and revealed that it had all in fact been a secret plan to fool Johnson.
Talbot was informed that Lash had been put in Campbell's place. While Campbell and May explained how the plan had been put forward, Talbot listened and complimented Campbell on tricking him while noting that he was impressed by Coulson's deception. They discussed all the risks for Johnson in bringing Lash to attack Hive, although it was agreed that it was the best option they had. Talbot questioned Campbell as to why he believed that Lash could defeat Hive, with Campbell claiming that all Inhumans had a purpose and they believed that Lash's true purpose was to destroy Hive.
Eventually, Johnson returned to the Playground having been saved from Hive's mind control by Lash, she then told Talbot that Lash had been killed by Hellfire before he could destroy Hive. Talbot, Coulson, Mackenzie and Elena Rodriguez then watched as Simmons treated Johnson while Talbot questioned if this was all a trick. Eventually, Simmons confirmed that Johnson was now safe and they discussed Hive's plan to use Terrigen Crystals and the missile to complete his plan, with Talbot confirming that he had recently stolen the warhead from the ATCU which could be used in his diabolical plans.[21]
"I can tell by your beady little eyes that you're a worm, so let me be absolutely honest with you. If you don't find a solution to this problem, you're going to end up looking like one of those mouth breathers you made. Do you understand?" "How could I not?"
In an attempt to stop Hive from succeeding in his plan to launch the missile filled with Absolution Virus which could turn the entire population of Earth into the Primitives, Talbot immediately contacted Andaz and requested that he be given permission to gain the kill code in order to override their launch. Andaz refused to disobey protocol, but Talbot had Leo Fitz use S.H.I.E.L.D. technology to scan Andaz's face to be used to override his orders.
Standing in front of a green screen, Fitz used the motion detectors to make himself appear as Andaz on a screen, with Talbot ensuring that he remained the correct height to pull off the deception, despite Fitz being distracted by the technology and making several silly faces. They then contacted Walter Thomas and convinced him that Phil Coulson, who was currently collecting all the kill codes, was a member of the Advanced Threat Containment Unit and had full authorization to collect their codes. Despite being suspicious about their motivations, Thomas did as he was instructed by Talbot.
The codes succeeded with stopping the missile from being launched before the Secret Warriors had eventually managed to capture Hive within Suspension Gel. While Talbot spoke with Coulson while they were still inside the Playground about his plan to send Inhumans on the mission, he congratulated him on their successful plan and they discussed the Primitives, with Talbot also noting that he did not want anyone else on Earth becoming another one of those things. Coulson, however, noted that the warhead was still missing as R. Giyera had just stolen it during the mission and therefore there was still a risk.
Talbot and Coulson were then interrupted by Melinda May who came to introduce Holden Radcliffe who had been responsible for transforming all the men into the Primitives while captured by Hive. Despite Radcliffe still attempting to insist that he was a victim and a hostage in the situation, commenting on Talbot's mustache to try and relax the situation, Talbot was not swayed as he insulted Radcliffe while ordering him to find whatever kind of cure he could to help the people he had infected, warning that if he failed then he would likely be transformed into one himself as a direct punishment.[22]
"I'm gonna squeeze our prisoner like a lime wedge on dollar beer night. Now find me some science-y way to regain contact with our men on the ground. You all have jobs to do. If you'll excuse me, I have to update the leader of the free world."
In the aftermath of the Battle of the Playground, Talbot informed President Matthew Ellis of the Playground's location, which in turn had also eventually led to all of S.H.I.E.L.D. accepting the Sokovia Accords before becoming legal again.[23] Following the legitimatization of S.H.I.E.L.D., Talbot was then tasked by President Ellis with finding a powered replacement for Phil Coulson as the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. As Talbot could not find a suited candidate, he established Project Patriot to give Jeffrey Mace powers using a new version of Calvin Zabo's formula, which enhanced Mace's own strength and durability to incredible levels.
In order to eliminate prejudice against Inhumans and to ensure that the Inhumans would trust the new S.H.I.E.L.D., Mace was ordered to pretend to be an Inhuman himself. Talbot attended a public meeting in which Mace gave a speech thanking Daisy Johnson for all of her work to protect innocent people while she was supposedly working undercover, bringing out Michelle Caldwell to make her own personal statement. During the speech, Talbot carried the briefcase containing the Patriot Serum vials before handing them to Burrows, handcuffing it to him. While Caldwell spoke about Johnson saving her life.
During the speeches, Quake was able to spot a sniper on the roof and warned Mace, who used his podium to block the Judas Bullet before it exploded, saving his own life and Caldwell's. While Quake found and subdued the sniper, Talbot then pushed his way through all the panicked crowds and found both Phil Coulson and Alphonso Mackenzie, ordering them to take Mace out of harm's way by flying him toward a S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House onboard one of their Quinjets. With the sniper now in the custody of S.H.I.E.L.D., Talbot focused on bringing him in for questioning about the assassination attempt.
Returning into the Playground, it was soon discovered that Mace's Quinjet had been attacked and had fallen off their radar, making it impossible for them to figure out where they crash-landed. Talbot was joined by Melinda May, Quake and Jemma Simmons in Mace's office where they discussed what was to be done next, but despite May and Simmons demanding more clearance, Talbot refused and continued to take full command of the entire operation before he was called by the President who had then demanded an update on both Director Mace and the briefcase's condition at this current time.
Seeking answers, Talbot sat down with Yuri Zaikin and demanded answers, recommending that Zaikin stop using the silent treatment. Zaikin had then revealed that he and his men had considered every possible outcome of their actions and had found the ways to ensure Mace's demise in all of them. Having learned that Zaikin had joined with the Watchdogs in the wake of the end of HYDRA, Talbot then revealed to Zaikin that he was the one who had led the recent and successful Destruction of HYDRA, but Kaikin was still unintimidated and refused to speak with Talbot about the Watchdogs' plans.[24]
Confessing the Truth[]
Talbot expresses impatience at the results
"You needed a face for your poster. Fine. Your girl Daisy went rogue. The President tasked me with finding the next Captain America. Not an easy job. But I did it, I delivered a Patriot... a bonafide American hero! That man could have done anything after Vienna."
Talbot furiously walked into the Playground's lab and complained about no longer being able to use tactics he used during the Cold War, much to the other agents disapproval. Talbot asked for a new update on Jeffrey Mace's location only to be told by Leo Fitz that it was impossible to find him due to a device blocking the tracking systems on their Quinjet. Believing that the Watchdogs were behind this attack, Jemma Simmons requested a chance to access Ellen Nadeer and Mace's files, but Talbot refused.
As she checked her iPad however, Simmons realized that she had gained access to the previously blocked file on Project Patriot and demanded to know what it was and why Talbot was trying to hide it. Seeing that he had no way to block Simmons from reading it, Talbot ordered all the other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to then leave the lab and explained how he not restarted all Abraham Erskine's work but had given Mace a modified version of Calvin Zabo's Formula to give him super strength. Talbot stood by his decision and explained that there was a chance Mace was now out there without any power.
While Simmons summed up the situation with the Attack on Jeffrey Mace, Fitz confirmed that he still could not find a way to locate the Quinjet's signal. With no other choice, they then focused back on trying to break Yuri Zaikin although Talbot insisted it was not so easy, but Simmons came up with a plan. Returning to Zaikin's room, Talbot revealed that Simmons had once been undercover in HYDRA and she claimed to have learned a few things about torture. With Talbot standing by, Simmons then opened a box to reveal Aida's severed head to Zaikin, horrifying him to the point to tell them everything.
Using the intel Zaikin provided, Melinda May and Quake were able to rescue Director Mace and bring them back to the Playground. While in Mace's office, Talbot was berated by Phil Coulson for being a part of Project Patriot due to the risks involved with it. However, Talbot argued that S.H.I.E.L.D. needed the Inhumans on their side and this was the best choice since Quake and Captain America had both gone rogue. While Talbot boasted about his achievement in providing a Patriot, Mace then asked him to leave the room while he spoke to Coulson privately, much to Talbot's great annoyance.[24]
"This move just exposed the fact that we have a leak. Someone tipped Nadeer off we were coming. You opposed the op. Did you warn her?" "I believed in you when no one else did, Phil. No, I am not the leak. S.H.I.E.L.D. only exists because of me. And maybe that's a mistake."
Calling a new meeting, it was agreed that Quake should now sign the Sokovia Accords to go make a public statement about S.H.I.E.L.D. becoming a legitimate organization once again. However, to Talbot's annoyance, Phil Coulson revealed that they also planned to use the meeting as a chance to get into Ellen Nadeer's office and plant cameras. Talbot insisted they reconsider, as this was too risky but Coulson reminded him of Project Patriot's risks. Coulson insisted that S.H.I.E.L.D. now needed to be proactive and told Talbot he would leave dealing with politicians to him.
As they prepared to leave for the mission, Coulson informed Jeffrey Mace and Talbot that Alphonso Mackenzie would not be joining them. Talbot once again insisted that Coulson and Mace reconsider attacking Nadeer's office, but Coulson told him that Nadeer was far too dangerous to be allowed to go on unmonitored. With no choice, Talbot told Coulson to prepare S.H.I.E.L.D. records in case anything went wrong and Nadeer demanded a review of them. When Mace backed up all of Coulson's orders, Talbot noted that Mace now had to agree with whatever Coulson had said to him.
Upon arriving at the meeting, Talbot got in-between Ellen Nadeer and Director Mace just as they began having a clash of words in which Nadeer claimed she was surprised to see him while Quake claimed she was just surprised to see him alive after her recent assassination attempt. When Nadeer made the comment that many questions would be answered during this meeting, Quake questioned Talbot about what she could mean by that, with Talbot simply saying that he guessed they would soon find out Nadeer's true intentions once the meeting had finally begun.
As the meeting went underway, Talbot watched as Quake was then questioned by Gene Williams and Maria Nunez until it was Nadeer's own turn to speak. As Talbot listened, Nadeer accused Quake of focusing on helping the Inhumans over normal Humans before demanding to know what she had done with all the seven million dollars she had stolen while supposedly undercover, something that Quake struggled to defend. As Nadeer continued to press the subject, Talbot tried to speak up only to be told to remain seated by Chairman Williams so Nadeer could finish speaking.
Despite Talbot's best efforts to defend S.H.I.E.L.D. and insist that it was not engaging in any criminal activities, Nadeer was able to bring in Coulson and Yo-Yo Rodriguez who had just been discovered by her men installing the cameras inside her office. Nadeer made a point that Rodriguez had also signed the Sokovia Accords but had taken part in this mission with the approval of the United Nations which went against what the Accords stood for and was a clear violation of the new law. Noting this is what had happened with Quake, Nadeer accused S.H.I.E.L.D. of being a criminal organization.
Talbot was called into a meeting with Mace, Nadeer, and Williams in which it was decided that a full investigation into S.H.I.E.L.D. was required, leading to Talbot furiously blaming Coulson. Just as Talbot accused Coulson of never taking his advice, Coulson reminded him of how he had lied about Project Patriot and the mission in Taiwan, to which Talbot reminded him how Gideon Malick had kidnapped his son. Coulson then accused Talbot of possibly being the leak within S.H.I.E.L.D., but Talbot claimed he was not and that he had now lost all of his good faith in Coulson's leadership skills.[25]
"Necessary?! It's essential, unless you can explain to me in 50 words or less why I found Jeffrey Mace's body washed up on a beach with his bones Quaked apart, days after I found this base in flames! Flesh melting off of robot bodies; twelve S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in critical with burns or broken bones; three dead, double hits to the heart and crushed frickin' skulls!"
Following the Destruction of the Playground and the discovery of the desecrated body of Director Jeffrey Mace, Talbot discovered Aida's attempted infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. Given the shattered state of the Mace's bones Talbot assumed Quake was his killer and that several agents had been replaced by Aida. While investigating the situation Talbot released a statement implying Quake had something to do with the destruction of the Playground and also implied that any agents would be treated as a hostile.
General Talbot then set up a quarantine all around the Playground as well as having soldiers of the United States Armed Forces guard the place. However, this did not stop Phil Coulson from sneaking in to refuel the Zephyr One and to contain Aida following the construction of her new organic body infusedwithpowers. While Coulson was still on board, Talbot and his own soldiers boarded and held the agents at gunpoint, with Talbot demanding an explanation over Mace's death and the robotic bodies that were found in the burned remains of the Playground, with Coulson noted that the explanation might prove to be somewhat difficult for the General to understand.
Coulson explained to Talbot that they had all been kidnapped by the terrorist calling himself the Superior who, alongside Aida, had locked the agents inside the Framework, the digital reality which had been created by Holden Radcliffe which they had only just escaped from, with Mace losing his life inside this virtual reality. While Talbot still struggled to believe their story, he then attempted to arrest them all until things could be explained. But Aida got loose before anything could happen, murdering more agents and soldiers in her psychotic rage, leading to an armed standoff between Quake and Talbot.
With Talbot knowing he and all his men did not stand a chance going against Quake's Inhuman power, he ordered them to back off while the agents made their escape from the base. The Zephyr began to lift off and still confused about what was happening, Talbot decided to stay behind to continue his investigation into what had caused all of the chaos. Once Talbot had investigated the aftermath of Aida's rampage across the Playground, he decided to restrict access to the base by calling in hazmat teams. He then left the building, missing the return of the Ghost Rider through a portal within the Playground.[26]
"I've got a dozen intelligence agencies who now know that Mace wasn't an Inhuman. They know S.H.I.E.L.D. lied about it, and they're wondering what else you might've lied about." "That was your lie, not ours." "Damn it, Phil, you're missing the point. There's an international intelligence inquiry tomorrow morning, and I need you there."
As General Talbot walked down a corridor with Lieutenant Evans, he contacted Phil Coulson, informing him that several soldiers had been killed by Aida and that several intelligence agencies now knew of their lies regarding Jeffrey Mace. Talbot then told Coulson about an inquiry meeting with members of the board, although Coulson refused to attend the meeting as Aida was still targeting them.
Without Coulson present, Talbot then attended the meeting where he witnessed Anton Ivanov presenting the Darkhold to all of the board members, as he claimed that for too long they had turned a blind eye to all S.H.I.E.L.D.'s actions behind the scenes and also claimed they had been weaponizing the Inhumans, which Talbot furiously denied. While Ivanov and Sergei Mishkin presented the Darkhold and claimed that it held the answers they would need to bring down S.H.I.E.L.D., Talbot attempted to stop Ivanov's suggestion to the board members about reading the book, claiming it to all be a deception.
However, as the meeting still continued, Talbot and everybody else overheard gunshots before Daisy Johnson barged into the room. While Talbot questioned if Coulson was also with Johnson, she unexpectedly drew a gun and she then shot Talbot directly in the head, revealing herself to be a Life-Model Decoy. Talbot survived the gunshot and was then taken to hospital to recover, with Evans furiously blaming S.H.I.E.L.D. and Quake for the attack.[27] While Talbot remained in a coma due to his injury, General Hale was sent to replace him and capture the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents believed to be responsible.[28]
Slow Recovery[]
Rebuilding Motor Skills[]
Talbot recovers his motor skills in the ward
"No! No! That's not a friggin' cat! That's not a cat!" "Glenn, honey, everything is okay. George is just trying to help." "No, he showed me this this This is a tiger! I said it was a cat, and he said it was right, but I'm not right! I'm wrong! How am I gonna get better if nobody's honest with me?!"
In the wake of his shooting at the hands of the Daisy Johnson LMD which had resulted in Talbot getting a bullet in the head,[27] Talbot was then transferred into a hospital for treatment. Although he survived the gunshot, Talbot found that his motor skills were severely damaged, resulting in him struggling with his memory and his control over his temper. Talbot, however, was assisted in his struggle by his wife and son who remained by his bedside through his recovery.
While still in his bed one day, Talbot tested his recovering memory by having George show him cards with pictures so he would have to try and remember the order that all of the images were shown. However, during the game, Talbot lost control over his temper and accused his son of lying about what images were on the cards, confusing the cat with the tiger. Despite Carla trying to reassure him, Ford then entered the room and gave Talbot more drugs to knock him out. As a result, Carla agreed to let Talbot go with General Hale, in order to gain what Hale described as their specialist treatment for his brain injury.[20]
"That's right. I'm the one that hid the HYDRA contraband. And you want to know something else? I'm not talking." "You got to let go of these old symbols. You need to let go of the old Talbot. I am giving you a new purpose. Help me save humanity." "I would rather die on my two legs than slither on eight with you."
Having been pumped full of drugs, Talbot lost consciousness and, much to his surprise, awoke in a seemingly deserted facility with no idea how he had gotten there. As Talbot looked around the room, he discovered a set of new clothes had been left out for him, but still had no idea where he was or where his wife and son were. Seeking some kind of answer, Talbot put on the clothes and began to explore the facility, searching for any sign of another person there.
As Talbot began exploring the facility, he had discovered that it was seemingly abandoned, although he was still able to find the kitchen which was stocked with breakfast supplies. Commenting to himself about just how hungry he was, Talbot went straight to the Captain Crunch cereal, joking that in the United States Armed Forces he still technically outranked Crunch. Just as Talbot ate the cereal however, he was joined by Ruby Hale who stood next to him while listening to music and took some food without saying a word. As Talbot began questioning where he was, Ruby ignored him and walked away.
Disgusted that Ruby dared to ignore him, Talbot furiously followed Ruby into the facility's gym and continued demanding answers over where he was and who she was. As Talbot aggressively attempted to rip Ruby's headphones out of her ears, Ruby responded by twisting Talbot's arm, causing him to fall to the floor in pain. Ruby was then stopped by the arrival of General Hale who revealed that Ruby was in fact her daughter. Talbot then expressed his own surprise that in the twenty years he had known her, Hale had never mentioned having a child before Hale finally told Ruby to let go of Talbot's wrist.
Talbot once again demanded to know where he was, only for Hale to refuse to answer him. Annoyed at the way Hale spoke to her superior officer, Talbot furiously asked the question again until Ruby held one of her Chakram up to Talbot's throat. Hale then reminded the frozen Talbot how his career within the United States Air Force was over and his family was afraid of him due to his mental state. Once free of Ruby's threat, Talbot questioned why Hale told him all this, to which she noted there was a time in her life when she felt everything was out of control and now she believed she could help Talbot.
As Hale offered to show Talbot what she had been working on, she brought him to look at an alien device she had, which Talbot noted he did not understand. Hale explained that she had been shown the device by Fischer, having got it in the Battle of New York's aftermath, and that it had been used to contact the Confederacy, having struck a deal with Qovas for protection from the war coming to Earth. Talbot questioned why he was not informed of this earlier, to which Hale revealed that it was not a military operation, confessing that she was an undercover HYDRA agent. Disgusted, Talbot questioned what flag Hale flew under, although Hale insisted this no longer mattered.
As Hale insisted that she did not choose HYDRA but had been born into it, she compared this to Talbot being born into their Air Force, although Talbot insisted this was not true. Hale continued to claim that Talbot stood by the country founded on oppression even after witnessing Daisy Johnson having shot him in the head, while Talbot insisted that Johnson herself was not to blame for what happened to him, claiming Anton Ivanov's army of Life-Model Decoys were the likely guilty party while Hale still blamed S.H.I.E.L.D. for the incident, insisting that their symbols were irrelevant in this upcoming war.
Talbot remained disgusted while Hale noted that to win their war they needed an old HYDRA Device which Talbot quickly realized he had hidden. Despite Hale's instance that he had to accept her help, Talbot had refused to hand over the location of the device, claiming he would rather die. As a result of his refusal to help them, Ruby and the Sleeper Mechs grabbed Talbot and handcuffed him to a wheelchair before taking him away, with Ruby mockingly correcting his statements. As he was removed from the room, Talbot furiously insisted that Phil Coulson would be coming to his rescue.[20]
"Stay quiet. Don't even make a sound. She'll..." "Talbot. What happened?" "Phil? I told them you would come. I tried to hold out. S.H.I.E.L.D. never came. I'm sorry, Phil. I told them everything. I held out as long as I could, but S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't show up. I'm sorry, Phil."
Having been locked back inside of his cell, Talbot was mentally and physically tortured under Hale's orders for several months in order to get the information they needed out of him. Eventually, having not been rescued by S.H.I.E.L.D. as he hoped, Talbot finally broke and revealed the location of the Particle Infusion Chamber as Hale had requested.[20] During this time, Talbot also underwent Faustus, in case he ever needed to be put back under Hale's control.[29]
During his time still being held as a prisoner, Talbot was eventually dragged outside of his room by the Sleeper Mechs under the direct orders of Ruby Hale. As Talbot continued ranting as he still struggled to understand what was happened, he found himself reunited with Phil Coulson who had also been made a prisoner of HYDRA like him. Although briefly pleased to see his old friend, Talbot confessed that HYDRA had broken him and he had given up valuable information to them. As Ruby had her Sleeper Mechs drag him outside, Talbot still desperately apologized to Coulson for betraying him.[20]
"Hey, you quit it! Quit being so handsy!" "Glenn, I know we're under a bit of strain here, but I'm gonna need you to use your inside voice." "This is my inside voice!" "Okay. Then your softer inside voice."
Talbot was returned to his within the facility where he had continued suffering from the effects of a lack of food and water combined with extreme loneliness and the damage done from his bullet wound in his head. While clipping his facial hair and muttering to himself about his current poor state which was unacceptable for a man in the United States Air Force, Talbot was surprised by the sudden arrival of Phil Coulson along with Carl Creel who unlocked his door in order to rescue him, although Talbot struggled to recognize them.
Talbot insists that he cannot be any quieter
Coulson then attempted to get Talbot onto his feet so they all could attempt to make their escape from the facility, with Talbot noting he was not in the best shape to travel from his room. While Creel had still blamed S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Life-Model Decoys for getting Talbot in this state, Coulson insisted they worry about that later as he pulled Talbot up. While Talbot noted he wanted to see his wife and young son again, he loudly ordering Coulson to not be so handsy, with Coulson asking Talbot to be quieter, with Talbot insisting that he was being as quiet as he could be, much to Coulson's frustration.
As they continued moving down the corridors, with Coulson doing everything he could to try and keep Talbot quiet, Creel attempted to figure out the way out of the facility, noting that he had also been blindfolded when he arrived just as Coulson was, so he had no idea where the facility was actually located. As they kept moving, Creel suffered visions due to his exposure to Gravitonium as he continued seeing visions of Franklin Hall's past confrontation with S.H.I.E.L.D. which gave him incredible headaches. Although Creel attempted to ignore the pain and insisted that they continue moving, which caused Talbot to laugh at Creel for also suffering from mental issues.
Before they could reach the exit, however, all the alarms were raised within their facility, alerting HYDRA of Creel, Coulson and Talbot's current escape attempt. Before long they were discovered by the squad of the Sleeper Mechs who attempted to take them back into custody. A fight then ensued, with Creel taking on the majority of the Mechs while Talbot struggled to figure out who to fight. Before long, Creel and Talbot had defeated all of the robots together, with Talbot shooting the final robot. To their sudden horror, however, Creel and Talbot had discovered that Coulson was now lying dead.
As Talbot investigated, he discovered Coulson had been punched directly into the chest by one of the Mechs, stopping his heart as Coulson's wound from being killed by Loki had become infected. Talbot then begged Creel to do something and, despite still hearing the voice of Hall in his head, Creel managed to absorb the metal and electricity from one of the fallen Mechs and then used that to restart Coulson's heartbeat, much to everybody's great relief. Talbot jokingly noted that Coulson died more times than anyone he had ever met before acknowledging Creel deserved the praise before they helped Coulson back to his feet ready to continue their escape.[30]
"Oh, no, no! I'm not interested in going to outer space. I'm not a damn cosmonaut!" "I think as long as we avoid the altitude dial, we should end up somewhere on Earth." "You know the Earth's seventy percent water, right?"
Making their way back into the corridors, Phil Coulson had ensured Talbot was walking in the right direction before Carl Creel had then stopped in his tracks, having seen Ruby Hale and her robotic Sleeper Mechs had come to confront them. While Coulson told Talbot not to make jokes about Ruby's blonde hair, despite Talbot noting he could think of several, Creel turned the group around and told them to run as Ruby ordered her Mechs to begin shooting at them.
Talbot laughs at their dangerous situation
When Creel reached the only exit he knew, he discovered that Ruby had already blocked the way, with Talbot jokingly comparing their situation to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. However, Coulson seemed to spot a possible exit for them and ordered Creel to open the steel safe door, which he did by absorbing the steel into his hand and pushing inside the door itself. Ruby, however, caught up with them and challenged Creel to a fight using her Chakram while the Mechs were ordered to kill Coulson and Talbot. While Talbot ran with Coulson, Creel remained to ensure they had a chance to escape.
Talbot soon realized that Coulson's plan for their escape was to use the Alien Teleportation Device which General Hale had been keeping on the base. Although Talbot insisted that he had no interest in going into outer space, Coulson insisted that if they did not use the altitude dial then they should arrive somewhere on the Earth, despite Talbot reminding him of the amount of water there was on the Earth. With the Sleeper Mechs closing in on them, Talbot reluctantly agreed as they activated the machine, which had then instantly teleported them onto a freezing snowy landscape somewhere on the Earth.[30]
As they made their way across the snow, Talbot was forced to stop for a moment due to his exhaustion and the extreme cold, although Coulson still insisted they had to keep moving just in case they were followed. Talbot then confronted Coulson over leaving him alone for months before questioning where he had been, to which Coulson claimed they had been in the future. This made Talbot laugh out loud as he questioned what kind of freak show S.H.I.E.L.D. lived in. When Talbot expressed his desire to leave this life, he confessed that Hale had finally broken him and that he had let down the United States Air Force as well as his wife and young son as a direct result.
Just as Coulson was suggesting they find shelter and make a fire, Talbot stopped him in his tracks to avoid a Chakram which had been thrown by Ruby Hale. The pair then desperately ran for their lives as Ruby gave chase; however, before long, Talbot lost his footing and tripped in the snow, allowing Ruby to catch up to them. Before Ruby could finish them off, however, Quake suddenly appeared and used her powers to subdue Ruby, while Melinda May and Deke Shaw took Talbot and Coulson back to Zephyr One for their protection, leaving Quake and Ruby to furiously fight against one another.[29]
"They didn't crack the world apart. They said it was Daisy." "And you're still sending her on missions?" "I need her leading missions. I got an old injury acting up. Not sure what my timetable is, exactly." "Oh, for the love of flapjacks. Do you ever have any good news?"
Once they had returned to the safety of the Lighthouse, Talbot then watched while Deke Shaw's gunshot wound to the chest was being treated by Piper as well as Alphonso Mackenzie, with Talbot still also speaking with Phil Coulson about the future which Shaw was from. Coulson explained that he had seen the Earth had been destroyed and the last of humanity had been taken over by the Kree. Having heard all this about the end of the world and travels in time, Talbot could only laugh at this explanation before nervously claiming that he should have stayed in his cell.
Talbot learns of the potential apocalypse
Coulson then explained that these Kree had seemingly not actually been the ones responsible for the Destruction of Earth as instead it was reportedly Quake who had destroyed it. Talbot then questioned why Coulson was still sending Quake out on missions despite this warning, with Coulson telling him that he still needed Quake to lead S.H.I.E.L.D. as an old injury was now putting his life at risk. Talbot then questioned if Coulson had any good news to tell him, being told of a young Inhuman who had seen a happier future which they were aiming for, before Melinda May came to talk to Coulson alone.
While he was looking at a map of Lake Ontario, Talbot was joined in the room by Daisy Johnson. However, the mere sight of Johnson gave Talbot a flashback of[29] Johnson's Life-Model Decoy having shot him in the head.[27] Talbot then grabbed a tape dispenser and attempted to defend himself before snapping out of his panic and apologizing to Johnson, noting that he knew she was not actually the one responsible for the shooting, as he blamed Anton Ivanov for the incident. Talbot apologized for the mission going wrong, resulting in Shaw's injury as Talbot claimed they should not have saved him.
Talbot struggles to control his emotions
Johnson then handed Talbot some new clothes before he then asked to speak with his wife to inform her that he was okay, although Johnson told him they could not risk it. Talbot then began ranting about how he had scared his son while inside the hospital and how he needed to apologize to him. As Talbot furiously claimed he had abandoned his son and could not make up for it, Johnson then promised to find a secure channel to contact Talbot's wife, before explaining they needed to everything about Hale's secret facility and whatever Talbot had told her, which Talbot agreed to do.[29]
"I just want you to tell George that his dad's okay and his father loves him very much. I'm getting better. I'm getting stronger, and I'm not yelling as much." "Glenn, the doctors said you should take a deep breath. Calm your mind. You know what is best. What is best is you comply."
Talbot proceeded to tell Daisy Johnson everything that he had known about HYDRAfacility and whatever he had told her during his time as General Hale's prisoner, including the location of the Particle Infusion Chamber. Eventually, Johnson returned to Talbot's room and informed him that they had managed to find a lead of Hale's location and thanked him for his good work, although Talbot was still unsure that he had deserved any praise due to all of his recent actions.
Johnson then explained that she had reconsidered what Talbot had said, about contacting George Talbot, noting that if she had known that her own father had cared while she was growing up, this would have made a big difference. Johnson then gave Talbot a phone on a secured line which he could use to contact his wife, which was being traced. Talbot thanked Johnson and made the call, apologizing to his wife for disappearing before promising that he was getting better. As it turned out, Carla was with Candice Lee who ordered Carla to recite the Faustus to Talbot, putting him under HYDRA's control.[29]
With the Faustus method now reactivated, Talbot became completely focused on then completing a secret HYDRA assignment which was kidnapping Robin Hinton. Entering into the elevator, Talbot muttered to himself to complete the mission like a soldier, and remain focused on getting Hinton out from the base and back to General Hale. Since Talbot was seen as an ally to S.H.I.E.L.D., he was not challenged, as Talbot went into the Lighthouse's armory to pick up a handgun, while commenting to himself to be prepared as if he completed his mission as planned, then nobody needed to get hurt during the process.
Not wishing to waste any time, Talbot had then headed to the control room and used the video feed to locate where Phil Coulson was, as well as Melinda May who was with Johnson, in order to ensure that he was not discovered and stopped by the agents before his secret mission for HYDRA had become completed. Before long, Talbot had confirmed where Robin and her mother Polly were living on the base in the base. Muttering to himself to complete the mission as he had been instructed to do, Talbot then paused the corresponding camera so that nobody looking at the feed would see anything wrong.
Although his mission was going as planned, Talbot was unexpectedly greeted by Alphonso Mackenzie who then questioned if Talbot was looking for something. Returning into the demeanor of the nervous prisoner who was finally free from Hale's prison cell, Talbot managed to gain Mackenzie's sympathy as he apologized and explained that he was struggling to sit still having finally gotten his freedom, telling Mackenzie that he was still confused. Hearing all of this, Mackenzie offered his support to Talbot if he wanted to talk about everything he had experienced while he was being held prisoner by HYDRA.
Talbot continues to comply with his orders
Talbot, however, insisted that he would not yet be able to talk openly about what he had experienced, while thanking Mackenzie for his offer and his sympathy to him, claiming that he just needed to focus on just one task at a time. Having completely fallen for all Talbot's deception, Mackenzie touched him on the should and advised him to get some more rest as Jemma Simmons had instructed for Talbot's recovery, to which Talbot then claimed he would do before walking away, while still muttering onto himself that he was happy to comply, something which Mackenzie did not take notice of him saying.[31]
"There are people who want to meet you. There are people who want to meet you." "Robin's getting tired. Maybe we could chat about this tomorrow." "No, tomorrow... tomorrow's too late. The mission... The mission's today. The mission is now."
Without being seen, Talbot then went inside the Hintons' room and found all Robin Hinton's drawings of the future, which had included images of the Time Di'Alla and Zephyr One, with Talbot commenting to himself that they would need every weapon for the upcoming fight and that he needed to hurry to complete his mission. While he searched through the drawings, Talbot found one drawing depicting the deaths of two people, which he took close notice of.
While Talbot continued looking over the drawings, he was interrupted by the arrival of Polly and Robin Hinton who had just returned to their room. Polly asked Talbot about the reason for his presence as Talbot put on a smile and introduced himself, trying to appear unthreatening as he explained to them that he was simply a little lost, reminding the Hintons of how they had helped in rescuing him. As Polly continued to demand an explanation, Talbot noted how he had a son of his own and claimed that because he had not seen his own son in so long he could not resist coming into the room to see Robin's drawings.
Hearing his explanation about why he was there, Polly began to relax around Talbot, noting that they had all been thrown off mentally by recent events involving S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA and she understood Talbot's actions. Talbot then noted Robin's Inhuman power of seeing into the future and tried to know more while he got down to Robin's level and commented on how she must have seen some incredible things. As Robin did not react to him, Talbot claimed that she did not need to be afraid, as Robin commented that Talbot was the General and told him that she had already depicted him in her drawings.
Picking up one of the drawings, Talbot then asked Robin about the image showing the Earth being destroyed as he questioned who was in the drawing and when this happened, to which Robin would only say that that would happen soon. Commenting that all of Robin's drawings would come true, Talbot claimed that they needed to take action and that there were some people who wanted to meet Robin, which began to unnerve Polly as she tried to get Robin to bed while claiming that her daughter was getting tired, only for Talbot to insist that his current mission must be completed on that day.
Seeing that Polly was standing in his way of completing his mission, Talbot apologized before he suddenly attacked her. Although Polly desperately attempted to defend herself, by scratching at Talbot's face and knocking over the table while demanding that her daughter escape and get help from S.H.I.E.L.D., Talbot managed to get Polly into his tight chokehold and had held onto her until she had finally fallen unconscious in his arms. Standing over the unconscious Polly, Talbot had then told Robin that she would come with him, something which Robin had already known from her visions of the future.[31]
"You're trying to confuse me with that HYDRA jibber-jabber." "You saw what they had done to Creel, how hard you had to work to break his programming." "What the hell do you know?" "I know you're my friend. And you'd never kidnap a little girl."
Completing his mission for HYDRA, Talbot managed to send out the coordinates of the Lighthouse to HYDRA. However, while Talbot had attempted to exit the base with Robin Hinton, he was found by Phil Coulson and Alphonso Mackenzie, who had discovered his actions and were trying to stop Talbot from escaping with Hinton. Upon being found, Talbot drew his gun and grabbed a hold of Hinton, as Mackenzie demanded that Talbot surrender, which he refused to do.
Confused over the situation, Coulson had questioned why Talbot was attempting to get inside of the hangar bay, but Talbot would only say that a good soldier did not question his own orders, but only obeyed them. However, Coulson noted that their situation was not a mission, but General Hale using the Faustus method to get into Talbot's head and brainwash him, commenting this was a method of brainwashing was connected with Daniel Whitehall who brainwashed Carl Creel, to which Talbot accused Coulson of attempting to mess with his head and refused to let Hinton go free as he kept his gun raised.
Talbot attempts suicide to stop his actions
When Coulson reminded Talbot of their friendship and noted that the man he knew would never kidnap a child, Talbot merely scoffed at the accusation, confused over his own actions, however, Mackenzie noted that Hinton was not much younger than George Talbot, which started to break the brainwashing. Talbot demanded that Coulson shut up as he said the Faustus codes in his head, while Coulson had insisted that Talbot try and fight the programming however he could. Forcing himself to stop the mission, Talbot then released his grip on Hinton and then pressed his handgun underneath his chin.
As Talbot prepared to commit suicide to stop himself from doing any more harm to his allies, he told Coulson that his death did not matter as since he was shot in the head by the Life-Model Decoy, he could no longer trust his own thoughts. While Mackenzie took Hinton away to safety, Talbot spoke to Coulson and asked him to apologize to his son for him, as Coulson attempted to convince him to lower the gun. Seeing that Talbot was now too confused to listen to reason, Coulson began reciting the Faustus code to try and trick him into obeying his instructions, as still, Talbot fought for control of his own mind.
However, Talbot's mind was too far under HYDRA's control, as he was now completely incapable of lowering his gun, forcing Coulson to instead instruct Talbot to aim the gun at him instead, telling him that his compliance would be rewarded, as Talbot obeyed Coulson's order and aimed the gun at his friend. With Talbot's focus now locked on Coulson, Mackenzie was then able to return into the hallway and immediately shot Talbot with an I.C.E.R., causing Talbot to fall to the floor unconscious before he could fire a shot.[31] Talbot was taken into custody and locked in one of the Lighthouse's prison cells.[1]
"I was at the control box, why? What was I doing there?" "Trying to get the doors open?" "I'm Air Force, Phil. I know enough about navigational aids to know that every hanger has a landing assist. I had to comply."
Due to all of his mental instability following his Faustus brainwashing, Talbot tried to get some sleep inside his cell, until he woke up with a start and demanded to see Phil Coulson, believing that he had finally figured out what his mission had been about. Coulson was then brought over into Talbot's cell by Thomas, after calling out to Coulson for some time, as Talbot greeted Coulson with enthusiasm as he tried to explain what had been going on inside his head, while still repeating a series of numbers which he had kept hearing in his head.
Noting how he had numbers constantly going around within his head, Talbot commented that he had taken Robin Hinton to the control box and questioned what they had been doing in there. Although Coulson had assumed that Talbot was merely trying to get the doors open so he could escape, Talbot insisted that as he was a part of their United States Air Force, he knew that a base like the Lighthouse would have a landing assist beacon, as he had once again apologized to Coulson as they realized he sent the signal to Hale, alerting her to the location of S.H.I.E.L.D., which Talbot had memorized, confirming his theory.
While Talbot was left inside his cell, Coulson went to investigate their theory further to discover if Hale did indeed know about the location. Eventually, Talbot overheard Coulson coming on the speaker system to inform everyone there that the Lighthouse had gone into lockdown due to a spaceship flying above them with the Remorath seemingly ready to attack them. As Talbot listened, Coulson also noted that due to a technical malfunction, their base would be locked down for the next fifteen years. Talbot was then left in his cell while Qovas sent his own forces into the base to slaughter everyone who was inside.[1]
"I caused this problem. You give me a gun, I'll help take out as many of them as I can. Better yet, you know what you do? You get me a phone, and I'll call in an airstrike." "There's no way to call out." "Then I'll send up a smoke signal."
While he was still locked inside his cell, Talbot began trying to focus so he could find a way to fix the situation he had caused. Talbot was eventually visited by Yo-Yo Rodriguez, who he enthusiastically called Speedy. Unlocking the door, Rodriguez had explained the situation with the Remorath who were attacking, and explained that they would be evacuating the Lighthouse under the orders of Phil Coulson, however, Talbot told Rodriguez that he would not be able to go.
Talbot allows himself to be handcuffed
Noting that he had caused their problem and therefore could not just run away, Talbot suggested Rodriguez gives him his gun so he could put up their final stand against Qovas' forces, and suggested that he called the United States Air Force to bring in an airstrike. Rodriguez, however, then explained that there was no possible way for them to communicate with their military, and reminded Talbot that he was no longer a part of their Air Force. Rodriguez prepared to put handcuffs on Talbot, who insisted that they were not needed since he promised to comply with their orders, but Rodriguez still handcuffed him.
Talbot began muttering that he would fix the situation, expressing his regret over all his treatment of Robin Hinton, as Rodriguez promised that she believed him, but was unsure of exactly how much control General Hale and HYDRA had over his mind. As they moved through the base, Rodriguez communicated with Coulson who ordered her to collect whatever weapons they could find and regroup to make their stand against the Remorath. When Rodriguez noted that they did not have much in the way of weapons, Talbot also commented that they did have her Inhuman powers, but Rodriguez did not respond.
While they continued moving through the base, however, Talbot and Rodriguez found the corpse of Thomas and realized the Remorath were nearby, forcing them to hide as the Remorath continued to stalk around the hallways looking for their prey. As Rodriguez had tried to move them towards the exit for their own safety, Talbot insisted that they could still fight back against the Remorath and requested that his handcuffs be removed; however, Rodriguez reminded Talbot that Coulson wanted to keep him safe and then pulled him away from the Remorath towards safety, much to Talbot's great frustration.
Together, Rodriguez and Talbot managed to locate another room to hide from all the Remorath in where Jemma Simmons was standing guard with James Davis and Piper. Talbot then stood by as Simmons updated Leo Fitz about the situation, as they realized the Remorath would come to their location to steal the Gravitonium. As Rodriguez made a plan, Talbot had continued to request that his handcuffs be removed, as he insisted that he could fix the situation, only for Davis to order him to stand back while they prepared to fight back against the Remorath that for coming to steal the Gravitonium from them.
Talbot and Simmons remained locked inside the room and could only listen to the sounds of Rodriguez fighting those Remorath with Davis and Piper, while Simmons calmly told Talbot to stay back for his own protection while Talbot muttered to himself that they were the last line of defense. Talbot then grabbed an I.C.E.R. and stepped backwards, searching for their ideal advantage point; however, as he did this, he found the covered Particle Infusion Chamber, which had been taken from Hale. Seeing a way to fix their situation which he caused, Talbot iced Simmons before taking her keys to unlock his handcuffs.[1]
With little time left to spare before these Remorath soldiers would be able to successfully get past, and then brutally slaughter all of those remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and get to him, Talbot had then begun to activate the Particle Infusion Chamber, as he had watched closely while the Gravitonium was moved into the machine. Talbot turned on the chamber itself, which had last been used by Ruby Hale who had only managed to absorb eight percent of the Gravitonium before being driven to insanity by it.
With everything now in place, Talbot then stepped inside the machine which closed around him, as all the remaining Gravitonium was then sucked inside of the chamber and absorbed by Talbot's body. Much like what had happened with Ruby, Talbot screamed out in agony as the Gravitonium entered in his body, as he could hear the screaming voices of both Ian Quinn and Franklin Hall inside his head, something which Carl Creel had also suffered from. Talbot, however, was able to push the voices down through the force of his own will, allowing him to then focus on all the power that the Gravitonium had given him.
Talbot standing in the might of his power
While Talbot reacted to gaining these new powers, Yo-Yo Rodriguez, James Davis, and Piper were becoming overwhelmed by all these Remorath forces, as they got behind them and entered inside their room where Talbot and their Gravitonium were located. However, Talbot was able to use his new powers to blow down the steel door before all ripping the Remorath apart, spraying their blood across the walls. Rodriguez, Davis, and Piper then looked on, in complete horror and amazement, as Talbot stepped out from the room and began calmly walking down the corridor to hunt down and destroy all the remaining Remorath.
Making his way through the Lighthouse, Talbot eventually found their remaining Remorath in their final stand against S.H.I.E.L.D., as Talbot stepped inside, just as the agents were being overwhelmed. Without saying a word, Talbot simply raised his hand, using their Gravitonium in his body to lift up the Remorath, before closing his fist and brutally crushing their bodies into tiny balls, much to the horror of everyone in the room, including Phil Coulson. Talbot then reminded Coulson that he knew he could fix this before destroying the roof and breaking the floor apart around them as Talbot flew them out from the base.[1]
With the Siege of the Lighthouse over thanks to Talbot's intervention, Talbot and Coulson continued to rise up out of the base and into the air thanks to Talbot's incredible power. As they got higher and higher into the sky, heading towards Qovas' spaceship, Coulson tried to get through to Talbot to figure out what was happening: However, Talbot simply ignored all Coulson's attempts to speak with him and instead told Coulson to keep his chin up since they were almost there. Talbot eventually used his powers to raise himself and Coulson on board the spaceship, with the intention of then ending the alien invasion.[32]
"Seems like you got the weight of the world on your shoulders there, pal. That's better. Now you. Kneel." "I'm not sure that's the best-negotiating tactic." "I said kneel before me! That's pretty good teamwork."
Upon entering the spaceship, Talbot and Phil Coulson were almost immediately greeted by Qolpakc who had informed the pair that they were now their prisoners. Coulson asked Talbot what his plan was, only for Talbot to claim that together they would show the aliens who were boss, once again reassuring Coulson that he would be able to fix the situation, which had only made Coulson more nervous as he expressed his wish that Talbot would stop repeating this worrying claim, as they both then followed Qolpakc across the ship.
Talbot insists on his plan to fix the situation
As they walked through the hallways, Coulson noted that they had to have left the Earth's atmosphere, however, Talbot remained confident that they would show the Remorath who was in charge. Coulson had commented that they seemed to have different views on the situation and questioned Talbot over why he used their Gravitonium, to which Talbot noted that he was the Earth's last hope and commented that he had been able to suppress those voices of Ian Quinn and Franklin Hall, claiming that all the voices needed was a General to put them in line as Coulson still expressed concern over Talbot's condition.
While Talbot had commented to Coulson that the Remorath had not counted on going against Earth's greatest military minds, they were brought before Qovas who expressed his rage at them coming onto his ship without his permission. At first, Coulson took up negotiations with Qovas for the Earth's ongoing protection, although Qovas still insisted that the Confederacy had a deal with HYDRA. Coulson then noted that HYDRA did not speak for humanity, to which Qovas noted that HYDRA had been kneeling before the Confederacy for years and refused to listen to those who would sneak on board his ship.
Talbot, however, became annoyed at Qovas' comments and stepped forward, telling Qovas that there had been a misunderstanding, and informed Qovas that the spaceship now belonged to him. Once the tension rose, one of the Remorath drew its own retractable claws to attack, as Talbot responded by calmly using his Gravitonium powers to lift the Remorath soldier into the air and crush its body with no effort. Becoming drunk with his new power, Talbot then demanded that Qovas and all his soldiers kneel down before him, which Qovas reluctantly agreed to, much to Talbot's great satisfaction.[32]
"I think maybe it's time we started shaking some hands." "Impossible. The Confederacy gathering is sacred, a ceremony dating back over five of your centuries." "Well, as a military man, I'd hate to buck tradition. So why don't you bring me up to speed on the protocol?"
Talbot then began wandering all around the control room, confidently commenting taking over an alien spaceship was not bad for a day's work, while Phil Coulson had admitted to being impressed although he claimed that forcing Qovas to kneel may have been a little much. Talbot, however, had become annoyed over this comment and demanded that Coulson not contradict him, telling him that in a war they had needed to assert their dominance. Coulson then suggested they start thinking about the bigger picture as Talbot explain that his own intention was to save the entire world.
However, Qovas interrupted Talbot, as he questioned who he would be saving the world from, noting that the Confederacy would decide what Talbot did, noting that they would not stand for Talbot's actions. Talbot, however, mocked Qovas, who noted that HYDRA were never this foolish, to which Talbot questioned where HYDRA was now as Qovas noted that Talbot's ignorance astounded him. However, then Coulson realized that this was due to HYDRA and General Hale that Qovas had been able to find their Lighthouse, as Coulson had then requested to speak with Hale alone, which Talbot had allowed.
While Coulson was gone, Talbot spoke to Qovas and demanded to know more about the Confederacy, however, Qovas then claimed he would rather die than betray them. However, they were interrupted by the arrival of General Hale, who explained that there were six seats which were held by the Kallusians, Rajaks and Astrans as well as the Remorath and two others. Talbot, however, expressed his hatred for Hale following her locking him inside a prison cell for six months and then messed with his head, as Talbot questioned why he should trust her, although Coulson insisted that she was their only chance.
Hale confessed that what she had done to Talbot was wrong but she insisted that it was all to bring them to this moment when they could fight back against the Confederacy, claiming that Talbot had become the weapon that she had always been trying to build through Project Destroyer of Worlds, telling Talbot that he was now the only one who could save them all. They all then discussed HYDRA's deal with the Confederacy, noted that in exchange for protection they would have over Gravitonium and Inhumans, as Qovas explained that the power of Gravitonium was unlimited which was why they wanted it.
Seeking a way to renegotiate their deal with the Confederacy, Talbot suggested that they attend this meeting, only for Qovas to insist that this would be impossible. Talbot, however, had simply walked over to Qovas and then demanded that he be brought up to speed with their protocols so that he could attend, as Qovas noted that even if Talbot was granted an audience with their Confederacy, they had nothing to offer in order to renegotiate their deal. However, Coulson stepped up and had noted that if Gravitonium was what the Confederacy wanted to obtain, then Talbot had recently become Gravitonium itself.[32]
"What are you saying?" "Thanos and his forces have begun an assault on your world, even as we speak." "Well, then I've got to get down there with the Avengers and take on this Thanos." "Thanos' strength is unrivaled. You will lose."
In order to meet with the Confederacy, Talbot was given a traditional formal uniform to wear as well as cutting his hair and beard to make him appear more presentable. While Talbot had complained that he thought it was all too much, Hale noted that diplomacy would be key while Phil Coulson suggested that he goes with Talbot, although Talbot had said that it would be too risky to bring another person to the meeting, noting that he would just take Qovas. When Coulson tried to offer Talbot some final advice, Talbot shut him down before questioning how he looked in the uniform.
As he went to leave, Talbot all told the Remorath that he was leaving Coulson in charge of the spaceship, threatening that if anyone had disobeyed any of Coulson's orders then Talbot would crush all their bodies. Talbot and Qovas together then went to the Phase Harmonic Teleportation Device, as Talbot gave Coulson a final look before they teleported over to the meeting with the Confederacy. Once they both arrived, they were met with confused looks before Estella welcomed them all to the meeting before Crixon questioned who exactly Talbot was and why Qovas had dared to bring him to their meeting.
To the amazement of everyone, Qovas explained how Talbot came there in order to renegotiate for Earth's protection, although Crixon insisted that the terms were already set. As Crixon questioned why they would even entertain the idea of changing those terms, Talbot stepped up and claimed that the Confederacy had been dealing with amateurs, while calling himself Earth's Mightiest Hero. Once Qovas explained that Talbot had absorbed the Gravitonium, Estella accused him of being a charlatan and suggested that they put him to auction on their black market, which Qovas strongly advised against.
Despite the claims of Talbot being infused with Gravitonium, Estella and Crixon still insisted that Talbot could not join the Confederacy as they could only be six members. Talbot merely scoffed at all these excuses, comparing them to Democrats before questioning who was really in charge, to which Estella insisted that all voices were equal within the Confederacy while Taryan Kasius then claimed that Crixon was the wisest among them. When Crixon refused to welcome a Human, Talbot claimed to no longer be human, before using the Gravitonium to crush Crixon's bones and absorb him directly into his body.
Chuckling over this newfound ability, Talbot noted that with Crixon dead there was now a space for him on the Confederacy. Once the negotiations were complete, Talbot and Qovas watched the others leave until only Taryan remained, who claimed that Qovas was right to bring Talbot who he claimed was a giant among them. Taryan then introduced himself as the firstborn of the House of Kasius, before he told Talbot that the way he handled himself during the meeting was quite admirable, before warning that the Earth faced a greater threat than anything which their own Confederacy could ever bring.
As Talbot questioned what he meant, Qovas then claimed the Infinity War would be the end of the Earth while Taryan confessed that the Confederacy never planned to honor their agreement with HYDRA, claiming that even if they wanted to they would not be able to save them. Taryan told Talbot that Thanos had started his attack on the Earth which could not be stopped, as Talbot insisted that he had to assist the Avengers in stopping Thanos. Taryan insisted that Thanos could not be stopped even with Talbot and the Avengers' combined might, although he had claimed that there could still be a way.[32]
"It is just like you to second-guess me, or is it now that you've seen Gravitonium's power, you want it all for yourself?" "That's not what's happening, and you know it." "Do I? How many times have we worked together only for me later to find out you weren't being above-board?"
With the meeting concluded, Talbot and Qovas returned to the spaceship where they found Phil Coulson and Hale waiting for them. Talbot informed the pair that the situation was worse than they had feared, explaining how the Earth was under threat from Thanos and his own forces, as Hale questioned if the Confederacy would be willing to help them, to which Talbot explained that they would be on their own in their incoming fight against Thanos and his forces.
Talbot demanding to be made invincible
Once the group began questioning what they should do next, Talbot suggested that their only option left now was to make him invincible, explaining how Taryan Kasius told him of more Gravitonium hidden within the Earth, which Talbot intended to obtain and gain more power in order for Talbot to be capable of fighting Thanos and become Earth's shield. When Coulson tried to reason with Talbot, he was shut down as Talbot insisted that their very way of life was now under threat, although Coulson insisted that Gravitonium was too dangerous, and Talbot would be at risk of losing control of his own power.
Annoyed at Coulson second-guessing him, Talbot had insisted that he had never been more in control and accused Coulson of wanting to take the Gravitonium for himself, which Coulson simply denied. Talbot, however, noted that Coulson had lied to him multiple times while they worked together at S.H.I.E.L.D. Hale questioned if Talbot really trusted Taryan which Talbot claimed he did; however, as Talbot noted Taryan was from the House of Kasius, Coulson was horrified and insisted Taryan was lying, noting he had fought Kasius within the future and told Talbot that the Kasius family were their enemies.
However, Qovas told Talbot how their Kree family were the noblest of their Confederacy while claiming that Coulson was clearly lying in order to get into Talbot's head. Talbot had then questioned if Coulson was indeed manipulating him, which Coulson denied, as Talbot noted that they would all soon lose the Infinity War against Thanos unless Talbot becomes the most powerful being in the universe. As Coulson suggested that they use Qovas' Ship to attack Thanos, Talbot simply insisted that this was no longer a debate and told Coulson that either he was on his side in this war or he would be turning against him.
However, when Coulson insisted that he was on Talbot's side, Talbot insisted that he show his loyalty to him by kneeling. As Coulson had expressed his shock at this demand, Talbot noted that he was now Earth's last hope and true protector, telling him that either Coulson could accept this or suffer the consequences, before using his new Gravitonium powers to slowly crush Coulson from the inside. Once Talbot freed Coulson from his grasp, he once again demanded that Coulson kneel before him, which Coulson reluctantly obey as Talbot looked on with great satisfaction over his newfound power.[32]
"Rescue me? I'm the one that's gonna save us." "Then put Coulson down, and we can talk about that." "Agent Johnson, always in the center of the storm. Maybe that's because you're the problem." "If I'm the one you want, fine, I won't resist."
Having taken full control, Talbot looked into all Ian Quinn's memories and informed all those around him that Quinn's team had originally found the Gravitonium at the bottom of one of his mines; however, they were informed by Qolpakc that they had just been breached by Zephyr One. Turning back around to Phil Coulson, Talbot had demanded to know what S.H.I.E.L.D. was doing there, to which Coulson had calmly claimed that they were likely providing backup.
However, Talbot then furiously accused Coulson of starting a mutiny, questioning if he had made contact with S.H.I.E.L.D. behind his back, which Coulson denied while Talbot furiously questioned if they had come there in order to take over the spaceship. When Coulson then insisted that Talbot had gotten it all wrong, Talbot lost control of his temper and furiously accused Coulson of being a liar before turning to Hale and questioning if she had any part in it as Hale claimed that she had tried to talk Coulson out of making contact with S.H.I.E.L.D. which Coulson claimed was a lie, which Talbot did not believe.
Refusing to believe what Coulson was saying to him, Talbot instead turned to Qolpakc and ordered him to track down the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had infiltrated the ship and execute them on sight. When Coulson desperately tried to get through to Talbot by claiming that the agents were simply there to help them, Talbot told Coulson that he had betrayed him for the last time and that whatever happened next would be on his head. Coulson then still insisted to Talbot that S.H.I.E.L.D. was not his enemy, but Talbot would only comment that following all of Coulson's betrayals he should have known better than to trust him again, as he had seemingly betrayed once more.
In order to ensure that he was still in control of the situation, Talbot used his Gravitonium to lift Coulson in the air just as Quake along with Melinda May stormed into the control room, with Talbot warning that if Quake used her powers then he would kill Coulson. Horrified by the situation, Quake questioned what Talbot was doing, as he claimed that S.H.I.E.L.D. was not welcome there, claiming that this was his ship that they had invaded. Talbot once again insisted that he did not need rescuing since he was who would save them all from Thanos, as Quake requested that he put Coulson down.
Despite Quake still attempting to find some peaceful solution to their current situation, Talbot claimed that she could not be trusted and refused to place Coulson down; however, Hale then stepped up and claimed that she trusted Quake, much to the surprise of everyone as Hale noted that Quake had kept her work when she had attempted to help Ruby Hale when she was infected with the Gravitonium. Talbot, however, claimed that Ruby had simply been too weak to handle the Gravitonium, as Talbot insisted that the Gravitonium was intended for a hero like him who was actually strong enough to handle it.
Upon hearing Talbot insult her daughter, Hale began reciting the trigger words to Talbot's Faustus in an attempt to put him back under her control. This attempt appeared to work as Talbot placed Coulson back down on the floor and then said that his compliance would be rewarded, which allowed Hale and everyone else to relax. However, Talbot then noted that Hale's betrayal would also be rewarded, as he instead calmly lifted Hale into the air before using his Gravitonium to brutally crush Hale's bones until she was nothing more than a small bloody ball lying on the floor, much to everyone's horror.
In response to Hale's death, Quake then used her Inhuman power to attempt to knock Talbot back with her powerful shockwave, only for Talbot to prove that all his Gravitonium was more powerful than her shockwave had little effect on Talbot, barely pushing him backwards. Talbot had then launched Quake into the air, causing her to strike the ceiling with considerable force and, when May threatened him with her gun, Talbot warned that if she dared to shoot then Coulson would suffer the same fate as Hale. With this threat against Coulson clearly serious, May surrendered to Talbot and then dropped her gun.
Having gained control of the situation, Qovas then asked Talbot what he wanted them to do with the infiltrators, as Talbot claimed that they had all now become their own prisoners of war and also noted that he wanted them to be treated accordingly. As he was being dragged away by the Remorath, Coulson desperately called out to Talbot and claimed that it did not have to be this way, only for Talbot to look out at the Earth from the viewing window of the spaceship and had then noted that Coulson had always been his one true enemy, and he only now had the clarity of mind to see that this was true all along.[32]
Talbot had Qovas take Coulson and May into one of their cells, while Quake was handed over to the Kree so that Taryan Kasius could sell her on their black market. Once Qovas had finished speaking with Coulson and May where Qovas had threatened to destroy the Lighthouse with their Ionizer Missiles, he then asked Talbot if the prisoners would be kept indefinitely or killed, to which Talbot claimed that it depended if their prisoners would force the Remorath to kill them all. Talbot then promised that they would soon get all the Gravitonium they needed, commenting that he knew somebody who would actually be able to help them learn just where all the Gravitonium could be found.[3]
"I know what it's like, you're trapped in this hospital bed, noggin's not working right." "I know you do, sir." "But I also got through it, and I can help you. The two of us are stronger together."
In order to continue with his plans, Talbot then took a small team of the Remorath soldiers and hijacked Zephyr One. As he boarded the plane, Talbot shut off the lights, before he then used his new powers to drag Kim into the shadows and crushed his body. Having cleared out the plane's defenses, Talbot floated onto the deck, followed by those Remorath, as he noted that he knew where they could find a Quinjet, as he had already spent some time on board the plane.
Talbot and the Remorath then boarded a Quinjet, which Talbot noted he only needed it in order to be able to breathe through space. Using the Gravitonium, Talbot then detached the Quinjet from Zephyr One, and used it to fly himself back down to Earth. Once he had managed to fly himself back down to Earth, Talbot had visited Carl Creel, who was still recovering in hospital following his exposure to Gravitonium. Creel was shocked at seeing Talbot there, questioning what he was wearing, while Talbot just calmly asked how he was feeling before he then explained that he was there to talk about the new Creel.
While Creel attempted to get up to address him, Talbot told Creel to relax, acknowledging that he had been through a lot and that it was good to see him again, with Creel saying that it was also good to see Talbot. Talbot then acknowledged that he understood what Creel was going through, as he had also been recently stuck in a hospital bed, while struggling to get his mind working. However, Talbot told Creel that he had gotten through that struggle, and promised that he would be able to assist Creel to do the same, while he had also commented that the two of them would soon become even stronger together.
As Creel questioned if he was doing alright, Talbot had insisted that he had never felt better before, but still confessed that he had come into contact with Gravitonium, which horrified Creel. However, Talbot assured Creel that it was alright, while noting that he had learnt a few things from his contact with the Gravitonium, as he had questioned if Creel was still hearing the voices of Franklin Hall and Ian Quinn inside of his head, which Creel confirmed, as Talbot then explained that he had learned how to completely control and silence these voices from screaming, knowing that this is what Creel desperately wanted.
Creel had got out from his bed, noting how he had believed he would become trapped with Hall and Quinn's voices forever, to which Talbot explained that he did not have to be, and offered to help him. Talbot then offered Creel his hand, which Creel also noticed was covered in Gravitonium, while Talbot assured him that it would be okay, insisting that he was telling him the truth and that this would make everything better. Talbot then offered Creel his hand, which Creel took, as he still trusted his ally, as Creel then absorbed the Gravitonium into his skin, breathing a sigh of relief while Talbot questioned how he felt.
However, while Creel claimed that he felt his peace and quiet, since Talbot had helped him to quiet all the voices of Hall and Quinn, Talbot then began breaking Creel's body down to absorb him, as Creel had questioned what was happening in a sudden desperate panic, while Talbot explained that while he would not enjoy this, it would make all his pain go away, promising that it would be over soon. Talbot used the Gravitonium to break down Creel's body, before he proceeded to completely absorb him into his body, gaining all the Gravitonium that Creel had already absorbed, as the result of sacrificing Creel.[3]
"Now do you see what I am? What I've become! I'm a superhero, and I plan on doing what needs to be done!" "You're not a hero." "George? It's okay, George, they're the bad people, they're trying to stop me." "You're the bad one! You wanna hurt them!"
Talbot had then traveled to the Talbot Residence, where he rang the doorbell and was greeted by George Talbot, with Talbot happily said hello his son, while commenting that daddy was home. Having been invited back into the house, Talbot proudly greeted his son and Carla Talbot, who stood in shock upon seeing him, with Talbot questioning why they were being so quiet. Carla then noted that she was surprised to see him back in their home, considering everything that was currently happening around the world.
When Carla made a comment about how he looked, Talbot claimed that he now looked like a million bucks, with Carla still questioning if he was feeling okay, with Talbot reassuring her that he had never felt better. George then asked his father about his new clothes, to which Talbot explained that it was his Remorath uniform, claiming that he was a superhero like the Avengers, before telling him that he had his own superpowers, using the Gravitonium in his body to move one of George's toys. Talbot then went on to claim that this was just a taste, as he could also move cars and buildings with his new powers.
Talbot noted that he could fly, noting that he did not need Mjølnir, nor an Iron Man Armor to do it, promising the amazed George that they could fly with him and that things would be different from now on, as he looked to the WHiH World News report on the television about all of the destruction happening across New York City, promising that he would not allow anything bad to happen to their family, and that he would stop Thanos' plans to destroy their world. Talbot then invited George to come flying with him, only for Carla to ask George to leave them so that she could then talk in private with her husband.
However, this angered Talbot, as he insisted that he was having fun with his son, only for Carla to insist that they had to talk, explaining that she had heard about his accident. When Carla then explained that S.H.I.E.L.D. had contacted her, Talbot became enraged, as he lost control of George's toy and smashed it onto the floor, which had clearly scared George, as Talbot apologized to his son and blamed his wife. Losing control of his anger, Talbot watched Carla tell George to go upstairs, before Talbot used his powers to launch Carla against the wall, while he then promised George that he could fix his toy.
Talbot promised to take George to a real spaceship, although George remained terrified, ignoring him while he explained how the ship was filled with his alien allies. George begged his father to put his mother down, although Talbot insisted he could not do it, while claiming that she was not on their side anymore, as Carla insisted that this was not true, since she loved him. However, Talbot had confronted Carla over helping HYDRA to brainwash him, while working with S.H.I.E.L.D. to conspire behind their backs, although Carla still insisted this was not true, with Talbot preparing to consume his wife with Gravitonium.
However, before Talbot could consume Carla, he had then overheard the sounds of the S.H.I.E.L.D. SUVs pulling up outside of their home, as he proceeded to drop his wife and stepped outside to confront his attackers. As he welcomed them into the neighborhood, Talbot was told by Alphonso Mackenzie that they did not want to hurt him but he only wanted to talk, before Yo-Yo Rodriguez had demanded to know where Phil Coulson was, to which Talbot explained that Coulson was now a prisoner of war. When Mackenzie insisted that they were not at war with him, Talbot claimed that S.H.I.E.L.D. had declared the war.
Talbot had then proceeded to use his Gravitonium powers to launch the two SUVs into the air, before smashing them back down onto the ground. As a result, two of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents began shooting at Talbot, who was able to stop these bullets and caused them to spin around his body as his show of power. When Mackenzie ordered his men to stop shooting, Talbot then launched these bullets back at the agents, killing one, while Mackenzie and Rodriguez were able to get behind their crashed SUVs for cover. Talbot questioned if they could see what he had now become, insisting that he was a superhero.
Talbot swears to prove himself as their hero
However, George then stepped outside as he insisted that his father was not a superhero, although Talbot insisted that S.H.I.E.L.D. were the bad people who were trying to stop him, with Talbot also creating a gravity shield around him to prevent Rodriguez from taking George away. As George continued to claim that his father was the bad man who was trying to hurt the agents, Talbot insisted that it was not the case, claiming that he was merely trying to give them a final warning, while telling George that S.H.I.E.L.D. simply did not understand that he was the one who would save them all from Thanos' invasion.
Talbot vows to become a hero and escapes
Still desperate for his son to believe that he was becoming their new superhero, Talbot had then explained that he would be able to save the entire Earth, as soon as he got enough Gravitonium to be able to defeat Thanos in his battle. Seeing that George was still unconvinced that he was actually the hero, Talbot assured him that he would soon understand, before then telling him to continue to watch the news to witness all of his next actions. With that, Talbot gave one final wink to his son, before floating up into the sky and escaping back to his ship, while Mackenzie and Rodriguez had just watched on helplessly.[3]
"You see this little guy, I'm the savior that's going to protect it, but I need some help. What do you say? Then I will just take your damn soothsayer powers, cut to the chase." "No, you won't." "'Course not, you're just a kid. But I will find a way to win you over."
Knowing that he would need to obtain even more Gravitonium before he would actually become strong enough to go into his battle against Thanos, Talbot knew that he would be unable to locate it without some assistance. To that end, Talbot had then kidnapped Polly and Robin Hinton, as he took them onboard their stolen Quinjet. Seeing that they were nervous being around the Remorath, Talbot insisted that they did not bite, before questioning himself as he was unsure.
Polly then questioned who was flying the Quinjet, as there appeared to be no pilot, to which Talbot explained that his gravity was flying it, noting that it did not just make them crash and burn, but could help them to ascend. When Polly questioned what he wanted with them, Talbot then turned to Robin and commented on how she had drawn pictures of Talbot and had seen visions of his future, as he asked if she had ever seen visions of him tearing the Earth apart and bringing Gravitonium up from the ground, which Robin confirmed. Talbot then demanded Robin tell him where he would find this Gravitonium.[3]
Talbot used their Quinjet to fly himself, and the Hintons onto Qovas' spaceship, where he had presented Robin with a globe and told her to draw a dot on the location of the Gravitonium that she had seen in all her visions. However, Robin still refused to assist Talbot, despite him claiming to be the savior who could protect it, as Talbot began to lose his temper and threatened to consume Robin, resulting in him gaining her memories of her future visions. Despite the threat, Robin remained strong and insisted that Talbot would not do that, which he agreed with, noting Robin was a child, but vowed to win her over.
Talbot had ordered his Remorath soldiers to drag Polly away from her screaming daughter, as he commented that Robin was correct in her prediction that she would never see her mother again, until Talbot got what he wanted from her. Talbot then handed Robin the pen, and he pulled the globe over to him and instructed her to draw a dot on the location of the Gravitonium. Due to the fear that she would never see her mother again, Robin relented and drew a dot on Chicago, telling Talbot that it was the location, where she had seen Talbot pulling the Gravitonium out from the ground in her visions of their future.[33]
"We're in this together, we need to join forces." "That sounds good. You know, Hale gave me that speech, just before she tortured me. Coulson says it every time he's gonna stab me in the back. Humanity is on the brink. And I alone can fix it."
Having gained that information he needed from Robin Hinton, Talbot then took control of Qovas' Ship and used his powers to fly it straight to Chicago. With no care for any of those civilians below, Talbot proceeded to crash land the spaceship on top of several skyscrapers, which had caused massive damage and killed multiple people. However, Talbot simply remained focused on his mission, to obtain more Gravitonium, as he floated down to the ground, ignoring the people who were running in terror from him.
Sensing the Gravitonium below him, Talbot had then used his powers to rip straight through the concrete, as he tore the Earth up from the ground. Talbot then created a tower of Earth, until he was finally able to locate the Gravitonium hidden from him, as he then proceeded to absorb all that Gravitonium into his skin, before casually allowing the tower of Earth to tumble down onto the city, without glancing to see how many civilians were injured or killed as a result of his actions. As Talbot continued searching for more Gravitonium, Zbyszewski of their Chicago Police Department had ordered him to stop his actions.
Despite Zbyszewski threatening to shoot him down, Talbot claimed that this would merely be noise to him, as he claimed that he needed quiet since he could feel all his future power in the ground below his feet. However, with Talbot so focused on locating the Gravitonium, he became blinded to the arrival of S.H.I.E.L.D., who began evacuating the civilians on Zephyr One, while the Quinjet arrived into the streets. With the evacuation of innocent lives underway, Talbot had remained focused on dragging more Gravitonium from the ground, as he found the next location, and prepared to tear it up from the ground, without any care for the damage that this could cause as a direct result.
Talbot had then failed to notice Quake charging towards him, as she used her powers to propel herself towards Talbot with some considerable force, knocking him off his feet and then dragging him across the concrete until they came to a stop. With Quake standing over him, she ordered Talbot to stop, commenting on the number of innocent lives that were being lost due to his actions, only for Talbot to claim that this was war, and collateral damage would always be a part of that. As Talbot had insisted he needed to arm himself to fight his enemies, Quake told him that he was becoming the enemy.
However, Talbot had still refused to accept that he was becoming the enemy, while Quake insisted that it was not too late, telling Talbot to think of George Talbot. While Talbot insisted that he was doing this for his son, Quake questioned if he remembered how George looked at him back at the Talbot Residence, while reminding him about how scared George had been, although Talbot had argued that it was just because he seemed different, since he was now becoming the most powerful being in the universe and the ends would justify the means, while Quake claimed that only people doing bad things said that.
As Talbot claimed that he was becoming a hero, Quake told him that he already was a hero, as she offered him a hand and pulled him up to his feet. Quake then went on to tell Talbot that he became a hero as soon as he enlisted into the United States Armed Forces, as she pointed out the firemen and paramedics who were saving people all around them, which seemed to finally cause Talbot to reconsider his actions, as Quake commented on how they all became heroes when they enlisted. Quake told Talbot that they were in this battle together, and should join forces, with Talbot telling her that it sounded good.
Despite seemingly becoming won over by Quake's words, Talbot had noted that he had been given the same speech from Hale, just before she began to torture him to the point of him losing his sanity, and he also noted that Phil Coulson would say it whenever he was preparing to betray him. Talbot then claimed that Humanity was on the brink of destruction, and he alone could protect it. Quake then attempted to hit Talbot with her shockwave, only for him to entrap her and claimed that they should join forces. Talbot then flew Quake high into the sky, before plunging her back down onto the ground with great force.
The incredible force from the impact of the fall had left Quake unable to move, as she then struggled to crawl away from Talbot, who noted that he would be able to obtain all the Gravitonium that was currently hidden within the center of the Earth much faster, once he completely absorbed her Inhuman power and could then quake the planet apart. Talbot then dragged Quake on to her feet and held her in a headlock, before then telling her that he needed every weapon he could get, for his battle against Thanos. With that, Talbot then attempted to absorb Quake with the Gravitonium, surrounding her entire body with it.
Believing he was now ready to reclaim his ultimate victory, and obtain the power to rip apart their entire planet to gain his new Gravitonium, Talbot had failed to notice Quake finding the device hidden within her gauntlets, which had contained the Centipede Serum, as it had been placed inside there by Coulson to give Quake more power during her fight against Talbot. Moments before she could have been consumed by the Gravitonium, Quake was able to inject herself with the needle, gaining her massive overload of powers, as she created a shockwave which threw Talbot backwards and ripped the Gravitonium away.
Talbot being frozen to death in outer space
Enraged to seemingly have his victory torn away from him, Talbot got back onto his feet and swore to break Quake in half, determined not to allow her to stop his plans of becoming their Earth's greatest hero. However, when Talbot charged towards Quake to destroy her, Quake dropped onto her back and had used her newly enhanced powers to create a shockwave powerful enough to skyrocket Talbot out of their Earth's atmosphere. As a result, Talbot froze to his death immediately after leaving the atmosphere, as his body and the Gravitonium within him were then set adrift into the vast vacuum of outer space.[33]
Legacy[]
Studied by the Enemy[]
"I've studied your history, know all the enemies you've faced. I am honored to be the last."
Glenn Talbot was an extremely strong-willed man. He was often quick to form judgments and opinions on situations and it is almost impossible to get him to change his mind. Although he could be quick-tempered, Talbot was very brave and patriotic, as indicated by his time in the Air Force. Furthermore, he often risked his life for others and put himself into dangerous situations, as when he fought Carl Creel single-handedly and stepped out unarmed into the Providence base to question Phil Coulson.
Talbot cared for his family deeply and had often put their well-being ahead of his own; he dedicated every Tuesday's lunchtime to spend with his wife. He agreed to help Gideon Malick frame Coulson after Malick captured his son, and he felt terrible for pointing a gun at Carla while mistaking her for Agent 33. During his time held captive by Hydra, he felt like he abandoned his family and lamented that his last encounter with George had him yelling at him and scaring him.
Talbot's relationship with Coulson was, in Coulson's own words, like The Odd Couple: Talbot withheld information and Coulson had S.H.I.E.L.D. act without the permission of the government. However, following all of the struggles they went through together, Talbot and Coulson came to regard each other as friends.
After getting shot in the head, Talbot suffered from brain damage, having trouble controlling his impulses and having an even worse time controlling his temper. Following the torture inflicted on him by General Hale and Ruby Hale for six long months, Talbot became even more mentally unstable such as muttering to himself constantly and easily breaking down over his uselessness, even contemplating on committing suicide while under the Faustus Method. His fractured mind was so much that he tormented himself by fusing his body with Gravitonium, with the same piece holding Franklin Hall and Ian Quinn, in a desperate attempt to redeem himself for his past mistakes, and save the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents from the Remorath.
Absorbing the Gravitonium restored Talbot's confidence, but greatly exaggerated his ego. He quickly assumed that he had become humanity's most powerful hero and though he did have the power to make such boasts, he became a complete hypocrite. Talbot's power drove him to force Qovas and the Confederacy to kneel before him, something the original Talbot would never have done even with his prior arrogance, and seeing Phil Coulson wary of his power and mental state led him to believe his friend and S.H.I.E.L.D. betrayed him, even renouncing his friendship with Coulson and forcing him to kneel as well. He became much more willing to kill, causally absorbing others into him and literally crushing those whom he hated, no longer taking into account the importance of life like he used to.
Talbot no longer identified himself as human right before he killed Crixon to take his place in the Confederacy, further demonstrating his new god complex. He desired to become even more powerful, planning to absorb more Gravitonium to have the strength to stop Thanos, unaware that this action would cause the Destruction of Earth; however, this can be interpreted as a fragment of his former self still wishing to save the world, even if the methods he went by then were corrupt. But he proved he was willing to betray and sacrifice his loyal friend Carl Creel by turning him into Gravitonium to absorb him, under the delusion it was a necessary action. He also became vengeful, using his powers to viciously crush Hale as revenge for abducting and torturing him. He even attacked Carla Talbot when she informed S.H.I.E.L.D. he was at her house and for putting him under the Faustus, and refused to understand she was only trying to help him, going so far as to try to absorb her as he did with Crixon and Creel. At this point, the only person Talbot truly cared for was his son George Talbot, unaware that he was scaring him when he restrained Carla against the wall or when he was trying to kill Alphonso Mackenzie and Elena Rodriguez, continuously trying to justify his horrendous actions to George. During his final battle with Quake, his maniacal thirst for power even led to him disregarding any concern about his son or the Earth itself, with Talbot stating he would absorb her to take her powers and "quake the ground apart" to obtain all the Gravitonium contained within, despite this being the apocalyptic event S.H.I.E.L.D. warned would happen.
Because of his forcing his way into the Confederacy, turning against his former S.H.I.E.L.D. allies with the addition of threatening to kill them, and even terrorizing his own family, Talbot became every bit like the villains and terrorists he despised, deluding himself into the assumption he was a "hero." The only low he would not stoop to was directly harming children, and this is likely only because the idea was irreconcilable with his heroic delusions and such an action would have forced him to confront his own dwindling morality.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
"I'm becoming the most powerful being in the universe."
Artificially Enhanced Physiology: Having infused himself with the large mass of the Gravitonium, Talbot gained access to a variety of enhanced attributes. Unlike Ruby Hale, Talbot had gained full control over this Gravitonium's effects and was able to block out the minds of others inside the Gravitonium due to his insanity.
Once he had become infused with the Gravitonium, Talbot's physical durability had become enhanced to the point where all Quake's powers barely nudged him back. Mentally, he had become immune to the effects of the Faustus programming when Hale tried to activate it, and prior to this he often exclaimed to have "a mind like a steel trap." He was even able to physically endure a point-blank blast from Quake, after she had been enhanced by the altered Centipede Serum, only perishing as a result of being flung into the vacuum of space by the attack. Jemma Simmons believed that even if Talbot drank the Odium it would not be sufficient to terminate him.
Gravity Manipulation: Talbot infused himself with Gravitonium, which gave him the ability to manipulate the gravity around him and generate local gravity fields. This, in turn, allowed him to crush people the same way Ruby did to Werner von Strucker, force items to orbit around himself, repel people or items, and make items float by reducing gravity's effect on them, which, when used precisely, was analogous to telekinesis. He used this ability to leave the Lighthouse with Phil Coulson, floating them out on a chunk of the Control Room floor and to guide a Quinjet from space to Earth, as well as to lift to S.H.I.E.L.D. SUVs. Talbot could also create a protective gravity field around him, preventing Yo-Yo Rodriguez from approaching him despite her superhuman speed.
Upon gaining his close connection to the Gravitonium, Talbot was able to sense when he was close by more of the substance. Once Robin Hinton had told him that more could be found in Chicago, Talbot was able to sense that substance under the ground beneath him, which allowed Talbot to tear apart the Earth to gain more.
Levitation: By harnessing his powers, Talbot could influence the gravitational field around himself, allowing him to hover.
The Gravitonium changed the structure of Talbot's body, giving him the element's properties. As such, he was able to absorb Crixon and Carl Creel into his body by extruding tentacles of Gravitonium from his arm, much like how the element had absorbed Franklin Hall and Ian Quinn earlier.
Collective Memory: Talbot was able to access the memories and information of those absorbed by the Gravitonium. This thereby gave him access to Franklin Hall and Ian Quinn's respective consciousness as they existed inside of the Gravitonium. Through the knowledge of Quinn, Talbot immediately became aware of where Quinn had first found Gravitonium on Earth. He characterized this as Quinn telling him the information.
Power Augmentation: Talbot was able to absorb more Gravitonium into his body to augment his powers. He also claimed to be able to obtain any enhanced abilities his victims possess by absorbing them, a claim backed up in an alternate timeline where his counterpart caused an apocalyptic earthquake after absorbing Quake.
Abilities[]
"Let me out of here. I swear, I will bust your kraken ass!"
Expert Combatant: Glenn Talbot had a large knowledge of the hand-to-hand combat taught by the United States Air Force. He demonstrated this while fighting Phil Coulson and Carl Creel. Later with the help of his powers, he was able to kill several Remorath.
Marksman: Talbot was skilled with his sidearm. He kept it on him and almost had to use it when he toight his own wife was Agent 33. He also used an I.C.E.R. to shoot Jemma Simmons.
Expert Tactician: As a General, Talbot was very knowledgeable in forming plans. He later became the head of the ATCU as well. When he gained the power of Gravitonium, he devised a plan to get as much Gravitonium as he could, even at the cost of destroying the Earth.
Pilot: Talbot hijacked a Quinjet to get to the Remorath ship.
Equipment[]
Weapons[]
"You give me a gun, I'll help take out as many of them as I can."
Beretta 92FS: This pistol was Talbot's Air Force service weapon in the field. When he raided Providence base, he drew the weapon on Phil Coulson and Maria Hill when they had joined forces against his men. Talbot later held Coulson and Quake at gunpoint with it while he and his men investigated the destroyed Playground, but he ultimately stood down once Aida started killing his own airmen.
Brigadier General Glenn Talbot used this handgun to mistakenly threaten his own wife Carla at his base, since Agent 33 had infiltrated the facility by mimicking Carla's face.
Talbot used two different uniforms as an active Air Force officer: the Air Force Service Dress uniform and the field uniform. He wore several military decorations on the left side of the Air Force Service Dress uniform.
During their Attack on Providence, Talbot and all his soldiers wore their Bulletproof Vests, in order to protect themselves from any potential retaliation from Phil Coulson and his agents.
Patriot Serum: Seeking to find a new Inhuman leader for S.H.I.E.L.D., following the stepping down of Phil Coulson, Talbot and a small group devised a plan to create their own powered person. Using a modified version of Calvin Zabo's Formula, they imbued Jeffrey Mace with superhuman strength and endurance, under the guise of him having undergone Terrigenesis. Talbot and Agent Burrows took charge of ensuring that Mace could easily access the Serum to top up his powers, carrying the vials in a suitcase.
"I don't know what the hell this is. I don't think she knows what the hell this is. What the hell is this thing? What the, what is this thing? What is this contraption?" "To be honest, I have no idea. They use it to move ships through the galaxies."
Phase Harmonic Teleportation Device: Having been first shown the device by General Hale, Talbot was later forced to attempt to teleport away from the HYDRA base as he and Coulson were being chased down by Ruby Hale. While the Absorbing Man kept Ruby away, Talbot and Coulson had then teleported into the mountains to make their escape. Now knowing what the device was, Talbot later used it alongside Qovas in order to meet with the Confederacy and make his demands to them.
Particle Infusion Chamber: With the Lighthouse being overrun by the Remorath, Talbot took it upon himself to do everything he could to hold them back. Despite the risks, Talbot stepped into the Chamber and had his body infused with Gravitonium, giving him incredible powers which allowed Talbot to easily defeat the Remorath and save his allies just in time.
Gravitonium: Following him stepping into the Particle Infusion Chamber, Talbot's body was infused with the Gravitonium, giving him incredible power. Unlike Carl Creel and Ruby Hale, Talbot was able to subdue the voices of Franklin Hall and Ian Quinn from driving him completely insane, although the sheer amount of power, combined with his gunshot wound and undergoing Faustus, caused Talbot's grip on reality to shift, as he became obsessed with gaining more Gravitonium to increase his abilities. As well as being able to manipulate gravity around him, which allowed him to fly and lift up objects, Talbot was able to use the Gravitonium to crush his enemy's bodies, which he demonstrated by killing General Hale, and he was also able to absorb others into his body, which he did to both Creel and Crixon. Talbot's focus on gaining more Gravitonium caused him to crash land Qovas' Ship into Chicago where he began ripping apart the city to find what he was looking for, until Quake arrived and finally put an end to Talbot's rampage.
"Why are you dressed so funny?" "Well... this is my new uniform, son. Your dad's a superhero now, just like those Avengers."
Talbot began wearing the Remorath space suit after he obtained his powers and commandeered Qovas' ship, as he was sent to meet their Confederacy, and was required to follow their rules in order to gain their support for the upcoming war against Thanos. Talbot began to declare himself a new and improved superhero, superior to any of the Avengers because of his new powers.
Vehicles[]
"I've spent some time on this plane, the Quinjet is this way."
Helicopter: Talbot spoke to Lance Hunter on a helicopter, offering him a deal to give Isabelle Hartley a proper funeral in exchange for Hunter betraying Phil Coulson.
Quinjet: Talbot hijacked a Quinjet and used it to get to Earth from Qovas' ship. He later kidnapped Robin and Polly Hinton onto the ship, and used it to get them to Qovas' ship.
"You see, this is my ship." "Your impudent tone is only go..." "I said this is my ship!"
Qovas' Ship: Following his rise into power with the aid of the Gravitonium, Talbot took control of the ship belonging to Qovas and the Remorath, making them his slaves. Despite much of the ship being destroyed by the combined actions of Melinda May and Deke Shaw, upon learning where more Gravitonium could be found, Talbot used his powers to fly the remains of the ship towards Chicago, where Talbot proceeded to crash land onto a building before then making his way back down onto the streets.
"You have said in your numerous public appearances that you have a facility where you are storing the technology and prisoners captured in the S.H.I.E.L.D. raids."
Government Storage Warehouse: The military established special storage warehouse overseen by their Joint Task Force under Talbot's leadership. The storage had been used to seize thousands of assets and equipment from S.H.I.E.L.D. when HYDRA and stored them in the warehouse. However, the storage was infiltrated by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who stole the Quinjet, as well as Carl Creel who retrieved the Obelisk.
United Nations Headquarters: Talbot was called to give his speech to the United Nations, where he had discussed the ongoing actions of S.H.I.E.L.D., who Talbot had accused of collecting enhanced beings and creating teams like the Avengers. However, during the speech, the room was attacked by Marcus Scarlotti, as Talbot witnessed Scarlotti using Splinter Bombs to murder several people, while Talbot helped to get the guests the safety.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Safe House: Talbot was given access to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s safe house in Bruges, when this had been overtaken by Marcus Scarlotti and his mercenaries. Once Talbot had arrived, he assisted with taking Scarlotti into custody, before greeting Melinda May and offering his condolences for the agents who had been killed by Scarlotti.
Washington, D.C. Air Force Facility: While working in Washington, D.C., Talbot stationed himself at this facility, where he would speak to Decker about his home life, and would meet his wife for lunch on Tuesdays. However, when Talbot discovered that the facility was being infiltrated by Agent 33 and Grant Ward, he attempted to get control of the situation by bringing all the female staff together and questioning them, hoping to catch Agent 33 who was disguised with the Photostatic Veil. Despite his efforts, Talbot was unsuccessful, and Agent 33 and Ward managed to break Sunil Bakshi out of his cell and escape, with Talbot mistaking his own wife for Agent 33, resulting in him holding her at gunpoint, much to his wife's horror.
"What's going on in those shadows, Phil? That's what I want to know. You'd better start opening some doors, or I promise you, I'm going to start kicking them down." "Alright, let's go for a ride."
Talbot was invited to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, in the wake of their ratification of the Sokovia Accords to classify all Inhumans. Talbot frequently visited the Playground, while he cooperated with S.H.I.E.L.D. and temporarily took the control over the base, during the attack on Jeffrey Mace. In the wake of Mace's death, Talbot returned into the Playground, only to find that it had been completely destroyed, as Talbot attempted to take the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents into custody, but failed and could only take control of the destroyed base.
HYDRA Preparatory Academy: Talbot was kidnapped by HYDRA and taken to their secret facility where he was held by Hale for several months. She ordered Ruby Hale to torture Talbot in order to force him to tell HYDRA everything he knew about S.H.I.E.L.D. Later, together with Phil Coulson and Carl Creel, Talbot successfully escaped from HYDRA, leaving Creel behind.
In the comics, Glenn Talbot is a right-hand man of Thaddeus Ross and ex-husband of Betty Ross.
During the fifth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Talbot became an amalgamation of both his comic counterpart and Graviton, Franklin Hall's alter ego in the comics, ultimately adopting a costume based on the one worn by Graviton in the comics.
Talbot is killed by being blown into space by Quake, similar to how he died at the hands of Hulk in The Incredible Hulk video game.
Behind the Scenes[]
Glenn Talbot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the second live-action incarnation of the character, following an incarnation portrayed by Josh Lucas.
On why Talbot becomes Graviton instead of Hall, Jed Whedon explained, "In terms of who became Graviton, we wanted someone who'd been on the show the whole time. Talbot's one of the only characters who has been in every season." Maurissa Tancharoen further explained. "We find antagonists are more impactful if we've had a relationship with them. Also, Talbot in all his iterations -- like, he was an antagonist when we first met him, and then he became a partner of ours, but sort of an uneasy alliance, and then of course he was shot in the head and he went through some brain damage and we see him trying to sort through all that."
