Brigadier-General Glenn Talbot was a regular supporting character in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Based on the character of the same name from Marvel Comics, he was a high-ranking official within the United States Military. Both a family man and a dedicated patriot, Talbot was proud to serve his country, though often had a hard time coming to terms with some of the more extraordinary things that occurred in his line of work. He would often, albeit begrudgingly, turn to S.H.I.E.L.D. for assistance with many of the more outlandish threats to the world.
In the fifth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Talbot would turn to outright villainy after absorbing the gravity-manipulating element Gravitonium, which not only granted him superpowers but also drove him mad.
History[]
Early life[]
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 camp. He had also participated in the War on Terror, for which he was awarded with two medals. He was also present in New York in 2012 when the Chitauri invaded, witnessing the Avengers in action.
Season 1[]
In 2014, HYDRA arose from within S.H.I.E.L.D. to continue its campaign of world domination. Although Captain America and his closest allies were able to put a stop to HYDRA's Project Insight, S.H.I.E.L.D. was declared to be a terrorist organization and Talbot was tasked with seizing as many S.H.I.E.L.D. facilities and assets as possible in order to understand how HYDRA had managed to infiltrate the organization so perfectly.
Following a HYDRA attack upon the Hub, Talbot led a platoon of soldiers to Providence, another S.H.I.E.L.D. facility in Canada, the location of which had been given to him by Maria Hill. There, Talbot forced Phil Coulson and his team to surrender and give up the locations of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s remaining facilities worldwide. The group argued that Talbot should have been focusing his efforts on capturing HYDRA agents, such as Grant Ward and John Garrett, but Talbot retorted that as far as the public were concerned, HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D. were one and the same.
Before Talbot could press his interrogation any further, Hill turned on him and helped Coulson and his remaining team escape so that they could hunt down Ward. Talbot got into a brawl with Coulson, but was rendered unconscious after being shot with an I.C.E.R.. By the time Talbot came around, Coulson and his team had fled in pursuit of Ward and Garrett.
Season 2[]
Crusade against S.H.I.E.L.D.[]
For his actions during the HYDRA Uprising, Colonel Talbot was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General and became the official representative of the U.S. Air Force. However, his recent activities had also made him a target as HYDRA sent Carl Creel to assassinate him. S.H.I.E.L.D. sought to protect Talbot, sending Antoine Triplett to plant a phone on him while he was out spending time with his wife and son, allowing Coulson to contact him. When Coulson called, Talbot was quick to threaten him with imprisonment for all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s alleged crimes before cutting off the communication by snapping the phone in half.
After using his own phone to call for assistance, Talbot was attacked by Creel. Fortunately for Talbot, Melinda May was in the area and she arrived to help Talbot fend off the Absorbing Man. Although Creel transmuted his body into brass, May had the superior fighting skills and was able to knock him off his feet. Skye soon arrived with a projectile taser weapon that was used to subdue Creel, allowing Talbot's soldiers to take the mercenary into custody. Talbot was escorted away by two Air Force troops, unaware that they were actually S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Isabelle Hartley and Lance Hunter in disguise. They took the General to an SUV where May held him at gunpoint. Realizing he'd been tricked and was being kidnapped, Talbot cursed Coulson's name.
Aboard the Bus, Coulson met with the captive Talbot and attempted to convince him that S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA were not the same, although Talbot was quick to point out that kidnapping him wasn't helping Coulson's case. Coulson insisted that he and Talbot needed to work together against HYDRA, but Talbot was convinced that his own forces would be enough to put down the terrorist organization, citing how his troops had managed to apprehend Creel. Coulson, however, told Talbot that Creel had likely allowed himself to be captured so that he could get closer to the Obelisk, an alien relic that was being contained in a government storage facility. Despite the validity of Coulson's claims, Talbot still refused to help S.H.I.E.L.D. and vowed to put Coulson and all of his agents behind bars. As Talbot ranted, Coulson raised an I.C.E.R. and shot him, knocking him out.
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 the guard at the warehouse gate had refused to allow the undercover team Coulson sent inside of the warehouse.
Later, the Air Force captured Lance Hunter, after all of Hunter's friends and teammates were killed by Creel during a horrific car crash, as they had been attempting to make their escape from the government 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 the flight, Talbot commented on Hunter's history as a part of the British Armed Forces, reminding him of his 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, though he raised the fee to two million dollars and a proper burial for Isabelle Hartley. 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.
At an appointed time, Talbot, along with several soldiers, confronted Coulson in a field. Talbot asked where Hunter was, noting that he 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 the captured Creel, who had been turned into stone by an Overkill Device after his fight with Coulson's team. Coulson recommended that they take 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 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 decloaked and showed its 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.
Impersonated[]
Talbot was later contacted by 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.
Attack on the United Nations[]
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 the public's trust and resources to further their own goals, and were still doing so. 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 continued, Talbot also commented on all the reports regarding how S.H.I.E.L.D. were secretly collecting enhanced individuals, planting bases across the Earth, without giving any real explanations for their purposes, and had also inadvertently been responsible for the Battle of New York, 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 in 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 the 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.
In the wake of the deadly attack led by 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 S.H.I.E.L.D., he now needed to step in and deal with the 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 had 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.
Capturing Scarlotti[]
While their hunt for Marcus Scarlotti 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. safehouse 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 safehouse 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 died. The pair shook hands and departed, showing their mutual respect for each other following the recent attacks.
War against HYDRA[]
Eventually, Talbot was called by 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 jail. 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.
Some days later, Talbot was in his office when he received a call that his wife Carla was on-base and gave clearance to allow her entry. However, seconds later, he received a phone call from Carla stating that she was stuck in traffic and was going to be late, meaning that whoever the guards had just let in was an imposter. Remembering the Photostatic Veil used by Agent 33, Talbot called for a lockdown of the entire base and had every female staff member rounded up. He had the female staff lined up and interrogated each of them, but it soon became clear that none of them was the spy. Shortly after, Talbot's wife arrived and Talbot thought that she was the spy, pulling a gun on her. Carla revealed that the desk guard was missing and that she had just come to drop off his lunch before bursting into tears. Talbot was later informed that Sunil Bakshi had been freed by Grant Ward and that the spy must have helped them escape.
Talbot later called Coulson and 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.
Season 3[]
Advanced Threat Containment Unit[]
Once Carl Creel was able to break free of the Faustus brainwashing while in prison and renounced his loyalty to HYDRA, Talbot hired Creel as his personal bodyguard. Talbot was later named by President Matthew Ellis as the newest head of the Advanced Threat Containment Unit in the wake of Rosalind Price's assassination at the hands of Grant Ward. However, almost immediately after his promotion, Talbot's son George 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 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, Coulson had still followed closely behind and had then reminded Talbot that he was technically his boss from that 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 reminded 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, he commented that he genuinely wished that Talbot and his wife repaired their relationship for their own son's sake. 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 to protect him.
Symposium on Alien Contagion[]
General Talbot was furious when Coulson convinced him to wear a traditional long-gown at the meeting, while Coulson argued it was a respectful gesture as Talbot was now the President's official representative, insisting that the irritated Talbot 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 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 the 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.
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.
Relectant betrayal[]
Once Talbot had changed out of the traditional long gown back into his military uniform, he then joined 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 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 normal 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 Inhumans, to keep them from harm if their numbers had still continued to increase in the wake of the 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 the 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.
Malick's betrayal[]
Talbot rejoined Malick as he had Coulson taken into the basement for execution, as Talbot demanded that Malick finally give him back his kidnapped son now the agreement had been met, with Coulson now in Malick's custody and all of the delegates from the symposium 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 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 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 ATCU and had threatened to kill him if Talbot had told anybody, which Talbot believed Malick was capable of. Talbot then noted that Carla also knew about the situation and had blamed him, so he had sent her away for her own safety.
Once Talbot explained his situation with Malick to Coulson, they then regrouped with Creel, Hunter and Bobbi, 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 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, 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 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 inside the van where he was being kept in suspension gel for transportation as she then collected the group and they then escaped together.
Back on Zephyr One, Talbot sat beside his sleeping son as he slowly recovered from his ordeal. While Talbot was holding tightly onto his sleeping son's hand, 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.
Destruction of HYDRA[]
When S.H.I.E.L.D. had successfully captured and questioned Malick, he proceeded to tell 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.
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 General Fischer's office and demanded that he surrender, having learned Fischer was an undercover HYDRA spy. Seeing that Fischer was speaking with General 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 be arrested by Talbot's men, he gave the HYDRA salute before then biting down on a hidden cyanide pill, killing himself.
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.
Sokovia Accords[]
In response to the United Nations' decision to push forward with the newly formed Sokovia Accords, Talbot had then been personally sent by President Ellis to speak to 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 a cane due to a 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 the Avengers Civil War, and that his teams worked in 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 below.
Talbot admired how he had been unaware of the SSR base while Coulson explained that its location was never on record while asking him not to report all his Secret Warriors to the President, claiming that soldiers like this required secrecy to function. While Talbot requested to know how many Inhumans Coulson had, he was introduced to his most recent recruit 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, Lincoln had control issues. Lincoln 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 Lincoln did not use his powers to escape from the 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 he was being kept at the base, recommending he be kept in Suspension Gel. Talbot asked where Daisy Johnson was before revealing that he had already known Daisy was with the believed dead Grant Ward, noting that he had wanted to know if Coulson would ever lie to his face.
War against Hive[]
Going inside of Coulson's office, Talbot was informed that Daisy had become a slave to 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 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 Daisy had hacked into their systems and helped Lincoln to escape his room, seemingly so he could regroup with her and join Hive's army. While Talbot berated Coulson about the breakout, they encountered Melinda May, who had claimed that Lincoln could escape the way Talbot had gotten in through the bar. Despite doing whatever they could, eventually it seemed Lincoln 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 Daisy. Talbot was informed that Lash had been put in Lincoln's place. While Lincoln and May explained how the plan had been put forward, Talbot listened and complimented Lincoln on tricking him while noting that he was impressed by Coulson's deception. They discussed all the risks for Daisy in bringing Lash to attack Hive, although it was agreed that it was the best option they had. Talbot questioned Lincoln as to why he believed that Lash could defeat Hive, with Lincoln claiming that all Inhumans had a purpose and they believed that Lash's true purpose was to destroy Hive.
Eventually, Daisy 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, Mack and Yo-Yo then watched as Simmons treated Daisy while Talbot questioned if this was all a trick. Eventually, Simmons confirmed that Daisy 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.
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 Primitives, Talbot immediately contacted General 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 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 ATCU 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 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 stolen it during the mission and therefore there was still a risk.
Talbot and Coulson were then interrupted by May who came to introduce Holden Radcliffe who had been responsible for transforming all the men into 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 moustache 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.
Season 4[]
Project: Patriot[]
Following the defeat of Hive, Talbot informed President 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. Following the legitimatization of S.H.I.E.L.D., Talbot was then tasked by the President 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. During the speech, Talbot carried the briefcase containing the Patriot serum vials before handing them to Burrows, handcuffing it to him. During the speeches, Quake was able to spot a sniper on the roof and warned Mace, who used his podium to block the projectile before it exploded, saving his own life and that of Michelle Caldwell. While Quake found and subdued the sniper, Talbot then pushed his way through all the panicked crowds and found both 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. safehouse 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 to the Playground, it was soon discovered that Mace's Quinjet had been attacked and had fallen off the radar, making it impossible to figure out where they crash-landed. Talbot was joined by May, Quake and 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 President Ellis, who demanded an update on both Director Mace and the briefcase's condition at the current time.
Seeking answers, Talbot sat down with Yuri Zaikin and demanded answers, recommending that Zaikin stop using the silent treatment. Zaikin then revealed that he and his men had considered every possible outcome of their actions and had found ways to ensure Mace's demise in all of them. Having learned that Zaikin had joined the Watchdogs in the wake of HYDRA's supposed collapse, Talbot then revealed to Zaikin that he was the one who had spearheaded the operation to dismantle HYDRA, but Kaikin was still unintimidated and refused to speak with Talbot about the Watchdogs' plans.
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 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 the attack, 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 other S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to then leave the lab and explained how he had not restarted all Abraham Erskine's work but had given Mace a modified version of Calvin Zabo's super-soldier 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, 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 Zaikin, although Talbot insisted it was not so easy, but Simmons came up with a plan. Returning to Zaikin's cell, 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 of confessing everything.
Using the intel Zaikin provided, 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 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.
Dealing with Ellen Nadeer[]
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, Coulson revealed that they also planned to use the meeting as a chance to get into Senator 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 Director Mace and Talbot that Mack 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 other 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 Senator 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 was 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.
Hunting S.H.I.E.L.D. again[]
Following the destruction of the Playground and the discovery of the desecrated body of Director Mace, Talbot discovered Aida's attempted infiltration of S.H.I.E.L.D. Given the shattered state of 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 deploying his own soldiers to secure the area. However, this did not stop Coulson from sneaking in to refuel the Zephyr One and to contain Aida following the construction of her new organic body infused with powers. 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 Anton Ivanov, 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 the virtual realm. 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.
Attempted assassination[]
As General Talbot walked down a corridor with Lieutenant Evans, he contacted 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 of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s actions behind the scenes and also claimed they had been weaponizing 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. 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.
Season 5[]
Abduction[]
In the months following the attempt on his life, Talbot awoke from his coma and began undergoing hospital treatment. While the damage to his brain hadn't left him vegetative, it had resulted in diminished motor skills, lapses in his memory and emotional instability. Talbot's wife and son assisted with his rehabilitation, but during one such treatment session in which he had to identify pictures of animals, Glenn lost his temper and accused George of lying about what images were on the cards, confusing the cat with the tiger. Carla tried to reassure her husband, but was interrupted when the doctor entered to give Talbot drugs, knocking him out. After Glenn's outburst, Carla allowed General Hale to move her husband to what Hale described as a special facility where could receive the best treatment possible.
When Talbot awoke, he found himself alone in a room in an unfamiliar facility. Finding a new set of clothes laid out for him, he got changed and exited the room, walking down an empty hallway. He soon came to an open door leading into what appeared to be a cafeteria, finding it well-stocked with breakfast supplies. Walking over to the kitchen and pouring himself a bowl of cereal, Talbot was quickly joined by a girl whom he didn't recognize. The girl was wearing headphones and ignored Talbot as she gathered some food for herself. Though Talbot asked her where he was, the girl didn't respond, not even looking at him as she turned and left the room. Talbot followed after the girl and into a gymnasium, once more asking where he was only for her to continue ignoring him. The General became angry and tried to pull the girl's headphones out of her ears, only for her to grab and twist his arm. At that moment, General Hale entered the room, revealing that the girl was her daughter, Ruby.
Talbot tried to pull rank on Hale, demanding that she tell him where he was, but Hale ignored his question and Ruby brandished a bladed chakram, holding it to Talbot's neck. 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 Ruby withdrew her weapon, 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. She led Talbot into a room containing a bizarre device that she had acquired following the Battle of New York, explaining that she had reached out to an ally who could protect Earth from an approaching alien threat. Suspicious, Talbot asked Hale what flag she flew under and Hale confessed that she was an agent of HYDRA.
Upon hearing Hale's confession, Talbot became disgusted and accused her of betraying her country, though Hale insisted that the symbols they both believed in were now irrelevant in the face of the conflict to come. Hale went on to say that in order to win the coming war, she required an old HYDRA device that Talbot had previously hidden away. Talbot refused to help, but Hale had Ruby and a pair of Sleeper Mechs restrain the General and bind him into a wheelchair before taking him away. As he was being led away, Talbot furiously called out that Phil Coulson and S.H.I.E.L.D. would be coming for him.
For the next several months, Talbot was physically and mentally tortured by Hale for information. He struggled to hold on to hope that S.H.I.E.L.D. would rescue him, but eventually caved in after being subjected to several sessions of HYDRA's Faustus brainwashing method.
Prison break[]
Talbot would eventually be reunited with Coulson when the S.H.I.E.L.D. director was captured by Hale. After Coulson was dragged into his room, Talbot apologized profusely, admitting that HYDRA had broken him and that he had given up all the information they wanted from him. Later on, however, as the General was wallowing in his cell, the door suddenly opened to reveal Coulson and Carl Creel, who had come to rescue him. Due to his brain injury and having been deprived of food and water for some time, Talbot was highly confused, struggling to recognise Creel and getting loud and angry with Coulson as he tried to get the General back on his feet.
The trio tried to find a way out of the facility, which proved to be difficult as each of them had either been blindfolded or unconscious when they were brought in. 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. 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 the facility, alerting HYDRA of Creel, Coulson and Talbot's escape attempt. Before long, they were discovered by a squad of Sleeper Mechs who attempted to take them back into custody. A fight then ensued, with Creel taking on the majority of the robots while Talbot struggled to figure out who to fight. Before long, Creel and Talbot had defeated all of the robots together. To their sudden horror, however, Creel and Talbot had discovered that Coulson was now lying dead on the floor.
As Talbot investigated, he discovered Coulson had been punched directly into the chest by one of the Sleeper 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.
Making their way back into the corridors, Coulson had ensured Talbot was walking in the right direction before Creel had then stopped in his tracks, having seen Ruby and her robotic soldiers coming 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. When Creel reached the only exit he knew, he discovered that Ruby had already blocked the way. 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 Sleeper 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 Earth, despite Talbot reminding him of the amount of water there was on Earth. With the Sleeper Mechs closing in on them, Talbot reluctantly agreed as they activated the machine, which had then instantly teleported them into a freezing snowy landscape.
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 to 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 family 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. 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 fight each other.
Return to S.H.I.E.L.D.[]
After being brought to the Lighthouse, Talbot was informed by Coulson about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s adventure in the future, how the Earth had been destroyed and that what was left of humanity had been enslaved by the Kree. After listening to Coulson's tale, Talbot could only laugh in disbelief, saying that he would have been better off staying in his cell at Hale's facility. After hearing that Quake was supposedly responsible for Earth's destruction, Talbot asked Coulson why he still kept sending her on missions, to which Coulson replied that he was dying and needed Daisy to lead in his place after he passed. When Talbot asked if there was any good news in all of this, Coulson told him about Robin Hinton, a young Inhuman girl who had seen a vision of a better future that S.H.I.E.L.D. were now working towards realizing.
While Talbot was looking over a map of Lake Ontario, Daisy entered the room. The sight of Daisy immediately triggered a flashback of Talbot's near-fatal shooting by one of Aida's LMD's and he grabbed a tape dispenser, ready to throw it at Daisy. He then snapped out of his panic, apologizing to Daisy for almost attacking her and for how Deke Shaw was injured during his rescue. Daisy handed over some clean clothes for Talbot before he then asked to speak with his wife to inform her that he was okay, although Daisy 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, Daisy then promised to find a secure channel to contact Talbot's wife, before explaining they needed to know everything about Hale's secret facility and whatever Talbot had told her, which Talbot agreed to do.
After Talbot told S.H.I.E.L.D. everything he knew about Hale's facility and HYDRA's current plans, Daisy allowed him to contact his wife over a secure phone line. Talbot then phoned Carla, telling her he was all right and promising that things were going to be better soon. However, what Glenn wasn't aware of was that Carla was, at that moment, being threatened by Hale's aide Candice Lee, who ordered Carla to recite the Faustus protocol, activating HYDRA's mind control. Under the influence of Faustus, Glenn proceeded to carry out an assignment HYDRA had planted in his mind: kidnap Robin Hinton. He began walking around the base, observing everything around him in order to find out Robin's location, with no S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel being any the wiser.
After acquiring a handgun, Talbot headed for the Lighthouse control room and used the video feed to locate where Coulson was, as well as Melinda May who was with Daisy, in order to ensure that he was not discovered and stopped by the agents before his secret mission had been completed. Before long, Talbot had confirmed where Robin and her mother Polly were living on 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 demeanour of the nervous prisoner who was finally free from Hale's prison cell, Talbot managed to gain Mack's sympathy as he apologized and explained that he was struggling to sit still having finally gotten his freedom, telling Mack that he was still confused. Hearing all of this, Mack offered his support to Talbot if he wanted to talk about his experience with HYDRA.
Talbot, however, insisted that he would not yet be able to talk openly about what he had experienced, while thanking Mack for his offer and his sympathy to him, claiming that he just needed to focus on one task at a time. Having completely fallen for all Talbot's deception, Mack touched him on the shoulder 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 to himself that he was happy to comply, something which Mack did not notice him saying.
Attempted kidnapping[]
Without being seen, Talbot then went inside the Hintons' room and found all of Robin'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 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 them 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 find out 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 it 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 the 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 run and get help from S.H.I.E.L.D., Talbot managed to get Polly into a tight chokehold and 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.
Talbot managed to send out the coordinates of the Lighthouse to HYDRA before attempting to exit the base with Robin, but was found by Coulson and Mack, who had discovered his actions and were trying to stop him from escaping. Upon being discovered, Talbot drew his gun and grabbed a hold of Robin, as Mack 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 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 had previously brainwashed Carl Creel, to which Talbot accused Coulson of attempting to mess with his head and refused to let Robin go free as he kept his gun raised.
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, Mack noted that Robin was not much younger than George, which started to break the brainwashing. Talbot demanded that Coulson shut up as he uttered the Faustus codes in his head, while Coulson had insisted that Talbot try and fight the programming however he could. Forcing himself to stop, Talbot then released his grip on Robin before pressing his handgun underneath his chin.
As Talbot prepared to commit suicide, he told Coulson that his death did not matter; since he was shot in the head by the Life-Model Decoy, he could no longer trust his own thoughts. While Mack took Robin 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, Mack 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. Talbot was taken into custody and locked in one of the Lighthouse's prison cells.
Gaining superpowers[]
While Talbot was locked up, the Lighthouse found itself under siege from a new threat. An alien spaceship had appeared over the base and the Lighthouse went into emergency lockdown. Yo-Yo Rodriguez visited Talbot in his cell to inform him of what was going on and that S.H.I.E.L.D. were planning to evacuate, but Talbot told her that he couldn't leave, that he was responsible for the current situation and had to make things right. He offered to help fight off the Remorath invaders, asking Yo-Yo for a gun, but she instead handcuffed him, well aware that HYDRA's brainwashing meant he could still pose a threat.
As they moved through the base, Yo-Yo communicated with Coulson who ordered her to collect whatever weapons they could find and regroup to make their stand against the Remorath. When Yo-Yo noted that they did not have much in the way of weapons, Talbot also commented that they did have her Inhuman powers. Coming across a corpse in a corridor, Talbot and Yo-Yo realized that the Remorath were nearby. As Yo-Yo 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, Yo-Yo 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, Yo-Yo and Talbot managed to locate another room to hide from the Remorath in where Simmons was standing guard with James Davis and Piper. Talbot then stood by as Simmons updated Fitz about the situation, as they realized the Remorath would come to their location to steal the Gravitonium. As Yo-Yo 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 were coming to steal the Gravitonium from them.
Talbot and Simmons remained locked inside the room and could only listen to the sounds of Yo-Yo fighting the 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 I.C.E.'d Simmons before taking her keys to unlock his handcuffs.
With little time left to spare before the Remorath soldiers would be able to get past, Talbot turned on the Particle Infusion Chamber, watching closely while the Gravitonium was pumped 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 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.
While Talbot reacted to gaining these new powers, Yo-Yo, Davis and Piper were becoming overwhelmed by all the Remorath forces, as they got behind them and entered the room where Talbot and the Gravitonium were located. However, Talbot was able to use his new powers to blow down the steel door before ripping each of the Remorath apart, spraying their blood across the walls. Yo-Yo, 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 the remaining Remorath in their final stand against S.H.I.E.L.D.. Without saying a word, Talbot simply raised his hand, using his new gravity manipulation powers 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. Talbot then reminded Coulson that he knew he could fix things before destroying the roof and breaking the floor apart around them, levitating himself and Coulson out of the base and towards the Remorath ship.
Dominating the Remorath[]
Talbot and Coulson boarded the Remorath ship via Talbot's newfound power over gravity. Upon entering the spaceship, Talbot and Coulson were greeted by a Remorath soldier who 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 was in charge, once again reassuring Coulson that he would be able to fix the situation, which only made Coulson more nervous as he expressed his wish that Talbot would stop repeating this worrying claim.
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 the Gravitonium, to which Talbot noted that he was the Earth's last hope and commented that he had been able to suppress the 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 the aliens' leader 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 on his new power, Talbot then demanded that Qovas and all his soldiers kneel before him, which Qovas reluctantly agreed to, much to Talbot's great satisfaction.
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 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 explained 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 and that they would not stand for his 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 hand 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.
Becoming a saviour[]
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 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 told the Remorath that he was leaving Coulson in charge of the ship, 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 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 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 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 in 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, but warned 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 that the Infinity War would be the end of the Earth while Taryan confessed that the Confederacy never planned to honour 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 already started his attack on Earth which could not be stopped, as Talbot insisted that he had to help 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.
Fall into madness[]
With the meeting concluded, Talbot and Qovas returned to the ship where they found 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 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 the fight to come. As 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 told him of more Gravitonium hidden within the Earth, which Talbot intended to obtain and gain more power so he would be capable of fighting Thanos. 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 that 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 in the future and told Talbot that the Kasius family were their enemies. However, Qovas told Talbot how the 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 war against Thanos unless Talbot became 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 Coulson that he either 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 again demanded that Coulson kneel before him, which Coulson reluctantly obeyed as Talbot looked on with great satisfaction over his newfound power.
Looking into Ian Quinn's memories, Talbot informed all those around him that Quinn's people had originally found the Gravitonium at the bottom of one of his mines; however, they were then informed by one of Qovas' crew that the Zephyr One had just docked with the ship. Turning back to Coulson, Talbot 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. 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 questioned if they had come there in order to take over the ship. When Coulson then insisted that Talbot had gotten it all wrong, Talbot lost control of his temper and furiously accused Coulson of lying to him 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 ordered the Remorath 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. To ensure that he maintained control of the situation, Talbot used his power to lift Coulson into the air just as Quake and 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 aboard his ship, rambling once again that he would be the one to save the Earth from annihilation.
Despite Quake still attempting to find some peaceful solution to their predicament, Talbot claimed that she could not be trusted and refused to put 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 word when she had attempted to help Ruby 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 programming 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 gravitokinesis to brutally crush Hale's bones until she was nothing more than a small bloody ball lying on the floor.
In response to Hale's death, Quake then used her Inhuman power to attempt to knock Talbot back with her powerful shockwave, but the shockwave blast had little effect on him, barely pushing him backwards. Talbot had then launched Quake into the air, causing her to strike the ceiling with considerable force. 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 weapon. 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 prisoners of war and should 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 ship 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.
The true Destroyer of Worlds[]
Intent on finding more Gravitonium to empower himself even further, Talbot returned to Earth aboard a Quinjet. His first port of call was the hospital where Carl Creel was being treated after he had absorbed a small amount of Gravitonium. Arriving in Creel's hospital room, Talbot greeted his friend warmly and told him about how he had become powerful enough to save the Earth and to relieve Creel of the torturous voices he kept hearing in his head. Raising a hand, Talbot began absorbing the Gravitonium in Creel's body. However, he didn't stop with just the Gravitonium and consumed Creel's entire body.
After absorbing Creel, Talbot then returned to his family home to reunite with his wife and son. There, he showed off his gravity powers to George, using it to make one of George's toys fly around. While George was amazed by his father's new abilities and his promises of letting him fly too, Carla expressed her concerns to Glenn, noting that she had contacted S.H.I.E.L.D.. This sparked Glenn's anger and he threw Carla against the wall before accusing her of helping HYDRA to brainwash him and of conspiring with S.H.I.E.L.D. behind his back. George became frightened and Glenn attempted to explain that his mother was no longer "on their side".
Glenn was about to absorb Carla when S.H.I.E.L.D. arrived outside the house. Letting his wife go, he stepped out of the front door to greet them. Yo-Yo asked Talbot where Coulson was, who responded by telling her that he was being held on the Remorath ship. Mack insisted that S.H.I.E.L.D. weren't the enemy, but Talbot disregarded his statement, saying that S.H.I.E.L.D. had declared war against him. He then used his gravitokinesis to lift two SUV's up into the air before dropping them. When the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents tried shooting him, Talbot caught the bullets in a gravitational field before launching them back at the agents, killing one of them. He once again declared that he was a superhero, but George then appeared in the doorway, telling his father that he wasn't acting like a hero, but a villain. Talbot dismissed his son's words and flew away to carry out his mission to acquire more Gravitonium.
Unsure of where exactly to find more Gravitonium, Talbot knew who could lead him to it. To this end, he kidnapped Robin Hinton and her mother, asking the young Inhuman where the Gravitonium could be found. Using a globe, Robin directed Talbot towards Chicago, revealing that there was a large deposit of Gravitonium underneath the city. Robin refused to help Talbot any further, even when he threatened to absorb her and take her memories. Robin's future visions afforded her the knowledge that Talbot wouldn't hurt her directly, though he assured her that he would win her over.
Final battle[]
Using his powers to manipulate the broken hulk of Qovas' ship, Talbot arrived in Chicago by crashing the vessel into the heart of the city. He then used his power to pull up a large pillar of earth in order to obtain the Gravitonium deep within the ground. After absorbing all the Gravitonium from the pillar, he let it collapse across the street, causing further damage and mass hysteria among the population. The police tried in vain to make him stop what he was doing, but Talbot ignored them and continued to pull up pillars of earth.
Focused on finding Gravitonium, Talbot paid no attention to the arrival of S.H.I.E.L.D.. Whilst most of the S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel worked to evacuate the civilians, Quake approached Talbot with extreme force, launching herself at him with her power and knocking him off his feet, dragging him across the concrete. Quake demanded that Talbot stop, pointing out that he had sent the city into a panic and had caused considerable damage, including killing innocent people when he brought his ship down into the city. Talbot merely dismissed all of this as collateral damage, such was inevitable in war, insisting that he needed to arm himself against Earth's enemies. Quake stated that he was becoming the enemy and tried to appeal to his sense of family, telling him to think of his son and how scared he had been. Talbot still insisted that he was becoming a hero, but Quake, appealing to his sense of patriotism, reminded him that he was already a hero due to his service in the U.S. Air Force, pointing out that the firemen and paramedics who were working to save people right at that moment were heroes as well. For a moment, Talbot seemed to have been swayed, but then remembered Hale giving him a similar speech before she tortured him.
Talbot then struck back at Quake, raising them both high into the air before rapidly, violently bringing them crashing down again. The incredible force from the impact 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 within the Earth much faster once he completely absorbed her Inhuman power, which would allow him to tear the planet apart. Talbot then pulled Quake to her feet and held her in a headlock, before then attempting to absorb her.
Before being completely enveloped in Gravitonium, Quake removed a vial of enhanced Centipede serum from her gauntlet and injected herself with it, immediately gaining a massive boost to her Inhuman abilities. With her power increased exponentially, she broke Talbot's grip on her before blasting him back with a shockwave. Enraged at having his victory snatched away from him, Talbot swore to break Quake in half before charging at her. Quake ran towards Talbot, sliding onto her back as she approached him and fired a shockwave directly upward. Talbot was launched up with such force that he achieved escape velocity and was flung into the vacuum of space where he died immediately.