Talos the Untamed

Talos the Untamed is a fictional alien appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Peter David and artist Gary Frank, the character debuted in The Incredible Hulk #418 (June 1994). The character is a well known member of the Skrulls due to not being able to shapeshift. He was a member of the United Front.

Talos
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceThe Incredible Hulk #418 (June 1994)
Created byPeter David (writer)
Gary Frank (artist)
In-story information
SpeciesSkrull
Place of originTarnax IV
Team affiliationsUnited Front
Notable aliasesTalos the Untamed
Talos the Tamed
Jonathan Richards
AbilitiesSuper-strength
Enhanced durability.

Ben Mendelsohn portrays Talos in the 2019 Marvel Cinematic Universe films Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home and series Secret Invasion.

Publication history

The character was created by Peter David and Gary Frank and first appeared in The Incredible Hulk #418 (June 1994). He was introduced as a guest at Rick Jones's wedding, he and other villains being invited by Impossible Man as a prank. In the following issue it is revealed he can't shapeshift and that he was captured by the Kree in the Kree–Skrull War.[1][2][3]

He returned during the Annihilation event, mainly in the four issue tie-in Annihilation: Ronan (2006). He joined the United Front, alongside characters like Star-Lord, Nova and Gamora.[4][1]

He made his last appearances in the 2015 ongoing of Howard the Duck, he infiltrated Earth with an actual, physical human disguise using an alter ego he called "Jonathan Richards".[2]

Fictional character biography

Talos, considered a Mutant by his people, is a Skrull that was born without the ability to shape shift. He made up for it by becoming one of the most feared Skrulls on his planet earning the title Talos the Untamed due to his savage and sinister nature. However, after getting captured by the Kree, he refused to commit suicide in the hopes of gaining glory for his survival. Instead, he was ridiculed and renamed the more humiliating "Talos the Tamed."[5]

Talos soon found himself at the wedding of Rick Jones and Marlo Chandler, courtesy of the Impossible Man.[6] He found himself confronted by the Hulk and tried to get him to fight him in an attempt to reclaim glory from his people. When the Hulk found out what he was up to, he ceased fighting him. Talos left in frustration, but the Skrulls found his attempt to battle him impressive.[7]

Talos was called to the planet Godthab Omega by Glorian where he ended up battling Devos the Devastator.[8] They were both captured and imprisoned when the planet suddenly came under attack by the Annihilation Wave allowing the two to escape.[9] Talos soon ran into Ronan the Accuser, whom he hated for being a Kree, but was forced to heed his warning about leaving the planet.[10]

He was once again humiliated, this time by his own people, when Queen Veranke refused to allow him to be a part of the Secret Invasion due to him not having the ability to shape shift. Though Chancellor Kal'Dul didn't lose the hope of Talos' possible participation.[11]

Talos became a member of the United Front to fight the Annihilation Wave.[12]

Talos next showed up at Howard the Duck's private investigations in make up and a beard as Jonathan Richards. He tasks Howard with finding a necklace that was stolen by the Black Cat.[13] When Howard finally retrieves it, Talos abandons his disguise to reveal that the necklace contains the Abundant Gems, less powerful versions of the Infinity Gems that can still make one "marginally" powerful, which he plans to use to gain favor with the Skrulls again. He was defeated by Howard and his friend Tara Tam, and apprehended by the Fantastic Four.[14]

In the aftermath of the "Empyre" storyline, Emperor Hulkling dispatched him to investigate the Kree and Skrull bases that went dark with Av-Rom, Keeyah, M'lanz, Virtue, and Tarna. Two days later, a Kree/Skrull Alliance armada headed by General Kalamari finds Talos' escape pod. After recuperating in the sick bay, Talos recaps to Kalamari about what happened on his mission that involved an encounter with Knull. Talos then informs Kalamari that his distress beacon on his escape pod is a warning that Knull is coming. Outside the ship, Knull is riding a Symbiote Dragon as he swoops in for an attack.[15]

Powers and abilities

Unlike his Skrull brethren, Talos is incapable of shapeshifting and has been branded as having a genetic defect by his people.[1][11] To make up for this, he has been granted superhuman strength and durability and can hold his own against the likes of the Hulk. He possesses a cybernetic eye after losing his real one in combat.[16]

In other media

Film
  • Ben Mendelsohn portrays Talos in the films within the Marvel Cinematic Universe:
    • Talos first appears in the 2019 film Captain Marvel.[17][18] This incarnation is the shape-shifting leader of the Skrull invasion of Earth who works undercover within S.H.I.E.L.D. as Nick Fury's boss.[19] Mendelsohn described Talos' human persona as "buttoned up" and his natural Skrull persona as "more laid back, a bit tougher, [and] a little bit nastier." Mendelsohn further elaborates, "The thing is, when you're Skrullin', there's a kind of take-no-prisoners vibe about it, which is more relaxed. [As a human] This guy’s got to follow protocol because it's S.H.I.E.L.D." When portraying Talos, Mendelsohn uses his native Australian accent, and an American accent while he is in his S.H.I.E.L.D. disguise, which Mendelsohn compared to that of American politician Donald Rumsfeld. Mendelsohn noted there was "a very lengthy discussion" regarding the accent for the Skrulls, adding "There's a certain kind of earthy correctness to an Australian delivery". It took Mendelson a "couple of hours" to have his makeup and prosthetics applied to portray Talos.[19] Executive producer Johnathan Schwartz added that "it's sort of fun to show off both the Skrull's powers and Ben's range as an actor because he's very different in all of those parts."[20] Polygon noted that one of the big motifs in the film is the way that war can corrupt people on every side of it, and that a lot of Talos' character arc has to do with this.[21] Den of Geek! considered Ben Mendelsohn's portrayal of lead Skrull Talos a highlight of the film.[22] Bustle considered that the film not following the comics precisely, which allows Talos to become a far more fearful foe.[23] Wired noted that the film turns General Talos into a character to be fought for, rather than fought against, allowing the film to show the universe through his eyes.[24] This version does have the ability to shapeshift, leads a team of Skrulls, and has a wife named Soren (portrayed by Sharon Blynn) as well as a daughter. When Starforce arrives on the planet Torfa to look for a Kree scout named Soh-Larr, only to fall into a Skrull trap and kidnap Vers. Using a mind-probing machine, Talos and his men enter Vers' memories until she recovers, breaks free, and flees to Earth. When he and his Skrulls arrive on the planet, Talos works undercover within S.H.I.E.L.D. posing as Nick Fury's boss Keller (also portrayed by Mendelsohn). Catching up to Vers, now Carol Danvers, and Fury at Maria Rambeau's house, Talos arranges a parley, revealing to them that the Skrulls are refugees who lost their homeworld after rejecting Kree supremacy. Talos soon becomes Carol and Fury's ally in defeat the Kree's various enforcers who threaten the Skrull refugees at Mar-Vell's space laboratory where his family is also residing. In the end, Talos and Danvers depart to find a new homeworld for his family and the rest of the Skrulls.
    • In Spider-Man: Far From Home, Talos and his wife Soren posed as Fury and Maria Hill respectively to give Peter Parker a parting gift from Tony Stark while the rest of the Skrulls worked with the real Fury in space on an undisclosed mission.[25]

Television

Ben Mendelsohn will reprise his role as Talos in the MCU Disney+ television web series Secret Invasion.[26]

Video games

Talos appears as a playable character in Marvel Puzzle Quest as part of the Captain Marvel film tie-in update.[27]

References
  1. Tenreyro, Tatiana (March 5, 2019). "Talos' Marvel Comics Backstory Is So Much Darker Than 'Captain Marvel'". Bustle. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  2. Downey, Meg (March 11, 2019). "Captain Marvel: Who Is Ben Mendelsohn's Skrull Character, Talos?". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 3, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  3. Damore, Meagan (September 5, 2018). "Captain Marvel's Talos Isn't Your Average Skrull Warlord - Page 1". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on September 6, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  4. Damore, Meagan (September 5, 2018). "Captain Marvel's Talos Isn't Your Average Skrull Warlord - Page 2". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on September 6, 2018. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  5. Annihilation: The Nova Corps Files #1 (August, 2006), Marvel Comics
  6. Peter David (w), Gary Frank (a). The Incredible Hulk #418 (June, 1994), Marvel Comics
  7. Peter David (w), Roger Cruz (a). The Incredible Hulk #419 (July, 1994), Marvel Comics
  8. Simon Furman (w), Jorge Lucas (a). Annihilation: Ronan #2 (July, 2006), Marvel Comics
  9. Simon Furman (w), Jorge Lucas (a). Annihilation: Ronan #3 (August, 2006), Marvel Comics
  10. Simon Furman (w), Jorge Lucas (a). Annihilation: Ronan #4 (September, 2006), Marvel Comics
  11. Ronald Byrd, Michael Hoskin, Gabriel Shechter, John Rhett Thomas, Stuart Vandal, Jeph York (w). Skrulls! #1 (July 23, 2008), Marvel Comics
  12. Michael Hoskin (w). Annihilation: Saga #1 (July, 2007), Marvel Comics
  13. Chip Zdarsky (w), Joe Quinones (a). Howard the Duck v5, #1 (March 11, 2015), Marvel Comics
  14. Chip Zdarsky (w), Joe Quinones (a). Howard the Duck v5, #3-5 (July–October, 2015), Marvel Comics
  15. Web of Venom: Empyre's End #1. DC Comics.
  16. Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #11 (December, 2009), Marvel Comics
  17. Coggan, Devan (September 5, 2018). "See 10 Exclusive Images From Captain Marvel". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 12, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  18. Tenreyro, Tatiana (March 6, 2019). "Captain Marvel's Movie Foe Doesn't Even Appear In Any Of Her Comics". Bustle. Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  19. Coggan, Devan (September 7, 2018). "Ben Mendelsohn thinks the evil Skrulls in Captain Marvel are just 'misunderstood'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 1, 2019. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  20. Nemiroff, Perri (January 8, 2019). "'Captain Marvel': 28 Things to Know About the Marvel Cinematic Universe Prequel". Collider. Archived from the original on January 8, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  21. Han, Karen (9 March 2019). "10 questions we have about Captain Marvel". Polygon.
  22. "Ben Mendelsohn Talks Captain Marvel Skrull Reveal". Den of Geek.
  23. Tenreyro, Tatiana. "Captain Marvel's Movie Foe Doesn't Even Appear In Any Of Her Comics". Bustle.
  24. Levin, Elana (10 March 2019). "'Captain Marvel' Has a Very Important Message About Skrulls" – via www.wired.com.
  25. Abad-Santos, Alex (July 2, 2019). "Spider-Man: Far From Home's 2 end-credits scenes set up Marvel's future". Vox. Archived from the original on July 3, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  26. Paige, Rachel (December 10, 2020). "'Secret Invasion' Reunites Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn in New Disney+ Series". Marvel.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  27. Newton, Andrew (March 16, 2019). "Talos arrives in Marvel Puzzle Quest with Captain Marvel tie-in". Flickering Myth. Archived from the original on July 5, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
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