Agents of SHIELD Turns Glenn Talbot into Graviton

SPOILER WARNING: This article contains major spoilers for "Option Two," the latest episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Graviton has arrived on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. In "Option Two," the latest episode, Glenn Talbot entered the particle infusion chamber and bonded his body with gravitonium in a bid to protect his friends from a group of alien assassins called the Marauders. In the process, Talbot received gravity-based superpowers -- and became Graviton.

Last week, Hale revealed S.H.I.E.L.D.'s whereabouts to Qovas and the Confederacy. In turn, Qovas brought his warship down on the Lighthouse in an effort to get that which he most desires: gravitonium. He sent a band of Marauders into the bunker, where the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents remained trapped after the security system sent the place into lockdown.

For the most part, Talbot spent the episode begging his friends to let him help. However, because he had been brainwashed by Hydra, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were reluctant to fully trust him. "I caused this problem. You give me a gun, I'll help take out as many of them as I can," he said. "Better yet, you know what you do? You get me a phone and I'll call in an airstrike... I want to make up for what I did. Make it right."

Yo-Yo apologized to him as she handcuffed him, saying, "I believe you. But we don't know if you're the one in the control." Talbot reluctantly agreed and cooperated.

Though Yo-Yo intended to bring Talbot to the main control room, they got cornered by the Marauders and she left Talbot in the lab with Simmons, the particle infusion chamber and gravitonium. Meanwhile, Yo-Yo, Piper and Davis took up an offensive just outside the room.

"Looks like you and I are the last line of defense," Talbot told Simmons. "Gotta draw a line. Take a stand." As he spoke, he backed into the particle infusion chamber, which sparked the idea. "I can fix this," he whispered.

Just as Simmons realized what he was about to do, Talbot iced her. He then released the gravitonium and powered the machine up to 100%. With no one there to stop him, he climbed into the chamber and infused his cells with gravitonium.

Agents of SHIELD's Glenn Talbot is now Graviton.

Talbot had a chance to show off his new powers when the Marauders slipped by Yo-Yo and the others and infiltrated the lab. As Yo-Yo panicked about Simmons' well-being, the metal doors blew off their hinges like they were made of tissue paper. A Marauder attempted to crawl away, only to be sucked back inside in a spray of green blood.

From there, Talbot made his way up to the main control room, where Coulson, May, Mack, Fitz and Deke were under siege from Marauders. As the Marauders closed in, Talbot entered the room. His very presence caused the Marauders to pause. Using his powers, he lifted them up and crushed them, in much the same way Ruby imploded Werner von Strucker's head last week.

"I told you I could fix this," Talbot told Coulson, who lay stunned on the ground. With a smile on his face, he used his powers to lift himself and Coulson up through the ceiling of the Lighthouse, presumably to meet the Confederacy's ship with a show of force.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. has been teasing the arrival of Graviton for some time now, with a renewed vigor beginning in the Season 5 episode "Inside Voices." (In fact, CBR predicted Graviton's debut all the way back in January!) "Inside Voices" revealed that the gravitonium is actually home two Season 1 characters: Franklin Hall and Ian Quinn. This season, two characters -- Carl "Absorbing Man" Creel and Ruby Hale -- have attempted to bond with gravitonium, only for Hall and Quinn's essence to drive them mad. Notably, Creel and Ruby got only a taste of the gravitonium, whereas Talbot consumed the whole of it.

Due to the gunshot he took to his head in Season 4, Talbot has already exhibited some cognitive malfunction, including fits of extreme rage. Now that he has consumed an element that has driven two other characters insane, there's no telling what kind of effect the gravitonium will have on him. For the Marvel Cinematic Universe's sake, it hopefully won't lead Talbot to have a world-ending episode.

In the comics, Graviton manipulates gravitational fields just like gravitonium does. His power has grown over the years, so much so that he has been able to dominate superheroes like Thor and Hulk. He once even tried to reshape the very Earth, an act that may very well serve as the precursor to his potential destruction of the planet in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Airing Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 5 stars Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Chloe Bennet, Henry Simmons, Ian De Caestecker, Natalia Cordova-Buckley and Elizabeth Henstridge.