Captain Marvel is the Marvel Cinematic Universe's introduction to the mighty Skrull leader - General Talos. Cleverly marketed as the feature film's villain, Talos and the Skrull are revealed to be refugees terrorized by the Kree in a socially relevant twist.
Talos spends much of the film teamed up with good guys, and brings with him logic and a quirky sense of the humor. Far from the villain of the story, his primary concern is a desperate desire to reunite with his family and to find a safe, permanent home for his war-displaced people. Here are 10 of his best quotes.
"Then Why Is She In Your Head?"
Carol: "Enough of your mind games. What do you want?"
Talos: "We're looking for the location of a Dr. Lawson and her lightspeed engine."
Carol: "I don't know any Dr. Lawson."
Talos: "Then why is she in your head?"
Freshly captured by the Skrull and having her memories sorted through like a forgotten closet during "spring cleaning", Carol is reasonably disturbed by seeing herself talking with a woman that she doesn't remember knowing - Dr. Wendy Lawson. Especially, since The Supreme Intelligence takes on her image. Talos's matter-of-fact questioning is one of the audience's first clues that maybe the Kree aren't as honest and trustworthy as she's been led to believe.
"Safe Journey To The Beyond, My Friend."
Director Keller/Talos: "Wow. They’re ugly bastards, aren’t they?"
Medical Examiner: "Yeah, well, he’s no Brad Pitt, sir."
Director Keller/Talos: "Safe journey to the beyond, my friend. I will finish what we started."
Ah-ha! So the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D is not what he appears! Also played by Ben Mendelsohn - minus the hours worth of prosthetics and makeup, but plus a sharp, blue suit and glasses - "Director Keller" waits until no one is looking to lean down and give a heartfelt goodbye to one of his fallen brethren. The moment is a a fun, little plot twist, and leaves the audience wondering if "what we started" is going to be a good thing or a bad thing for our heroes.
"You Know, You Should Really Be Kinder To Your Neighbors."
Talos : "You know, you really should be kinder to your neighbors. You never know when you're gonna need to borrow some sugar."
Good ol' neighbor, Tom. He just wants to take his boy to get a closer look at the "bird" parked down the road, but Carol mistakes him for a Skrull agent. Moments after slamming the door in his face, Talos reveals himself in his true form.
Not only does he introduce himself, but he gives them the first taste of his sense of dry humor, while he casually slurps down his milkshake like he's not a huge, green alien standing in the middle of a country home in Louisiana.
"Am I Supposed To Guess Where That Is?"
Talos: "Young lady, I have a special skill that kind of allows me to get into places I’m not supposed to be in."
Maria Rambeau: "Call me young lady again, and I’m going to put my foot in a place it’s not supposed to be."
Talos: "...Am I supposed to guess, where that is?"
Nick Fury, Carol Danvers, Maria Rambeau (simultaneously): "Your ass."
Snark, arrogance, and sass. This scene perfectly captures the hilarious chemistry of all four, hardheaded main characters in Captain Marvel at the beginning of their reluctant alliance. It's easy for the audience to be immediately charmed by Talos's lack of understanding of earth's humor and figures of speech. The innocence and confusion on his face is pure. Maria, Nick, and Carol are less amused.
"Why Would I Turn Into A Filing Cabinet?"
Maria Rambeau: "Can you all do it?"
Talos: "Physiologically, yeah. But it takes practice, and dare I say it, talent to do what…"
Nick Fury: "Can you turn into a cat?"
Talos: "What’s a cat?"
Maria Rambeau: "What about a filing cabinet?"
Talos: "Why would I turn into a filing cabinet?"
He may be a Skrull general, but Talos is just a normal, green guy. He likes long walks on the beach and bragging about his shapeshifting abilities as much as he likes his milkshakes. Sometimes small talk just gets exhausting when you're an extraterrestrial used to this sort of thing, and you're talking to humans who insist on fraternizing with Flerkens and placing bets on what mundane office furniture and carnivorous plants you can turn into, but Talos handles it like a champ.
"We Just Want A Home."
Talos: "We just want a home. You and I lost everything at the hands of the Kree. Can’t you see it now? You're not one of them."
Worth more than just plot twists and comic relief, Talos brings something much more important to the table. He brings a new perspective to the unreliable narrative of "Kree good, Skrull bad".
It's a black and white interpretation of his people that colors politics in the real world as often as it does in comic books and movies. The Skrull aren't looking for a fight. They're looking a safe home for themselves and their families.
"That's Not A Cat."
Talos: "That's not a cat. That's a flerken."
Goose spends most of Captain Marvel rubbing up against legs and weaseling her way into hearts. Especially Nick Fury's, who is reduced into a puddle of cuddles and baby talk. Even if you're not a cat person, the usual response to seeing a placid, orange kitty isn't, "Oh, my God! Get that thing away! How’d that get in here?". Talos shrinks away from Goose like she's an active grenade, to the shock and amusement of everybody else in the room.
"Now You Understand."
Carol Danvers: "He lied to me. Everything that I knew was a lie."
Talos: "Now you understand...Yon-Rogg killed Mar-Vell. He killed her. Because she found out that she was on the wrong side of an unjust war."
Carol has a strong sense of justice, but even she has a hard time believing that the Kree are the ones in the wrong. After all, she has a severe case of amnesia that erased anything but her life with them from her memory.
Proof of Yon-Rogg's betrayal is the final nail in the coffin as her allegiance painfully shifts from someone she once cared about and respected, to the man that she had always been taught was the bad guy.
"This Is War. My Hands Are Filthy From It Too."
Talos: "Carol, this is war. My hands are filthy from it too. But we’re here now. You found my family. This is just the beginning. There’s thousands of us separated from each other, scattered throughout the galaxy."
The Skrull are refugees that have been hunted and driven away by the Kree, but Talos doesn't put all of the blame on them for the tension between them. There are two sides to every war and it's a nasty business. His hands aren't clean. He's a general and he's been fighting through the years that he's been separated from his wife and daughter. The sadness in his tone and the fact that he takes full responsibility for his part in this shows his true strength of character.
"Come On. I Loved Sporting His Beautiful, Blue Eyes."
Talos: "I could go back to being your boss."
Nick Fury: "Oh, please don’t."
Talos: "Come on. I loved sporting his beautiful blue eyes."
The heartwarming, family dinner at the end of the film is a time for teasing and blossoming friendships with Talos, his wife Soren, and his daughter. The playful back and forth between Nick Fury and Talos is especially memorable. It does make one wonder if the line was written into the script, or if Ben Mendelsohn just couldn't pass up the chance of mentioning how nice his eyes are on film.