The Attack on the Everett Ross Impersonator was one of Talos' attempts to prevent a full-blown Skrull invasion by stopping a member of the Skrull Resistance.
Background[]
- "These attacks are escalating. If they hit the soil of the major power..."
"So you, you think the same people are behind all of this?"
"Not people. Skrulls." - ―Donald Prescod and "Everett Ross"[src]
Seeking refuge on Earth after becoming refugees in the Kree-Skrull War, a group of Skrulls led by Talos became Nick Fury's secret agents, while he and Carol Danvers would work on finding a new home for them.[2] However, even though Skrulls diligently helped Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D., his efforts in searching a planet for Skrulls ended in naught.[3] Being killed by Thanos and brought back five years later, Fury developed a personal crisis that led him to leaving Earth and relocating to a space station where he would led S.A.B.E.R., leaving Talos to maintain the order in his place. Frustrated at Fury breaking his promise and abandoning his people, Gravik founded the Skrull Resistance and take over the planet, launching a covert invasion.
Gravik gained a position within the Skrull Council and pushed Talos out of it, as he wanted Skrulls and humans to coexist on Earth. He then ordered the Resistance members to kidnap and replace various key figures from world governments, mass media and military structures. Their goal was to disrupt political climate on Earth and push the humanity to destroy itself in a full-scale war, as they manipulated a number of false flag attacks and incidents around the globe. Donald Prescod started investigating the incidents and found about Skrulls and discovered their plan to stage an attack in Russia by using a dirty bomb. His investigation drew the attention of Gravik, who sent a Skrull disguised as Everett Ross to deal with Prescod, but he was tailed by Talos.[1]
Attack[]
Donald Prescod tells "Everett Ross" about the invasion
- "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I'm chasing him." - ―Maria Hill and Talos[src]
"Everett Ross" arrived at Donald Prescod's hideout in Moscow where he saw his investigation and Prescod kept insisting that recent armed conflicts happening around the globe were actually orchestrated by Skrulls. "Ross" tried to downplay the situation and claimed that there was only a handful of Skrulls on Earth but Prescod was certain that the number of Skrulls was much bigger than they knew and they were hell-bent on taking over the planet. "Ross" continued to dismiss Prescod's claims and said that Skrulls were supposed to be allies, so if he was to contact Nick Fury and inform him about the invasion, he would need actual evidence, and not Prescod's theories.
"Everett Ross" kills Donald Prescod
Prescod then showed "Ross" the plans for the Skrulls' terrorist plot that he uncovered and said that he stopped filing reports to the CIA, as he did not know who he can trust. "Ross" then said that he would take the plans and showed them to Fury, but Prescod's paranoia drove him to attack, as he believed that Everett Ross had been replaced to. Tackling "Ross" on the ground, he attempted to strangle him with a power cord, but "Ross" was able to reach for his gun and shoot Prescod dead. He then rushed to retreat from the hideout and noticing that he was being tailed by Talos in disguise, he contacted Maria Hill and requested extraction, so she gave "Ross" a route to follow.
Talos reveals himself to Maria Hill
"Ross" ran through the streets of Moscow, being chased by Talos, and attempted to lose him by getting to the rooftop of EMIII. Talos continued to pursue him, so "Ross" tried to jump over to the next rooftop but he could not make a jump and fell several stories down. Hill found a heavily injured "Ross" trying to crawl away and as Talos got to him, she pointed her gun at him and demanded him to surrender. Talos then revealed himself to Hill and explained that he was going after "Ross", and as he succumbed to his injuries and died, he reverted to his true form. Hill was shocked to find out that "Ross" she had been working with turned out to be a Skrull, and Talos informed her that he was a part of the Skrull Resistance and worked for Gravik to get rid of humanity and take over the Earth.[1]
Aftermath[]
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- "This is what Agent Ross's imposter was trying to cover up. Schematics for a dirty bomb intercepted by Prescod. Prescod had been monitoring a new radical group called the AAR, Americans Against Russia, which he believed to be the next Skrull front for a terrorist attack."
- ―Maria Hill to Nick Fury[src]
As the threat of the Skrull Resistance got out of control, Maria Hill sent a message to S.A.B.E.R. Space Station, informing Nick Fury about Gravik and his plans to take over Earth. Fury ended up returning to Earth and reunited with Hill and Talos, who briefed him about the current situation. According to Donald Prescod's findings that Everett Ross' imposter tried to cover up, the Skrull Resistance planned to obtain a dirty bomb and stage a terorrist attack in Moscow under the banner of Americans Against Russia, in order to instigate a war between Russia and the United States. Fury then went out for a walk, during which he was kidnapped by MI6 agents and brought to Sonya Falsworth who caught wind of his return.
Fury informed Falsworth about the Skrull invasion and offered to join forces to stop them, but she was convinced that Fury lost his edge and decided to take on Skrulls herself. Fury then placed a bug in Falsworth's owl clock and spied on her, while she was reporting about her investigation to Derrik Weatherby. Through Falsworth, Fury, Hill and Talos found out that the Resistance was planning to obtain the bomb components from Vasily Poprishchin and went after him, while G'iah was sent there to collect. Fury and Talos confronted Poprishchin and found out that he was also replaced by a Skrull, while Hill spotted G'iah and attempted to tail her.
Talos was able to reach out to G'iah and revealed that Gravik had been lying to her all along and that he was the one responsible for her mother's death. G'iah eventually sided with Talos and gave him the information about the planned attack at Vossoyedineniye Square, while marking the backpacks with bombs. Fury, Hill and Talos tailed the Resistance couriers in an attempt to intercept the bombs, but Gravik expected it and replaced bombs with decoys, while detonating the real bombs and causing massive casualties among Russian civilians. He then retreated after killing Hill in Fury's disguise, while Fury and Talos were left to deal with the situation,[1] as relations between the United States and Russia became extremely volatile.[2]