- "Francis, would you be so kind as to let us in?"
- ―Calvin Zabo[src]
Francis Noche is one of the gifted individuals listed on the Index who joined forces with Calvin Zabo to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D.
Biography[]
Experience with S.H.I.E.L.D.[]
Noche was given enhanced strength after taking experimental steroids, that increased his strength to extraordinary levels, but damaged his brain. His new found powers put him on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Index.[1]
Slicing Talons[]
Noche was recruited by Calvin Zabo and Wendell Levi, who were putting together a team to destroy S.H.I.E.L.D..
Together they used the Index to recruit another gifted individual called Karla Faye Gideon. As a team they travelled to Brynmore Psychiatric Facility. While Zabo and Gideon killed the guards and Levi hacked into the security systems, Noche used his incredible strength to pull open the gates and give them entry. Once inside Noche opened the cells of David Angar and John Bruno. While Bruno stayed behind to attack S.H.I.E.L.D. when they arrived, Angar was recruited into the Slicing Talons; as a team, they made their escape.
Stopping off at a diner, the five formulated their plan to bring down S.H.I.E.L.D. Zabo stated that S.H.I.E.L.D. needed to pay for the suffering they caused people like them; he then explained his reasons for forming the team and how S.H.I.E.L.D. had taken his daughter away from him; Noche and the team were moved by sympathy and agreed to follow Zabo in his quest.[1]
Attacking S.H.I.E.L.D.[]
The team traveled to a high school in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Noche witnessed Wendell Levi and Karla Faye Gideon remove David Angar's muzzle. Noche and the other members of the team wore headphones as Angar stepped into the football field and used his sonic scream to knock out all of the nearby students and cause the birds to fall from the sky.
When Phil Coulson, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., arrived, Zabo used the speaker system to taunt his enemy. Noche stayed nearby, ready to kill the agents. Before Zabo could order them to attack however, he was teleported away from the scene by a mysterious man. Without their leader, the rest of the team began to attack the agents; Noche engaged in a fierce fight with Melinda May, but was ultimately defeated.[1]
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Enhanced Strength: As a result of taking an experimental steroid, Noche's physical strength has increased dramatically, becoming capable of bending the metal bars on a gate to a maximum security psychiatric facility, and even breaking a football helmet with a single punch.
Abilities[]
- Combatant: Noche used his brute strength while fighting, lacking any technique and relying exclusively in his enhanced strength to defeat his enemies. As such, despite being physically inferior to him, Melinda May was able to defeat Noche thanks to her fighting techniques.
Relationships[]
Allies[]
Enemies[]
Trivia[]
- Francis Noche's last name means "night" in Spanish.