Talos (Resident Evil)

Talos, also known as T.A.L.O.S. or T-A.L.O.S is a fictional monster from the Resident Evil  series of survival horror games. Talos was biologically engineered by the Umbrella Corporation to be the ultimate bio-organic weapon. The “T” in its codename stands for Tyrant, and the rest of stands for Armored Lethal Organic System. Like the Nemesis and most other specialized Tyrants, Talos' name seems to be inspired from Greek mythology. Talos has appeared in Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles, where it served as the last boss of the main chapters.

Development
Following the successful creation of the T-002 Tyrant, the Umbrella research team stationed at the Spencer Mansion in the Arklay Mountains found themselves well on their way towards a marketable humanoid bio-organic weapon. With the Tyrant program progressing smoothly, a proposal was made to begin developing a new, highly advanced bio-weapon that would overcome the one major flaw in existing Tyrants - lack of control. Most Tyrants are prone to sudden cellular mutations that can result in the halting of functionality, impairment of judgment, and the various other detrimental conditions.

In order to enable safe transport and deployment, a more stable solution was essential. Umbrella's 6th Research Lab in Europe has discovered one method of control by using organic parasites, and this line of research resulted in the creation of the Nemesis. The Arklay team, however sought a more consistent result by using chip connections to brain cells. This method allowed bio-weapons to be remotely controlled by a supercomputer like the Red Queen.

Additionally, the Arklay team wanted a bio-weapon that could equal heavy military hardware in deadliness. Normal Tyrants boasted a combat prowess and survivability beyond the best trained combat troops, but they were only capable of successfully deterring one military division. When facing armored fighting vehicles or military-grade helicopters, a Tyrant's kill ratio begins to falter. The Arklay team's solution was to arm a Tyrant with specialized combat firepower and armor. Most Tyrants were unsuited for weaponry, as it would only hinder their two strong points – motor performances and response reflexes. However, the use of enhanced armor modules, internal reinforcement implants, long-distance homing weaponry, etc. preserved the natural abilities of the Tyrant while granting incredible firepower.

The result of this research was Talos, the most powerful and sophisticated bio-weapon that Umbrella had ever developed.

Capabilities
Talos uses a Tyrant as a base, while adding remote computer control capabilities via a chip implanted in the brain. Its cardiovascular system is artificially improved to give it mobility unthinkable in a natural organism. Its body is armored in a special metallic alloy that not only helps it defend itself from missiles and other projectile fire, but also restrains runaway T-virus mutation. It has also been equipped with weaponry to allow it to respond to distant targets. Although it is a humanoid B.O.W., it has enough armor and firepower to stand against a tank. The codename also represents the name of a bronze giant from Greek mythology.

History
Before the Talos program could reach completion, the Spencer Mansion suffered an outbreak of the T-virus perpetrated by former Umbrella researcher James Marcus. Realizing that the facility's days were numbered, Umbrella founder Ozwell E. Spencer personally ordered his most trusted enforcer, Sergei Vladimir, to recover the Talos prototype so that its research would not be wasted. Sergei was successful in his mission, and the prototype was safely brought back into Umbrella's hands before the Mansion was destroyed by Albert Wesker.

Following the outbreak in Raccoon City, the Umbrella Corporation was forced underground and most of its activities were shut down. The Talos project was moved to Umbrella's Russian branch, the company's last enduring stronghold. There, under the continued guidance of Sergei Vladimir, the Talos was completed and tested against a Special Forces unit, two armored vehicles, and an attack helicopter. The Talos outperformed all of them handily, and rumors of Umbrella's new bio-weapon began to spread.

In the year 2003, the stronghold where Talos had been completed came under attack by troops led by Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield. The pair penetrated deep into the facility, and its very core they finally faced off against Talos, Umbrella's greatest bio-weapon. Despite mutating into a more powerful form, Talos was destroyed by Chris and Jill, and the entire facility laid to waste. Thus years of Umbrella's most sophisticated research ended in failure, and the company was truly finished.