Jon Talbain
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Jon Talbain (Gallon in Japan, typically shortened to J. Talbain on lifebars and the select screen) is a video game character from the fighting game series Darkstalkers. He is an English werewolf. In the games, he is known by the abbreviated name; J. Talbain.
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[edit] History
The Kreutz family is one of the seven noble families of Makai. Though its title is a noble, it would be more suitable to call it an army of warriors and fighters. The current master Xell stands at a height of 5 meters and is a war dragon. He has the most unique appearance out of all the noble classes. And those who are of his family also have appearances that are far from a human form. But there is no vulgarity and roughness within the family. Unlike the savage forms, they are all first class fighters who are highly trained. They are an organized group who follow orders under strict discipline. They are very loyal to their master. Failing to complete an order or betrayal is paid off with death. Though their numbers are few, they possess powerful one hit attacks and are feared as the "bullet of Makai."
Baraba Kreutz, titled as the "Wolf Lord", is the leader of the royal guardsmen of the Kreutz family. His eyes were the eyes of those who survived countless life-or-death situations. 20 years ago, he had wandered into the human world. But he had forgotten most his memories of his time in the human world. Though he vaguely remembers about the woman who cared for him when he was injured in the human world. When he came back to Makai, he played an active role as a fighter of the Kreutz family. Demitri had even said, "He is my best rival in my life." Demitri felt a certain kind of beauty in Baraba's fighting. A kind not found in the lower darkstalkers. But roughly ten years after he returned to Makai, he suddenly disappeared. Master Xell had searched for him for many years, but he could not be found. Some say that he had returned to the human world to reunite with the woman again. But no one knows the truth of the events.
Jon's mother died shortly after giving birth to him, and there was no way to look for his father. When he found out he was a darkstalker, he felt no anger towards his parents. To him, his parents were just conceptual parents. He was alone since he could remember. He maintained his human self by cursing his fate. His heart was not strong enough to accept everything and to move as his heart desires. Following his inner voice, he devoted himself to fighting to take himself past his limits. This was part of his pride as a human to fight against his other half.
After the events with Pyron, he had lifted his curse and regained his human form. But this was a temporary illusion that he caused. It was impossible to cleanse his own blood. His will couldn't change the future. During the battles in Majigen, he came face to face with his dark self within. The fate that was pulled by his battles. To flee from his curse, he keeps taking himself past his own limits. Though there may be irreversible consequences, he had no choice but to keep going forward. His fate afterwards is unknown. He now lives as a hermit. In Darkstalkers 3, his ending shows that he takes care of two children. Depending on what game or comic you are looking at, he is depicted as being vicious or calm. He is the most revered Darkstalker in America, but he does not have any appearances outside the series like Felicia, Morrigan, and Lilith.
[edit] Trivia
- Talbain is 6', 1" (186cm) tall and weighs 154 lbs. (70kg)
- Jon was born in London in 1940.
- He has never been married, but it is shown in Darkstalkers 3 ("Vampire Savior") that he has taken care of some children.
- Fan art frequently depicts Jon as being romantically involved with Felicia, probably due to their mutually animalistic nature, but there is little evidence to support this relationship. However, they have been close friends in the comics and OAV.
- His name is a reference to John Talbot, the father of Lon Chaney Jr.'s character (who becomes a werewolf) in the classic movie The Wolf Man.
- Talbain is one of the most popular characters in the Darkstalkers series in the U.S. However (much to the chagrin of fans), he has been featured in very little outside of the series. Many hope for a larger role for Talbain in some future work.
- Talbain has never killed a human being. Unlike his father, he is a hermit who likes to be alone, but will always help someone who is in trouble and crosses his path. However, in the UDON comics, Jon is shown to be very cynical (yet friendly), whilst his werewolf persona is incredibly vicious and has been shown to have killed multiple people. Jon kills several humans in the Night Warriors anime as well and seems to hate humans in general. Felicia talks to Talbain near the end of the series and causes a "change of heart" toward humans.
- B.B. Hood seems to bear a grudge against Talbain and wolves in general as indicated in Pocket Fighter, where she is seen in the background harassing him and her ending in Darkstalkers 3. This is possibly a nod to B.B. Hood's conceptual origins.
- In Darkstalkers 3, Jon has an alternate form known as Dark Talbain, which makes his fur glow in an odd, brownish-white color, and his Wolf Cannon attack is replaced with a more fiery version, called the Dragon Cannon (A weird choice, for when he uses it, it still makes a wolf's howl.) This form is most likely made from the "wolf with the answer" in Jon's DS 3 ending.
[edit] Cameos
In addition to the Darkstalkers series, Jon has also made brief cameos in the following games:
- Pocket Fighter: Seen in three stages. A shopping outlet, in Morrigan's stage and in the Chinese restaurant stage.
- Puzzle Fighter: Seen in the background of Donovan's stage.
- Capcom Fighting Evolution: Seen in the Darkstalkers stage, hanging upside down. He can as be seen in Ryu's ending, where it seems they will do battle.
Adding to that, he also appeared in the Darkstalkers OVA, title Night Warriors: Darkstalkers Revenge, a four episode series revolving around Demitri, Donovan and Morrigan of the Darkstalkers universe.
He has a short role in the American made Darkstalkers cartoon. There, he was one of the show's heroes and portrayed as something of an agent for Felecia. He was shown there able to see ley lines and as indicated by a memory of an explosion may have had a tragic past.
Jon also made an appearance in the episode My Harry's in the Highlights of the Darkstalkers: Out of the Shadows animated series.
