Fulcrum is the codename of a hostile fictional espionage organization in the television series Chuck. Fulcrum serves as the primary antagonist throughout the show's first two seasons, although their specific goals, beyond acquiring the Intersect, remain undisclosed.
History Very little specific information has been revealed so far about the organization known as Fulcrum, although they have been in existence for at least as early as 2003. They are a rogue faction within the US intelligence community, described as a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) splinter faction but said to have people in every agency. They also have hired professional mercenaries and have contracted civilians when their skills are required. Fulcrum has been attempting to acquire the Intersect database, and attempted to turn Bryce Larkin and use him to acquire the computer.
Development Fulcrum was introduced in the first season's episode "Chuck Versus the Nemesis." The organization remained a threat for the remainder of the season, most prominently in "Chuck Versus the Marlin." Josh Schwartz revealed in an interview with Sci Fi Magazine that season two would focus more specifically on Fulcrum and the main story arc.Sci Fi Magazine Scan, page 34: Sci Fi Magazine However while the organization has played an increasingly larger and more threatening role in the series, little definite information has been revealed on their structure. Chuck has been positively identified as the Intersect by at least three different agents but beyond being a person of interest, he has yet to be specifically targeted, although Fulcrum operatives are familiar with him as "Agent Carmichael." Fulcrum's parent organization knows something is happening in the Buy More but believe that it is something unrelated to the Intersect,Development Update, February 10, 2009: believing it to be a CIA substation.
At the end of "Chuck Versus the Lethal Weapon", it is revealed that Chuck has been keeping a complex diagram hidden behind his Tron poster detailing connections between the Intersect and several Fulcrum agents. "Chuck Versus the Ring" reveals that Fulcrum is only one part of a broader organization known as "the Ring."
Motives Although some of Fulcrum's motives have been revealed, it is unclear what their full agenda is. They are known to be in pursuit of the Intersect and have also attempted to break into Castle, but neither Jill nor Leader identified Chuck as a person of interest beyond what he could tell them about the facility's computer systems and in actually gaining access to it. While they are shown having international contacts such as the Russian seductress Sasha Banachek, there has been no indication of whether their interests are restricted solely to the United States or if they have international objectives as well. It is known that MI6 is also involved with tracking Fulcrum's activities, as they planted agent Cole Barker in the organization."Chuck Versus the Beefcake"
In the episode "Chuck Versus the Suburbs", it is revealed that Fulcrum has developed their own Intersect, which they successfully upload into Chuck's brain. Previous episodes show the government attempting to use the original Intersect on government agents as a way to give them information that they could access instantaneously, but according to Fulcrum operatives Sylvia and Brad, the CIA has abandoned the project and Fulcrum wants to restart their own.
Dialogue between Chuck and several Fulcrum agents suggest that they may believe they're trying to protect the country, in a case of the ends justifying the means. Specifically, they expressed contempt for the CIA abandoning the Intersect and trying to "slug it out" in the War on Terror using Cold War tactics, and Fulcrum hoped that the Intersect would create more effective agents "ready to fight tomorrow's wars." Later, in "Chuck Versus the First Kill", a Fulcrum recruiting session heavily promotes "strength" and "leadership" and includes the words, "We live a dangerous world, and you want to do something about it." Fulcrum agents in "Chuck Versus the Lethal Weapon" stated that they consider themselves patriots.
One part of the Ring
Fulcrum is one of many smaller organizations making up the Ring. However, the exact nature of the connection between the groups has never been established. It seems that only higher level Fulcrum agents may be aware that they are being operated by The Ring, as in the series finale, a Fulcrum agent possesses a piece of a device that The Ring possesses another part of, and furthermore he believes that Fulcrum is superior to The Ring as a terrorist network. Vincent, the Fulcrum agent assigned to track down Stephen Bartowski, is shown to have direct access to the Council, despite being subordinate to Ted Roark. It is also unclear if Fulcrum's own apparent goal—defending the United States through any means necessary—is independent of the Ring's own objectives, or furthers the Ring's global agenda.
Leadership Much like the CIA, Fulcrum appears to assign higher-ranking or more experienced handlers to their assets. Tommy Delgado attempted to recruit Bryce Larkin and commanded the operation attempting to recover the Intersect. Before his execution, Frank Mauser also implied that he was a person of unusual importance within the organization, though the meaning of this was not made clear in the episode. Few other details have been revealed about Fulcrum's command structure.
Tommy Delgado Tommy (Anthony Ruivivar), born November 4, 1970, in Honolulu, Hawaii, is the operative who initially attempts to use Bryce Larkin to steal the Intersect, and was part of the failed operation to have him smuggled back into the country by the Demetrios ring. He later deduced that Bryce Larkin was a decoy and that Chuck was the real Intersect. He was later arrested and has not been seen in the show since, however he is still involved with tracking the Intersect from his cell.
It was a "flash" on Tommy that first revealed Fulcrum's existence to Chuck. Until Jill was revealed to be a Fulcrum agent, Tommy was the only Fulcrum agent to have appeared in more than one episode, and a picture of Tommy is seen on Chuck's diagram detailing the connections between the Intersect and several Fulcrum members. He was played by Anthony Ruivivar as cool and ruthless, with no compunctions against killing innocent civilians in pursuit of his mission objectives.
Tommy's birth date and birthplace are the same as the actor who plays him.
Though he appears in only two episodes, Tommy is one of the most important characters in the show's mythology, as his actions set the plot in motion. He could also be seen as the main antagonist of the first season.
Leader Leader (played by Patrick Kilpatrick) is the Fulcrum handler of Dr. Jill Roberts. Little is known about him, including his real name.
Leader is a tough, hardened operative. It is currently unknown whether he had any knowledge of Bryce Larkin, the Intersect, or what Fulcrum intended to do with Castle once they took control, however his position overseeing the operation indicates he is ranked somewhere above an ordinary field operative. The incident is the first confirmed instance of two Fulcrum agents working directly in tandem on the same operation. Leader is a talented and in his own words, "devious", strategist and arranged his own capture to gain access to Castle by using Chuck's own feelings for Jill against him.
Frank Mauser Lt. Mauser was born on January 14, 1958, in Joliet, IL. A long-time LAPD negotiator, it is believed that he developed extensive ties with Fulcrum during his time as commandant of the LA Police Academy.
When the employees of the Buy More were taken hostage by Ned Rhyerson, Lt. Frank Mauser (Michael Rooker) took control as hostage negotiator.
Mauser orchestrated the entire incident with Ned as his partner—from the high-speed police chase, to the car crashing into the Buy More and the hostage situation—all to identify who Casey and Sarah are assigned to protect.
Mauser's exact position within Fulcrum is unknown, however his claims that Fulcrum would be determined to rescue him indicates he held a fairly high rank within the organization. He was highly intelligent and his plan nearly succeeded in both identifying and capturing the Intersect, making him the closest any of their agents have come to achieving their goal (only Tommy and Lizzie had positively identified Chuck before, though Colt may have been suspicious). He knew both Casey and Sarah were assigned to protect someone within the Buy More, and arranged for Ned to eliminate Casey as a threat by feigning to accidentally shoot him in the foot, enough to disable him but a minor enough wound to keep the following negotiations believable. The operation required a high level of planning only seen before by Leader's operation to access Castle.
In addition to his tactical abilities, Mauser was highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat, possibly even superior to Sarah. Though he surrendered, he was executed by Sarah due to the extreme threat he presented to Chuck.
Duncan Duncan (Vincent Duvall), born on December 15, 1975, in Chicago, IL, is Dr. Busgang's Fulcrum handler and part of the team developing the Fulcrum Intersect. He was responsible for Cole's capture at the end of "Chuck Versus the Beefcake", and attempted to extract Chuck's identity from him by means of torture. Duncan says that the members of Fulcrum are "patriots" who "do what needs to be done to preserve this nation's rightful place in the world." Duncan executed Busgang before being shot and killed by Sarah.
According to NBC.com, Duncan was once a Marine Corps sniper who was honorably discharged after serving with distinction during Operation Desert Storm. He joined Fulcrum due to growing disillusionment after his discharge.
Vincent Smith Vincent (Arnold Vosloo) was born on May 7, 1972, in Denver, CO. He is the head of the Fulcrum team in search of Orion, the Intersect designer, and has been tracking him for three years. He eventually managed to locate him in Hong Kong, narrowly missing a lethal trap set up by Orion. He kidnaps Chuck in hopes of luring Orion into the open to capture him but his plan is foiled by Sarah and Casey, who shoot him before he escapes."Chuck Versus the Predator"
In "Chuck Versus the Dream Job", Vincent was revealed to have survived his wound and escaped capture. He was working with Ted Roark in the efforts to capture Stephen Bartowski. Vincent returned again in "Chuck Versus the Colonel", and was tracking Chuck and Sarah for Roark after they went AWOL at the end of "Chuck Versus the First Kill". He briefly captured Sarah before Chuck ran him over with their car but survived his injuries. He captures the team when they assault Black Rock to rescue Stephen, and was apparently inside the drive-in when the F-16 air strike occurred, dying as a result.Chuck: Chris Fedak vs. the Finale: What's Alan Watching?