The Black Widow standalone movie is coming this year, but some people may not know that one of the main antagonists in it will be Taskmaster. Casual fans might not know who Taskmaster is, which is a shame because Tasky's has had a cult following within the Marvel comic book, toy collecting, and video game circles - enough to have been included in Marvel VS Capcom 3, Marvel Heroes Omega, and the PS4 Spider-Man game. If you want to brush up on Taskmaster lore before the movie drops, read on.
Real name: Anthony Masters
Height: 6'2
Weight: 220 lbs. (99.79kg)
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Brown
First appearance: Avengers #195 (1980)
Known aliases: Tasky (my favorite), Toastmaster, Captain America
Affiliations: There's SO many, but the most prominent ones are S.H.I.E.L.D, Hydra, Secret Avengers, The Initiative, and Thunderbolts
Identity: Secret
Taskmaster is a human but born with some special photographic reflexes. He doesn't have the X gene (at least as of January 2020), so even though he was born with special abilities, he isn't a mutant. He eventually took a modified version of the Super Soldier Serum that enhances his skill mimicry but has completely messed up his long term memory.
What can he do?
Essentially, he can copy any move he sees with perfect accuracy. He can copy Captain America's shield moves, Daredevil's acrobatic flips, Hawkeye's bow and arrow techniques, Black Night's swordsmanship, Shang-Chi's fighting style, or whatever else he sees.
He's beaten Iron Man, Captain America, Daredevil, Punisher, Deadpool, Shang-Chi - pretty much all of the heavy-hitting humans. He's taken out The Avengers all by himself. He's one of the most versatile characters in the entire Marvel Universe.
Because he's so adept at all manner of weaponry, he can pretty much utilize anything he's encountered before. He's most known for using a shield like Captain America's, an energy shield, SMGs, billy clubs like Daredevil's, a bow and a quiver full of arrows like Hawkeye just to name a few.
That's why any hero going up against Taskmaster has a heck of a time. In the Black Widow movie, for sure she'll have to come up with something unique to take down Tasky.
Where did he come from?
When Tony Masters was a kid, he found that after watching a cowboy show on TV, he could replicate the lasso tricks perfectly. He started gaining a mastery of this ability over time. He saw a dude do a back dive into the pool and he was able to copy the dive perfectly but almost drowned because he had no idea how to swim. Doctors would eventually call his ability "photographic reflexes."
As an adult, Tony joined S.H.I.E.L.D. On a mission, he once came across a scientist who was shot in the chest. Before kicking the bucket, the scientist gave Tony his Primer that unlocks full mental capability. Tony takes it, and in doing so, he amps up his photographic reflexes but damages his capability to retain long-term memory.
This led to him forgetting about his wife, Mercedes, and essentially his entire history with S.H.I.E.L.D. Then there was this whole business about Mercedes controlling Tony through The Org, which led to Taskmaster being Taskmaster and being a criminal, which Mercedes was reporting back to S.H.I.E.L.D., making Taskmaster a weird double agent of sorts. It's weird.
What has he done?
Taskmaster eventually put up the Taskmaster Academy, where he trained would-be supervillains and henchmen. He did this instead of being a merc, which he did on and off for a while, because it was much more lucrative. Some of his more prominent students are Spymaster, who is best known for killing Happy Hogan, Tony Stark's chauffeur and best friend, and John Walker, the U.S. Agent.
Besides being a merc who worked with Agent X and Deadpool, one of the most interesting Taskmaster-related storylines is when he helped train the Initiative recruits, a team of young heroes under the Superhero Registration Act. Eventually, he also was a trainer for the Avengers Academy.
Something incredibly interesting is his dynamic with Finesse, a hero who pretty much has the same abilities as Taskmaster. Finesse was once rumored to be the biological daughter of Taskmaster, but as far as I know it's a bit unclear.
Taskmaster then turned heel and face back and forth. He was part of Norman Osbourne's siege and Nick Fury's Secret Avengers.
I think, currently, after the events of Secret Empire, which I have yet to read, Taskmaster is back to being a mercenary, which suits him just fine as a character.
What can we expect from Taskmaster from the Black Widow movie?
I love Tasky. In the comics, he can be used in a number of ways - he makes for a great supporting characters and he plays well off guys like Deadpool and the Punisher and Hawkeye. With all the spy and street-level stuff the Marvel Cinematic Universe has going, he'll easily find a place to fit in. In the MCU, with all the footage of Hawkeye, Captain America, and Black Panther floating around, expect Taskmaster to have all their capabilities. He'll be more than a match for Black Widow. Natasha won't be able to outright beat him in a fight, so she'll have to outwit him.
It's a good litmus test to see if the Netflix shows are canon because Taskmaster would also hint at having the skills of the Devil of Hell's Kitchen, too.