Slightly Misplaced Comic Book Characters Case File #528: Taskmaster

I’ve been covering some of the somewhat forgotten Thunderbolts lately that didn’t appear in the movie (probably), but it occurs to me there’s a character that appears in the movie that doesn’t get a whole lot to do, so why not cover her?

Or maybe him.

Look, it’s Taskmaster.  This one might need a bit of an explanation.

Taskmaster first appeared in The Avengers #195 in May of 1980.  Created by writer Dave Michelinie and artist George Perez, Taskmaster initially was a mysterious figure who ran a series of training facilities for mercenaries and the like.  Eventually revealed to go by the name Tony Masters (seriously), he hailed from the Bronx and had a skill that Marvel’s creators can never decide if it counts as a superpower or not.  Taskmaster has something called “photogenic reflexes,” meaning he can copy the moves of anything he sees, even if he’s watching it on fast forward.  He can’t copy a skill that comes from a superpower, so no tossing cars or shooting laser beams out of his eyes.  But he typically carries a sword, a shield, and a bow, often showing the sorts of skills that come from various non-powered Avengers.

Now, I remember the first time I saw Taskmaster, and that was, of all things, an issue of What If? where Taskmaster said he was a mutant.  That, apparently, isn’t true.  He injected himself with a serum that activates his muscle memory abilities or something, but at the cost of his personal memories.  Essentially, it eventually came out that every time Taskmaster learns a new combat move, he forgets something else, like how he has a family.

Taskmaster would be either a deadly assassin for hire or a trainer for other fighters.  As a trainer, he’s worked for SHIELD and less reputable organizations.  As an assassin, he’s knocked heads with Deadpool and made a friend out of Black Ant.  He joined a Thunderbolts team here and there, and Norman Osborn even put him on the Cabal when it first appeared as an anti-Illuminati organization.  He’s even been a Secret Avenger.  Basically, Marvel Comics has found a lot of use for the character.

Plus, hey, he has a cool skull mask.

That would probably be why Taskmaster’s MCU appearances have been so disappointing to fans of the character.  First appearing in the Black Widow movie, the silent character was eventually revealed to be a woman named Antonia Dreykov as played by actress Olga Kurylenko.  She was a victim of Red Room brainwashing who was fixe by the end of the movie, only to make a brief appearance in the new Thunderbolts*.

And that would be why Taskmaster got an entry here.  She never really got the development of the comics version.