Image via Marvel
The release of the final trailer for Marvel's Black Widow is...interesting. The way the world is going right now, it's hard to get excited for anything that involves leaving the house. What is worth getting hype over, though, is all of that Taskmaster action we got to see in this final look at the Scarlett Johansson-led 24th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (which is set after the events of Civil War).
It's hard to tell what exactly is going on with Taskmaster in the film; sure, he's the central figure with a lot of the fighting, but is he the Big Bad of the film? Who even plays the character? Hell, for many passive comic fans, some of you might ve wondering who Taskmaster even is—that wouldn't be a surprise, even though he's been around since Avengers #195
(May 1980). While Marvel heads know what time it is when it comes to the master mimic and reputed mercenary, Black Widow including him is intriguing to say the least.
Ahead of the film's May 1 release date, here's a look at everything you need to know about Taskmaster.
Who is Taskmaster?
Not too much was initially known about Tony Masters, the man who would become Taskmaster. At a young age, it was determined that Tony had what was called "photographic reflexes," which allowed him to imitate the moves of others just by mere observation.
Initially introduced to comic book readers as a villain, Masters' real story is more intriguing. At one point in his life, Masters injects an experimental Nazi version of the Super Soldier Serum (which is what made Steve Rogers turn into Captain America). The serum boosted Masters' abilities, which he ended up using as a master criminal; he later turned his unique abilities into a lucrative job training bad guys how to fight against, say, Captain America. He ran his own academy, and would do odd jobs for "The Org" on the reg.
The flipside to his story is that the Nazi Super Soldier Serum had an adverse effect: while it enhanced Taskmaster's ability to imitate the moves of others, his own personal memories would get erased. He forgot that he had been a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, married to his partner, Mercedes Masters. She actually set up the work he did as Taskmaster, and would take the intel he'd gain from working these supervillain jobs to use for S.H.I.E.L.D.. At one point, Masters was enlightened to this information, but after a battle, he ended up losing those memories once again. Terrible existence, tbh.
What can Taskmaster do?
With his "photographic reflexes," which are linked to his muscle memory, the Taskmaster is one of the most formidable fighters on the planet. Having fought against the best of the Marvel Universe, he's become adept at everything from hand-to-hand combat to the use of swords and firearms. Taksmaster can stand toe-to-toe with almost anyone, and due to his abilities, he can develop a plan of attack against his enemy's next moves. The only person who stands a chance? The wildly unpredictable Deadpool.
Taskmaster can push his abilities, like watching video of movements at higher rates of speed, allowing him to mimic movements at lightning pace (although this does put his body under strain). Also, memory loss due to the bootleg serum he injected doesn't help.
How does the Black Widow fit into all of this?
That's hard to say. Taskmaster has been around for decades, and has more than likely been on the battlefield where Black Widow would have been, but in the comics, there are no real memorable tales between the two. It looks like there was footage from Iron Man 2 that Taskmaster appeared to be studying in this most recent trailer, so one has to imagine that Taskmaster was hired to study Black Widow's movements; they also do battle. Is Taskmaster here to snuff Black Widow out, or is something more devious afoot?
Others have marveled at the Black Panther-esque claws on Taskmaster's outfit. With this film taking place after Civil War, could this be a clever callback or reference to, say, Taskmaster and Black Panther having battled?
The bigger theories involve Tony Masters not being under the Taskmaster guise at all. One popular theory is that it's a clone of Natasha herself under the Taskmaster mask, primarily due to Taskmaster's agility and feminine movements; maybe someone tried to Gemini Man the Black Widow for...something. Others think it'd be Melina Vostokoff (played by Rachel Weisz in the film, and known as Iron Maiden in the comics) under the mask; the in comics, Melina hated Natasha due to Natasha overshadowing her. Maybe Melina uses the Taskmaster guise to show Natasha that she's just as dope at this combat game. When you think of the plots of previous MCU films (including Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home), you realize they are good at teasing things in the trailer that may be twisted as the film plays.
Who plays Taskmaster?
This is another question we have no answer to. It's interesting that Marvel has this secret guarded like that; it could be there to muster up more intrigue about who or what Taskmaster is, but it could genuinely be a secret so big that it could mess up the fun of watching the mystery unravel.
Or maybe there's something to that Melina-Is-Taskmaster rumor! We'll find out when Black Widow hits theaters on May 1, 2020.