Taskmaster (comics)

Taskmaster (Tony Masters)[1] is a fictional

character appearing in American comic
books published by Marvel Comics. He
first appeared in The Avengers #195 (May
1980), created by writer David Michelinie
and artist George Pérez. Normally a
supervillain but sometimes an antihero and
a sleeper agent, Taskmaster went on to
feature in numerous Marvel titles, most
notably as a mercenary hired as a training
instructor by various criminal
organizations.
 Taskmaster

Taskmaster on the cover of The Avengers

#196 (June 1980)
Art by George Pérez

Publication information

Publisher Marvel Comics

First appearance The Avengers #195

 (May 1980)
Created by David Michelinie
George Pérez

In-story information

Alter ego Anthony "Tony"

Masters

Team affiliations A.I.M.

Agency X
Cabal
Frightful Four
Initiative
Secret Avengers
Shadow Initiative
S.H.I.E.L.D.
Thunderbolts
Notable aliases Tasky
Contingency T

Abilities Genius level intellect

Master assassin and
tactician
Olympic level
conditioning
Exceptional athlete
Master hand-to-hand
combatant and martial
artist
Master swordsman
and marksman
Master archer and
bowman
 Photographic reflexes
Physical movement
prediction
Voice mimicry

Taskmaster will appear in the upcoming

film Black Widow (2020), set in the Marvel
Cinematic Universe.

Publication history
The Taskmaster first appeared briefly in
The Avengers #195 (May 1980), created by
writer David Michelinie and artist George
Pérez.[2] making his full debut in Avengers
#196 (June 1980). [3]

The Taskmaster appeared in his own

limited series Taskmaster #1–4 (2002),
which was followed by a supporting role in
Agent X #1–15 (2002–2003). The
character went on to feature prominently in
Avengers: The Initiative as a supporting
character in #8–19 (2008–2009) and
Avengers: The Initiative Annual #1 (2008)
then later as a central character in #20–35
(2009–2010) during the Dark Reign and
Siege storylines. Age of Heroes #3 (2010)
provided the prologue for the Taskmaster's
second limited series Taskmaster vol. 2
#1–4 (2010–2011). In 2011 Taskmaster
got his first solo graphic novel collecting a
four-issue story—Taskmaster: Unthinkable.

Following Marvel NOW!, Taskmaster joined

a new team of Secret Avengers.[3]

Fictional character biography

This section may contain an excessive amount of
intricate detail that may interest only a Learn
particular
more

Taskmaster is a mysterious figure believed

to have been born in Brooklyn, New York
City. He has the ability to mimic the
physical movements of anyone he
witnesses; writers differ on whether this
counts as a "super power". He claims that
he has had this ability since childhood. He
works as a combat instructor and trains
others to become lackeys for other villains
by utilizing the techniques he has learned
from his observation of superheroes and
participates in mercenary jobs from time
to time. Initially portrayed as a villain, he
has also been shown training U.S. Agent
and other neophyte superheroes at the
behest of the US government. As a
mercenary, he has no ideology except that
of his employer. Due to his ability to imitate
the techniques and armory of other heroes
and villains, Taskmaster has occasionally
been used to impersonate other
characters.

Tony Masters first demonstrated unusual

abilities during childhood. After watching a
cowboy show on television, he found
himself able to duplicate the sophisticated
rope tricks he had just watched the
cowboy perform. Psychiatrists, called in at
the mother's request, determined that the
boy had a form of photographic memory
which they called "photographic reflexes".
He employed his power several times
during his youth for personal gain, most
notably when he became a star
quarterback of his high school football
team after watching one pro football
game. Upon graduation, he briefly
considered a career as a crime fighter, but
opted instead to be a professional
criminal, which he perceived to be far more
lucrative.[4]
He then began a program of observing the
fighting techniques of numerous costumed
heroes and villains (using archival
television news broadcasts). He initially
used his fighting skills to execute several
successful grand larcenies, but he had not
properly anticipated the dangers involved.
He decided to use his stolen capital to
establish a center for training aspiring
criminals to turn into polished
professionals. His goal was to become a
supplier for criminal organizations around
the world.
Designing a costume with a white cowl
and skull mask, he took the name
"Taskmaster" and began to train many
thugs at criminal academies he had
located around the United States.
However, his existence was eventually
revealed when Pernell Solomon of the
Solomon Institute for the Criminally Insane
(a front for one of these academies) used
the school's resources to create a clone of
himself when the administrator required an
organ donation due to possessing an
extremely rare blood type; the clone
(learning of this fate) managed to contact
the Avengers. Taskmaster captured
Yellowjacket, the Wasp and Ant-Man when
the Avengers invaded the premises;[5] but
the Avengers followed, exposing his front
operation. Taskmaster held his own
against Captain America and Iron Man,
however, was subsequently forced to flee
after a confrontation with Jocasta since
his lack of experience with Jocasta's
abilities made it impossible to predict the
robot's next move.[4] Taskmaster later
established a new training academy in
Manhattan, where he battled Spider-Man
and Ant-Man, and then escaped.[6] He later
used a traveling carnival as a mobile base,
where he battled Hawkeye and Ant-Man,
and then escaped again.[7] He next trained
henchmen for the Black Abbott. Alongside
Black Abbott, he battled Spider-Man and
Nomad, and escaped yet again.[8]

Deciding to further explore the use of a

circus as a front for his academy,
Taskmaster took over yet another small
outfit, and used it for many months to
great success. However, while it was
playing a small town in Ohio, the Thing and
Vance Astrovik (who would later take the
name Justice) assisted a government
agent in foiling Taskmaster's activities.
While escaping, Taskmaster was captured
by a group of U.S. Secret Service agents
and taken into custody.[9] There is reason
to believe that Red Skull was behind the
Taskmaster's capture, since a group of
normal men were able to capture him.
Through Douglas Rockwell (the head of
the President's Commission on
Superhuman Activities), Mr. Smith arranged
for Taskmaster to train John Walker in
order to make him appear to be the real
Captain America.[10] In order to conceal
Red Skull's involvement, Rockwell had the
Commission work out a deal to have years
taken off Taskmaster's sentence in return
for training Walker. After Taskmaster
successfully trained Walker, Red Skull
arranged for him to escape from the
Commission's detention center so he could
continue training lackeys and Red Skull
himself.

Having escaped the authorities, he set up a

base in a derelict graveyard in Brooklyn,
where he battled Spider-Man and then
escaped.[11] Taskmaster then competed in
a contest against Tombstone, where he
battled Daredevil and the Punisher.[12]

Taskmaster's more skilled, successful, and

notable students include such characters
as Crossbones and Cutthroat (both Red
Skull's henchmen), U.S. Agent, Hauptmann
Deutschland, Diamondback (Captain
America's one-time girlfriend), Spymaster,
Spider-Woman, and Agent X. On the other
hand, Taskmaster also trains many of his
students to serve as low-rent henchmen
and cannon fodder. In his early
appearances, Taskmaster mentions
putting intellect-reducing drugs in the diet
of his students. He also routinely sent
groups of his more disappointing students
to serve as "sparring partners" for Red
Skull, routinely engaging several of them at
a time and killing them all (Hauptmann
Deutschland infiltrated the academy and
used one such session as an opportunity
to kidnap Red Skull). He has also
employed other supervillains, such as
when he hired Anaconda as his academy's
calisthenics instructor.
On another occasion, Taskmaster was
hired by the Triune Understanding—a
religious group secretly masterminding a
smear campaign to paint the Avengers as
being religiously and racially intolerant—to
stage an attack on a Triune facility. Posing
as Captain America, he contacted Warbird,
Ant-Man, Silverclaw and Captain Marvel,
claiming that he needed their help to
destroy a Triune building containing a
mind-control machine. Although they saw
through his deception and subsequently
defeated him—thanks to Captain Marvel
transforming into Rick Jones mere
milliseconds away from Taskmaster, thus
causing a complete change of attack
before Taskmaster could react—the
building was destroyed in the ensuing
battle and Taskmaster escaped, leaving
the heroes lacking any evidence of their
story.[13]

Taskmaster continued to train numerous

villains and thugs until the Avengers began
to search out and shut down some of his
academies across the United States.
Taskmaster began to spend more time
working as a mercenary in order to make
up for the loss of profit. This led him to
join Agency X at the behest of his love
interest Sandi Brandenberg, in missions
from time to time, while continuing to
teach at his academies around the world.
More recently, Taskmaster is once again
seen as a hired mercenary, contracted by
the Committee to kill Moon Knight (Marc
Spector). Taskmaster was misled with
information that Moon Knight was broken,
friendless and desiring death. During the
conflict these factors all proved to be false
as Marc's ex-girlfriend and butler came to
Spector's defense and found the will to
fight back. Despite his superior fighting
abilities, Taskmaster was defeated. Moon
Knight then carved off part of
Taskmaster's facemask, though left him
alive.[14]

Taskmaster also worked at training

henchmen to copy fighting styles of
specific heroes. Taskmaster unleashed
Deathshield (trained to fight like Captain
America), Jagged Bow (trained to fight like
Hawkeye), and Blood Spider (trained to
fight like Spider-Man) to face off against
Spider-Man and Solo. The three were
defeated, while Taskmaster escaped yet
again.[15]

When the "Civil War" broke out, Taskmaster

was hired by the government and enrolled
into a team of Thunderbolts and given
temporary amnesty to take down the
Secret Avengers.[16] He later battles the
Secret Avengers in New York. He attempts
to kill Susan "Sue" Storm, only for Reed
Richards to take the bullet. Enraged, Sue
crushes him with an invisible telekinetic
field, rendering him unconscious.[17] He
was sent to the Negative Zone Prison with
the other "Major-League" members of the
Thunderbolts army such as Lady
Deathstrike, but was apparently freed by
Deadpool.[18] In order to regain his own
reputation as a mercenary, Deadpool frees
Taskmaster from his imprisonment to have
a showdown with him while potential merc
contractors watched from their captive
position in a nearby prison. Taskmaster is
again referred to as Tasky by Deadpool,
and a fight ensues between him and the
manacled Deadpool. He mentions his
professional ethics, but this simply comes
down to deciding to simply maim his
opponent rather than kill him. In the end, he
is defeated by Deadpool who, in spite of
the victory, fails to impress his captive
audience. After being thanked for letting
him win, Taskmaster tells Deadpool that
he had not let him win, "The truth is...
You're that good. You've always been that
good. Which won't get you a cup of coffee
until you figure out how to be a
professional..."[19] Taskmaster was given a
full presidential pardon for his efforts in
testing the security of the S.H.I.E.L.D.
Helicarrier, in which he was able to break in
and place Deputy Director Maria Hill in his
sights. Though he was allowed to leave, a
threatening message left in Hill's private
bathroom revealed that if he ever desired,
infiltrating S.H.I.E.L.D. would be no difficult
feat.

Taskmaster replaces Gauntlet as Camp

Hammond's drill instructor and is tasked
with training registered superheroes for the
Fifty State Initiative. Taskmaster would
also be involved in MVP's cloning process
inputting (via technology) the original's
move set for the Scarlet Spiders as well as
the move set of Spider-Man.[20]
Taskmaster is hired by Deadpool to help
his old enemy and occasional friend
defeat the Thunderbolts. Being disguised
as Deadpool, he gets captured and is
about to be beheaded when the real
Deadpool saves him. Deadpool finally
pays him, but he expresses annoyance at
being paid from an ATM due to his major
villain status.[21]

During the "Dark Reign" storyline,

Taskmaster is chosen to lead the Shadow
Initiative after the Skrull invasion, with their
first mission to take down Hardball's
HYDRA cell in Madripoor.[22] Along with
Constrictor, Bengal, Typhoid Mary and
Komodo, Taskmaster stealthily leads the
group into the country, but they are soon
discovered by HYDRA.[23] Norman Osborn
appoints Taskmaster to train criminals for
the new Initiative, to behave like heroes.
His first task is to retrain Penance.[24] Also,
when Blastaar takes control of the
Negative Zone prison 42, Taskmaster is
ordered to lead a squad to take the prison
back.[25] Later, he gives Night Thrasher a
severe bullet wound to the head, allowing
Osborn to take Night Thrasher prisoner.[26]
When Emma Frost and Namor resign from
the Cabal, Taskmaster is offered
membership.[27] Taskmaster was present
at a meeting when Osborn discusses
about Asgard.[28][29] He is severely
wounded at the meeting as a result of an
attack by Doctor Doom. While recovering
in a hospital, Taskmaster declined to join
the Cabal. Osborn cut the oxygen tank next
to Taskmaster's bed, reminding him that it
was Osborn who plucked him from
obscurity. Taskmaster then agrees to join
in the siege of Asgard.[27] During the battle,
he fights with both versions of Captain
America (Steve Rogers and Bucky
Barnes).[30] As Asgard falls, Taskmaster
finds Constrictor and the two beat a hasty
retreat, but not before Taskmaster taunts
Osborn about how Taskmaster helped
Deadpool. After Osborn's defeat by
Captain America and Iron Man,
Taskmaster and Constrictor went back to
mercenary work.[31]

A false rumor is spread that Taskmaster is

leaking information about the criminal
underworld to Rogers's new 'heroic'
regime. A bounty of $1,000,000,000 is
placed on the Taskmaster's head by the
mysterious Org. The hordes of AIM,
HYDRA, the Secret Empire, ULTIMATUM,
the Cyber Ninjas, the Black Choppers, the
Trenchcoat Mafia, the Legions of the Living
Lightning, the Militiamen, the Sons of the
Serpent, and the Inquisition take up the
chase to claim the money. Taskmaster,
ambushed in a small diner, manages to
best his opponents. But the diner's
waitress, Mercedes Merced, gets
entangled in the saga and is included in
the bounty. Taskmaster reveals to
Mercedes that his powers cause him to
lose his explicit memory, meaning that he
cannot remember anything about his
personal life, and the only way for the
whole ordeal to be over is to re-discover
Taskmaster's origins.[32] Taskmaster and
Mercedes' quest takes them to Mexico to
battle the Don of the Dead,[33] and then to
Bolivia to the village where everyone is
Hitler. Inside an exact replica of Himmler's
Wewelsburg Castle, Taskmaster regains
his memories. He remembers being
S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Tony Masters that had
been sent to Bolivia to terminate Horst
Gorscht, the Nazi scientist responsible for
a corrupted version of the super-soldier
serum. Gorscht had developed a new
serum that could unlock the mind's
potential to absorb knowledge
instantaneously. With Gorscht's serum and
test notes destroyed, Masters injected the
last of the serum into himself. Having
regained these memories, Taskmaster
recognizes Mercedes' voice as being the
same as 'The Hub', a mysterious voice who
works for the Org. Taskmaster shoots
Mercedes in the shoulder and threatens to
kill her if she doesn't start talking.
Mercedes reveals that the Org is a
S.H.I.E.L.D. front, and that she is not only
an agent, but also Taskmaster's wife.
Miles above the Wewelsburg castle in an
airship, the Minions' International
Liberation Front (a secret group composed
of henchmen from all of the major terrorist
organizations), led by Redshirt the Uber-
Henchman, reveal their deception and plot
to rule the criminal underground by using
Taskmaster to lead them straight to the
Org.[1] Redshirt leads the Minions'
International Liberation Front (or the
acronym MILF for short) into battle against
the Taskmaster and Mercedes. Mercedes
convinces the Taskmaster to trust her and
work together to fend off the forces of
MILF. During the battle, Taskmaster
regains his memories of Mercedes and
how he fell in love with her. Before they can
reconcile, Taskmaster is attacked from
behind by Redshirt who has genetically
altered his body and mastered superior
fighting skills to those of Taskmaster.
Redshirt gains the upper hand as the pair
push each other to the limits. Mercedes
tries to intervene to protect her husband,
but is quickly and effortlessly cast to one
side. Enraged, Taskmaster attacks
Redshirt and delivers a killing blow using
Redshirt's own fighting style (which causes
Taskmaster to lose his memories once
more). Taskmaster, not recognizing
Mercedes or his reasons for being there,
flees and leaves Mercedes alone once
more.

Avengers Academy student Finesse later

seeks out Taskmaster, thinking that he
may be her long-lost father. When she
finds Taskmaster, Finesse ends up
sparring with him. After much sparring,
Taskmaster finally relents to tell Finesse
that he very well might be her father, but
that the powers to learn so much about
others’ movements and techniques have
caused him to forget important things in
life. Knowing he likely won’t remember the
conversation in a couple days, Taskmaster
tells Finesse that he wanted to fight her so
he might remember her.[34]

During the "Fear Itself" storyline,

Taskmaster comes to the aid of Alpha
Flight when it comes to forming a
resistance against the Unity Party that was
formed by Master of the World.[35]
In order for the Masters of Evil to obtain
the Crown of Wolves for the Shadow
Council, Max Fury hired Taskmaster to
retrieve it only for Taskmaster to demand
more money for the job and he hid in the
Hole. The Secret Avengers went to the
Hole in order to get the Crown of Wolves
before Fury got his hands on it. This led to
a fight between Taskmaster and Agent
Venom.[36] However, Taskmaster escaped
and returned the crown to Fury, only for
Max to apparently kill Taskmaster when he
asks for payment. When the crown's
effects don't function for Max, Taskmaster
takes the crown for himself, which saves
his life by making him the Avatar for the
Abyss.[37] As the Abyss spreads, the
Secret Avengers members Venom and Ant-
Man are able to remove the crown and
stop the spread, while Taskmaster and the
Masters of Evil are left behind when the
Avengers leave with Max in their
custody.[38]

The criminals of Bagalia imprison

Taskmaster and are preparing to offer him
up to the highest bidder. S.H.I.E.L.D. and
the Secret Avengers come to rescue him
and offer him a position. As their inside
man, Taskmaster is part of the new High
Council of A.I.M. as the Minister of
Defense.[39] Mockingbird later goes to
A.I.M. Island to assist Taskmaster in
helping make contact between the Iron
Patriot A.I. drones and James Rhodes.[40]
After the mission goes south and
Mockingbird is left stranded on AIM Island,
Taskmaster works undercover to free her.
But when he gets the chance to get her off
the island, she doesn't respond to anything
he says until both are captured. While
being interrogated, Taskmaster is shot and
seemingly killed by Mockingbird apparently
under the control of Scientist Supreme
(Andrew Forson).[41] However, Mentallo
discovered that Mockingbird purposely
missed any vitals and Taskmaster
survived.[42]

At the time when Captain America was

brainwashed into being a Hydra sleeper
agent by Red Skull's clone using the
powers of Kobik, Taskmaster later
relocated to Bagalia where he became its
sheriff.[43]
When Taskmaster and Black Ant (Eric
O'Grady's Life Model Decoy counterpart)
found out what was done to Captain
America to be made into a Hydra sleeper
agent, they planned to have a parley with
Maria Hill to discuss this with only for the
new Madame Hydra (Elisa Sinclair) to get
to them first.[44] Impressed with the
fighting skills of the two of them, Madame
Hydra made them bodyguards.[45]

During the "Secret Empire" storyline,

Taskmaster appears as a member of
Hydra's Avengers.[46] During the battle in
Washington DC, Taskmaster and Black Ant
witness their teammate Odinson having
enough of working for Hydra and striking
them down. The two of them defect from
Hydra and free the captive Champions.
When Taskmaster and Black Ant asks for
them to put in a good word for them,
Spider-Man webs them up anyway.[47]

Taskmaster and Black Ant later attack

Empire State University where Dr. Curt
Connors was teaching a class. As the
inhibitor chip prevents Connors into turning
into Lizard, Peter Parker sneaks off to
become Spider-Man. During his fight with
Black Ant and Taskmaster, Spider-Man is
exposed to the Isotope Genome
Accelerator that splits him from his Peter
Parker side.[48]

In a prelude to "Hunted", Taskmaster and

Black Ant work with Kraven the Hunter and
Arcade in capturing some animal-themed
characters for his upcoming hunt.[49] Black
Ant and Taskmaster are talking about the
Hunt. Taskmaster betrays Black Ant saying
that Black Ant is a animal-themed villain
and tasers Black Ant to get more
money.[50] Lizard finds Taskmaster at the
Pop-Up with No Name. Lizard proceeds to
poisons him by slipping a poison into her
beer. Lizard offers Taskmaster the
antidote if he can take Lizard to Central
Park. While traveling there, Lizard and
Taskmaster defeat Vermin, freeing
innocent bystanders. Taskmaster helps
put a taser chip in Lizard's body, and takes
him to Arcade.[51] Taskmaster frees Lizard
from his binds and Lizard tells Taskmaster
that the poison will wear off in 24 hours.[52]
Taskmaster makes off with Black Ant
before Yellowjacket, Human Fly,
Razorback, Toad, and White Rabbit can
take revenge on him. As they leave,
Taskmaster states that Black Ant would've
done the same for him. When Black Ant
asks "Do you mean the betrayal part or the
rescue part?" All Taskmaster can say is
"yeah!"[53]

Powers and abilities

Taskmaster injected himself with SS-
Hauptsturmführer Horst Gorscht's primer,
an elaborate modification of the adrenal
steroid cortisol designed to unlock the
mind's procedural memory potential. The
Taskmaster thus gained the ability to
absorb knowledge instantaneously. This
ability is linked to his muscle memory,
allowing the Taskmaster to instantly
replicate the physical movement of peak-
level humans. Using these "photographic
reflexes", the Taskmaster is highly skilled
in various forms of combat, as an
exceptional martial artist (mimicking
Elektra, Iron Fist, Shang-Chi), a skilled
swordsman (Black Knight, Silver Samurai,
Swordsman), a deadly accurate marksman
(Captain America with a shield, Hawkeye
with a bow and arrow, Punisher with
firearms, and Bullseye with various
projectiles) as well as displaying a
strenuously honed athletic ability
(Daredevil). Once the Taskmaster has
mastered an opponent's physical
movements, he can then predict his
opponent's next attack. The only person
shown capable of negating Taskmaster's
abilities is Deadpool, whose manic
personality makes him nearly impossible
to predict.[54] A side effect of the primer is
severe declarative memory loss. The more
implicit memories (i.e. knowledge and
abilities) he learns, the more explicit
memories (i.e. personal experience) he
loses. Because of his explicit memory
loss, the Org (Mercedes Merced) has
acted as Taskmaster's surrogate memory,
his banker, and his handler for his entire
criminal career.[55]

By viewing a video in fast-forward, the

Taskmaster can learn to replicate human
movement at near-superhuman speed.
However, this puts his body under intense
strain and can only be used for short
periods of time. He also has the ability to
manipulate his vocal cords to mimic the
voices of others. The Taskmaster was
once shown to have aquaphobia (the fear
of water), but later overcame his fears.[56]

Weaponry …

As he is able to replicate numerous

fighting techniques, the Taskmaster carries
an extensive arsenal of weapons on his
person, most commonly using a sword
and a replica of Captain America's shield.
He also carries a bow and a quiver of
arrows, a billy club, a lasso, nunchaku,
throwing darts, and various firearms. The
Taskmaster once used a stolen S.H.I.E.L.D.
device that was able to create various
forms of weaponry (such as arrows and
shields) using solid energy.[57]

The Org (Mercedes Merced)

The Org is the secret criminal underground
that links all criminal and terrorist
organizations. In reality, Mercedes Merced
is the Taskmaster’s S.H.I.E.L.D. handler,
posing as the Org and the Hub (the voice
of the Org), to guide him through his
memory loss and gather intelligence on
the criminal underworld. Mercedes is also
the Taskmaster's wife, having been happily
married while they were both agents of
S.H.I.E.L.D. As a result of the Taskmaster's
powers, his explicit memories of Mercedes
were lost, and he had no recollection of
being married.[58]

When S.H.I.E.L.D. was shut down by

Norman Osborn, Mercedes went rogue and
continued her role as her husband's
handler. However, when a billion-dollar
bounty was placed on the Taskmaster's
head by someone claiming to be the Org,
Mercedes was forced to break her cover
and battle alongside her husband against
Redshirt and the Minions' International
Liberation Front. Once their enemies were
beaten, and the Taskmaster once again
forgot who she was, Mercedes mournfully
returned to her previous role.[55]

Known students
This section needs expansion.
Learn more

The following characters have been

trained by Taskmaster:

Agent X[59]
Annex[60]
Blood Spider[15]
Crossbones[61]
Cutthroat[62]
Deadpool Interns[63]
Deadair
Deadend
Deadweight
Death-Shield[15]
Delroy Garrett[60]
Diamondback[64]
Don of the Dead[65]
 Geiger[66]
Jagged Bow[15]
Sunstreak[67]
U.S. Agent[68]

Other versions
Alternative versions of the Taskmaster
have appeared in various Marvel titles in
minor roles.

What If …

In a What If? storyline What if... Steve

Rogers had refused to give up being
Captain America? vol. 2 #3 (1989), the
Taskmaster trained the Super-Patriot and
the Buckies to replace Captain America.[69]

Avataars: Covenant of the Shield …

An alternate version of the Taskmaster

appears in Avataars: Covenant of the Shield
#1 (2000) where the Marvel Universe is re-
imagined in a fantasy setting. In this reality,
the Taskmaster is an assassin known as
the Deathmaster.[70]

Marvel Universe Millennial Visions …

2001

In the Marvel Universe Millennial Visions

2001 (2002) storyline Thunderbolts: Give a
Guy a Break, Hawkeye takes it upon
himself to force supervillains to seek
redemption. The Taskmaster is among the
supervillains hypnotized by the Ringmaster
and forced to become a member of the
Thunderbolts.[71]

JLA/Avengers …

In JLA/Avengers #4 (2004), part of the

Marvel/DC co-published crossover series,
the Taskmaster is among the supervillains
to confront Batman, Black Panther, Black
Widow and Huntress in the final battle with
Krona.[72]

Marvel Apes …

A primate version of the Taskmaster

appears in the Marvel Apes titles Marvel
Apes: Evolution Starts Here #1 (2009),
Marvel: Apes: Speedball Special #1 (2009)
and Marvel Apes: Grunt Line Special #1
(2009).[73][74][75]
Marvel Universe vs. the Punisher …

In Marvel Universe vs. the Punisher #4

(September 2010), where the Marvel
Universe is infected by a cannibal plague,
the Taskmaster is killed when the Red Hulk
tears his head off.[76]

Deadpool Max …

A female version of Taskmaster appeared

in the Marvel Max series Deadpool Max.
This version became a mother figure to a
young version of Deadpool when she
kidnapped his Muskrat troop.[77]
House of M …

In the House of M reality, the Taskmaster

appeared as a member of the strike force
known as the Brotherhood. Although not a
mutant, he used his abilities to pass as
one, since humans (even super-powered
humans) were treated as second-class
citizens.[78] However, after he was beaten
by Luke Cage for the murder of Tigra, he
was found to be a human masquerading
as a mutant.[79]
Marvel vs. Capcom …

The Taskmaster appears in Marvel Vs.

Capcom: Fate of Two Worlds #1 (2011)
based on his appearance in the Marvel vs.
Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds video game.
He briefly appears in Latveria, having been
hired by Dr. Doom to aid in the invasion of
the second Earth and grows increasingly
impatient due to Albert Wesker's inability
to fully link the two worlds.[80]

Ultraverse …
The Taskmaster appears in the Malibu
Comics (also known as the Ultraverse)
series Siren (1995), Siren #1–3 (1995) and
Siren Special #1 (1996) as a supporting
character.[81][82]

Age of Ultron …

In the Age of Ultron story, the Taskmaster

is depicted as working with the Black
Panther and the Red Hulk in Chicago
attempting to capture Ultron Sentinel
technology. Successful in doing so, Red
Hulk holds off the Ultron minions to allow
Taskmaster and Black Panther to
escape.[83] When Taskmaster tries to run
away with one of the Ultron Sentinels, Red
Hulk tells him he doesn't trust him, and
then kills him.[84]

Ultimate Marvel …

The Ultimate Marvel version of Taskmaster

appears in Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man;
this iteration is an African-American
mercenary. Hired by Phillip Roxxon,[85] he
confronts Spider-Man, Spider-Woman,
Cloak & Dagger and Bombshell, and
displays the ability to absorb and re-
channel energy-based superpowers.
Taskmaster is eventually defeated by the
young amateur superheroes.[86]

In other media

Television …

Taskmaster appears in the Ultimate

Spider-Man animated series, voiced
primarily by Clancy Brown,[87][88] and
briefly by Stan Lee.[89] A deadly criminal
mercenary who has the ability to
duplicate and predict anyone's moves
just by looking at his opponents, this
version's first attire resembles his
original costume (albeit with minor
differences) and his second attire
resembles his modern costume. He first
appears in "Why I Hate The Gym" where
he's hired by Doctor Octopus and goes
undercover as gym teacher Coach
Yeager to learn Spider-Man's identity
with Flash Thompson and Harry Osborn
as suspects but is defeated when the
web-slinger and White Tiger, and then in
"Ultimate Deadpool" where he has stolen
encrypted information (superheroes'
secret identities) while dealing with
Deadpool's unpredictable nature. During
the "New Warriors" story arc,
Taskmaster has his signature shield and
a laser-sword. He strives to recruit
fledgling young superheroes for his own
sinister purposes and thus has regular
conflict with Spider-Man. He first enlists
the Beetle to retrieve a sample of the
mass-produced Venom symbiote,
leading to two mercenaries' showdown
with Spider-Man and Agent Venom.
Taskmaster later hacks the S.H.I.E.L.D.
information on different young heroes,
successfully manipulating Cloak &
Dagger into his training program.
Taskmaster next tries to steal the Iron
Spider armor by impersonating
S.H.I.E.L.D. official Stan and recruit
Amadeus Cho into his cause, losing the
Iron Spider armor and gets defeated by
Spider-Man and Iron Spider. After
obtaining Doc Ock's notes, Taskmaster
manipulated the Vulture onto his side.
He then tries to recruit Ka-Zar while
Kraven the Hunter wants to sacrifice
Zabu for immortality but both are foiled
by Spider-Man and Wolverine. After
months of planning, Taskmaster leads
his team to infiltrate the S.H.I.E.L.D. Tri-
Carrier. He has his team 'thin the herd' of
the S.H.I.E.L.D. Trainees and
manipulates the New Warriors into
freeing several supervillains led by the
Green Goblin (who hired Taskmaster)
but Cloak & Dagger are left for dead and
defect to Spider-Man's side. As the
escaped supervillains fight the New
Warriors and the Goblin retrieves the
Siege Perilous, Taskmaster personally
fights Spider-Man one-on-one but
eventually defeated by the web-slinger.
In "Contest of Champions" Pt. 1,
Taskmaster is seen as one of the
Grandmaster's many collected villains
for the contest against Spider-Man and
the Collector.
Taskmaster appears in the Avengers
Assemble animated series, voiced again
by Clancy Brown.[87][90] In the episode
"Show Your Work", he allied with the New
Avengers, reluctantly assisting Ms.
Marvel and Vision with stopping
MODOK's plans to repopulate the Earth
with clones. In the episode "The Night
Has Wings", Taskmaster and his
 henchmen have stolen a hyper-cannon
on their airplane until the Black Panther
crashes their heist. The resulting flight
causes the damaged hyper-cannon to
explode as Black Panther places
Taskmaster in the same ensnaring trap
as his henchmen. Black Panther lands
on a personal boat as the authorities
round up Taskmaster and his henchmen.

Film …

Taskmaster has a cameo appearance in

Avengers Confidential: Black Widow &
Punisher. He is a member of
Leviathan.[91]
Taskmaster appears in Iron Man and
Captain America: Heroes United, voiced
again by Clancy Brown.[87] He is hired by
the Red Skull to fight Captain America
and Iron Man.
Taskmaster will appear in the upcoming
film Black Widow (2020), set in the
Marvel Cinematic Universe.[92] This
version of the character is a mysterious
combat operative that goes by the
callsign “Taskmaster” and is in control
the Red Room. He appears to have
 studied and replicated the fighting styles
and weapons of the Avengers to use in
combat similar to his comic book
counterpart. The actor who is playing
the character will not be revealed until
the movies release. [93]

Video games …

Taskmaster appears as a playable

character in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate
of Two Worlds and Ultimate Marvel vs.
Capcom 3, voiced by Steve Blum.[94] In
his single player ending, he makes
money with exercising videos and self-
merchandising after defeating Galactus.
Taskmaster appears as a playable
character in Marvel Heroes, voiced again
by Steve Blum.[94][87]
Taskmaster appears as the final boss in
Captain America's storyline in Avengers
Initiative, voiced again by Steve Blum.[95]
Taskmaster appears as a boss and
unlockable playable character in Marvel:
Avengers Alliance.[96]
Taskmaster appears as an unlockable
playable character in Lego Marvel Super
Heroes, voiced again by Steve Blum.[94]
Taskmaster appears as an unlockable
playable character in Marvel: Avengers
Alliance Tactics.[97]
Taskmaster appears as a boss in
Captain America: The Winter Soldier - The
Official Game, voiced by Roger Craig
Smith.[98]
Taskmaster appears as an unlockable
playable character in Marvel Avengers
Academy, voiced by Adam Montoya.[99]
Taskmaster appears as an unlockable
playable character in Lego Marvel's
Avengers.[100]
Taskmaster appears as a side mission
boss in the 2018 Spider-Man video
game,[101] voiced by Brian Bloom.[87]
Similar to the comics, this version of the
character is a mercenary for hire and a
skilled hand-to-hand combatant, who is
able to copy anyone's fighting style by
simply watching them for a few
seconds. He uses a wide variety of high
tech weapons, including an energy
sword, electric bolas, and stun
grenades. In the game, Taskmaster sets
up a series of special challenges around
the city to test Spider-Man's abilities,
consisting mostly of fighting
mercenaries, rescuing hostages,
tracking drones, or deactivating bombs,
all the while observing him from afar.
After all his challenges are completed,
Taskmaster, impressed by Spider-Man's
skills, eventually decides to engage him
in two separate fights. Despite his
advanced fighting techniques and
weapons, as well as being able to copy
several of Spider-Man's moves,
Taskmaster is ultimately defeated by the
web-slinger and reveals to him that he
 was hired by a mysterious organization
to see if Spider-Man was worth
recruiting, before using a smoke bomb
to vanish without trace.
Taskmaster will appear in Avengers.[102]
This version of the character is a former
S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who nows runs a
private mercenary group working for a
mysterious employer. He is also shown
to have a past with Black Widow, who
calls him "Masters" and mocks him for
stealing other heroes' moves.

Merchandise …
Taskmaster is the 104th figurine in The
Classic Marvel Figurine Collection.
Taskmaster is the 124th figurine in the
"Marvel Pop!" line made by Funko.
A figure of Taskmaster was released in
series 11 (Legendary Rider Series) of
Toy Biz's 6" Marvel Legends line.
A figure of Taskmaster was released as
part of the exclusive 2007 series of the
Marvel Minimates line.
A figure of Taskmaster was released in
wave 20 of the Marvel Super Hero Squad
line, packed with Deadpool.
A figure of Taskmaster was released in
a two-pack of Marvel Universe figures,
part of the series "Marvel's Greatest
Battles". Taskmaster comes packaged
with Deadpool and a reprinted copy of
Cable & Deadpool #36.
A figure of Taskmaster was released in
the 2014 Lego Marvel Super Heroes set
76018 Hulk Lab Smash.
Hasbro released a figure of Taskmaster,
based on his second design in Ultimate
Spider-Man, in their Marvel Legends Red
Onslaught Build-A-Figure line, marketed
 under the banner "Mercenaries of
Mayhem".
A figure of Taskmaster was released in
the 2018 Marvel Legends Avengers:
Infinity War Thanos Build-A-Figure line.

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External links
Taskmaster at Marvel.com
Taskmaster at Marvel Wiki

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"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Taskmaster_(comics)&oldid=944753245"

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