taskmaster actor

Taskmaster series 17 cast: Everything you need to know about the new contestants

Taskmaster returned to Channel 4 on Thursday for its 17th season, featuring five new contestants.

The comedy gameshow, which first aired on Dave in 2015, sees five comedy acts put to the test in a series of wacky physical and mental challenges over its 10-episode-long seasons.

Its 17th season began on Thursday 28 March, with subsequent episodes following weekly at 9pm on Channel 4 .

Here’s everything you need to know about this season’s contestants.

Taskmaster contestants

Five new comedians have joined the Taskmaster line-up for this season alongside hosts Greg Davies and Alex Horne .

Nick Mohammed

Nick Mohammed has portrayed his character Mr Swallow on stage and on screen for more than a decade.

The Taskmaster effect: How a gameshow became the comedian's golden ticket

The Leeds-born actor, comedian and writer, 43, received Emmy nominations in back-to-back years for his role as Nathan Shelley in the Apple TV+ hit series Ted Lasso and is both the creator and a star of Sky One series Intelligence .

He voiced Piglet in the 2018 Disney film Christopher Robin and also features as the character Billy Blind in new Disney+ series Renegade Nell .

Joanne McNally

Joanne McNally is an Irish stand-up comic, writer and actress who hosts a podcast called My Therapist Ghosted Me alongside model and media personality Vogue Williams.

She appeared on Channel 4’s The Big Fat Quiz of Everything in April 2022, and co-presented the one-off E4 special Joanne & Vogue’s Sex Drive alongside Williams in September 2023.

McNally, 40, previously starred in comedy show Separated at Birth (which she wrote co-wrote with co-star PJ Gallagher, who spotted her during her 2014 stage show Singlehood ), and has appeared in other shows including Richard Osman ’s House of Games and Iain Stirling ’s CelabAbility as well as performing at various comedy festivals.

She has been a semi-finalist in comedy competitions So You Think You’re Funny and Funny Women .

Steve Pemberton

Best known as a member of the sketchy comedy team The League of Gentlemen , Steve Pemberton , 56, is also a co-writer and star of black comedies Psychoville and anthology series Inside No. 9 .

The actor, comedian, director and writer, who was born and raised in Blackburn, met his fellow League of Gentlemen members Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith and Jeremy Dyson as a teen at Bretton Hall College (now merged with the University of Leeds) and was awarded a British Academy Television Award among various other accolades for the BBC Two adaptation of their act that first began on stage in 1995.

From 2007 to 2015 he appeared as Mick Garvey in ITV sitcom Benidorm , while Pemberton’s various other notable television credits include Doctor Who , Blackpool , Whitechapel , Shameless , Happy Valley and Mapp and Lucia .

Pemberton won the Taskmaster season 17 opening episode on Thursday, which saw him and his fellow contestants trying to do something risky with an egg and attempting to hoopla a pretend gorilla.

Sophie Willan

Bolton-born Bafta -winning actress, narrator, writer and comedian Sophie Willan, 36, began her career in theatre and stand-up comedy .

Her multiple television roles have since included BBC One’s Still Open All Hours and Click & Collect , as well as CBBC’s Class Dismissed , while she is also the narrator of Channel 4 reality TV gameshow The Circle .

Willan’s sitcom Alma’s Not Normal received critical acclaim and won her a Bafta for best comedy writer for the show’s pilot , while she was awarded best female comedy performance at the 2022 British Academy Television Awards for her role in the series.

She also starred as Maeve in the second series of BBC One prison drama Time in 2023.

John Robins

John Robins , a 41-year-old Bristolian stand-up comic and radio presenter, first gained fame after reaching the semi-finals of the So You Think You’re Funny competition at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2005.

The Oxford-educated comedian has since appeared on The Russell Howard Show , The Jon Richardson Show – he shared a flat with both Howard and Richardson in Bristol after graduating from university – and Mock the Week .

Robins began hosting the Elis James and John Robins show on Radio X in 2014, which ran until 2019 when the pair began a new BBC Radio 5 Live podcast called How Do You Cope?…with Elis and John .

In 2017 he was the first joint winner of the Edinburgh Fringe Comedy award, which he shared with Hannah Gadsby .

He started a YouTube channel called Bad Golf alongside friend, fellow comedian and Taskmaster creator and host Horne, which has over 62,000 subscribers and nearly 100 videos as of March 2024.

The Black Widow Villain Taskmaster Remains One of Marvel's Biggest Mysteries

There's a reason we don't know who is playing the beloved comic book character in the MCU's next film.

A prequel to the whole Avengers thing, the upcoming movie based on super-secret-Russian-not-Russian-agent Natasha Romanov represents the first major glimpse at what might lie ahead for the MCU. And fortunately for those of us who are tired of the same ol' mopey white guy superhero narrative, this movie centers around a woman–or, from the looks of the new trailer , two women. Florence Pugh is in the MCU now. Florence Pugh!!

Not everything about Black Widow looks completely foreign to the main Avengers storyline, though. The central antagonist of the film, at least based on everything we've seen so far, is a spooky bad guy called Taskmaster. He may not be a recognizable figure in the Marvel movieverse, but for longtime fans of the comics (and video games), Taskmaster is about as well-known as Tony Stark. Here's a little rundown of what makes the copycat mercenary so cool.

Taskmaster, the Master of Tasks (no one calls him this) is another trained killer, not completely unlike Black Widow. The talent for which he's most well-known is his photographic memory. Or, as they refer to it in the comics, "photographic reflexes." As a kid, he realized he had the ability to perform any physical manuever simply by seeing someone do it. This has always made him–a bad guy whose actual identity has never really been revealed–a formidable opponent to the Avengers.

You'll see in the latest trailer that he has a shield. Like in the comics, he'll likely be using it the same way Captain America does. Or if there's a bow and arrow, you can assume he probably scooped up some deadly marksmanship abilities from Hawkeye. He also seems to have a sword–did anyone on the Avengers have a sword? Perhaps we'll be getting more swords in the MCU. I'm down for that.

The character was created in the 1980s by artist George Pérez and David Michelinie. His big catchphrase on the cover of Avengers #195 (his first appearance) is "Anything the Avengers can do, I can do better!" Not a bad catchphrase. Hopefully he says it in the new film.

Whereas his look in the comics has almost always included a cape, hood, and some sort of skull mask, the dude in the upcoming Black Widow movie seems expectedly Feige'd up–he's all clad in a muted black tactical costume, huge goggles, metal wrist plates, and, sadly, no cape. But who knows, maybe Marvel will do what the Sonic movie did and have the character gradually look more and more insane throughout the film–I'd love to see him in full spandex, underwear on the outside, by the end of the movie.

We have no idea who's playing Taskmaster. That's got to be on purpose. There's sure to be some sort of reveal in the ending. My money's on David Harbour–we know he's playing a secondary character right now, but something tells me the MCU has bigger plans in mind for the Stranger Things star.

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Taskmaster explained: How Marvel reinvented the character's origin for Black Widow

Here's what you need to know about Taskmaster's comic book roots and how they changed for the MCU.

Warning: Spoilers from Black Widow are discussed in this article.

The movies (and now TV shows) of the Marvel Cinematic Universe routinely take known elements from the comics and reinterpret them in ways that make sense for this interconnected world. It wasn't a surprise the same was done for Taskmaster, a primary adversary in Black Widow (in theaters now).

It was practically expected that there would be some big twist to this masked militant chasing down Scarlett Johansson and Florence Pugh through the streets of Budapest, especially after the trailers claimed this figure was in control of an army of Widows who were all cycled through the same assassin training program as the Black Widow herself, Natasha Romanoff.

The name Taskmaster is known to most readers of Marvel comics, or most people who watched Saturday morning superhero cartoons, or players of the more recent Marvel games. The villain has been everywhere, but Black Widow takes the fundamental aspects of Taskmaster and reinterprets them not just literally but thematically for Natasha's first (and presumably last) solo movie outing.

The man known as Taskmaster was born Anthony "Tony" Masters, and the name fit his unique set of skills. Growing up in the Bronx in New York City, he learned quickly of his mnemonic abilities. He watches a cowboy show on TV and moments later can replicate the lasso moves. He sees a man backwards dive into a pool, and Tony is able to do the same — though he nearly drowns because he didn't watch the man swim, apparently. Tony sees, Tony does. Tony masters his craft.

He could've gone the way of heroism but reasoned there were more perks to being a supervillain. Tony debuted as Taskmaster at the end of Avengers issue #195 from David Michelinie and George Perez in 1980 and became more prominent the following issue, even claiming the cover.

Sporting a hood and a skull mask, Taskmaster proved to be a formidable foe for the Ant-people — Hank Pym, Janet Van Dyne, and Scott Lang — thanks to his abilities to replicate their moves. He wasn't able to mimic a hero's superhuman powers at the time, just their physical movements. But that did come later for a short while, thanks to some experimentations.

Tony took the name Taskmaster from his days heading his own school of villainy, where he would train aspiring criminals in combat. He then later became a hired gun, working for various organizations.

Pop culture prominence

Before Black Widow , Taskmaster appeared more and more across Marvel entertainment, notably in Marvel's Avengers and Marvel's Spider-Man video games.

The former actually saw Taskmaster in combat with Natasha in a very similar setting to their first run-in during the events of Black Widow . During A Day, which was a big celebration for the opening of Avengers' West Coast headquarters in the story of the game, Taskmaster and his cohorts set off a series of explosions on the Golden Gate Bridge. With Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, and Hulk already occupied, Natasha finds herself on a bridge battling the man of the hour.

The fight becomes incrementally more intense. The more Taskmaster is able to watch Widow in action, the more he learns and the more difficult he becomes to subdue.

He takes on a different role in Marvel's Spider-Man as a side mission in the open-world game. On patrol in Manhattan, Peter Parker's web-slinger comes across these strange devices, some of which are bombs, some of which are obstacles — or "tasks" — designed to put him through the wringer. This is Taskmaster's way of learning how Spider-Man moves and fights. After a few of these impediments, the shadowy figure emerges to face off against Spidey, using everything he's learned about the hero against him.

Elsewhere in pop culture, actor Clancy Brown voiced Taskmaster in the animated Ultimate Spider-Man series on Disney XD. Brown returned to the role for the Avengers Assemble and Iron Man and Captain America: Heroes United cartoons.

Black Widow

The MCU's version of Taskmaster is so far different than these origins in other properties. This figure is an assassin that operates on behalf of the Red Room, the Soviets' top-secret program that takes young women and turns those who survive the training into Black Widow assassins.

We learn over the course of Black Widow that Natasha has been led to believe the Red Room and its excruciating practices were dissolved. Her final task to prove herself to S.H.I.E.L.D. way back when was to execute Dreykov ( Ray Winstone ), who heads the Red Room. She never confirmed the kill, assuming his body and that of Dreykov's young daughter, Antonia, were destroyed in a bombing she initiated. Natasha realizes the harsh reality of her mistake when she encounters Taskmaster, otherwise referred to as "the Taskmaster program," in the present.

Instead of Tony Masters, Taskmaster is Antonia all grown up, whom he brainwashed to serving his every command, just as he's done to all the active Widows in the Red Room. Olga Kurylenko , who previously appeared in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace and the Tom Cruise actioner Oblivion , plays Taskmaster in the film.

As Natasha is pursued by this deadly force, we see Taskmaster channeling the physical abilities of Captain America (complete with her own shield), Black Panther (with extendable metal claws on her gloves), Hawkeye (with a bow and exploding arrows), and Natasha. All these moves have been uploaded to her mind through Red Room technology.

With Taskmaster, especially in this context, comes a question of identity. The character as we've come to know can so easily adopt the attributes of others to mask his own identity. Black Widow takes this to another level. It's a film about men taking away female agency to the point where they lose themselves, even if the events of the story are pretty on the nose. (A brainwashing gas that makes women susceptible to male influence.) Antonia loses herself entirely in this person her father has forced her to become, and it's only with her death and the destruction of the Red Room that she's able to free herself.

It appears that's now it for Taskmaster in the MCU, as Black Widow is setting up the return of Pugh's Yelena in the Disney+ Hawkeye series. That and more devious plans from Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Val .

Related content:

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Taskmaster Actor Explains the Character's True Importance to Black Widow

The actor behind Black Widow's Taskmaster explains the mysterious character's true importance to Natasha and her backstory in the film.

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Black Widow , now playing in theaters and streaming on Disney+ Premier Access.

Leading up to Black Widow 's release , Marvel Studios kept a tight lid on the identity of the mysterious Taskmaster, a character who can perfectly mimic their opponents' fighting style and use it against them. Ultimately, the movie reveals the masked figure is really Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko), the daughter of the Red Room's overseer, General Dreykov, whom Natasha Romanoff believed she killed years ago while attempting to take Dreykov out.

"I think it's important, and it's closer to reality and how things go in life," said Kurylenko, discussing Antonia's importance to Natasha's arc in the film with GamesRadar+ . "And also more believable. I think it makes both of the characters more interesting. Because no one is a straightforward goodie or straightforward baddie, and therefore good people, even when they try to do something good, they just make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes, even the superhero makes mistakes. And it makes [Natasha] more complex. It's not just all perfect. It'll be boring, right?"

RELATED: Black Widow's Latest Victory? A Surging Popularity in Red Hair Dye

"And [Natasha] has all those feelings and remorse obviously about -- she thinks she killed the girl," Kurylenko added. "She doesn't seem to feel good about it. But for her, it's done. And then obviously later when she realizes the damage and what actually was created following that mistake, in a way she is implicated in this creation of this villain. In a way. She of course didn't decide to make her the Taskmaster. She didn't decide to make Antonia a weapon of war. But that decision was made following the accident that Natasha provoked."

Black Widow ends with Natasha using the synthesized gas that neutralizes the Red Room's mind-control agent on Antonia/Taskmaster , restoring her agency. Antonia then leaves with Yelena Belova, Melina Vostokoff, Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian and the other Red Room assassins who've been exposed to the synthesized gas, possibly assisting them as they set out to find and free the other mind-controlled Black Widows around the world.

RELATED: Black Widow Sets a Disappointing MCU Box Office Record

Kurylenko admitted she doesn't what, if anything, comes next for her character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Marvel's plans under lock and key for the time being. However, she said she would "of course" return as Taskmaster for a Disney+ spinoff centered on Antonia and her continuing journey.

Directed by Cate Shortland, Black Widow is playing in theaters and streaming on Disney+ Premier Access. Following her MCU debut in the movie, Florence Pugh is set to reprise her role as Yelena opposite Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton and Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop in the Hawkeye series.

KEEP READING: Black Widow's David Harbour Wants a Red Guardian Nod in Stranger Things

Source: GamesRadar+

The Actor Behind Taskmaster In 'Black Widow' Had To Keep Their Casting A Secret From Their Own Mother [Interview]

Black Widow has been in theaters and streaming on Disney+ Premier Access for a week now, and those who've seen it know how memorable Taskmaster is...and how the character's identity is one of the film's biggest reveals.

/Film had the chance to interview the actor behind Taskmaser's helmet about being part of the film and what may be in store for the Marvel supervillain, should they appear in the future. Read on for that interview, though be warned –  major spoilers for Black Widow  lie ahead .

That actor playing Taskmaster — something that was amazingly kept under wraps for years — is Olga Kurylenko . Before taking on the role of Antiona/Taskmaster in  Black Widow , she was best known for her leading role in the 2008 James Bond movie  Quantum of Solace . In our conversation, we talked about her playing Taskmaster, what it was like keeping that secret for so long, and if the character could return.

This interview has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity. What was it like for you to have to keep it under wraps for so long? And also, what did Marvel do to help you keep that a secret?

Well, they asked me not to tell obviously. They did help on set while we were filming because they had me wrapped up — they had me walk under an umbrella with fabric hanging from the umbrella on all sides so no one could see me. You could just see that a big dot, a weird shape moving around. I kept the secret, but it's not that difficult for me.

Of course, obviously when people would speak about the film it was strange. Even my mother said, "Oh Olga, I saw this trailer." That was a year ago, not now, but it was supposed to come out a year ago. And she said, "I want to see this great film, Black Widow ." And I was like, "Oh yeah, yeah. We can go together." And I had to pretend I didn't know anything.

Oh wow, your mom didn't even know?

No! She was like, "Yeah, can we go together to the cinema?" And I said, "Yeah, sure. We'll go." And I had to keep cool and act like I knew nothing about it. So it's kind of strange, but it's not difficult for me because I don't spill secrets. They didn't ask me, but the same thing happened when I got James Bond. I just didn't want anybody to know, and I didn't tell any of my friends. For awhile, no one knew that as well.

When you were on the set of Black Widow , how much of it is you all the fight scenes? Because obviously Taskmaster's face is covered. Were you there for those scenes as well?

Well, I wish I could say it was all me throughout. That's unfortunately not the truth, because Taskmaster has very, very complicated fight scenes and some incredible skills that I just unfortunately couldn't do, and I had to be dubbed by stunt doubles. But yeah, believe me — would I have liked to do it? I would. If they had told me before, "Olga, we're going to take months and we're going to train you so you actually can do it." I would have said yes. I love it — I love stunts and action and fighting.

You definitely have the experience with that with Quantum of Solace . You had a little bit of a Bond reunion on Black Widow with David Harbor. Did you reminisce at all about shooting that film?

Like a couple of jokes, yeah.

Nice. One thing I thought was really touching was at the end when Natasha removes the brainwashing Antonia's father did to her. Her words — "Is he gone?" — were so impactful. Just three words that spoke so much. How did you approach that scene and what Antonia might've been feeling and going through at that moment?

There was a lot of thinking and getting into that pain and all those traumas that Antonia has been through. It's ironic because obviously, it's a member of her family, but it's also someone who was abusive and manipulating her. We can also see clearly that he's abusive to women in general. It's the worst thing to experience that from someone who is part of your family or a loved one. If someone like that is part of your family, it's much more of a struggle because you're supposed to love them and be protected by them. And yet the opposite happens.

And so the character is confused and yet she can't help but be in pain anyway because she's lost him. It's an incredible moment. It's so confusing and contradicting, and there's a whole explosion of emotions. That moment when she comes to with Black Widow, I think it's a beautiful moment of recognition.

And what do you think she feels about Natasha? Obviously there are conflicted emotions there too.

It wasn't explored, but I think she would be thinking what she was instructed to think since she was a child when that event damages her physically and probably emotionally. Whatever she's been fed, she believes. I think the character is confused, because she will only start thinking on her from the moment that the spell has gone. And that happens in the end. Before that, I don't think she's quite aware of what the reality is. She just simply doesn't know.

And now that she's in control of her own mind again and she's with the Widows, what do you hope for her? What do you hope she goes off to do?

There's so much you can do. She's going to be, I think, conflicted between the bad and the good, and probably torn in all directions and try to figure out which way she wants to go. But I think because underneath she's a vulnerable human, she could be explored in all sorts of ways. The thing is, she could be always caught up in that power and manipulated again. So that's always a danger. It's always a danger to keep away from being possessed and concentrate on keeping her freedom. But it doesn't mean that she'll succeed at it. And there's always bad forces that will try to capture her, I would imagine. It's that kind of character. The character's too valuable and too skillful to let go. Obviously, even though the main baddie is gone, there'll be others that are going to try and do it. I would just imagine. I know nothing at all, I'm just speculating.

Would you like to play her again?

Oh, I'd love it. I'd love it. It would be awesome.

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• Black Widow’s Taskmaster is a twist on an old Marvel favorite

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Every good Marvel superhero needs a supervillain , so as Black Widow stepped up for her solo movie debut , it’s only natural that she got a signature bad guy to go along with her. In Black Widow , that’s Taskmaster , the mysterious killer with the ability to learn any fighting technique simply by watching it.

Even with their true identity shrouded in secrecy, the maniacal masked mimic is the biggest recognizable threat of Black Widow , and the latest supervillain entry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

What is Taskmaster like in the comics?

The villain was co-created by the legendary writer-artist George Pérez and writer David Michelinie, who also co-created Venom, Scott Lang, and James “Rhodey” Rhodes. The character first appeared in the pages of 1980’s The Avengers #196, in a story called “The Terrible Toll of the Taskmaster.” That’s not important, it’s just great alliteration.

In the comics, Taskmaster’s true identity has always been unknown, but his abilities are well-documented. When he was a kid, he discovered he could master any physical skill simply by watching someone perform it, a phenomenon doctors referred to as “photographic reflexes.” As an adult, he turned his talent to the criminal sphere, observing the techniques of as many superheroes and villains as he could, in order to master their skills. Eventually, he branched out from trying to defeat the Avengers or working as a hired killer to using his ill-gotten gains to open training facilities for other criminals and henchmen.

This has often made him a formidable enemy for low-powered and martial-based heroes like Captain America, Daredevil, and Iron Fist — and now the Black Widow.

[ Ed. note : The following contains spoilers for Black Widow .]

Who is Taskmaster in Black Widow?

Taskmaster’s movie costume favors navy blue, and orange and chrome accents where comic Taskmaster has orange and white. They have a skull-like mask and a sword and shield. The movie clearly shows off Taskmaster’s trademark superpower of instantly learning an opponent’s skills, showing off the martial stylings of Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Panther in Black Widow .

Movie Taskmaster doesn’t have the cool white cape of comic book Taskmaster, but where the film really diverges from comics canon is that its Taskmaster does have a secret identity.

Natasha spends much of the movie reflecting on a singular moment of red in her ledger, a day in Budapest when — while assassinating General Dreykov, the man in charge of the Red Room where she was indoctrinated and trained as a spy — she chose to allow her target’s young daughter, Antonia, to become collateral damage, rather than calling off the hit. In the climactic moments of Black Widow, Dreykov reveals that Antonia survived (the adult version of her is played by Olga Kurylenko), whereupon he pressed her into the Red Room program, supplementing her damaged body with electronic parts that gave her the ability to copy others’ moves and techniques. Against her will, he turned her into his most useful assassin.

At the end of Black Widow , Taskmaster’s future is unclear — she has left her vendetta against Natasha behind her, and joined with the rest of the Red Room Widows. But whether she’ll return again in a future Marvel movie or TV series is anyone’s guess.

In This Stream

Black widow is on disney plus — here’s what to know after you watch it.

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The Taskmaster Twist in Black Widow Explained

Who is taskmaster we finally have the answer..

With the release of Marvel’s Black Widow movie, we finally know the answer to the film’s biggest mystery: Who is Taskmaster?

Warning: full spoilers for Black Widow ahead!

We’re going to recap everything we learned about this new MCU version of Taskmaster, explain the character's big twist, and compare the movie version to the very different comic book version.

Be sure to check out our Black Widow review !

Taskmaster's Identity in the Comics

If you’re a Marvel Comics reader, then you probably expected Taskmaster to be mercenary Tony Masters, a gifted fighter with the natural-born ability to mimic the fighting style of anyone he sees.

Taskmaster first debuted in 1980 as a tricky Avengers villain and went on to become a combat instructor hired by both villains and heroes. That’s why he often shows up in Marvel video games, to test the player with various challenges and give them a hard time along the way. He’s known for being pretty snarky.

But the MCU threw most of that out the window and gave us a brand new take on the character.

(For a full breakdown on Taskmaster's comic book origin, powers, and history, check out our Taskmaster explainer !)

Taskmaster's Identity in the MCU

After pursuing Natasha Romanoff throughout the movie, Taskmaster is finally revealed to be Dreykov’s daughter, Antonia Dreykov, played by former Bond actress Olga Kurylenko.

This twist created a brand new iteration of Taskmaster completely unique to the MCU. This version still had the power of mimicry and the signature skull look, but underneath things couldn’t be more different.

As it turns out, Black Widow’s final mission in her defection to SHIELD was to kill the leader of the Red Room, Dreykov. We learn this was the mission in Budapest referenced back in the first Avengers movie. ("Just like Budapest all over again."/"You and I remember Budapest very differently.")

For this mission, Natasha and Clint Barton rigged bombs to take out Drekov. Tragically, Nat used young Antonia as a way to get to Drekov and coldly considered her to be “collateral damage” when she seemingly died in the blast meant for Dreykov. Little did she know, Drekov survived, and he saved Antonia’s life so she could one day return… with a vengeance.

After Nat “completed” that mission, she shot it out with the Hungarian Special Forces and hid out with Hawkeye for 10 days before successfully escaping (Nat brought Yelena to their old hideout in the train station ceiling to evade Taskmaster) and starting her career as a SHIELD spy and eventually becoming a founding member of the Avengers.

Suddenly the scene from Avengers where Loki brings up Drekov’s daughter as a way to spook Natasha makes a lot more sense. ("I've got red in my ledger. I'd like to wipe it out."/"Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Dreykov's daughter?")

Meanwhile, Dreykov put Melina’s mind-control technology to use on Antonia, completely reprogramming her brain by putting a chip in the back of her neck and turning her into what he considers his greatest weapon: a powerful assassin capable of fighting like Earth’s mightiest heroes. This Taskmaster became his tool reserved for high priority missions, and we saw that Yelena defecting with a batch of Mind Control Cure-All and sending it to Natasha called for Drekov to activate the Taskmaster Protocol.

This is a huge departure from the comics, where instead of being a mercenary and teacher with his own free will, Taskmaster was a mindless drone programmed to execute orders with brutal efficiency. Based on what we saw in the movie, it seems the MCU Taskmaster is far stronger than the one in the comics. Comics-Taskmaster was essentially a normal guy with slight enhancements, whereas movie-Taskmaster completely clobbered the super-powered Red Guardian and went undefeated the entire movie.

And on that note, Taskmaster proved to be too much for Natasha, leaving her bruised and beaten after their battle on the bridge. It wasn’t until their reunion on the flying Red Room fortress that Natasha learned the truth, and then she made it her mission to save Antonia.

The 25 Best Marvel Villains in the MCU

The End of Taskmaster’s Story

At the end of the movie, Natasha uses her signature leg-twirl attack to remove Taskmaster’s helmet, allowing her to give Antonia the antidote and deliver the good news that her father, the man who turned her into a mindless killing machine, was finally gone for good. Antonia then joins the escaping Widows and Natasha’s family, where she’ll get to start a new life of her own.

On a thematic level, this somewhat absolves Natasha of her greatest regret, killing a child to gain her own freedom, and gave her a chance to redeem herself, at least on some level, by freeing Antonia from her father’s control and giving her a second shot at life. This doesn’t exactly remove all that red from Natasha’s ledger, but she at least got rid of some, like with a Tide Pen.

We don’t know where Taskmaster went with Nat’s family, but it wouldn’t surprise us to see her pop up again in another MCU movie. (We know how Marvel works, it’s practically a given at this point.) Perhaps when we meet her next, she’ll be a mercenary training others to fight like the Avengers. Then she’d live up to the Taskmaster name and become a little more like the fan-favorite comic book version.

It’s also a possibility that she will join whatever sort of Dark Avengers/Thunderbolts team that is being put together by Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine. We saw the Contessa recruit Yelena in the Black Widow post-credits scene, so why not Taskmaster? Taskmaster’s intricate knowledge of the Avengers’ fighting styles and the inner workings of the Dreykov’s Red Room spy network would be of great value to someone like Valentina.

For more on the film, check out our Black Widow post credits scene and ending explained , dig in on the history of Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine , or help us examine whether or not Red Guardian really did fight Captain America .

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Who is Taskmaster? What to know about the Phase 4 'Black Widow' villain

Taskmaster cometh! Here's what you need to know about Natasha Romanoff's next nemesis.

You can’t outmatch the Taskmaster , because the Taskmaster’s already matched you . One of the most exciting Marvel villains from the comics is on his way to the big screen in Black Widow , in theaters May 1, 2020. For his onscreen debut, the Taskmaster will go up against the world-famous super spy and Avenger, Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson.

But while everyone knows who Black Widow is, the Taskmaster is a different story. Just who in the name of Uatu is the Taskmaster?

At San Diego Comic-Con 2019, lucky fans who got into Hall H caught the first glimpse of Taskmaster in preview footage of Black Widow , directed by Cate Shortland. The film, set after 2016’s Captain America: Civil War , will find Natasha confront her mysterious past in a battle against the Red Room, the shadow organization that trained her and other girls into becoming assassins.

The film will also introduce Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), a younger sister figure to Natasha who underwent similar training; Red Guardian (David Harbour), Russia’s attempt to create their own “Captain America”; and Melina (Rachel Weisz), another Red Room graduate who helps out Natasha.

While Marvel fans who have read the comics or played some of the video games will be familiar with Taskmaster, others may be lost to who Taskmaster is and what tasks he’s a master of. If you were never subjected to the embarrassment of being owned by expert Marvel vs. Capcom 3 players on Xbox Live, here’s everything you need to know about the Taskmaster.

First appearance of the Taskmaster in 'The Avengers' #195, published in 1980.

Who is Taskmaster?

Taskmaster is a villain, sometimes anti-hero, who first appeared in The Avengers #195 in 1980. Created by David Micheline and George Pérez, the Taskmaster is Tony Masters, one of the most feared specimens in the Marvel Universe. His greatest power isn’t super speed or super strength, but super “photographic reflexes,” which give him the ability to master any movement just by watching and studying others. Taskmaster’s taken this very unique skills into battle with the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. on multiple occasions.

In his first origin, Taskmaster discovered his powers as a boy, when he mimicked the rope tricks from a Western on TV. Years later, he made quarterback of his high school football team just by watching a single NFL game. When he graduated high school, Taskmaster made the decision to use his powers and pursue a life of crime, as one does with such powers.

This was Taskmaster’s backstory until 2010, when the four-issue miniseries Taskmaster by Fred Van Lente retconned his origins. Rather than his reflexes being a gift, Taskmaster learns his powers came from a steroid formulated by a Nazi scientist that unlocked his brain’s memory potential. He also briefly remembered his forgotten history as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

Once during a mission, “Agent Tony Masters” came across the steroid and its creator, the Nazi scientist Horst Gorscht. While reserves of the steroid went up in flames, Tony injected himself with one surviving vial in the vague hope the powers could be reverse-engineered from him and used for good. But that never happened, and instead, he became Taskmaster.

The cost of Tony’s accelerated learning was losing his personal memories. As his condition worsened, Taskmaster fell under the care of by his wife, Mercedes, an ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Tony/Taskmaster lost all memory of being married to. Mercedes disguises herself as “The Org,” a criminal intelligence broker, in order to keep watch over her husband.

Taskmaster in 'Taskmaster' #1 (2010) by Fred Van Lente and Jefte Palo.

Who is playing Taskmaster in Black Widow ?

It is not known who is behind the mask of Taskmaster in Black Widow . The withheld identity of Taskmaster’s actor will undoubtedly fuel speculation, be it a surprise celebrity (Kevin Feige has previously mentioned the studio has tried to cast Keanu Reeves in a role) or a twist contained in the narrative of the film.

What are Taskmaster’s powers?

Taskmaster has the power of copying anything and anyone he sees. And after studying a subject, he is able to predict their next move. When necessary, he can also study the speech and vocal range of other people.

Because Taskmaster inhabits the Marvel Universe, he has studied all the most famous Marvel heroes and villains, including Elektra, Shang-Chi, Daredevil, Black Panther, Punisher, Silver Samurai, and more. His arsenal of ancient medieval weaponry comes from studying Captain America (shield), Black Knight (sword), and Hawkeye (bows and arrows).

Taskmaster in the trailer for 'Black Widow.' Due to Taskmaster's ability to master the movements of others just by watching them, it appears Taskmaster has studied footage of Black Widow's Avengers colleague, Hawkeye.

The only one to ever counter Taskmaster’s powers is Deadpool (in  Deadpool  Vol. 2, issue #2). Because no matter how much Taskmaster studied Wade Wilson, he could never predict what the fourth wall-breaking Deadpool would do next.  

One drawback of Taskmaster’s powers is that he does not actually have superhuman abilities. And watching subjects via video in fast-forward puts a strain on his body, which means he can only perform feats for a short period of time. A 2002 Taskmaster miniseries also introduced aquaphobia to Taskmaster’s personality, but he soon overcame his fear of water.

Where else can I watch/play as Taskmaster?

While his familiarity outside comics isn’t well-known, Taskmaster has made the leap to Marvel TV and video games a number of times.

Cult actor Clancy Brown ( Highlander , SpongeBob SquarePants ) has voiced Taskmaster in episodes of Marvel’s animated TV shows, including Ultimate Spider-Man and Avengers Assemble . Taskmaster has also been a playable character in video games like Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (and its expanded edition, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 ), Marvel: Avengers Alliance , Lego Marvel Super Heroes , and Marvel Avengers Academy .

Taskmaster most recently appeared in the popular 2018 game Spider-Man for the PlayStation 4. Voiced by Brian Bloom, Taskmaster sets up challenges all across New York for Spider-Man to complete. He is also confirmed to appear in Square Enix’s Marvel’s Avengers game in 2020. So there’s plenty of Taskmaster to go around while we wait for his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The poster for 'Black Widow', which was released on December 2, 2019.

Black Widow will be released in theaters on May 1, 2020.

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Who is taskmaster black widow's villain comic origin & powers explained.

One of Marvel Comics' most infamous anti-heroes, The Taskmaster, is the main villain in Black Widow. Here's everything you need to know about him.

Last Updated: October 1, 2020

The Taskmaster is the chief villain of the upcoming Black Widow  film, starring Scarlett Johansson. This was the belief of many comics fans, following the release of photos depicting an armored figure in a white hood driving a tank through the streets of Budapest in 2019, and was later confirmed by Marvel Studios' marketing.

Taskmaster's arrival on the big screen is now literally a long time coming, as Coronavirus has delayed the Black Widow movie repeatedly, with the latest move pushing it all the way back to May 2021, a full 14 months after its originally planned March 2020 release.

Related: Everything We Know About Black Widow

While Taskmaster's role in the movie is notably unlike his usual portrayal in the comics, he should still be a worthy opponent for Natasha Romanoff. Both characters have worked for multiple covert agencies and as freelance mercenaries over the years, and Taskmaster's reputation is such that taking him on alone would cement Black Widow's place among Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Here's everything you need to know about Taskmaster's origins, powers and who might be playing him in Black Widow .

Taskmaster's Comic History Explained

Taskmaster first appeared on the final page of Avengers #195 in May 1980, with his origins being explained one issue later in  Avengers #196 . He revealed himself to Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Yellowjacket (Hank Pym) and The Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) after they accidentally uncovered one of his secret schools for supervillain henchmen. Taskmaster then demonstrated his skill to the captive heroes by defeating his current class single-handed, utilizing the weapons and fighting styles of their fellow Avengers .

Taskmaster explained that he first discovered he had a talent for mimicking the actions of others by replicating the lasso tricks used by a cowboy hero in the westerns he loved as a child. As a teenager, he used his talents to become the quarterback of his high school football team by watching professional quarterbacks in action and copying their moves. After graduation, he briefly considered becoming both a superhero and a supervillain, but dismissed heroism as unprofitable and costumed crime as too risky. This led him to become a teacher and personal trainer for anyone willing to pay him for his time.

Over the years, Taskmaster built up a lengthy list of clients, helping to train both heroes and villains alike. Despite the Avengers' best efforts to shut down his schools, Taskmaster has continually evaded capture and defied all efforts to uncover his secret identity. He has worked for both AIM and Hydra , yet was also hired by the American government to train newbie superheroes as part of the Avengers' Fifty State Initiative. He was even granted a full pardon for all of his past crimes after SHIELD hired him to test the security measures of their newly rebuilt Helicarrier base by breaking into it - a challenge he successfully met.

Related:  Marvel Skipped 2020 - If You Hate Marvel, You Better Skip 2021

This background was retconned by a 2010 Taskmaster mini-series, which showed the true origins of Taskmaster and his powers. Taskmaster was revealed to have originally been an agent of SHIELD named Tony Masters and his memories of perfectly mimicking the actions of athletes and actors as a child were accurate. What Taskmaster did not remember, however, was that his memory and ability to perfectly emulate the actions of others were enhanced after he was injected with a Nazi scientist's effort to replicate the Super Soldier formula that turned Steve Rogers into Captain America .

The formula worked, giving Masters a peak human physique and enhanced reflexes in addition to refining his existing powers. Unfortunately, the formula had an unintended side-effect and Tony began to lose his personal memories and sense of identity the more he used his powers to enhance his combat training. This memory loss became so severe that he completely forgot his past as a SHIELD agent and the existence of his wife and field-partner, Mercedes Merced.

Thankfully, Agent Merced was able to find a way to stay close to her husband and put his condition to good use, even if he didn't know it. Adopting the identity of The Org, Merced became Taskmaster's handler and began managing his appointments and finances, as Taskmaster proved incapable of remembering anything past a few days unless it directly related to his training. It was in this capacity that she began sending Taskmaster out on mercenary missions, not telling him that he was really working for SHIELD.

Agent Merced was also responsible for creating the Taskmaster identity for Tony and setting up the Taskmaster's secret supervillain training academies. Through these, SHIELD was able to keep tabs on the activities of the various villain groups that hired Taskmaster and learn what they were planning. This turned Taskmaster into the ultimate double agent in the supervillain underground, given that he had no idea who he truly was and could pass a telepathic scan without issue.

Related: Black Widow Theory: Taskmaster Becomes The Next MCU Antihero

Taskmaster's Powers Explained

Taskmaster possesses a power to duplicate any physical action he sees another person initiate, which he has dubbed " photographic reflexes ." He also has a photographic memory, which allows him to effortlessly recall the many actions he has observed. By watching video footage of other superheroes and supervillains in action, Taskmaster was able to teach himself their moves and trained himself in a variety of disciplines. He has also developed a limited form of super-speed which allows him to perform a maneuver faster than normal if he observed it on a sped-up video. This is a tremendous strain on his body, however, and Taskmaster can only do it in short bursts.

Thanks to his training and powers, Taskmaster has acquired a particular set of skills that are second to none. He's mastered the acrobatics employed by Spider-Man and Daredevil , the marksman ability of Hawkeye and the Punisher , the martial arts skills of Iron Fist and Shang-Chi and even specialized moves such as Captain America's ability to throw his shield in such a manner that it can ricochet off multiple targets and return to his hand. His studies have made Taskmaster into a brilliant tactician, who can predict what a known opponent will do in a fight with near psychic accuracy. Taskmaster is also a talented vocal mimic who can impersonate anyone after hearing their voice and a master of disguise who can effectively double anyone of a similar body type whose body language he has observed.

All of these factors, coupled with the enhanced physique provided by the Nazi Super Soldier formula, have combined have made Taskmaster into a formidable opponent, whom Spider-Man has compared to " taking on all of the Avengers at once ." He's accomplished several impressive feats over the years, such as fighting both Captain America and Iron Man simultaneously and winning. The only person known to have beaten Taskmaster in a one-on-one fight is Deadpool , whose chaotic combat style Taskmaster finds it impossible to copy or counteract.

This reveals the greatest drawback to Taskmaster's powers - there is a vast difference between knowing martial arts and being able to imitate a martial arts move. Because of his poor memory, while Taskmaster has augmented his powers with honest training, he's still not as refined as a dedicated practitioner who can take the basics of an art and build upon it. Taskmaster is not that creative and while he can remember the signature moves of hundreds of heroes, he's frequently thrown by the unexpected and will flee the field of battle when faced with an unfamiliar opponent or an old enemy armed with new tricks.

Related: Every MCU Replacement Hero Appearing In Marvel's Phase 4

Who Is Playing Taskmaster?

While Taskmaster is - or at least appears to be - the lead villain in the Black Widow movie, the question of who is playing him is still up in the air. The mostly likely candidate seems to be actor  O-T Fagbenle , who has been cast in the movie as Rick Mason, a previously unknown character with ties to Natasha's SHIELD days and a possible romantic interest from her past. Fagbenle is an acclaimed stage actor, best known for his performance as Luke Bankole in The Handmaid's Tale . The evidence has mounted over the past year that Fagbenle's character is really Taskmaster, and for his part, the actor hasn't denied the possibility.

Taskmaster's Role In The Black Widow Movie

As depicted in the Black Widow movie, Taskmaster has taken control of Natasha's former training ground, the Red Room. It's unclear for what purpose Taskmaster is manipulating the Red Room, but it appears likely that doing so is what first causes conflict between him and Natasha. Some are wondering if Taskmaster is connected to Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, who also plays a role in the film. For now, Taskmaster's true purpose within the MCU remains shrouded in mystery.

More: Black Widow: Everything We Know About Taskmaster’s Real Identity

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15 January 2024

Series 17 line-up announcement.

In the wake of a ferociously fought battle between  Taskmaster  titans in the third  Champion of Champions  special, the line-up for series 17 has been announced.

Preparing to fight tooth and nail, impress the almighty  Taskmaster , and bag the highest points are: award-winning comedian, writer, and presenter  Joanne McNally  ( My Therapist Ghosted Me ), Edinburgh Comedy Award winning comedian and radio presenter  John Robins  ( BBC Radio 5 Live ), award-winning actor and comedian  Nick Mohammed ( Ted Lasso ), BAFTA winning comedian, writer, and actor  Sophie Willan  ( Alma’s Not Normal ), andaward-winning writer, actor and comedian  Steve Pemberton  ( Inside No. 9 ). Who will emerge victorious, raise the weighty trophy above their head, and call themselves a Taskmaster champion?

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Black Widow: Who is Marvel Comics' Taskmaster and what are his powers?

Get to know Marvel Comics' Taskmaster and what it may mean for the character's future in the MCU

If you haven't seen Marvel Studios ' Black Widow yet, it's now streaming for all Disney Plus subscribers - meaning that it's the perfect time to get to know Taskmaster, the mysterious villain whose identity is part of the film's plot.

Fittingly, Taskmaster is one of Marvel Comics ' most enigmatic villains (and sometimes anti-hero). Like his MCU counterpart, the comic book Taskmaster has the power to mimic the fighting styles and mastery of weapons of anyone he can simply observe - even superheroes. Often using this unique talent to train Marvel villains and their endless supply of henchmen and henchwomen, Taskmaster has made his bones as a long-time and usually very effective adversary of the Avengers - although much of his real history and true identity remains ambiguous.

But the nature and identity of the MCU Taskmaster have remained even greater question marks ... until now, that is ... right down to what actor is actually behind the mask. 

Now that we know the answer to those questions, Newsarama will break down everything you need to know about Taskmaster's comic book history, how it compares and contrasts to the MCU version, and what it may mean for the MCU moving forward.

Who is Taskmaster?

The man known almost exclusively as Taskmaster (and occasionally by the pseudonym Tony Masters) is one of Marvel's foremost mercenaries, henchmen, and soldiers of fortune. 

Though he's occasionally used his formidable skills on the side of the angels, more often than not, Taskmaster's role in the Marvel Universe usually consists of either training elite henchmen for villains to fight superheroes, or fighting superheroes himself.

Partially because of his reputation and vocation, Taskmaster is a man of great mystery in the Marvel Universe. But more than his own subterfuge, some of the murkiness around Taskmaster's past and identity is a byproduct of his formidable powers. 

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Sometimes classified as simply a natural ingrained talent closer to what some savants experience in the real world, Taskmaster is gifted with the power of so-called 'photographic reflexes,' which allow him to recreate any movement or fighting style he sees performed – including those of superheroes. He can also briefly push his body beyond normal human limits to mimic the actions of heroes with enhanced strength and speed, though this sometimes takes a great physical toll on him.

Unfortunately, as a side-effect of his abilities, his personal memories are often lost in a form of amnesia that comes from his brain internalizing the moves and fighting styles he memorizes.

As a result, Taskmaster's early origins remain shrouded in memory lapses. The most common version of Taskmaster's origin has his powers developing in his childhood in the Bronx, in New York City. Initially Emulating the movements of characters and athletes he saw on TV, Taskmaster/Tony Masters initially considered pursuing an athletic career, utilizing his ability to mimic the movements and plays of the best competitors of nearly every sport imaginable.

However, he quickly decided that being a supervillain would be more lucrative, and began his career training soldiers, crooks, and goons to fight Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

How does Taskmaster fit into the Marvel Universe? 

First introduced in 1980's Avengers #195 , the team confronted Taskmaster while he was training henchmen for a mad scientist. Taskmaster managed to take on Iron Man, Captain America, Scott Lang, Hank Pym, and Wasp single-handedly before the android Jocasta overpowered him.

Taskmaster has subsequently gone up against the Avengers and other Marvel heroes numerous times over the years, though his trainees in the art of super-combat include both heroes and villains. Graduates of Taskmaster's combat training include villains such Crossbones, Cutthroat, and (sometimes) Diamondback, as well as heroes such as Spider-Woman, U.S. Agent, and Agent X/Maverick of the Weapon X program.

Despite his usual occupation as a villain, Taskmaster's personal morality only goes so far as the goals of whoever is paying him (though some would say working for the Red Skull in the first place is a moral indicator all its own). He's been on all sides of the Marvel Universe, even briefly joining the Secret Avengers .

Along with the trademark skull mask that has almost always defined Taskmaster's eclectic costume, he's seldom without an arsenal of weapons based on the weapons of the Avengers, from Captain America's shield to Hawkeye's bow, to non-powered versions of Thor's Mjolnir and Black Knight's Ebony Blade, and he's even employed other gear like Black Panther's claws, Spider-Man's web-shooters, and more.

Taskmaster may also have a daughter – Avengers Academy student Finesse, who possesses similar abilities, and confronted Taskmaster believing he could be her father. Though Taskmaster conceded it could be true, he also confessed that his memories are so skewed by his abilities that he has no memory of having a child. However, in what might amount to the highest form of affection Taskmaster can show, he fought Finesse to a standstill in an attempt to remember her by her fighting style.

Most recently, in a limited series, Taskmaster has been accused of the murder of Maria Hill (played by Cobie Smulders in the MCU) and sending the Marvel Universe's world of espionage into disarray – although the gaps in his memory (and the memories he does have) call that into question, with Taskmaster on the run from the authorities, trying to prove his innocence.

Taskmaster in the MCU - spoilers ahead for Black Widow

Taskmaster has finally debuted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and while Marvel Studios is generally faithful to its comic book roots, this time the adaptation has little in common with its comics inspiration.

Black Widow reveals Taskmaster is Antonia Dreykov , the daughter of the film's main villain General Dreykov played by Ray Winstone. Slyly namechecked by Loki in Marvel's The Avengers in the iconic interrogation scene with Natasha, Antonia was seemingly killed by Nat while she was targeting Dreykov in a revenge assassination.

And on purpose. Antonia wasn't just accidental collateral damage. It's a significant part of the red on Natasha's ledger. 

Played (very briefly) by former James Bond Ukrainian-French actor Olga Kurylenko with heavy facial prosthetics, like Dreykov himself, Antonia survived the blast unbeknownst to Nat and has significant scarring.

Her mimic powers aren't really explained other than she has a computer chip in the back of her neck, and like most other women in Dreykov's circle, she's significantly mind-controlled by him and is completely silent the entire film. 

She's both seemingly the head trainer of all the other Widow's and the program's most effective field agent, with shades of Sebastian Stan's early MCU appearances as the Winter Soldier.

And like Bucky, she may have a future in the MCU, which is likely considering Marvel Studios chose a name actor to portray her despite never uttering a word and only being seen without her mask for mere minutes. 

General Dreykov is defeated at the end of Black Widow, of course, and seemingly all the Widows under his mind-control are freed, including Antonia/Taskmaster.

After a remorseful Nat frees her so she won't die with the Red Room's destruction, Yelena, Melina, Red Guardian, and the remaining Widows all act protective of her, and they all flee together in the final scene while Natasha stays behind to confront Secretary Ross.

While she isn't referenced in the film's post-credits scene with Yelena and Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (yes, she's back!) it is unlikely Marvel is going to one-off such a prominent villain in its pantheon.

Given her lack of inner life and her powers to mimic anyone, she's instantly a prime candidate to be recruited on a team like the Thunderbolts or Dark Avengers along with Yelena and John Walker/US Agent . And while ultimately portrayed as a victim of both Natasha's checkered past and her father's cruel manipulation and seen in a sympathetic light at the end of Black Widow, her tragic 'origin' lends itself to her going in any number of directions - villain, hero, or something in-between.

So while we don't know where or when we'll see the MCU's Taskmaster again, you can probably bank on her eventual return. 

Yes, of course, Taskmaster is one of the greatest Avengers villains of all time . 

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)

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‘Black Widow’ Writer Breaks Down That Taskmaster Twist — Was It Always Supposed to Be [SPOILER?]

Eric Pearson runs down how he hit upon the character's identity.

Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Black Widow.

One of the biggest mysteries heading into Black Widow was the identity of the Taskmaster character. We saw the villain in the first trailers for the film back when it was supposed to hit theaters in 2020, and ever since then speculation has run rampant on who, exactly, is under that mask. The character is pulled directly from the Marvel Comics, and has the ability to mimic the fighting ability of anyone they see, making them an incredibly formidable foe.

In the lead-up to Black Widow ’s release, many thought the Taskmaster identity was none other than Rachel Weisz ’s character Melina Vostokoff, who served as a mother of sorts to young Natasha Romanoff ( Scarlett Johansson ) and Yelena Bolova ( Florence Pugh ) when the Russians were living undercover in America in the 1990s.

But now that Black Wido w has been released, we now know who Taskmaster is, and it ain’t Melina. No, the Taskmaster twist is that the character’s identity is actually that of Antonia Dreykov ( Olga Kurylenko ), whom Natasha thought she killed when she set off a bomb meant to kill Red Room mastermind Dreykov ( Ray Winstone ). As it turns out, Dreykov and his daughter survived, but he implanted a microchip in Antonia’s head that allowed him to control her – and for her to learn the moves of any fighter she watches. This twist is linked directly to Natasha, because the murder of Antonia as an innocent bystander was the big “red in her ledger” to which she’s been referring over the previous films in the MCU.

But was Taskmaster always Antonia? This is the question I posed to Black Widow screenwriter Eric Pearson when I spoke with him recently during a press day for the film, where he broke down how they settled on Taskmaster for the villain in the first place:

“It was really in building the current state of the Red Room. Because I feel like the Red Room, similar to Hydra, these evil organizations, they grow and change and adapt. Hydra in Captain America 1 is very different than Hydra in Winter Soldier. The Red Room in our story was very much completely hidden in the shadows, and I was building this idea of — also because we were confined to between Civil War and Infinity War, we needed a villain threat that could potentially succeed and go unnoticed. So in building that, and the idea of working with mind control and then deconstructing the brain, and really chemically changing the brain, this idea, we’d say, ‘Oh it'd be really great if we could get the mystery of Dreykov's daughter from Avengers 1 into this.’”

In delving into Natasha’s past, Pearson says he advocated for her to have done something really terrible, which then led to the notion that she agreed to kill Dreykov’s daughter:

“Also the idea of Natasha's dark past. I was very much in the camp of she has to have knowingly done something that would haunt her. It can't just be, ‘Oh, I was going after a bad guy and some people accidentally got hurt’. It has to be, ‘I chose to hurt an innocent, especially an innocent girl, as a means to an end.’”

So that then dovetailed into this notion of mind control, which they had already conjured for Dreykov, and from there the connection to Antonia was made:

“And then the idea of, okay, if that’s Dreykov's daughter and he's this guy who has the ability to manipulate and deconstruct the brain, what if in trying to save his daughter, we could rebuild it and discover this new photographic reflex thing where she's not fully who she was, but she has this extra talent? That's kind of how I came to it. And also I felt like for Natasha, the idea that there's a secret, and a loose end in her past would be truly the worst thing for her. You always kind of want to confront your main character with their biggest fear.”

And ultimately, the twist that Melina, Yelena, Natasha, and Alexi (David Harbour) come together as this broken family at the end to bring Dreykov down drills down the film’s themes of found family. Had Melina turned out to be Taskmaster, that would have just been yet another betrayal that further puts Natasha on guard. But as a farewell film for the character, it was nice to see her reunited with these people who raised her – however briefly – one last time and realize that what they had wasn’t entirely fake.

Moreover, the film doesn't end with Taskmaster dead. Natasha uses the antidote serum to "wake up" Antonia, who is clearly fearful of her father. So now we have Antonia/Taskmaster on the board as a potential ally to reappear in the MCU somewhere down the road.

KEEP READING: How the MCU Is Managing to Make Death Matter While Still Having Characters Live On

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Based on the popular UK game show by the same name, competitors use creativity to complete unusual challenges. Based on the popular UK game show by the same name, competitors use creativity to complete unusual challenges. Based on the popular UK game show by the same name, competitors use creativity to complete unusual challenges.

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• Trivia TaskMaster Us is the only TaskMaster currently (2023) to not have prize task at the start of each episode that give points for it. They have a prize, but no prize task. Instead TaskMaster Us choices one individual to bring a prize for the end of the episode. The quality of the prize does not matter as no points are given.
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Biography [ ]

Early life [ ], raised by general dreykov [ ].

Antonia Dreykov was born to General Dreykov , leader of the Red Room . Unlike many other young girls, whom Dreykov would encounter throughout his life, Antonia was not forced to go through the Red Room Academy and be trained to become a skilled assassin and a member of the Black Widows . Instead, Antonia was actually allowed to attend a school while living in Budapest , and maintained a close relationship with her father. [1]

Budapest Operation [ ]

Dreykov visiting her father in his office

Following a day at school, Antonia Dreykov had gone to visit her father at his office in Budapest , where she happily ran up the stairs to greet her father, who was still working at that moment. However, not long after she had arrived, a bomb was detonated in the office, causing a massive fireball, caused by Black Widow and Hawkeye , who were attempting to assassinate Dreykov.

Dreykov is almost killed in an explosion

Despite being right in the middle of the fireball, Antonia and her father barely survived the explosion, with Antonia's face becoming severely disfigured by the flames, much to her father's disgust. [1] Believing her targets dead, Romanoff was haunted by the apparent death of Antonia for years. [3] In order to save Antonia's life and stop her agonizing pain from the damage that she had sustained, Dreykov had inserted a chip into the back of her neck, nulling her senses and giving Dreykov complete control of her. [1]

Transformed into Taskmaster [ ]

Having survived the bombing that Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton had arranged, Antonia had her emotions and senses disrupted by the chip that Dreykov had inserted into her head. With her under his complete control, Dreykov put his daughter through the Red Room , where he discovered that she had a skill for mimicry, and could recreate her enemies' movements by simply studying them closely enough. Over the years, Antonia would successfully complete her training at the Red Room Academy , becoming Dreykov's finest assassin.

However, as Dreykov remained disgusted by the burns covering his daughter's face, he had provided her with her suit , including a mask to hide her scars and identity, which also provided her with a HUD to assist with combat. Antonia was given the code name of Taskmaster, becoming the head of the Black Widows , under Dreykov's command, who would only send her on the most important missions. To become the superior assassin, Taskmaster would watch footage of the Avengers in combat, studying their fighting styles, in order to mimic them in combat. [1]

Red Room Assassin [ ]

Given her next assignment [ ].

Taskmaster watching the Avengers fight

Having learned that Yelena Belova had come across the Red Dust during a mission to assassinate Oksana , and had subsequently escaped with it, General Dreykov chose to recruit Taskmaster to get the Red Dust back. While Taskmaster had been preparing for her next mission by watching video footage of the fight between Hawkeye and Black Panther , she was interrupted by Lerato , who installed new information into Taskmaster's helmet about the mission. [1]

Ambush on Natasha Romanoff [ ]

Taskmaster blocking Black Widow 's shots

Taskmaster was deployed in Norway to intercept Natasha Romanoff 's transportation of the Red Dust . Taskmaster first attacked the spy by blasting her vehicle off the road with an explosive projectile and proceeded to approach her, but raised her shield to deflect sudden gunfire, then hurled it at the spy and wedged it in her car window before the latter could shoot again in order to obscure her vision. She then retrieved her shield and flipped off of Romanoff's car while blocking more gunfire, until she decided to disarm her of her pistol with a kick.

Taskmaster analyzing Black Widow 's moves

After attempting to throw her shield at Romanoff again, the spy attempted to subdue her with her traditional head-scissor throw, but Taskmaster used the same technique against her, resulting in the both of them lying on the ground. Taskmaster kip-upped into a fighting position nearly identical to Romanoff, much to the latter's bewilderment.

Taskmaster lunging towards Black Widow

As Taskmaster attempted to collect the Red Dust from the crashed car, Romanoff used a grappling hook to tie a wire around her leg, launching Taskmaster into the air. However, Taskmaster then proceeded to use her sword to cut herself free, leaping down behind Romanoff, just as she was attempting to take the Red Dust for herself. Although Romanoff was able to use the shield to defend herself, Taskmaster was able to kick her off the bridge, before discovering that the Red Dust had been taken. [1]

Chase for the Red Dust [ ]

Taskmaster chases Romanoff and Belova

Taskmaster eventually managed to track down Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova in Budapest , where she and her team of Black Widows ambushed them and began chasing them through the streets. With Romanoff and Belova using a motorbike to drive through the streets, Taskmaster chased them in an armored car, plowing through the other cars in an attempt to catch up. Eventually, Romanoff and Belova got away from Taskmaster, crashing their motorbike in the process.

Taskmaster draws an explosive arrow

With Romanoff and Belova managing to steal a car, Taskmaster continued to chase them down, as she managed to drive behind them, before getting out of the roof to get a better look. Taskmaster had then armed herself with her Bow and Arrows , as she used her HUD to line up the perfect shot, before shooting an explosive arrow underneath their car, which caused Romanoff and Belova to crash, rolling their car down a flight of stairs and into train station.

Taskmaster pursues Romanoff and Belova

Taskmaster proceeded to get out of her armored car and followed her targets into the train station, witnessing them pulling themselves out of the crashed car and attempting to flee. As Taskmaster then observed Romanoff and Belova leaping down the stairway, she proceeded to launch her shield after them, which was thrown perfectly down the stairs, and barely missed her targets, becoming embedded in a support beam, while Taskmaster still continued to follow her targets.

Taskmaster loses Romanoff and Belova

Getting to the bottom of the stairs, Taskmaster had then lost sight of her targets, but observed a trail of blood, left behind by the wounded Belova. Taskmaster followed this blood trail, which led her to a manhole cover, which she assumed they had used to get away. Taskmaster then stepped through the manhole, and chased down Romanoff and Belova, only to discover that this had been a deception, and Romanoff and Belova had been able to find another way to escape from Taskmaster. [1]

Capturing the Targets [ ]

Taskmaster arriving to capture her targets

Taskmaster was contacted by Melina Vostokoff , informing her that Natasha Romanoff and Yelena Belova had come to her home to seek information against the Red Room , as well as attempting to learn Dreykov 's location. Following Vostokoff's lead, Taskmaster led her team of agents into Vostkoff's home, where they found swiftly found and captured Red Guardian , who had been swiftly subdued with multiple tranquilizers being shot directly into his chest.

Taskmaster enters Melina Vostokoff 's home

With Taskmaster arriving onboard her Aircraft , she stepped inside the home, where she discovered that Vostokoff had already managed to subdue both Romanoff and Belova, having taken them off guard and used her Widow's Bite to electrocute them both. Once Taskmaster entered, Vostokoff stepped forward, suggesting that they bring Romanoff, Belova and Red Guardian back to the Red Room Academy , where they could be interrogated and then executed by Dreykov. [1]

Secrets Revealed [ ]

Taskmaster stands in Dreykov 's office

Having successfully captured her targets, Taskmaster had taken them back to the Red Room Academy , where she put Red Guardian and Natasha Romanoff into their cells. Taskmaster had then returned to General Dreykov 's office, where he was greeted by Melina Vostokoff , as Taskmaster stood by while Dreykov and Vostokoff discussed what would happen to Yelena Belova , who was due to be killed during their experimentations on her mind controlling.

Taskmaster threatening Natasha Romanoff

However, during the discussion, Taskmaster had then witnessed Dreykov removing the Photostatic Veil from Vostokoff, revealing her to actually be Romanoff in disguise, as part of her attempt to assassinate Dreykov. Although Taskmaster responded by immediately drawing her gun, she was ordered to stand down by Dreykov. Taskmaster then stood by, as Dreykov and Romanoff discussed her past, including the death of Romanoff's mother , which Dreykov showed no sympathy for as he mocked her.

Taskmaster revealing her actual identity

In response, Romanoff asked Dreykov if he felt anything when his daughter was seemingly killed when she and Clint Barton had bombed Dreykov's Office , unaware of her survival. As the result, Dreykov then turned to Taskmaster, and ordered her to remove her helmet , revealing her identity and horrifically scarred face to Romanoff, who was shocked at the revelation, while Dreykov explained how they were able to survive the explosion, and how she turned into the Red Room 's most skilled assassin.

Taskmaster being ordered to kill the traitors

Seeing Romanoff's reaction to Taskmaster's identity, Dreykov had mocked her by asking if she intended to apologize to her, noting that it would not make her feel better. Dreykov had also admitted that he was disgusted by his daughter's burns, which was why he kept her identity hidden behind her helmet. Knowing that Red Guardian was working with Vostokoff and Belova to sabotage the Academy, Dreykov sent Taskmaster to assassinate them, as Taskmaster left Romanoff and Dreykov alone. [1]

Battling Red Guardian [ ]

Taskmaster prepares to fight Red Guardian

Following the orders of Dreykov , Taskmaster went to confront Red Guardian and Melina Vostokoff , who had managed to get out of their cells, and were discussing the next step of their plan to bring down the Red Room Academy . While Vostokoff left them alone, Taskmaster faced Red Guardian, who got ready to fight, while Taskmaster drew her claws, based on Black Panther 's designs, and they began to fight.

Taskmaster fighting against Red Guardian

During their clash, Taskmaster threw her shield at Red Guardian, who managed to block it, before Taskmaster drew her knife and began slashing at him, using tactics copied from Winter Soldier . Despite Red Guardian's superior strength, Taskmaster was able use his tactics against him, throwing Red Guardian through a glass wall, before reclaiming her shield and continuing the fight, striking Red Guardian repeatedly, and throwing her shield at his back.

Taskmaster being locked inside of the cell

With Red Guardian struggling to get back onto his feet, Taskmaster walked up behind him and got him into an arm lock, before drawing a hidden blade from her suit , which she attempted to stab into the back of Red Guardian's neck. However, before she could deliver the final blow, Taskmaster was unexpectedly tackled by Vostokoff, who threw Taskmaster into one of the cells and locked her inside, leaving Taskmaster furiously punching at the protective glass, angered by the defeat. [1]

Destruction of the Red Room [ ]

Taskmaster watches Natasha Romanoff

Taskmaster was left inside her cell by Melina Vostokoff , as she witnessed the Red Room Academy beginning to fall out of the sky and explode. However, Taskmaster was eventually discovered by Natasha Romanoff , who told Taskmaster that she could not allow her to die in the academy, despite knowing that Taskmaster would attempt to kill her. Ignoring the way Taskmaster furiously punched at the protective glass, Romanoff opened the cell door and allowed her to walk free.

Taskmaster is freed by Natasha Romanoff

Taskmaster had then stepped out of her cell, and prepared to attack Romanoff, determined to finally get her revenge for the bombing that had scarred her face and destroyed her life. However, before Taskmaster could attack and kill Romanoff, an explosion caused the ceiling between them to collapse, which in turn destroyed the floor underneath Taskmaster, causing her to fall to the level below, while Romanoff was then able to make her escape from the exploding academy. [1]

Freedom from Control [ ]

Taskmaster fighting against Black Widow

With the Red Room Academy falling from the sky, Taskmaster eventually caught up with Natasha Romanoff , who had just saved Yelena Belova from falling to her death, as they both floated towards the ground with a parachute. Determined to kill Romanoff, Taskmaster had leapt off the academy, and dived towards her, armed with her sword , as Romanoff then let go of Belova as she prepared to fight against Taskmaster in midair, using some of the falling debris from the academy to attempt to slow her fall.

Taskmaster prepares to fight Black Widow

Taskmaster dived directly at Romanoff, causing them to smash through a falling glass wall while Romanoff punched at her and avoided her sword. As the pair grappled in midair, Romanoff was able to pull Taskmaster's parachute just in time, as the pair awkwardly crash landed on the ground. Getting back onto her feet, Taskmaster had then armed herself with her sword and prepared to kill Romanoff, as the pair grappled for control over the sword, with Romanoff managing to take it from Taskmaster.

Taskmaster grapples against Black Widow

Although Romanoff still refused to kill Taskmaster, dropping the sword on the ground, due to the guilt she felt for almost killing her in Budapest , Taskmaster remained determined and furiously grabbed Romanoff by the throat and attempting to strangle her. However, Romanoff was able to break free from Taskmaster's grip, and managed to get behind her, pressing buttons on Taskmaster's suit , which caused her helmet to come off, before Romanoff threw Taskmaster down to the ground.

Taskmaster being freed with the Red Dust

However, before Taskmaster could strike at Romanoff again, Romanoff broke the final vial of Red Dust , causing the powder to hit Taskmaster in the face, freeing her from her mind control. Taskmaster then froze in mid-punch, staring in shock and amazement at Romanoff, having finally regained control of her mind again. Dropping to the ground, Antonia reached out to Romanoff, questioning if Dreykov was dead, which Romanoff confirmed, as he had been killed in an earlier explosion.

Taskmaster questioning if Dreykov is dead

With Dreykov dead and the Red Room destroyed, Antonia was unsure what she would do next. They were then rejoined by the surviving members of the Widows , who had also been freed from Dreykov's mind control. Having been given the opportunity to build new lives for themselves, the Widows took Antonia into their care, with Lerato helping Antonia onto her feet, and bringing her onboard the plane they used to escape before the authorities had arrived. [1]

Personality [ ]

Prior to her injuries sustained in the Budapest Operation , not much is known of Antonia's true personality. Once her father Dreykov subjected her to the Red Room , Antonia was devoid of all personality and repurposed into what he saw as his "greatest weapon" during her brainwashing, carrying out orders with sharp proficiency. When freed from Dreykov's control, Antonia begged Romanoff to know if Dreykov was gone, showing she loathed being controlled by her own father.

Powers and Abilities [ ]

Taskmaster mimicking Black Widow

• Enhanced Strength : Taskmaster also has artificially elevated strength from the chip in her neck, which allowed her to send Black Widow and Red Guardian back long distances with her strikes. She could also throw her shield with enough force for it to embed itself into metal beams.

Replicated Skills [ ]

Abilities [ ].

Taskmaster throwing her shield at Black Widow

• Knife Mastery : Having studied and copied the fighting style of Winter Soldier , Taskmaster is highly skilled at using a knife in combat. This is seen during the fight against Red Guardian. She also attempted to stab Red Guardian with retractable blade in her gauntlet before being flung into a cell by Melina Vostokoff.
• Sword Mastery : Taskmaster is highly skilled at using a sword in combat, best demonstrated during both fights against Black Widow. She was able to cut a trick wire around her leg before it pulled her all the way up.

Taskmaster launching an explosive arrow

• Master Acrobat : Having studied and copied the gymnastic feats of Black Widow, Black Panther, Spider-Man, Captain America, Winter Soldier, and Hawkeye, Taskmaster become an extremely skilled master gymnast, acrobat and aerialist, being able to perform highly acrobatic feats during fights. This can be seen in her fights against Black Widow and Red Guardian.
• Master Spy : Taskmaster is highly skilled in espionage, stealth, disguise, infiltration, and demolitions, surpassing all other Widows.
• Master Assassin : Serving as Dreykov's personal enforcer, Taskmaster is the best assassin in the Red Room, surpassing all other Widows. Therefore, Taskmaster would only be sent on the most important and dangerous missions, often being tasked to track and eliminate the defectors from the Red Room.
• Bilingualism : Taskmaster is fluent in her native Russian, and understands English.

Equipment [ ]

Weapons [ ].

Taskmaster blocking gunfire

• Sword : Taskmaster carried a collapsible single edged sword similar in appearance to a katana or ninjato sword. The sword is stored on the back compartment of the suit . Upon being tied up with Romanoff's grappling hook, Taskmaster drew her sword to cut herself free, before continuing to battle against Romanoff. Taskmaster would also use her sword, as she attempted to kill Romanoff following the destruction of the Red Room Academy , using it to slow her fall from the crashing base by grinding it through the debris. Upon landing on the ground, Taskmaster continued using the sword against Romanoff, until she was disarmed and had Red Dust thrown in her face, ending her brainwashing.

Taskmaster aiming at Romanoff and Belova

• Explosive Arrows : Taskmaster carried explosive arrows like Hawkeye, which was used to overturn Romanoff and Belova's vehicle, managing to get the perfect shot under their car, causing it to crash.
• Chiappa Rhino : Taskmaster had this revolver holstered on her right thigh. Taskmaster drew this gun on Black Widow to protect Dreykov , only for Dreykov to order her to put it away, due to his knowledge that Black Widow would not actually be able to kill him.
• Combat Knife : Taskmaster carried a tanto style combat knife on her which was used during her fight against Red Guardian .

Other Equipment [ ]

• HUD : Taskmaster's mask has a heads-up display which analyzes battlefield data. Using this HUD, Taskmaster was able to predict her opponents' movement patterns, which she used against Natasha Romanoff during their first confrontation, allowing her to able to overpower Romanoff with ease. Taskmaster would later use the HUD to assist with her aim while using her bow to shoot at Romanoff and Yelena Belova 's car, finding the perfect moment to shoot underneath the car and cause it to crash.

Taskmaster unleashes her retractable claws

• Retractable Gauntlet Blade : Taskmaster's left gauntlet contains a retractable blade similar to the ones used by Crossbones which was used in an attempt to kill Red Guardian. However, Melina Vostokoff managed to attack and entrap Taskmaster before she could kill Red Guardian with the blade.

Vehicles [ ]

• APC : To be added

Facilities [ ]

• Dreykov's Budapest Office : To be added
• Red Room Academy : To be added

Relationships [ ]

• Some of the people he has copied include (but are not limited to) Ant-Man , Black Knight , Black Panther , Black Widow , Bullseye , Captain America , Captain Marvel , Daredevil , Elektra , Falcon , Hawkeye , Iron Fist , Iron Man , Moon Knight , Punisher , Shang-Chi , Spider-Man , and U.S. Agent . He also trained U.S. Agent, Crossbones , and Red Skull .
• Taskmaster is the ninth character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to be depicted as a different gender from her counterpart in the comics, following Jeri Hogarth , the Ancient One , Fenris , Ghost , Mar-Vell , Morgan Stark , Gabriella Rosetti , and Flag Smasher .
• In the video game Captain America: The Winter Soldier - The Official Game , Taskmaster is a male, like his comics counterpart. He was a terrorist hired by Sin and King Cobra , who was brought into conflict with S.H.I.E.L.D. after stealing nuclear warheads from Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. . He became an adversary of Captain America before he was taken into custody. [4]
• In a deleted scene from Black Widow , Taskmaster is seen being arrested by the United States Army , under the supervision of Thaddeus Ross .

Behind the Scenes [ ]

• Andy Lister was a stunt double and the in-suit performer for Olga Kurylenko in the role of Taskmaster. Daren Nop , Amy Sturdivant , Eniko Fulop and Agel Aurélia were also stunt doubles for Kurylenko in the role.
• An early draft for Black Widow did feature Taskmaster as Tony Masters like in the comic books, but his inclusion was scrapped as the film was meant to be a spy thriller with Dreykov as the main antagonist while dealing with the mystery of who Dreykov's daughter was, leading Eric Pearson to merge Taskmaster and Dreykov's daughter into the same character. [5]

References [ ]

• ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Black Widow
• ↑ D23 Expo 2022: Marvel Studios' 'Thunderbolts’ Casting Announced
• ↑ The Avengers
• ↑ Captain America: The Winter Soldier - The Official Game
• ↑ Black Widow Writer Eric Pearson on Budapest, Taskmaster, and Post-Credits Scene (Exclusive)

External Links [ ]

• 1 Scarlet Witch
• 3 Phase Five