‘Black Widow’ on Disney Plus: Who Plays Taskmaster?

Each Marvel film wants a vicious villain or two—and Black Widow is not any exception. The most recent entry within the Marvel Cinematic Universe pits the Avengers’ premier tremendous spy in opposition to quite a few foes that put Black Widow by her paces. The one that actually offers Natasha a exercise is Taskmaster, a seemingly unstoppable murderer who can mimic the preventing kinds of anybody and everybody.

However this being a Marvel film, you understand there’s gotta be extra to a personality who has spent the whole lead-up to the massive launch hidden behind a masks! We don’t know who’s enjoying Taskmaster, and we don’t know what they appear to be beneath that helmet. So, who’s enjoying Taskmaster and do you discover out within the film? And the way does the MCU Taskmaster differ from the comedian e book model? Right here’s every little thing you want to find out about Taskmaster.

Taskmaster defined: Who’s Taskmaster in Black Widow?

As seen in Black Widow, Taskmaster is an agent of the covert Russian spy college often known as the Crimson Room. Taskmaster is depicting as an intimidating determine in a purely impassive trend, their identification hidden behind a skull-faced helmet. For a lot of the movie, Taskmaster is depicted as a brilliant weapon: they’ve the power to imitate any preventing fashion and fight talent that’s loaded into the Taskmaster program. Captain America, Black Panther, Hawkeye, Black Widow—just about each Avenger is in play.

It’s not till the top of the movie that we study who’s actually beneath that helmet: it’s Antonia Dreykov, the daughter of Crimson Room mastermind Normal Dreykov (Ray Winstone). This can be a private reveal for Natasha, as a result of she’s spent the final decade and alter believing that she murdered Antonia in an try and kill Antonia’s prison father. However it seems that not solely did Dreykov survive the explosion, so did Antonia… besides she’s in means worse form and relegated to serving as a weapon beneath her father’s command.

Who performs Taskmaster in Black Widow?

Taskmaster is performed by Olga Kurylenko in Black Widow. Kurylenko was born within the Ukraine again when it was a part of the Soviet Union and she or he rose to worldwide fame when she grew to become the Bond lady Camille Montes in 2008’s Quantum of Solace. Different notable movies embody Armando Iannucci’s acclaimed political satire The Demise of Stalin and the Tom Cruise sci-fi movie Oblivion.

Who’s Taskmaster within the comics?

Within the comics, Taskmaster is a villainous mercenary who makes use of his chemically-enhanced photographic reflexes to right away copy the preventing fashion of anybody he sees—and he’s seen just about each Marvel superhero in motion. His skills additionally give him the benefit of understanding his opponent’s strikes earlier than they’re made. On the flip facet, these skills have wrecked his means to carry on to any private reminiscences, leaving him to depend on outdoors assist to maintain monitor of who he’s. Oh—and his actual identify is Tony Masters, as a result of comics are enjoyable.

He debuted in Avengers #195 (1980) and was created by David Michelinie and George Pérez the place he took on Marvel’s main superhero workforce. He’s solely risen in prominence over the previous 40 years, going from a minor villain with sporadic appearances to the lead of a number of self-titled restricted collection. The newest comedian, a five-issue collection written by Jed MacKay with artwork by Alessandro Vitti, wrapped up in March 2021 and pit Taskmaster in opposition to—who else?—Black Widow.

Stream Black Widow on Disney+ with Premier Access