It’s probably safe to say that every Marvel fan is holding their breath for July 9th, 2021, as Black Widow will finally be released, and in cinemas no less! This movie has been a long time coming and, while we adore Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), there is another character we’re dying to see on the big screen…
Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow / Picture Credit: Marvel Studios
Taskmaster has not yet been seen in live action; the trailers for the feature show him to be a resilient and difficult foe to face, so who better to fight against him than Natasha? The actor playing the baddie has not yet been revealed, and with an educated guess we would say the only way to find out who it is, is to go and watch the movie.
Since we’ve never seen this character in a Marvel film before, looking at his biography, including his backstory and skills, might give us an idea of who Taskmaster really is. While the official backstory may not be the same in the movie as it is the comics (if we even get an origin story), we can still get an idea of what we’re in for when we rush to cinemas to see Black Widow.
Taskmaster’s, (aka Anthony Masters’), origin story seems rather simple; he was born in the Bronx in NYC to an unknown mother. He was simply born with his copycat abilities, as when he was a child, he found he could replicate anyone’s movements after watching a cowboy show and copying the rope tricks shown on TV. As he grew up, he realised he was different and wanted to continue to duplicate the things he sees; after trying to copy a diving move, he nearly drowns as he cannot swim.
His mother calls psychiatrists who determine he has ‘photographic reflexes’. This simple backstory would be decent if used in Black Widow, however it seems a bit too basic for Marvel, so if we do get a backstory, it may not be as cut and dry as this one.
The reasons for his villainous ways stem from the idea that while becoming a super hero sounded good to Anthony, he decided that becoming a cryptic villain would be more beneficial.
While Taskmaster has never been involved in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) until now, he has been seen recently in the PS4 game from 2018 titled Spider-Man, by Insomniac games. Despite his limited presence, you do fight the cryptic criminal a couple of times, and it can get difficult. In the game, the villain watches you as you complete the tasks he has set; you have no choice but to comply thus giving him a chance to study your fighting mannerisms.
Using the Spider-Man game as an example, we could argue that Taskmaster has been watching the Avengers for many years and, since Natasha’s solo movie is a prequel, it can be said with some certainty that the spy’s new foe has had his eye on her for quite some time.
Not only does Taskmaster (in the trailers for the movie) show that he has been watching Natasha, he also hints that he’s been to see Captain America (Chris Evans) too, as we see him brandish a shield and use this against our titular hero. Not only does it appear that Taskmaster has been watching Steve Rogers (Evans), but we also see him wield claws not unlike Black Panther’s (Chadwick Boseman), and a specialised bow and arrow, similar to Hawkeye’s (Jeremy Renner).
Something else to note about this character and the movie he’s being introduced into is the timeline. Since Disney+ show The Falcon and The Winter Soldier was set in the year 2024 due to the time jump we saw in Avengers: Endgame, it seems that Black Widow will take place somewhere in between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, as it is said to be set eight years in the past.
While this is of course just speculation as we will most likely not know for sure until we watch the movie for ourselves, but this would explain why Taskmaster, who we can assume to be mortal, has been watching some members of the MCU and seems to be taking many aspects from the variety of characters we’ve come to love, in an effort to use them against Natasha.
All in all, Taskmaster seems to be a phenomenal character in both interest and skills; since this is his first appearance on the big screen, he oozes interest and many fans cannot wait to see him take on the former Russian spy.
Black Widow will be in cinemas from July 9th, 2021!
Check out the trailer for Black Widow below!
Written by Melissa, who you can follow on Twitter @melissajournal
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