While the antagonists of the upcoming Black Widow movie have been well established, the identity of the villain has largely just been hinted at. Yes, the MCU version of Taskmaster is making an appearance, but it's not yet clear just how closely the movie version of the character is going to stick to the comics version. What is known, is that if Marvel carries out the rollout of this particular character well, it's going to be one of the more formidable villains in the MCU. Taskmaster offers something that most of the other villains in this universe haven't in that there's some ambiguity in the motives.
Because Taskmaster is being introduced for the first time in the MCU in Black Widow, it's hard to know just how closely the character's story is going to mirror the comics. Part of the problem is that in most of the comics, Taskmaster worked for an organization that no longer really exists in the MCU. Of course, Black Widow does appear to be set "in the past" so it's possible that S.H.I.E.L.D. will still be around in the movie. The character operated on his own plenty of times and even if there isn't a tie to Nick Fury and company, there's a way this anti-hero could play a big part in the future of Marvel movies.
Black Widow's Taskmaster Is A Fighting Machine
In the Marvel comics and even in Marvel's Avengers, Taskmaster is a man who has the ability to mimic the abilities of anyone he studies. This didn't mean he could all of the sudden shoot laster beams out of his eyes if he went up against Cyclops. However, Taskmaster is able to go toe-to-toe with people like Captain America or Black Widow because he's able to mirror their fighting styles. In later editions of the character, he also had super strength, which certainly helped him face off against super-powered foes.
It's assumed that will be the way this Taskmaster will be presented. Someone who can take on any of the Avengers, or in this case, Black Widow, Red Guardian and the rest of the team that is featured in the upcoming film. Facing off against a team that has just come back together, might make the villain that much more hard to take down for this group. The fact that this version of Taskmaster seems much more shrouded in mystery could also make the character that much harder to take down.
Is Anthony Masters In Black Widow?
The original Taskmaster is actually a man named Anthony Masters who found out that he had the ability to mimic the different fighting styles he saw on TV when he was a young boy. Once he'd grown up, he realized that his ability to echo any kind of moves he saw once could come in handy.
Once Masters became the man known as Taskmaster, he appeared in several different comics and IPs. That includes the Marvel's Avengers video game. It's clear that Marvel wants this particular character to be central to stories moving forward. There was even a time when he appeared to be the "big bad" in that game. That turned out to be a misdirect, but it appears the character is indeed at least one of main baddies in Black Widow.
The big question is whether or not Masters is actually the man behind the revamped mask in Black Widow. There are some theories out there that a man isn't behind the mask at all. Most of MCU fans think O-T Fagbenle's "Mason" could be Black Widow's version of Taskmaster. Mason and Masters are certainly close in name. There's isn't anyone named Anthony Masters in the movie, but that doesn't mean the film doesn't have a version of that man. Fabenle is the most obvious choice for the character. But that could be quite the misdirect.
Backstabbing In Black Widow
One of the things that makes Taskmaster so formidable is that the character does indeed wear a mask. That means that it's hard to know just how is behind the suit. The powers are almost certainly one of the reasons the character is going to be hard to take down, but it's not seeing what's coming next. The lengths Marvel has gone to in order to protect the identity of Taskmaster could mean that one of Black Widow's team is actually the person behind the mask. Some believe that Rachel Weisz is actually playing the person who is known as Taskmaster in Black Widow.
Weisz's known character is Melina Vostokoff and she's one of the people who is thought to fight alongside Natasha Romanoff. However, Weisz talked about the secrets that Marvel is keeping under wraps. When she went on Jimmy Kimmel, she talked about how he had "allowed her secret identity to be known." However, she was talking about the fact that she was Melina Vostokoff. Which is actually common knowledge. It's possible that she became confused about just what character in Black Widow was supposed to be a secret. Vostokoff is hiding yet another identity, if she's actually Taskmaster, that villain becomes that much stronger, because she's operating from inside a group that considers her a friend.
Powers Vs Unpowered in Black Widow
Of course, the element of surprise only works once. Then it once again comes down to how Taskmaster is going to take down people who have been trained to kill. While Black Widow is very good at combat, she doesn't actually have any superpowers. It appears most of the rest of the people in the group don't have powers beyond the ability to fight.
It's possible Red Guardian has super strength but beyond that, someone who can mimic how to fight exactly, being a mirror image to their foes is going to be hard for anyone to take down. Being someone is who is also able to fool their compatriots is going to have espionage skills that will come in handy as well. That's why Taskmaster is one of the most dangerous villains that Marvel has offered up, even without the powers of Thanos, or the sheer strength of Ultron.