Taskmaster (character)

Taskmaster, better known as Anthony "Tony" Masters, is an antagonist in Marvel Comics. Created by writer David Michelinie and artist George Pérez, the character made his debut in The Avengers #195 (May 1980).

Fictional character biography

He is a character who possesses the power to copy any fighting style or move that he observes. He is an extremely skilled mercenary, capable with virtually any weapon known to man. He most often carries a sword, shield, and bow and arrows, but also carries knives, guns, and many other weapons.

After he masters a fighting style, he sells it, teaching it to anyone for the right price. He most often gets his "merchandise" by watching videos of combatants, and copies them photogenically. He cannot, however, perform skills that require superhuman abilities, such as lifting a car or firing energy blasts. If he watches a fighting video in fast-motion, he can copy it at the same speed, granting him semi-superspeed in that instance.

Taskmaster serves as the archenemy of Ant-Man (Scott Lang) and a frequent opponent of Captain America, Black Widow, Spider-Man, and Deadpool, the latter of whom is the only person whose fighting maneuvers Taskmaster cannot replicate, due to his unpredictability.

In other media

The character has been adapted from the comics into various forms of media, including several animated television series and video games. A female version of Taskmaster named Antonia Dreykov appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Black Widow (2021), portrayed by Olga Kurylenko. Kurylenko will reprise the role in the upcoming movie Thunderbolts* (2025).