'Black Widow' the movie: Who is the Taskmaster?
With the release of the first teaser trailer for Marvel's 'Black Widow', we get our first good look at the Taskmaster and his costume.
Though it might not be his only costume — Black Widow (Scarlet Johansson) herself gets three costumes in the trailer alone, after all — it's the only one we get to see, and it differs wildly from the George Perez-designed look that debuted in 1980.
The original Taskmaster costume is one of those rare comic book costumes that's iconic enough to warrant zero changes from its first debut to the current day. Armed with a bow, shield, and sword, his martial prowess apes the fighting styles of the Avengers, trained in hand-to-hand combat and medieval weaponry.
While the skull facemask certainly defines the character, what makes the costume truly stand out is the long white hood and tan cape that gives the character an element of grandioseness that he has come to bank on.
It's a look he's a bit of a martyr to — by his own admission, the mercenary has found the cape to occasionally get in the way of his fighting, but it just looks too cool to get rid of. Whatever you say about the Taskmaster, you can't take his sense of style away from him.
Unless, as it turns out, you put him in a live-action movie. The movie's version of the Taskmaster appears to have abandoned the cape entirely — a practical move, certainly, though we do see hints of a hood hanging off his shoulders.
His signature skull facemask is replaced with a blue helmet and a black visor over the eyes. While the lower half of the face is made to look like a skull, the effect is overall somewhat lost in translation.
Medieval weaponry does still appear to be a part of his fighting style, however, as the trailer sees him aiming a bow and arrow at Natasha — an arrow that appears to be tipped with an explosive.
Like his comic-book counterpart, the Taskmaster's signature fighting style would appear to be to steal the Avengers' best tricks. While his Captain America-esque shield is nowhere to be seen, its existence is confirmed by concept art that sees the Taskmaster fighting Black Widow with it in hand.
With Black Widow having already fought several of her fellow Avengers over the years, the Taskmaster is going to need a few new tricks up his sleeves to get the drop on her. 'Black Widow' releases in theaters on May 1, 2020.
