Taskmaster
"Evenin' Slick. 'Member me? I'm the Taskmaster!"
Taskmaster, goes by the alias Tony Masters, is a unique case of a man of human limits capable of matching and even surpassing those who're far more powerful than himself. When it comes to skill, he may be one of the greatest martial artists in existence, passed only by those who know styles no human can comprehend or are ridiculously unpredictable (e.g. Deadpool). In my opinion, Taskmaster would be an awesome character to have and show how dangerous an otherwise normal human-being can be with only their skills and the right tools. But how, you ask, do we bring him into the MCU?
How Close To The Comics Can We Get?
The MCU has shown how certain villains can translate to the screen quite well, like Killgrave, while others need a lot of reworking in their personality to create a compelling villain, like the Vulture and Zemo. Some of them are able to blend the classic with new ideas, like Thanos. Some people just don't work, like Whiplash. So, how would Taskmaster be done? I feel he can easily translate into the MCU without too-much difficulty:
Tony Masters (as he refers to himself) was a former member of S.H.I.E.L.D. During his time with them in the 2000's, who partook in an experimental testing of the Super Soldier Serum, which bolstered his mental processing and granted him his signature "photographic reflexes." After some time of testing his abilities (including testing his skills with fellow S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Hawkeye and Black Widow), he began to suffer memory loss from excessive use of his photographic reflexes, resulting him to leave S.H.I.E.L.D. Despite his leave, he's still connected as his handler (and wife) Mercedes Merced keeps his activities known to Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D., who sometimes influence his job selection. Despite this, he frequently works for a number of criminal groups and performs cause some serious damage to the good guys.
When it comes or revealing his backstory, I feel it should be done so through hints and clues, keeping much of his life a mystery and up for speculation. For his first appearances, like in fighting the Avengers, we're given no information other than his name. Once he gets his own stand-alone film, we can start to get more information, such as finding out his employment by Org (who is Mercedes under an alias) and his past criminal activities, like working with the Batroc Brigade and training soldiers of several criminal/terrorist organizations. In another film we find out more of his history, like his marriage with Mercedes, being an agent of S.H.I.E.D., how he got his abilities, his past relationship with Nick Fury. Even further down the road, we could implement Jeanne Foucault, who may be his daughter and shares his "photographic reflexes," adding yet another layer to his every mysterious past.
How Badass Should Taskmaster Be?
In Marvel comics, Taskmaster is one of the most dangerous non-superhumanly powerful characters around. His skills make him a threat to the likes of Captain America, Spiderman and even Iron Man. Obviously, he's not going in with just his bare fists and he utilizes a vast plethora of weapons to aid him.
To start a movie staring Taskmaster, I would first focus on him going into the Avengers facility and WRECK them. With a plethora of epic-equipment provided by a patron of his work (perhaps Doctor Doom?), he's able to make quick work of the many heroes, even those who should outright outclass him, like Spiderman, Scarlet Witch and even Captain Marvel. I can see it going like this:
After detonating some explosives on the outside of the Avenger's base, so as to disorient both the team itself, he enters the base and tears through the security with little effort (though not going for the kill). He eventually gets to some of the more human Avengers (such as Black Widow and Falcon), which he outclasses quickly without excessive use of his weapons, simply using his bare hands and far superior skills. He gets to some of the more dangerous opponents (Spiderman and Scarlet Witch) and utilizes his tactics, equipment and understanding of their abilities to take advantage of openings in their deference and exploitable weaknesses. He even fights and defeats War-Machine by cutting out his power core, trapping him in a powerless suit. As he gets deeper (towards the security room) he's finally intercepted by Captain Marvel herself. Despite her power, he proves to be far deadlier than she could have ever anticipated, as he uses the right equipment to cut various weak points (arteries and tendons) while avoiding her predictable attacks. He's able to incapacitated her with a swift but shallow stab to her upper spinal cord, paralyzing her (though with her powers, she can recover from this after some time) and is able to get to its security room. There, he downloads the footage and leaves, after which he sells the footage to a person of interest (perhaps the Power Broker).
How Should Taskmaster Look?
So, how would Taskmaster look like in the MCU? Well, I feel that they could combine some aspects of his comic designs with more practical military outfits. Perhaps he wears a ballistic mask designed to appear as a skull, being practical but also loyal to the source. In place of his cape, he could wear a long-coat crafted from ballistic fibers. Other than that, we would utilize aspects of his UDON or Ultimate Spider-Man outfit. As for equipment, I can see him having some weapons developed by more advanced individuals (perhaps Doctor Doom or Kang), including but not limited to:
- A sword crafted using a super-strong/light weight metal (adamantium or vibranium) with a massive frame, then uses Pym Particles to reduce the sword to a more hand-able size while also increasing the sharpness of the blade, enough to take down heavily armored or superhumanly durable opponents
- A vibranium shield that's designed after Captain America's shield, but been enhanced to allow for more lethal use and to return to owner on "command"
- A light-weight hammer/mace weapon that utilizes tech so as to enhance its mass on the user's command, allowing the user to make it hit with incredible force before returning to its proper density, as well as a means to call it back to hand; Taskmaster can utilize this similar to Thor, especially as a thrown weapon
- A modern combat bow with a selection of trick arrows, similar to Hawkeye
- A pair of pistols, used similar to Black Widow
- An energy disrupter device to force someone like Ant-Man to return to full size (easier to beat someone up when they're not ant-sized)
- A pair of gloves that enhance his striking force/grip strength to use against superhuman opponents, as well as feature a number of built in weapons, like the various functions of Black Widow's gauntlets, Spiderman's web shooter (possibly using energy in place of webbing) and other stuff.
As Taskmaster would be a normal human competing with superhumans, he's going to need to have the right equipment to take down the Avengers on his own.
How Would We Use Taskmaster In The MCU?
This is an obvious question to think about. What would Taskmaster do in the MCU? Is he the main character and hero of his story, or is he the villain that the heroes must overcome?
For me, I'd have him make an impact in the MCU before we even get his name. To start, I'd have Tony Masters start with a different identity: Ronin. In the comics, there's been several people who've gone by the name Ronin, so having Tony use the identity for a bit woudn't be too crazy. Through this, we can have Ronin as a character that appears throughout the Marvel Netflix shows as an occational threat, namely to Daredevil and Punisher (and Moon Knight if they give him a show), before having a more neutral/helpful presence to the Defenders. Perhaps he can help them in taking down a threat but secretly using this to implement his attack on the Avengers.
For his first major appearance in the movies, I see him being an enemy of the Avengers, as he breaks into the Avenger's facility and effortlessly defeats and humiliates them. When the footage of his attack is released, it leads to question if the Avengers are adequate anymore and a new program is implemented to create a fully government-developed team of superhumans, known as the Thunderbolts. In fact, Taskmaster was hired by outside sources to ruin the Avenger's reputation and lead to the development of the Thunderbolts. However, the Avengers discover that the Thunderbolts are made up of criminals and have alternative motives (I can see the Power Broker being the one who gave the team their powers). To almost everyone's surprise, Taskmaster returns, now fighting with the Thunderbolts and taking down their backup, inevitably helping the Avengers in revealing the Thunderbolts' activities. Towards the end, possibly a mid-credit sequence, we're shown that Nick Fury had been aware of Taskmaster's activities, knowing that he was going to attack the Avengers and later the Thunderbolts.
After his introduction as a man that's a mercenary through-and-through, we can then delve into a Taskmaster solo film (preferably R) or a series (TV-MA), giving us hints at his personal life and see his interaction with other heroes and villains. Perhaps he's forced to face off against Batroc's Brigade, which features some of the most skilled non-superhuman fighters in the Marvel universe, including Batroc the Leaper (yes, he's pretty silly looking but his kicks are crazy deadly), Swordsman, Zaran, Machete and others. Altnerativly, if the MCU develops a couple more criminal/terrorist organizations, we can develop the Minions International Liberation Front (yes, I know that the initials literally spell M.I.L.F.; That's the joke) and reveal that Taskmaster had been a trainer for several organizations, who would develop MILF.
Who Would Play Him?
What actor is capable of providing an epic performance while also capable of doing much of his own stunts? He needs to be of a good, athletic frame that's not too thin (don't want him to snap) but not too beefy (can't reasonably kick that high).- Clive Standen: Clive is an actor who's lived his life as a stunt man. He has learned martial arts, fencing, horseback riding, and stunt work before he was 13, and has acted in several shows that play to his swordsmanship skills, especially in Vikings. If any actor could pull off the expert combatant that's Taskmaster, Clive is a prime choice. Another good character that Clive Standen could easily portray would be Dane Whitman/Black Knight, another Marvel character who uses a sword.
- Viggo Mortensen: Best known for his performance as Aragorn in the Lord of the Ring trilogy, Viggo is a veteran actor and has done some of his own stunts in past movies. He even knows how to use a sword (in a scripted fight, that is). When it comes to shear acting abilities, Viggo is the best choice.
- Ray Park: Ray is best known for his performance as Darth Maul from Star Wars and easily the best part of Phantom Menace. He also portrays Snake Eyes in the live action G.I. Joe movies. Though he tends to have little in the area of speaking lines, his stunt work is ever awesome and epic, and he could easily do many of the things Taskmaster could do.
- Scott Adkins: Though he has little renown, Scott is a skilled martial artist and can pull off the expert combatant that's an adept in various forms of armed and unarmed combat. Though his acting skills aren't neccisarily the best, his skills in martial arts and stunt work would certainly make for some epic fights. If not as Taskmaster himself, Adkins can easily portray a villain for Taskmaster.
- Rob McElhenney. An unusual choice, I know. Rob isn't that big a guy (he's 5'10) but he can bulk out to fit the role. I feel that it would be interesting to have Rob portray Tony Masters, making it more unexpected to discover that Tony and Taskmaster are the same person. Plus, he is genuinely funny.
Anything I missed to include? Any other actors that could be the Taskmaster? Leave a comment for anyone
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