Taskmaster's Surprise Reveal Has Some In Awe And Some In Tears And Some In Anger
Taskmaster has fans divided.
Since the first trailer of Black Widow dropped in December 2019, one thing that kept the fans on their toes was the presence of Taskmaster in the movie.
As one of the most recognizable and iconic villains of Marvel Comics, he was supposedly the pièce de résistance of the movie. Fans were waiting with bated breath for him to clash with our heroines and make them sweat. Plus, there was the additional mystery of his identity.
Once the movie was released, the character that received the strongest and highly mixed reactions was the Taskmaster.
After their introduction, many fans were thrilled to see a new and scary-looking supervillain who was just a human and didn't posses any extraterrestrial superpowers — a villain whose reputation preceded him and was known for giving a really hard time to the Avengers in the comics. So it all added to the fun of movie watching to see how Natasha and her family beat this supposedly unbeatable villain.
At the same time, many fans were disappointed about Taskmaster's short duration of presence onscreen. They were on the screen for just seven minutes. I literally counted.
The movie's trailers had sold the movie as a showdown between Taskmaster and Natasha. But there are hardly any scenes where they interact or fight for long. Even the fight scene with Red Guardian is full of cuts, and we get to see it in bits and pieces.
But there's a subset of fans who are morose, angry, and feeling betrayed by the Taskmaster's portrayal in the movie — and they have a lot to complain about.
Most of the fans in this subset are avid comic book readers, and they were hoping for a Taskmaster that was, if not the same but, quite close to the Taskmaster portrayed in Marvel comics. The Taskmaster of comics is a guy who possesses an innate ability to mimic, aka has 'photographic reflexes.' He dresses quite differently (except the skull mask) and is quite vocal unlike the mute version seen in Black Widow. The movie version is a defanged pawn who gets their ability to mimic from a special helmet they wear. Some of the fans were so upset that they called this the biggest betrayal of their lives.
This article explores the myriads of fan reactions that Taskmaster got. Let's dive into them.
The article doesn't favor or endorse any particular set of reactions.
1. OK! First things first. All of those who understood the story would agree that Taskmaster was not the villain. At best, they were a pawn who had no control over what they did.
people don’t understand the villain in black widow was not taskmaster but dreykov it seems like we didn’t watch the same movie
2. Many fans enjoyed the Taskmaster and the twist that the movie offers.
My #blackwidow hot take… I actually enjoyed everything they did with the #Taskmaster character. Hoping for a return somehow in future films. -B
3. This particular scene where Taskmaster flips up the shield with his legs seems to be a great hit with the fans.
I love what they did with #Taskmaster !!!!!🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩 #BlackWidow @MarvelStudios
4. Well, they indeed are intimidating.
Taskmaster is pretty terrifying! 😱😱 #BlackWidow #BlackWidowWatchParty
5. I relate to this reaction:
i gasped in the theater cause i was so excited i got to see her do her move again but when taskmaster did it my eyes went 😳
6.
Appreciation post, because I actually liked #Taskmaster :)
7. I was surprised that Nat didn't get any fractures when she was punched on her chest by Taskmaster.
this scene though. definitely my favourite scene with taskmaster I was genuinely scared for nat
8. The identity reveal of Taskmaster was definitely mind-boggling.
I loved how they wrote Taskmaster to fit with the #BlackWidow movie I have no complaints. No complaints whatsoever
9. This reveal pretty much threw everyone off. Some fans were upset at seeing a woman under the helmet because that meant the Tony Masters story from the comics was out of the window.
my favorite villain. the build up to her identity reveal was amazing #taskmaster
10. Applause for the effort one has to put in to look lethal.
#blackwidow Brady Langmann - Before we get to the serious stuff, I'm curious: How heavy was Taskmaster's suit? olga kurylenko - It was very heavy. And do you know what? There's so many layers to get dressed. It would literally take 30 minutes.
11. Many fans are enjoying the twist.
I liked Black Widow. I love what they did with Taskmaster.
12. Some also expressed jovial embarrassment for long believing that OT Fagbenle was the Taskmaster.
Straight up thought my man was secretly Taskmaster since like 2018….just Random Buddy #3 😅😅😅😅#BlackWidow
13.
say what you want about taskmaster but i think we can all agree that this
14. Someone added "Hymn for the Weekend" to a Taskmaster montage.
(Contains spoilers from #Blackwidow) - - - - #Taskmaster: Hymn for the Weekend
15. No, you are not. There are many who are not angry.
Am I the only person on the planet who isn't angry about Taskmaster in Black Widow? It made complete sense for the story and the fight scenes were incredible. Thoroughly enjoyed this film! solid 8/10
16. Some fans noticed Taskmaster's fighting style.
#BlackWidow spoilers - - - - So y’all didn’t notice when taskmaster did Bucky’s knife flip?
17. And how familiar it seemed:
#BlackWidow SPOILERS: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Me, a Bucky Fan when Taskmaster copied The Winter Soldier’s fighting style:
18. Yeah, I, too, had some of these moments.
#BLACKWIDOW SPOILERS - - - - every time the taskmaster copied steve’s fight moves
19. A new meme format rises.
Taskmaster is watching Shrek
20. And then there's this relevant question.
Why are people that saw the movie calling Taskmaster a "he"?
21. Some compared them to the comics, while others made comparisons to the Taskmaster that appears in the Spider-Man game.
Taskmaster gets more depth and character development in the side missions of Spider-Man PS4 than in the entire runtime of Black Widow.....
22. I get this person. Taskmaster was really underutilized.
Black Widow - Really enjoyed the grounded & darker tone of the film. The cast elevates the film, especially Pugh & Harbour. The action is well shot, staged and harkens back to Winter Soldier. The biggest letdown for me was Taskmaster, a great villain woefully underutilized.
23. Another fan expressing the above sentiment.
#BlackWidow 1. Taskmaster in Comics. 2. Taskmaster in black widow movie.
24. For some, Taskmaster has joined the group of the most badly adapted characters:
The "holy" trinity
25. Don Corleone agrees.
Taskmaster barely getting any screen time + that twist
26. I personally think the character should have gotten more screentime.
I love #BlackWidow film I thought it was great but they did #Taskmaster so bad.😭😭 the character deserved better i wish they give us another one.
27. Seems this person had a very sheltered life:
#BlackWidow writer says their adaptation of #Taskmaster “makes more sense” “Someone said … ‘Taskmaster was the biggest betrayal of my life’ and I was just like … well you’ve had a pretty good life then” (via @PhaseZeroCB)
28. This person also had an extreme reaction:
Me enjoying Me during the #BlackWidow #Taskmaster reveal.
29. Some fans were enjoying the hysterical overreactions to the Taskmaster's identity reveal.
the mcu has gotten a lot wrong but making taskmaster a women and men getting upset about it is the best thing they’ve given us https://t.co/JpnHCfUj6Q
30. Chill out, fans. The multiverse is here, and Marvel can always make another Taskmaster movie that sticks to the portrayal in comics.
Me to angry twitter dudes