While most Marvel Cinematic Universe movies are bathed in secret, we've known that Taskmaster would be the villain in the upcoming Black Widow movie for a while now. The Marvel supervillain first showed up in promo artwork before making his live-action debut in the film's first trailer, which briefly showed him wielding a bow from inside a tank. With the character's cinematic tactical look marking a noteworthy departure from his usual comic book costume, it wasn't entirely clear how different the MCU's take on the Taskmaster would be.
However, those concerns have been put to rest, to some extent, thanks to a new "special look" at Black Widow that included plenty of new footage from the Scarlett Johansson film. This new promo shows plenty more of the Taskmaster in action, and it seemingly confirms the villain will have his comic book powers in the film.
Taskmaster, Anthony Masters, was created by David Michelinie and George Pérez and first appeared in 1980's Avengers #195. A criminal and occasional mercenary, Taskmaster sets himself apart from the rest of the Marvel Universe's villains thanks to his ability to mimic the fighting styles and skills of anyone he observes.
Thanks to this special skill, Masters is a match for many superheroes. He is a lethal hand-to-hand fighter and is proficient with many weapons such as swords and guns. This uncanny ability is what, essentially, makes him such a dangerous villain.
While we had yet to know if Taskmaster possesses this ability in Black Widow, the special look promo seemingly confirms that he has this ability. At the end of the trailer, the villain and Black Widow face off and perform the same flip, at the exact same time. At first glance, this looks like a promising tease at the upcoming confrontation. But it goes deeper than that -- it shows that Taskmaster is now replicating Natasha's moves. The brief look of surprise on her face suggests she is surprised by his prowess, which suggests she is facing an opponent who is now her equal, if not superior, which should be plenty of cause for concern.
What's more, the trailer also shows Taskmaster using his signature shield, deflecting bullets and throwing it as an attack. While he may not have the super-soldier abilities of Steve Rogers, this would also confirm that Taskmaster has replicated Captain America's moves. Combined with how he might copy Hawkeye's moves to wield a bow, Taskmaster is already becoming a one-man Avenger army in the MCU, just like his comics counterpart.
Directed by Cate Shortland, Black Widow stars Scarlett Johansson as Natasha, Florence Pugh stars as Yelena, David Harbour as Alexei aka The Red Guardian and Rachel Weisz as Melina. The film opens on May 1, 2020.