The rogues gallery of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is full of hits and misses. Villains like Black Panther's Killmonger have won over audiences with their charisma, compelling motives and feats of strength that took them far beyond their comic book counterparts. However, villains like Thor: The Dark World's Malekith are forgettable and are far less threatening than the comic book villains they're based on.

With the MCU set to move past an era that was defined by Thanos and his quest for the Infinity Stones, a new slate of Marvel villains is about to be introduced to a wide new audience, and Taskmaster seems set to be the MCU's next breakout star thanks to Black Widow.

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Black Widow Taskmaster

Since Taskmaster was created by David Michelinie and George Perez in 1980's Avengers #195, Tony Masters has been a deadly foe for many of Marvel heroes, especially for relatively human heroes like Captain America, Hawkeye or Daredevil. Taskmaster has a "photographic reflex" that allows him to duplicate any movement that he sees. With that skill, he can mimic Shang Chi's kung fu, Deadpool's swordsmanship,  Hawkeye's archery and even Captain America's prowess with his shield.

While Taskmaster can't master an entire fighting discipline after observing a single punch, he's still dangerous in a fight, and he can mimic his opponent's moves in mere seconds. He can also only copy someone's form and not their power. So if Taskmaster were to go up against Captain America, he could copy his punches, but he would not amplify them with Captain America's strength.

Despite this, Taskmaster is still a worthy antagonist who's fought the Avengers, tangled with mercenaries like Deadpool and even killed Doctor Doom recently. However, Taskmaster must pay a heavy price for his powers: his memory. For every move he learns, he forgets something else, and the pain of losing his memories gives the villain -- and occasional antihero -- a compelling interior life that make him more than a villain with cool powers and a cool costume.

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With a skill set that measures up to almost any soldier, spy or mercenary and a tragic flaw, Taskmaster has been a fan-favorite villain for years, and he seems set to be one the most popular villains of 2020. Taskmaster is set to be a major factor in Black Widow, where Scarlett Johansson's Avenger will make her long-awaited solo debut.

Unlike most of Marvel's heroes, Natasha doesn't really have any superpowers to speak of, which makes her and Taskmaster evenly matched in terms of fighting skill. With his ability to pick up new abilities on the fly, Natasha will have to use her cunning and intelligence to best Taskmaster.

While it's not entirely clear who'll be under the Taskmaster's hood, the trailer for the film indicates that he'll square off against the Red Guardian, played by David Harbour. While Black Widow and Red Guardian used to fight together, their styles are vastly different, the former fighting from the shadows and the latter being more of a brawler.  That could give Taskmaster the chance to replicate multiple fighting styles in this film alone. Even though we still haven't seen much of the film, it seems like Black Widow, Red Guardian and any other characters he goes up against will learn just how all-encompassing his abilities really are.

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Taskmaster Marvel's Avengers

Later in the year, Taskmaster will also make an appearance in Marvel's Avengers. In that upcoming game from Crystal Dynamics, Eidos Montreal and Square Enix, players will control Black Widow and the Earth's Mightiest Heroes as the Avengers face their darkest day. While he'll take on Natasha again in the comic book prequel to the game, footage of a high-flying battle between Black Widow and Taskmaster in the game has already been released.

Even in this short clip, Taskmaskter mimicked the talents of several playable characters, including Captain America's acumen with his shield and Iron Man's maneuverability in flight. Given how many other super-feats he witnesses in this battle alone, there's no telling how tough their rematch could be.

Taskmaster's unique skillset, deteriorating memory and skeletal costume are enough to make him stick in the minds of fans, and with the release of Black Widow and Marvel's Avengers, there is no doubt that 2020 is going to be his year.

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.

Developed by Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix, Marvel's Avengers features Nolan North as Iron Man, Troy Baker as Bruce Banner, Laura Bailey as Black Widow, Jeff Schine as Captain America, Travis Willingham as Thor and Sandra Saad as Kamala Khan. The game is scheduled to be released on May 15, 2020, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Google Stadia.

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