WARNING: The following contains spoilers for King in Black: Thunderbolts #2 from Matthew Rosenberg, Juan Ferrerya and VC's Joe Sabino, on sale now.
In King in Black: Thunderbolts, Wilson Fisk's makeshift team of vagabonds are up against the wall trying to secure key intel from Norman Osborn at Ravencroft. He's got them unmasked and under strict orders, with Taskmaster leading the way for a crew that's surprisingly scared of the former Kingpin-turned-NYC mayor.
In Issue 2, Taskmaster shows a major flaw in his game. While trying to rally their heavy-hitter, Star, the villain Black Widow will battle in the Marvel Cinematic Universe proves he doesn't understand how the Infinity Stones work.
A giant symbiote dragon falls through the roof at Ravencroft, sending the crew running. Norman stays behind to look after the facility but by this time, Taskmaster has what he needs and ushers the crew out. They even save a few prisoners and beef the squad up, but they're being overrun by more of Knull's infected foot soldiers. They quickly jump on a bus and head out, with Taskmaster directing traffic but also needing a favor from Star.
She's powered by the Reality Stone and Taskmaster needs her to reach out and feel for a unique energy signature. He's trying to coach her, as she doesn't even understand how to properly tap into her powers and use them consistently, and he asks her to reach out to her powers and let them flow through her.
Star actually calls him out for quoting Star Wars, from the scene when Emperor Palpatine urges Luke Skywalker to let the hate flow through him. He wanted Luke to kill Darth Vader and follow his dad officially to the Dark Side, which has become a pop culture meme that apparently even Taskmaster knows.
Taskmaster hesitates but can't hide it, admitting he doesn't know how the stone works that transformed Star into an evil version of Captain Marvel. With that, he reminds her if she doesn't activate and find her target, the world will end.
He kicks her off the bus. Just as their bus plunges off a broken road, Star's able to meditate and enhance her abilities. She saves the crew and finds their target, the ripped up body of the Sentry. Following Knull murdering him, they now have to turn Sentry's body into a bomb.
Ultimately, Taskmaster wings it, but he succeeds in getting Star to evolve a bit. She doesn't have it down like Wanda Maximoff or Captain Marvel, both of whom are powered by these gems in the MCU, but at least she knows if she focuses like a Jedi or Sith, Star can harness her abilities. More so, it shows he's unconventional, but Taskmaster is sort of a good motivator and leader.