Black Widow mostly went down really well with fans, but one aspect of the recent Marvel movie that was widely criticized was the treatment of Taskmaster. The overall redesign of the villain for the MCU was never popular, and when fans finally got to see the full film it became clear that the characterization of the expert assassin was even further removed from the comics. But maybe there’s a way Marvel can redeem the character in future appearances.
Comics readers will know that Taskmaster and Deadpool have a complicated history, and according to what we’re hearing, Marvel may have plans to pit the Black Widow villain against Ryan Reynolds’ Wade Wilson in the MCU. As per our sources – the same ones who told us about Anthony Mackie’s Captain America 4 before that was confirmed – Taskmaster will be sent to hunt down the Merc with the Mouth at some point. We don’t yet know when or where this will happen, but we’ve been told it’s an idea being floated around for some upcoming project.
On the page, Deadpool is one of the few opponents able to beat Taskmaster because his sheer unpredictability makes it impossible for the hitman to predict his next moves like he does with everyone else. This initially made them bitter rivals, but they eventually developed an unlikely friendship. In the MCU, though, Taskmaster is not Tony Masters but Antonia Dreykov, a traumatized woman mind-controlled by her father into becoming a killer.
Antonia is freed from Dreykov’s control by the end of Black Widow, but seeing as she still has her combat skills, the door is open for her to continue on as Taskmaster. And apparently she could eventually face off against Deadpool. In a way, these two characters would seem to be an odd match, but maybe Wade could help Antonia lighten up and move on from her trauma.
The MCU has had other characters who maybe didn’t work first time out but were fixed in further appearances, so maybe Taskmaster will end up being one of those.
