Taskmaster is front and center in the latest teaser for Black Widow, and while Marvel is still playing the character’s identity close to the chest, fans are given a look at the villainous threat in the preview that’s aptly titled “Fight.”
In the short clip, Taskmaster is seen going toe-to-toe with Scarlett Johansson‘s Black Widow as he mimics the moves of her fellow Avengers. In the comics, Taskmaster has “photogenic reflexes,” which allows him to copy the fighting style of any opponent, including Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Panther, and now, Black Widow who’s never crossed paths with Taskmaster before. (She’s also not enjoying getting her butt handed to her.) When she turns to her old team for intel, Florence Pugh’s Yelena walks Black Widow through what limited knowledge she he has on the mysterious fighter.
“His call sign is Taskmaster,” she says. “He controls a whole army of Widows.”
That last part about an “army of Widows” is a new nugget of information, which might point to Taskmaster’s true identity. In the comics, he was a fight trainer named Tony Masters who became one of Marvel’s most ruthless mercenaries and a formidable foe to The Avengers. He’s also crossed path with Spider-Man enough times that he’s considered one of the webhead’s top villains. However, the Black Widow movie appears to be going a different route with Taskmaster, and his (or hers) true identity may not sit well with Johansson’s master spy.
Black Widow hits theaters and Disney+ with Premier Access on July 9.
