Taskmaster

The Taskmaster, alias Anthony Masters, is a bad dude. Rub him the wrong way, and you'll be biting the curb in a matter of seconds. He grinds punks into paste and makes the best of the best look like schlubs, using his mutant power of photographic reflexes. He was portrayed by Deadpooligan in Traitor Game XII and in all subsequent appearances.
== Character History ==
=== General History ===
As a young boy, Anthony Masters, Jr. developed his mutant ability to perfectly mimic any physical action, from martial arts to voices to even basic athletics. His older brother, the boy who would eventually grow up to become Slaymaster, was immediately envious of his younger brother's fantastic talents, creating a lasting sibling rivalry between the two. On his eighteenth birthday, Anthony followed in his brother's footsteps and enlisted in S.H.I.E.L.D. He was assigned to serve under Colonel Hunter Gathers, and would train around the world with the Colonel well into his twenties. After mysteriously going AWOL, Anthony donned the identity of the Taskmaster, and decided to turn his talents to a life of crime.
As a career criminal, he used his abilities to prove himself a superior combatant, trainer, and master assassin, working his way to an elite status in the hired criminal underworld. His early reputation in crime developed through the creation of a series of "Crime Colleges" to train 3rd-string villains as somewhat degenerate facsimiles of the heroes they were tasked to fight. Eventually he trained more able candidates, like Crossbones, Spider-Woman, U.S. Agent, and Eldozar Goenitz.
Taskmaster's greatest demonstrations as a hand-to-hand combatant include defeating multiple Avengers in individual fights and allegedly killing Iron Fist in mortal combat. Taskmaster's fighting trademark is his extreme ego, which just barely edges out his cowardice. He often prefers a less-than-fair fight where he has the advantage. This personality trait, however, has not hindered his ability to hold his own against metahumans who greatly outclass him, as well as his peers.
He has also "reformed" a number of times, taking government training contracts, working as a member of the Thunderbolts and Agency X, as well as serving as a Drill Instructor at Camp Hammond. These so-called "allegiances" are flimsy at best and in keeping with Taskmaster's philosophy, terminated for the right price. In spite of his greed, he still adheres to some kind of professional ethic and code of honor. But even for the colors in his costume and his character, green is the thing Taskmaster loves more than anything. Except Enter the Dragon. And kicking ass. And sex. (Probably.)
=== Traitor Game XII ===
Taskmaster first appeared in The Vault, ranting about his imprisonment history and how he was arrested one last time, hired by a mysterious vigilante to steal a device from S.H.I.E.L.D. containing the identities of every known superhuman in the world; the Identity Disc. He was defeated by the sheer number of agents assigned to taking him down, as well as Prometheus. After harassing (and being harassed by) Bob & Karl, he demonstrated his ability and sense of honor to one of his heroines, and proved his worth as a fashionista, all while shackled.
When faced with the idea of teaming up with the other villains, he demonstrated his cowardly ability to talk-the-talk but not walk-the-walk. Even so, watching Bullseye made him capable of destroying his restraints with a pen. Taskmaster was soon put in line by his former superior officer while in S.H.I.E.L.D., Col. Hunter Gathers, who ordered his weapons returned to him. Unfortunately, they had been burned into compost by Bob, causing Taskmaster to order a SHIELD-Protocol nanite shock, mimicking and using Karl's voice. With further developments and accusations of murder, he demonstrated impressive feats of low self-esteem, whining, and the ability to Bizarro-speak.
After running his mouth for quite a bit, he made an enemy of Batman, one of his accusers, and suffered an embarrassing defeat by his hand. Soon after, Taskmaster was banished by his villainous peers, but showed up on the monitor to taunt the Dark Knight Corpsman. Upon Batman's own banishment, Taskmaster found an unlikely ally in D'Spayre, who drained Batman's Power Ring and delivered the ringbearer to the mercenary on a silver platter. After a short scuffle wherein Taskmaster floored and humiliated Batman and the latter dislocating the former's arm, the two came to a truce; deciding to work together to destroy the Sentinel attack on The Vault. Batman was able to feed off of Taskmaster's ambient cowardice to charge his previously drained Ring, engaging a Tri-Sentinel and converting it into a Manhunter. Taskmaster confronted Bastion himself, and after being thrown through a window, cut the Sentinel into ribbons and threw the scraps left of him to Batman.
Soon after, Taskmaster killed Moleculo, the Molecular Man. Nobody cared. Inadvertently mimicking the pansexual nature of Dorian Gray, he then hit on Terra and was jarringly disturbed as a result. Soon, the Ventriloquist & Scarface were banished and revealed as Traitors, prompting Batman to confront them and toss the gangster puppet to Taskmaster with a malicious grin on his face. Gaining the verbal tic and split personality of Albert Wesker, Taskmaster began to have conversations with the puppet and decided to make him his own. After having some banter with a rather out-of-place Thorpool and refusing to help him out of his cell without a price, the mercenary ventured to The Vault's sewing room with effeminate glee. Rechristening the puppet "Taskface", and giving him his own set of pirate-threads and mini-equipment, the puppetmaster and puppet began to bicker about professional ethics and their assumed ability to beat up Batman.
The Dark Knight Corpsman responded in kind by giving Taskmaster a mild case of decompression sickness, aka "the bends". But the mercenary wouldn't go down for the count without more petty banter and weakly raising his middle finger. Tiring of his shenanigans, Batman broke four of his fingers, leaving him a crumpled heap for Hunter Gathers to berate with stories from decades past. After taking some time to recover, Taskmaster could be found idly standing against a wall bantering with Hunter as revelations and explosions came to light all around them.
With the outbreak of other inmates in the Vault, Taskmaster and Col. Gathers came into conflict with Red Guardian and Starlight, the latter of whom apparently made the mercenary sterile just by standing near him. After the rupture her containment suit, the explosion of her energies detonated one of the bombs in the facility. It was then that a group of four mercenaries, Bullseye, Crossbones, Black Tarantula, and Razorfist took out Hunter with a tranquilizer and prepared to gang up on Taskmaster. With a swaggering ego surpassing all, Taskmaster nearly trash-talked the Mercenaries Four into submission, though they were soon distracted by a much-enjoyed mudstomping of Batroc the Leaper. Taskmaster, recovering from a series of groin shots courtesy of a thrown symbiote paperboy, singlehandedly defeated the four mercenaries.
His fight wasn't over yet, though. Having defeated six foes one after the other, his final and greatest rival still awaited him... his older brother, Slaymaster. In an epic clash of swords for the ages, followed by an explosion, the brothers battled to the death. Staggering from behind a cloud of debris, a weary and exhausted Taskmaster had emerged victorious. As the Traitor Game in The Vault wound down to a complete close, the mercenary spied Prometheus of the Dark Knight Corps hovering overhead. Mustering enough strength for one more fight, Taskmaster engaged him, broke his concentration, and ultimately defeated him, destroying his power ring in the process. All of his foes defeated or no longer a threat, the Identity Disc retrieved, and a fleeting goodbye to Hunter spoken, Taskmaster stood triumphant. As he exited, he commandeered a public transportation bus, mowing down Daredevil as he drove his way to Gotham City... and another Batman.
=== Resurfacing with the Identity Disc ===
Taskmaster appeared inside the Batcave as all of the other characters there were blank-faced, their minds collectively wandering on the Astral Plane. The mercenary took it upon himself to rummage through the players pockets and belongings, finding a worthy prize in Archie Andrews' Hero Dial. Questioning and discarding his professional ethics, he drew his sword to liberate the teen from the powerful artifact. When Archie's mind returned to his body, others came to his defense. Taskmaster's sword was crushed by Voltron, and the mercenary was caught in a bionic-bearhug by Bionic Bigfoot. Taskmaster mimicked his voice to that of a young women to garner the aid of RoboCop, and was summarily tossed away by Bigfoot. Attempting to con RoboCop into thinking Archie was actually his friend, Taskmaster's plan soon fell apart fast as he threatened the teen with a stiletto in his glove, and was then confronted by Courage the canine apprentice of Doctor Strange.
Hit by a magic bolt blast, Taskmaster had his mind tricked into thinking he was a damsel in distress, "Daisy Buchtaskan". In this hilarious and warped mindset, the master of tasks fell (literally and figuratively) head over heels for renowned and toned hero Hal Jordan. The Green Lantern was thrown ajar by this and in his shock, stood idly by as a warped Dick Dastardly (thinking he was Snidely Whiplash) took Daisy Buchtaskan and tied him to a conveniently placed railroad track. Eventually, Hal removed the ropes and ordered Courage to fix Taskmaster's personality, which the dogceror promptly did.
...or so it appeared. Another magic blast had merely turned Taskmaster into another damsel, "Taskalie Wood", twirling and dancing and speaking about how pretty he felt. With the appearance of a veritable army of Bat-Villains, Courage the Cowardly Sorcerer freaked and fired a flurry of magic bolts, a stray hitting Taskmaster and returning him to normal. Immediately after coming to his senses, he encountered a Ventriloquist & Scarface, not the former one he met in The Vault. Kicking him in the chest, he was reunited with Taskface, and made him a new outfit. Prometheus, formerly of the Dark Knight Corps, showed up to confront Taskmaster again, but was belittled and verbally humiliated to the point where he fell from one punch. 
Taskmaster had apparently skulked off into the depths of the Batcave and avoid the battle with Kefka and his hellish army of clowns. He was later caught in the act of thievery by Hoss Delgado and heroically delivered to Batman as a bounty. Presumably, he was sent to Blackgate Penitentiary afterward, losing possession of the Identity Disc, and never paid for the job of stealing the Disc. Sour, imprisoned, humbled, and now broke, the Taskmaster vanished from the public eye. However, that would not last long...
=== The Match Game ===
Sprung from Blackgate through a contractual agreement with Mojo and Dwight Schrute, Taskmaster was next seen participating in The Match Game, co-starring with other guest panelists from previous games. While expressing a great desire to maim Dwight for his petty banter, he was calmed down by making glances at Emma Frost's heaving bosoms, but was soon berated and battered by Ares, telepathically assaulted by Emma herself, and inconspicuously pranked by his partner in quippery, Superdick. He soon became more and more detracted from the game, asking Guile and Bison to show him some techniques, and for autographs. After Lisa Galloway stole his sword to throw at Jamie Sommers, he studied the Bionic Woman's moves and asked again for an autograph with nostalgic fanboy glee.
With the revelations of the final Traitor and Agents that he totally didn't care about because it was none of his business, Taskmaster took to sitting on the sidelines of battle with Superdick as Mechagodzilla wreaked havoc on the players. As the two placed small bets on the giant brawl, Superdick suggested that they ingest hotdogs, leading Taskmaster to bet the Kryptonian that he couldn't roast Miss Piggy with his heat vision from a distance. The porcine actress, dressed as Wonder-Pig, responded in kind with a furious kick and a flurry of pork-chops that left Taskmaster with broken ribs, bruises, and a prominent black-eye.
The celebrity panelists were paid after the destruction of Mechagodzilla and defeat of the Darkhold Dwarf. With his unparalleled super-speed, Superdick stole Taskmaster's royalty check, the latter lamenting that he had ordered it made out to "Cash". The champion of dickery still owed the master of tasks fifteen dollars, which was paid instead with ownership of Jimmy Olsen. Taskmaster tossed the young photographer over his shoulder, musing on the physical abuse he would inflict on the lad as he used his teleportation belt to warp back to his home base. He has yet to resurface in the Traitor Games.
=== A Striking Simulacrum ===
The Taskmaster Duplicate was an entity formed from the body of Deadpooligan in his game's finale, tasked to fight his former student Eldozar Goenitz. After the two swordsmen engaged in a long, brutal battle of quips, both combatants grew weary and took a break. Observing and realizing that killing the other Deadpooligan stable characters in true Highlander fashion would grant him more power, the Taskmaster Duplicate went on a murder spree to become all-powerful. With the personal assassinations of Jack O'Lantern, Loki, Beta Ray Bill, the Ghost Planet Trio, and finally Deadpool, the transformation was complete. However, a recreated Deadpooligan had taken control of his body, attempting to deprive the players of victory.
Fighting with an unparalleled ferocity, "Taskpooligan" engaged Provident and Eldozar Goenitz in a duel of the fates. He was ultimately defeated by the two swordsmen, with assistance from SuperEgo and the Teen Team, the final blow dealt by Aerie using Hugh Manatee and his girth.
With the duplicate Taskmaster's body fading and no means of maintaining a corporeal form, Deadpooligan was forced to flee to the real world.
=== The Future?===
Taskmaster is a shady character, and through his work as a hired mercenary, has become involved in at least two different Traitor Games where he was not an active participant selected by the hosts. He is rumored to be involved with a group of seven powerful and deceitful individuals, set out to organize a cataclysm in which they reign supreme over the Multiverse.
== Powers and Abilities ==
Taskmaster possesses the mutant power of photographic reflexes, an advanced form of muscle memory that allows him to perfectly replicate any action or series of actions he is physically capable of performing. He has mostly used this talent to gain an unparalleled and honed martial arts talent, a deadly proficiency with bladed weapons and conventional firearms, as well as the adapted original fighting styles of the greatest combatants on Earth. Taskmaster is a man of peak health, strength, and agility through years of training and a constant drive to keep himself in shape.
His photographic reflexes also grant him another few extraordinary powers beyond basic movement mimicry. With practice and careful listening, Taskmaster is able to manipulate his voice to sound identical to another person. By watching a video of a particular action in fast-forward, he is capable of briefly exerting himself to perform at superhuman speeds, one instance enabling him to catch a bullet at close range with his bare hands. Emulating the perfect aim of Bullseye, Taskmaster can kill or gravely injure a being with nearly any thrown object. He also has a built-up immunity to mace and pepper spray, having been sprayed with it countless times in his life.
Taskmaster is also allegedly capable of focusing his chi into his hands, demonstrating a striking power like a thing unto iron. However, this technique remains yet to be seen.
== Traitor Trivia ==
*Taskmaster is the "favorite" of Deadpooligan's character stable (as if you already couldn't tell).
:*Strangely enough, he has never made a full appearance at either Awards Show.
*His home dimension is the Variant Marvel Universe.
*He has apparently had some kind of previous relationship with Elsa Bloodstone of NextWave.
*Taskmaster is a self-hating mutant, as evidenced by his use of slurs.
*He is also a traditional self-hating, but non-practicing, Jew.
*Taskmaster: Escape from the Raft! is a Mojo Studios film about his exploits, starring Pauly Shore as The Taskmaster.
== Extra Links ==
Links to Taskmaster's fights at the end of TG XII