Who Plays Taskmaster in ‘Black Widow’?

Every Marvel movie needs a vicious villain or two—and Black Widow is no exception. The latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe pits the Avengers’ premier super spy against a number of foes that put Black Widow through her paces. The one that really gives Natasha a workout is Taskmaster, a seemingly unstoppable assassin who can mimic the fighting styles of anyone and everyone.

But this being a Marvel movie, you know there’s gotta be more to a character who has spent the entire lead-up to the big release hidden behind a mask! We don’t know who’s playing Taskmaster, and we don’t know what they look like under that helmet. So, who is playing Taskmaster and do you find out in the movie? And how does the MCU Taskmaster differ from the comic book version? Here’s everything you need to know about Taskmaster.

Taskmaster explained: Who is Taskmaster in Black Widow?

As seen in Black Widow, Taskmaster is an agent of the covert Russian spy school known as the Red Room. Taskmaster is depicting as an intimidating figure in a purely emotionless fashion, their identity hidden behind a skull-faced helmet. For most of the film, Taskmaster is depicted as a super weapon: they have the ability to mimic any fighting style and combat skill that’s loaded into the Taskmaster program. Captain America, Black Panther, Hawkeye, Black Widow—pretty much every Avenger is in play.

It’s not until the end of the film that we learn who’s really under that helmet: it’s Antonia Dreykov, the daughter of Red Room mastermind General Dreykov (Ray Winstone). This is a personal reveal for Natasha, because she’s spent the last decade and change believing that she murdered Antonia in an attempt to kill Antonia’s criminal father. But it turns out that not only did Dreykov survive the explosion, so did Antonia… except she’s in way worse shape and relegated to serving as a weapon under her father’s command.

Who plays Taskmaster in Black Widow?

Taskmaster is played by Olga Kurylenko in Black Widow. Kurylenko was born in the Ukraine back when it was part of the Soviet Union and she rose to international fame when she became the Bond girl Camille Montes in 2008’s Quantum of Solace. Other notable films include Armando Iannucci’s acclaimed political satire The Death of Stalin and the Tom Cruise sci-fi film Oblivion.

Who is Taskmaster in the comics?

In the comics, Taskmaster is a villainous mercenary who uses his chemically-enhanced photographic reflexes to immediately copy the fighting style of anyone he sees—and he’s seen pretty much every Marvel superhero in action. His abilities also give him the advantage of knowing his opponent’s moves before they’re made. On the flip side, these abilities have wrecked his ability to hold on to any personal memories, leaving him to rely on outside help to keep track of who he is. Oh—and his real name is Tony Masters, because comics are fun.

He debuted in Avengers #195 (1980) and was created by David Michelinie and George Pérez where he took on Marvel’s leading superhero team. He’s only risen in prominence over the past 40 years, going from a minor villain with sporadic appearances to the lead of multiple self-titled limited series. The most recent comic, a five-issue series written by Jed MacKay with art by Alessandro Vitti, wrapped up in March 2021 and pit Taskmaster against—who else?—Black Widow.

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