The Taskmaster - On this page, I've collected practically every single scan I have and every single fact I know about the Taskmaster for the purposes of discussing fights and whatnot. Call it a picture bible or a respect thread, whatever you want. Fairly hard to get stuff for him, seeing as how he's initially a super villian...but you know, I do try.
Okay...so how do I start these thingies? Let's go with the feats first and track record last.
Photographic reflexes
From Taskmaster #1 - Tasky masters in three hands what it took the other guy years to learn.
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He also exhibits some Batgirl-type body reading - "Every subtle movement he performs I see...and the slightest physical nuance and habit I remember." So...Taskmaster > Batgirl? Sure. His skill also lets him anticipate opponents perfectly (see fights with Captain America, Spider-Man, and others below). That is very obvious in his fight with Deadpool (also below), like how he notices that Deadpool always dodges to his left, and etc.
In Taskmaster #4, he relives an experience he had when he was 8 years-old. He mentions how every single memory of every point in his life is completely fresh and accessable to him, even from his childhood. "...and every sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch are as vibrant as if they were forever happening now." So any move, performed by anyone, seen at anytime can be used. Just off the top of my head, the characters that Taskmaster has the skills of include: Wolvie, Spider-Man, Punisher, Shang Chi, Cap, Daredevi, Hawkeye, Elektra, Silver Samurai, Black Knight, Iron Fist, Deadpool, and...the rest don't really matter. (Surprised he hasn't seen Bullseye though - guess that would just make him ridiculously powerful.) He's also seen pretty much every character of note in the Marvel universe, letting him anticipate their fighting styles and moves completely if he ever had to go up against them.
Here are some scans I posted earlier in the Taskmaster vs. Nightwing thread, regarding Taskmaster and chi-based moves. Taken from Daredevil #292.
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So Taskmaster is able to learn in ten minutes what this guy needed ten years to learn. And Taskmaster can learn chi moves! Though it's my opinion he couldn't learn the high end stuff like being able to throw Iron Fists or hadoukens, or take down guys like Thor or Thing like Mantis or Gamora do.
To my knowledge, he's never been labelled as a mutant although he was born with the ability. So maybe it's just a natural non-X-gene ability like with Bullseye.
Agility/Speed
Here he is in Taskmaster #1, with Spider-Man and Daredevil level agility.
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"And the laser detection might have been a problem if I didn't have the combined acrobatic repertoire of Spider-Man and Daredevil at my disposal...but I do." From earlier fights with Spider-Man, he mentions duplicating the speed and agility of both Spider-Man and Daredevil to avoid Spidey's attacks.
The rest are from Taskmaster #4.
Cuts apart five guys spread all over the room Kill Bill style, moving so fast they "can't get a bead on him". The last guy's head is cut off - the sword's behind his neck - but he's still making sounds and is barely bleeding, and Taskmaster's already down the hall.
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Turns around, switches off his image inducer, and shoots six guys before anyone of them can turn around.
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And what respect thread would be complete without a bullet time feat?
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Taskmaster copying it - 4-21.jpg
So yeah, Taskmaster's fast enough to be able to catch a bullet with relatively little effort.
Then, he takes apart Isley using his crazy fast forward skillz. Please note that Isley is already fast enough to be able to CATCH bullets. And then Taskmaster completely blitzes him. So 95% of street level fighters < Isley < Taskmaster?
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That last panel is badass. Also note that Taskmaster's not at top condition either - he took a bullet in the side earlier, and was limping into the office.
Endurance
There's also an endurance feat somewhere in Agent X, where he beats up an entire amusement park full of B-list villians and mercs, while nursing a broken jaw and arm. But it's pretty vague, I don't have the issue, and I don't remember it either. ...so forget it.
Now, on to his Track Record.
Here's his first appearance (Avengers #196), where he takes down both Iron Man and Captain America in like three panels.
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And he takes down Iron Man again, in Taskmaster #1. He's 2-0 against Iron Man. Ridiculous.
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Though it must be noted that Iron Man couldn't use his repulsors in fear of blowing the entire building up. And he's only knocked down long enough for Taskmaster to make his usual wily escape.
In Wolverine #167, Taskmaster beats the Cat. Isn't the Cat Shang Chi's main baddie? And Tasky does it in three panels.
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In the same issue, he takes out Zaran the weapons master.
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Against Deadpool, in Deadpool #2. Note he's got enough time to identify, dodge, and annouce Deadpool's moves - and teach his class a lesson while fighting. Dominates Deadpool in the first fight, stealing his own gun and shooting him with it. And doesn't Deadpool kick Bullseye's ass at some point during his series?
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Later on in the issue, they fight again. Goes the same way, until Deadpool starts dancing around and confuses Tasky. I'll throw up the scans anyway, because they're so entertaining. But I hate how he jobs whenever someone does something silly. He's still got the combined skill set of the entire MU, even if he can't read his opponent. But that stuff's not happening in the arena.
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Beating Spider-Man straight-up, in Marvel Team-Up #103.
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He threw that billy club across the arena hard enough that it knocked Spider-Man out after two bounces? That's Bullseye-toothpick level.
And in the same issue, he messes Spidey up again. And then escapes like usual.
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Beating Spider-Man again, in Marvel Team-Up #146.
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Then when everything goes to hell, he escapes again. Making Spidey look silly...again.
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And finally...here's Taskmaster beating Thanos. 'nuff said.
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Keep in mind that as a Taskmaster page, there is obviously a slight Taskmaster bias, but I feel I've been pretty fair in gauging his abilities and track record. I mean, obviously I'm not going to list his defeats on a Taskmaster respect page. But regardless, here's a brief list of his track record against the major Marvel characters (W-L-T):
Spider-Man (2-1-0)
Captain America (1-0-1)
Daredevil (0-2-0)
Elektra (1-1-0)
Deadpool (1-1-0)
Iron Man (2-0-0...but pretty iffy victories)
Thanos (1-0-0)
In conclusion...the Taskmaster is cool...and...stuff. GOOD WORK SOLDIER!!!
