A
villain published by
Marvel Comics. The
Taskmaster
first appeared in
Avengers #195 in 1980.
The man who became the Taskmaster was born with a rare
ability termed "photographic reflexes." Similar to
a photographic memory, the Taskmaster can mimic the
physical ability of anyone he sees. This first became
apparent after he saw a cowboy perform complicated
roping tricks with a lasso and then went outside and
performed them for his friends. He used his ability
to become a star quarterback in high school by watching
professional quarterbacks in action.
After graduating high school, the Taskmaster decided
to use his abilities for personal gain and adopted his
now famous persona. He studied tapes of many heroes
in action and adopted many of their fighting styles and
weaponry. He carries a shield similar to Captain America's,
a bow like Hawkeye, a sword like the Swordsman, billy
club like Daredevil and others. He cannot perform any
superhuman ability like enhanced strength or the
agility that Spider-Man possesses.
The Taksmaster decided to avoid fighting heroes and
instead began training the henchmen that are so often
used by other supervillains. He opened a school using
the Solomon Insititue for the Criminally Insane as
a cover, but was discovered by the Avengers and
though many of his associates were captured, the Taskmaster
escaped.
In the following years, the Taskmaster has clashed with
other heroes including Hawkeye, Spider-man, the
Thing, and others. He has been used by the United States
government to train John Walker, the man who replaced
Steve Rogers as Captain America for a time, to fight
with a shield.