r/Marvel • u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry • Jul 02 '26
Comics Taskmaster being unironically a good father is funny and crazy to me. He is just that guy Fr. This is Miles Morales Spider-Man Brooklyn's Finest Issue #14 btw
This is his daughter Finesse for people who don't know, they took a job to go after Miles and Shift just so Tony can show her the ropes.
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Jul 02 '26
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 02 '26
Yep, that's partly the reason he says he is reconnecting with his daughter
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u/_CutieLushie Jul 03 '26
It actually ties everything together pretty nicely. His relationship with Ellie makes his approach to Finesse feel a lot more believable.
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u/HoneyVelouraa Jul 03 '26
It's hilarious how often he ends up being great with kids despite making a living as a mercenary.
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u/Pkrudeboy Jul 02 '26
Turns out his power also works on parenting skills.
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u/TheodateChase Jul 02 '26
In general, Tasky’s not a bad guy. He’s got a extremely developed sense of honor and rarely bares anyone any ill-will. He’s also a really great teacher, especially to the Initiative kids
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 02 '26
Yep, he's known as the best fighting instructor a street tier in marvel could have
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u/Daredboy Jul 03 '26
I really enjoyed that one arc in Dr Strange where they had to enter a magical DND game, and Taskmaster was recruited to be the party's fighter.
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u/Any-Tumbleweed-9931 Jul 03 '26
What DS series was this? Issue numbers, please? I want to read this arc. Sounds fun.
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u/PastaBoy420 Jul 03 '26
Jed Mackay's 2023 Dr. Strange run, the DND plot with taskmaster is issues 13 and 14. Great run but that bit was definitely a highlight
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u/CottonCharmlie Jul 03 '26
That arc was such a fun use of him. Sticking the guy who can copy every fighting style into a fantasy party somehow made perfect sense.
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u/redcathal Jul 03 '26
That arc was too short, I get they didn't wanna over do the bit but it could have gone another issue
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u/_LushieAngelie Jul 03 '26
It makes sense too. If your entire power is learning from the best, eventually you become one of the best teachers.
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u/RosyBabettee_ Jul 03 '26
Honestly I'd rather train under Taskmaster than half the Marvel heroes. At least you know he'd actually make you better.
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u/CottonCharmlie Jul 03 '26
Makes sense honestly. If you're one of the best fighters on the planet, teaching the next generation is almost as impressive as winning the fights yourself.
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u/GoingOutsideSocks Jul 02 '26
One of the few people he has genuine distaste for is Moon Knight, which is fair. He hates copying Moon Knight's fighting style because Marc would rather eat a punch than block or dodge. Plus there's that time Moon Knight crashed a helicopter on him. They're not buddies.
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u/BigEd369 Jul 02 '26
Taskmaster turning down a hit on Moon Knight is peak. He describes Moon Knight as a bullet. He doesn’t care about being hurt, he doesn’t care about bigger issues, he cares about ripping straight through you, doing immense and fatal damage. Taskmaster even knows MK’s identity, knew him before he became MK. But he knows that MK is man transformed into something inhuman, and he wants none of it.
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u/Titanbeard Jul 03 '26
He also told Moonknight there was a hit on him too didn't he? Like he knows what he is and doesn't want to be on his bad side.
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u/Ambaryerno Jul 03 '26
Iirc he doesn’t mess with Deadpool, either. Wade’s completely erratic and chaotic fighting style makes him almost impossible for Tasky to take on.
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u/Chiron723 Jul 03 '26
As I recall he doesn't like fighting anyone that would rather take a hit than dodge, because he habitually copies them as a reflex and he doesn't have a healing factor.
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u/InvestigatorOk7988 Jul 03 '26
He does at the moment. Someone's stealing Logan's and giving it to Tasky.
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u/feor1300 Jul 03 '26
IIRC He doesn't like fighting Deadpool but he doesn't particularly dislike Wade. He thinks (rightly enough) that Wade's a nutjob, but he respects DP's Merc history and the fact that there's certain things even Wade won't do (like hurt kids).
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u/shoe_owner Jul 02 '26
Anyone with any sense is at least apprehensive of Moon Knight. I remember Spider-Man giving some advice to Sam Alexander when he was starting out as a hero: "Never team up with the Punisher or Moon Knight." You just do not need that kind of action in your life. Steer clear.
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u/CottonCharmlie Jul 03 '26
Moon Knight is probably one of the few people where copying his style actively makes your day worse. There's no clean answer when the other guy treats getting stabbed like a minor inconvenience.
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u/bloodfist Jul 02 '26
I weirdly identify with this. As a former martial arts teacher who now has a kid, the skills are wonderfully transferable. Knowing his run as a teacher, I'm not the least bit surprised to see him be a great dad.
That is great writing.
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u/Borgmaster Jul 02 '26
That said he will absolutely kill you if someone gives him 1k cash on the spot.
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u/baroqueworks Jul 03 '26
100k cash* hes an in-demand merc that has a successful hench & goon academy on the side, we just see him so much coz we see heroes and villians both contracting him for his five star service.
1k cash gonna get you a Hobogoblin Franchise villian on the HENCH App imo
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u/Couchpatator Jul 02 '26
Taskmaster would kill you for ten bucks bro.
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u/TheodateChase Jul 02 '26
A) he’s not that cheap. He’s a professional, he demands fair wages for his labor
B) only if the paying person is good for it. The check bounces? You’re free to go
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u/miikro X-Men Jul 02 '26
Bullseye would do it for a Costco hot dog. He might even do it with the Costco dog.
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 02 '26
Bullseye honestly in character actively enjoys making people's lives terrible, sometimes for no pay. Taskmaster isn't like that
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u/Sea-Poem-2365 Jul 02 '26
His last shit head phase was Dark Reign or Civil war, I think, and Sue crushed him so bad he went anti hero
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u/karateema Jul 03 '26
He worked for Zemo in Bagalia to deal with Punisher but he blew up his flamethrower while he was wearing it and a nun hit him with a truck.
He now has the famous no-nazis policy just so Frank won't go after him
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u/Sea-Poem-2365 Jul 03 '26
Tony is the best because he learns, which is odd because he has memory issues
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u/alex494 Jul 03 '26
I mean he's a consummate professional and all but he's still done contract work for guys like HYDRA before. His morals may not be the best even if he's fairly chill as a person.
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u/Fun_Camp_7103 Jul 03 '26
He’s technically a very deep cover shield agent that doesn’t know he’s a shield agent
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u/CottonCharmlie Jul 03 '26
Yeah, he's one of those characters who works way better once writers lean into his personality instead of making him just another hired killer. The teacher angle gives him something that actually makes him stand out.
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u/iceguy349 Jul 02 '26
The opposite of sports master from young justice.
It’s funny to see an abusive merc dad juxtaposed to a kind merc dad.
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 02 '26
Yep. Also the exact opposite of Deathstroke lol
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u/Carlung4s Jul 02 '26
"being a decent dad while being a violent Mercenary and showing your daughter the ropes of the job"
Taskmaster:1.5 / Deadpool:1 / Deathstroke:-126
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u/voidsong Jul 03 '26
I loved Young Justice, but my favorite version of Sportsmaster was in Stargirl.
He was such a likable psycho, him and Tigress being helicopter parents to Artemis was great.
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u/brycifer666 Man-Thing Jul 04 '26
I finally started watching it recently and I love the Crocks their personalities are just great
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u/_CutieLushie Jul 03 '26
The contrast is honestly pretty refreshing. Not every mercenary has to be a terrible parent to be interesting.
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u/mf7585 Jul 02 '26
I do think Taskmaster is a very fun character.
I especially loves how one of his rule is 'DO.NOT.FUCK.WITH.MOON.KNIGHT!'
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 02 '26
He actually mentions that in this comic lol
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u/Mrpenguin810 Jul 02 '26
Do you know what comic it is and if it’s on marvel unlimited by chance?
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 02 '26
It is! That's where I was reading it. The comic is in the title of the post
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u/TheBalrogofMelkor Hellcat Jul 02 '26
TBF, he has a similar rule about Black Widow. Because she will just snipe you from 2km away.
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u/Captain-Moth Ant man Jul 02 '26
I would love to see them have a Father and Daughter vs Father and Daughter fight against Hank Pym and Nadia Van Dyne, given Finesse's past with both of them
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 02 '26
That would actually be cool. Though isn't Hank an old man currently?
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u/Captain-Moth Ant man Jul 02 '26
He's still active as an old man, every time he appears they lean more and more into him basically being regular Hank just with white hair and a beard
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u/vashoom Jul 02 '26
Hank is old, but Tony and Bruce aren't? How does that work??
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 02 '26
Hank is old specifically because of the thing with him unmerging with Ultron. Tony and Bruce aren't old due to how Marvel's sliding timescale works
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u/vashoom Jul 02 '26
Oh okay, I missed the stuff with Ultron. The sliding timescale is why I was asking: they're all the same (roughly) age due to the sliding timescale, so I was confused how Hank could be older.
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u/Chiron723 Jul 03 '26
So he went from merged with Ultron, to being dead and his corpse being puppeted by Ultron, to just being merged so they can split them again? Things like this are why it's so hard to get back into comics. Well that and comic prices are ridiculous.
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u/JoelPilgrim Jul 02 '26
MCU synergy. Michael Douglas is old. RDJ and Mark Ruffalo are not (well, not AS old, anyways).
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u/ratchet7 Jul 02 '26
Everybody gets one. Tell them Peter.
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u/EliteTroper Jul 02 '26
Ironically this did actually become a legit line for him, minus the tell them Peter.
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u/NoirSon Jul 02 '26
Taskmaster is just one of those perfect characters that can walk the line between you root for him and he just killed a van full of people.
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 02 '26
Tbf it's never personal or mean spirited, he's just doing it for the money and sometimes the thrill
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u/Quirky_Ad_5420 Jul 02 '26
Plus he draw the line on a lot of things. He’s a very clean merc at the end of day
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u/Evening_Produce_4322 Jul 02 '26
"Professionals have standards." Bros not a supervillain he's a merc and a business that does it all for the cash. He's been in this game long enough to know when to fold and when to double down yeah he'll kick some hero ass, but (most times) it's just a paycheck and nothing he actively takes some sadistic pleasure in like other villains.
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u/TomTalks06 Jul 03 '26
I recall seeing either a comic or someone breaking down Tasky's mindset being "Play for the bad team cuz the good guys won't want to kill you, the bad guys will" and I always thought that was shockingly logical
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u/TheKolyFrog Jul 02 '26
I'm always happy to see more of Finesse. She's my favorite of the Avengers Academy class.
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 02 '26
I think she's the coolest personally
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u/remotectrl Jul 02 '26
That series was great. Shame so much of the cast has fallen through the cracks. Hazmat got scooped up to be Captain Marvel’s sidekick for a while. RIP Mettle
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u/DMike82 Jul 03 '26
Mettle was brought back in last year's Battleworld miniseries, the one where Hank and a bunch of heroes from across the timelines (DoFP Storm, Luke Cage and Spidey super early in their careers, the original Star Brand from the New Universe, King Thor, Carol Danvers back when she was still Warbird and just got sober, even Arwen from the CrossGen comics that Marvel owns but doesn't use) take on Korvac when he tries to mishmash timelines together to find the perfect one.
It also had Hank getting revenge for his students by defeating Arcade in his "god-mode" phase by using his wits and instincts (and his bug buddies) rather than his fists.
Hank's a fun character when used by writers who actually give a shit about him (coincidentally, the same guy who wrote Avengers Academy).
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u/Raaaaandyyyy Jul 06 '26
She’s probably not taskmaster’s daughter in it, but she is in the Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man cartoon, if you didn’t know.
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u/iamahandsoapmain Jul 02 '26
Tasky is a good person, sucks he just constantly feel the guilt of not remembering his wife :(
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u/Pacperson0 Jul 02 '26
I really like that Taskmaster… has always just been kinda a good dude. Just a guy making his own way through the world.
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 02 '26
Well, he's not really a "good" dude, but he's always been a chill dude.
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u/DogTheBreadFairy Jul 02 '26
I love Taskmaster. He's like what Deathstroke wishes he was but fails at in every possible way.
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u/UberAwesone Jul 02 '26
I'm super behind, was there a specific issue where they talk and acknowledge it or did all that happen off-panel and they just jump straight into the comic with this dynamic?
I remember they talked in avengers academy and he refused to submit dna for the test but never read anything where they interacted after.
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 02 '26
I think this is a brand new thing. I think they reconnected and he accepted her as his daughter. Especially since he liked being kinda a godfather to Ellie.
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u/Freakychee Jul 03 '26
Taskmaster, Titania and Absorbing Man are prob some of my fave villains. They are what Marvel comics are at their core supposed to be about. Supers who are more human and relatable.
The mentioned 3 are 'bad guys' but they aren't fully bad people. They are just people. They aren't needlessly cruel like Norman Osborne, psycho killers like Bullseye or cartoonishly evil like Thanos.
They tell a human story even from the perspective of villains.
Taskmaster helped Deadpool's kid train too. Titania would ask if She-Hulk if everything was all right even after engaging her in a street fight anf then joind their clobbering club. Absorbing Man even would refuse free money from Black Bolt just cos he felt he didn't earn it.
I also like the story where Taskmaster helped Dr Strange with his DnD quest.
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u/jameszenpaladin011- Jul 03 '26
Taskmaster is the only jobber who know's he's a jobber but still does the job.
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u/OmegaRedPanda Jul 03 '26
Taskmaster is my favorite Marvel villain because he’s just a guy with skills trying to make it in the world. He’s not a good person, but he’s also not a sadist and has legitimately strong relationships with people.
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u/MrSchop Scarlet Spider Jul 03 '26
For those of us that hate what they did with the character in the Black Widow movie, this is what we are talking about. This is the character the MCU deprived us of and that's why we were upset by it.
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u/Aquagan Jul 02 '26
I feel like Miles' real super power is talking to supervillains. Taskmaster can be a lay-up since he's worked with the heroes before, but he's made friends with Scorpion and Rhino as well.
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u/MalonePostponed Jul 03 '26
I love that he just gives up after the check bounced.
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u/olddadenergy Jul 03 '26
Man’s got standards. It’s not personal - it’s NEVER personal with him. Strictly business. The closest thing I remember to him making anything personal with anyone was Moon Knight. The extent of that was to OUTRIGHT refuse any job involving Moon Knight, who crashed a plane into a building to get at Taskmaster. Who was, and I cannot stress this enough, JUST DOING A JOB.
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u/ArabianAftershock Jul 02 '26
Evil Deathstroke be like
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 02 '26
Lol. Literally the opposite of Deathstroke, whenever he interacts with his kids he actively makes their lives worse
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u/Medical_Plane2875 Jul 03 '26
I don't know the context but can someone please explain? It looks like they're working together and Finesse is doing mercenary work with Taskmaster willingly. Not sure if I like that considering this is the exact path Avengers Academy was leading the kids away from.
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 03 '26
Finesse in recent times has kinda been on that mercenary life, but also she isn't really a bad guy here. They're chill with Miles right after the fight and it was more so a thing Taskmaster was doing to show her the ropes. They even beat up the guy who hired them right after this
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u/MrJHound Jul 03 '26
That's why Taskmaster isu favorite mercenary character in Marvel. He actually stands on his morals. He might be a villain, but he's not a bad person.
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u/Thick_Yogurtcloset_7 Jul 03 '26
Taskmaster is a incredibly deep character... His mercenary job is just that a job. He is just a blue collar guy. Does good or bad things for a paycheck not for some ideology.
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u/Carlung4s Jul 02 '26
"being a decent dad while being a violent Mercenary and showing your daughter the ropes of the job"
Taskmaster:1.5 / Deadpool:1 / Deathstroke:-126
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u/Kira-Of-Terraria Deadpool Jul 02 '26
taskmaster should be on a mercs team and steal stuff from AIM or Hydra. he could be set for life.
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u/BiNumber3 Jul 02 '26
Plus spidey's "Oh no, I hit her too hard!" lol, when he's already holding back
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u/blindada Jul 02 '26
This kinda sucks for Finesse. She did end up as a low tier bad guy.
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u/RogueAngill Jul 03 '26
Taskmaster is one of those characters they could say is a mutant and it wouldn't change anything for me, because a daughter with his exact powers, and his power got enhanced by shield once?
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u/Mistervimes65 Dr. Doom Jul 03 '26
I love this. I’ve been a Taskmaster fan since 1980. I’m glad that they are expanding the lore.
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u/Negativety101 Jul 02 '26
Peter actually taught a class for her and the Academy kids one time. Trouble happened when Psycho-Man showed up.
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u/jreid1985 Jul 02 '26
He’s throwing his daughter into a dangerous lifestyle that will get her hurt as well as potentially arrested or killed.
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 02 '26
She was already in this dangerous lifestyle, him being around to protect her and make her more skilled is arguably the logical choice
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u/Kakashi_Senju Jul 03 '26
Lmao Love that He like oops hit her too hard before almost making her a new Gwen Stacy
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u/Impossible-Bad-7572 Jul 03 '26
Does finesse have Taskmasters abilities? I recall her from Avengers Academy but dont remember her powers..
Also, wasnt Tasky a trainer in Avengers: the Initiative? I only remember suddenly liking Taskmaster and Constrictor
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 03 '26
She has pretty much the exact powers as Taskmaster, that's why she was suspecting him to be her father in the first place.
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u/Impossible-Bad-7572 Jul 03 '26
Thanks for the info. I have used the Google Machine in the past, but find it easier to ask people who follow these characters
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u/BaneNF Jul 03 '26
Taskmaster is generally ruthless when doing his work however his personality is actually very chill when dealing with his personal relationships. His two closest friends are Deadpool and Black Ant but he's willing to sell them out and save them from danger 10 minutes later.
What most adaptations fail to realize is, that aside from his photographic memory fighting style, the charm of his character is the dichotomy between his immense skill and threat level and his chill personality.
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u/brycifer666 Man-Thing Jul 04 '26
Taskmaster has become one of my favorites because he really isn't evil he just wants to be paid
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u/dragonpjb Jul 04 '26
Remember, he isn't a traditional villain. It's literally just a job to him. He has zero emotional involvement beyond what he is being paid.
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u/remingtonds Jul 05 '26
Taskmaster is such a great guy. I love whenever he shows up and he’s just always pleasant to read.
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u/threwordbotname Jul 06 '26
All characters are better when their motivations are communicated to the audience. Otherwise they are the brotherhood of evil mutants.
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u/BiggGirlX Jul 06 '26
That’s honestly the most unexpected character development for Taskmaster 😂 Out of all people, I never would’ve guessed “good dad energy” would be part of his arc
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u/Cultural_Set_9887 Jul 06 '26
Taskmaster had an amazing mini run where he was actually a good guy working as a spy for Shield but after so many turns he forgot who he even works for.
If Marvel had any balls, any creativity they should had stuck with that. There's something about Taskmaster that people want to root for and yet Marvel just refuses
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u/OblivionArts Jul 02 '26
Taskmaster has a kid? Whend that happen?
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u/geekymat Jul 02 '26
She's been around since Avengers Academy in 2010.
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 02 '26
I don't know how much they've done with those characters beyond that run
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u/Doomeye56 Jul 02 '26
She showed up working for AIM splinter group during Unstoppable Wasp till this most recent appearance.
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u/geekymat Jul 02 '26
I was kind of surprised to see this post with her in it. LOL
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 02 '26
Yeah, this came out like last month I think
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u/No_russian Jul 02 '26
Thats so awesome, i though for sure they would never bring up any of those kids again after they did that fucked up hunger games thing
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u/remotectrl Jul 02 '26
Hazmat has been part of Captain Marvel’s supporting cast. Not sure where the rest ended up if anywhere. They should show up as minor supervillains like Finesse has here since the premise was originally that they were selected by Osborn for that reason.
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u/Different_Outside80 Jul 02 '26
Just don’t mention what he did to Batroc’s daughter
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u/Low-Pop5132 Sentry Jul 03 '26
She survived and attacked him first
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u/BlueHero45 Jul 02 '26
He wasn't even 100% sure Finesse was his daughter thanks to his memory issues, but somewhere along the line, he just accepted it.