Breaking Down Every Avenger Fighting Style Taskmaster Copies In 'Black Widow'
In Black Widow, the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the villainous Taskmaster gets into a whole lot of fights with a whole lot of people. Like the character's comic book counterpart, the supervillain is able to mimic the fighting style of anyone they observe, and the character takes on a slew of trademark fighting styles from various Avengers we've seen across the MCU.
So let's break down which fighting styles Taskmaster takes on in Black Widow.
Warning! Spoilers for the movie lie below.
Black Widow herself, Natasha Romanoff
It's no surprise that Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko) fights like Black Widow (AKA Natasha Romanoff, AKA Scarlett Johansson). We first meet Taskmaster in the film when she and Natasha face off on the bridge near where Natasha is hiding out after the events of Captain America: Civil War.
The two go at it, and Taskmaster mirrors Natasha's every move. If that wasn't enough to hammer home that Dreykov's daughter has learned how to fight like Natasha, we also see her staring at (and learning from) a video of Romanoff fighting.
Captain America
Just like Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie), Taskmaster has a round shield she likes to throw at things, and we see Taskmaster throw that shield at Natasha several times. The first time occurs when Natasha was in that crashed car on the bridge. Another time, Yelena (Florence Pugh) gets to see the shield in action when Taskmaster slings it at her and Natasha in a subway station.
Hawkeye
Taskmaster channels some Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) energy when she chases Natasha and Yelena in Budapest. While chasing the two widows in a tank (!), she pulls out a bow and arrow and shoots with Hawkeye-level accuracy.
The Winter Soldier
Taskmaster also emulates the fighting style of Steve Rogers' best friend, Bucky Barnes (AKA The Winter Solider, AKA Sebastian Stan). In her fight with the Red Guardian (David Harbour), Taskmaster pulls out a whole bunch of Avenger styles, one of which is the signature blade-switch move of the Winter Soldier.
Spider-Man
Right before her Winter Soldier move, Taskmaster also takes from the Spider-Man playbook. She delivers a quick two-foot kick right to Red Guardian's solar plexus and lands in a lithe superhero pose that evokes Peter Parker.
Black Panther
That same fight also has Taskmaster taking on some of Black Panther's capabilities. Before she charges Red Guardian, the suit covering her fingers develop claws. We've seen similar weapons on Black Panther's suit, though I don't think Taskmaster's are as strong as T'Challa's vibranium claws.
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Black Widow is currently in theaters and available on Disney+ via Premier Access.