Black Widow Unmasks Taskmaster: What Audiences Are Saying About the Marvel Movie's Villain Reveal

Who is Taskmaster in Black Widow? A third-act twist unmasks the costumed character, revealing a secret identity with ties to the dripping-red ledger of Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson). Spoiler warning for Marvel's Black Widow. A flashback set before the events of 2012's The Avengers reveals what happened in Budapest when Romanoff and Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) partner on a mission to assassinate Red Room founder Dreykov (Ray Winstone) as the final step in the black widow's defection to S.H.I.E.L.D. But there's collateral damage: Dreykov's daughter Antonia is seemingly killed by bombs detonated by Barton and Romanoff, whose ledger is gushing red until Natasha's sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame.

In 2016, Taskmaster attacks Romanoff when her "little sister" Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) entrusts the super-spy Avenger with red vials carrying an antidote to deprogram brainwashed black widows: young girls trained to be killers by Russia's Red Room. When Romanoff and Belova learn that Dreykov is still alive, he reveals Taskmaster's true identity: his daughter Antonia Dreykov (Olga Kurylenko).

Disfigured by the bomb that nearly killed her, Dreykov's daughter suits up as the master assassin Taskmaster via the chip implanted in her neck. A product of the Red Room, Taskmaster is capable of mimicking the fighting techniques of her opponents — including the styles of Earth's mightiest heroes.

The Taskmaster of the Marvel comic books is Tony Masters, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent turned mercenary and assassin. As the skull-masked Taskmaster, Masters' photographic reflexes, tactical prowess, and mastery of weapons make him a threat to such superheroes as Captain America, Spider-Man, and the Avengers.

With Black Widow now playing in theaters and streaming on Disney+ Premier Access, moviegoers and at-home audiences are taking to social media with mixed reactions to the MCU twist on Taskmaster: