Taskmaster (comics)

Taskmaster
Taskmaster on the cover of The Avengers #196 (June 1980). Art by George Pérez
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Avengers #195 (May 1980)
Created by	David Michelinie (writer) George Pérez (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Anthony "Tony" Masters
Team affiliations	A.I.M. Agency X Cabal Frightful Four Initiative Secret Avengers Shadow Initiative S.H.I.E.L.D. Thunderbolts
Notable aliases	Contingency T
Abilities	Genius level intellect Master assassin and tactician Olympic level conditioning Exceptional athlete Master hand-to-hand combatant and martial artist Master swordsman and marksman Master archer and bowman Photographic reflexes Physical movement prediction Voice mimicry Master of disguise

Taskmaster (Tony Masters) is a fictional supervillain, and sometimes an antihero, who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in The Avengers vol. 1 #195 (May 1980), and was created by David Michelinie and George Pérez. Introduced as an enemy of the Avengers, Taskmaster went on to feature in numerous Marvel titles, most notably as an enemy/ally of Deadpool. He is often depicted as a mercenary hired as a training instructor by various criminal organizations. In Taskmaster vol. 2 #3 (2011), the character was revealed to be a sleeper agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. planted by Nick Fury to gather intelligence in the criminal underworld.

The Taskmaster first appeared briefly in The Avengers #195 (May 1980), before making his full debut in Avengers #196 (June 1980). The character went onto appear as a supervillain and a villainous training instructor in Marvel Team-Up #103 (1981), Avengers vol. 1 #223 (1982), Marvel Team-Up #146 (1984), The Thing #26 (1985), Iron Man vol. 1 #254 (1990), Captain America vol. 1 #334, (1987), #394 (1991), #396 (1992), #403 (1992), Captain America Annual #11 (1992), The Amazing Spider-Man #366–367 (1992), Daredevil #292–293 (1991) and #317–318 (1993), Sensational She-Hulk vol. 1 #59 (1994), Elektra #5, #7 (1997), Hawkeye: Earth’s Mightiest Marksman #1 (1998), Avengers vol. 3 #26 (2000), #38 (2001), Captain America vol. 3 #44 (2001), Moon Knight vol. 3 #3–6 (2006), Spider-Woman: Origin #2–3 (2006), Civil War #3, #5–7 (2006–2007), Marvel Comics Presents vol. 2 #1–2 (2007), Siege: The Cabal #1 (2010), Siege #2–3 (2010), Captain America & Crossbones #1 (2011), Avengers Academy #9 (2011) and Daken: Dark Wolverine #12 (2011).