Van Lente Is A Stern "Taskmaster"

[NightBeetle]

TASKMASTER #4 (of 4)
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Penciled by JEFTE PALO
Cover by GREG TOCCHINI
GUEST-STARRING THE SECRET AVENGERS!
Steve Rogers' Black Ops heroes are desperately trying to head off Taskmaster before he finally unlocks his own secret origin -- and so is The Org, the secret criminal underground that links all the Marvel Universe's villain organizations together! What are both heroes and villains afraid of? What horrible truth lies behind years of deception that will unmake Marvel U history? Who is Taskmaster? Where did he get his powers? And most importantly of all -- what havoc will he wreak once he finds out?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

 

[NightBeetle]

Van Lente Focuses on the "Taskmaster" at Hand

The reason Taskmaster must uncover his own past is because he no longer has any idea who he is. Throughout his career he's suffered from blackouts that have robbed him of his past and forced him to operate by muscle memory alone. “Learning a significant new skill of any kind tends to erase his memories. In the second issue he explains that because of this he's constantly lying,” Van Lente told CBR News. “You're never quite sure in his past appearances if he's actually remembered stuff, been told stuff by the Org, or if he's just making stuff up. So he’s very much in danger of losing any of the information he recovers about himself in this series. He's always in danger of that. You never know when it's going to happen.”

The Org is a mysterious organization that Van Lente introduced in “Taskmaster” #1. They serve as a logistics service to many of the Marvel Universe's secret societies and criminal conspiracies. They’ve also set up most of Taskmaster's jobs as an instructor to those groups. “You'll learn in the third issue they have ties to ODESSA, which is the historical organization that was a network of SS agents. It's an acronym in German, which basically stands for the Organization of Former SS officers,” Van Lente explained. “They helped Nazis get out of Germany after the fall of Berlin in World War II. So next issue, former Captain America Steve Rogers makes an appearance, as well as the town where everyone is Hitler, the reaction to which I'm eagerly anticipating.”

“I don't know what I can say without giving it away,” Van Lente said of the setting for #3. “Everybody in the town thinks that they're Hitler and acts, dresses and looks like Hitler - even the women. If you thought the Don of the Dead was crazy. You ain't seen nothing yet.”

The Org picked up the rumor that Taskmaster had turned government informer and spread it to many of the Marvel U's prominent terrorist groups like HYDRA, A.I.M., and U.LT.I.M.A.T.U.M in the series' first issue. They also divulged this information to several new organizations of Van Lente's own creation like The Inquisition - a group of torture obsessed sadomasochistic fanatics - and The Black Choppers - a motorcycle gang made up entirely of extraterrestrials that work for a secret organization.
“You'll definitely see the Black Choppers play a central role in the series and you'll actually see them in issue #3,” said Van Lente. “As for the other groups, I'm not entirely sure. I do have plans for the Don of the Dead. He'll be popping up in a book I have beginning in January. So you'll definitely be seeing him again. He's too insane to waste”

Van Lente introduced readers to the Don of the Dead in “Taskmaster” #2. In the issue, Taksmaster used a mnemonic device to try and recover a shred of his past. It led him and Mercedes Merced, a waitress he met in the first issue, to the jungles of Mexico where they ran afoul of the skull-faced Don and his army of narco-terrorists. “I believe the idea for the character came when I was looking at some Mexican Day of the Dead figurines and it just occurred to me that it would be awesome to have a super villain who dressed up in that outfit," said Van Lente. "Somehow the pun of Don of the Dead came to me and I laughed like Beavis and/or Butthead. Thus a character was born; a character with the worst Mexican accent in the history of comics. And as it turns out he isn't even Mexican at all.”

Don is not only American, but also a former S.H.I.E.L.D. intelligence operative. He claimed that Taskmaster's last name was Masters, and that he too was a former agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. In yet another twist, Mercedes Merced was revealed to be a current S.H.I.E.L.D agent when she called the organization's former director, Nick Fury, to inform him of the anti-hero's investigation.

“S.H.I.E.L.D.'s involvement will be touched upon and all of the secrets of the Org will be revealed before the end of the series," Van Lente said. "Some of those secrets will be revealed to Steve Rogers, and they'll make him very mad. The Secret Avengers will be showing up in the last issue once they decide to bring down Taskmaster themselves. Also everything about Taskmaster's origin will be totally explained, and you’ll learn who this mysterious enemy is that's been spreading rumors.”


Not one to take all the credit for himself, Van Lente is immensely grateful for how well his “Taskmaster” collaborator Jefte Palo brings the story's more bizarre ideas to life. “There’s a sequence in #3 that is one of my favorite things I've ever written. You'll know it when you see it, and the way Jefte does it is just perfect," gushed Van Lente. "This series would not be as special to my heart if it weren't for Jefte. He's really been kicking ass.”
Van Lente was drawn to Taskmaster because of his inherent strangeness and the possibility of taking his story places that reflected that. “When [editor] Lauren Sankovitch first said, 'Hey, let's do a Taskmaster mini,' I wasn't immediately interested," said Van Lente. "I was familiar with the character because one of the first ever comics I bought with my own money was the 'Marvel Team-Up' where the new Ant-Man and Spider-Man fight Taskmaster. I wasn't quite sure what to do with him, but then I came up with the idea that his super memory erases his old memories. So basically it's a story about a guy with a super memory, which felt like a really great metaphor that you could drape a story around."

“My initial impulse was to do a fairly straightforward espionage/crime thriller, but the more I realized the implications of him professionally training HYDRA and A.I.M. and these other guys - and the fact that he's dressed the way he is with the skull mask - the bizarre ideas kept creeping in," continued Van Lente. "Certainly Gail Simone used the Taskmaster this way in her ‘Agent X’ and ‘Deadpool’ issues, so it just seemed like a really natural way to do things; to bring out the colorful weirdness that makes superhero comics so wonderful.”

"Taskmaster" by Van Lente and Palo concludes in December, but the character can next be seen in "Avengers Academy."

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Hehe, "the town where everyone is Hitler." I love Van Lente.

 

[Dread]

Van Lente really seems to "get it" about a lot of things, and has a combination of both imagination, a lot of past continuity and the ability to execute properly that very few, or perhaps none, of Marvel's A-List writers have. Van Lente's execution has proven far more reliable than even Brubaker, who can blink on a big stage at times.

 

[Scourge2099]

I wonder why Rogers and his Secret Avengers are being d**** by trying to stop Taskmaster from learning who he is ?

 

[TheCorpulent1]

Probably because Taskmaster's a fugitive and he's wreaking havoc everywhere he goes. Or maybe the Org leaks something to Steve figuring the heroes might do their job for them.

 

[Dread]

Taskmaster was apparently a former SHIELD agent at the very least, and it is possible that he's like "CHUCK", somewhere in his memory is something of vital importance, which can be exploited by good or bad people. And, yes, he is a fugitive who is breaking a lot of stuff.

Once again, the Secret Avengers get to fight an actual "villain" and who is writing them? Not Ed Brubaker. No, he's too busy having them fight minions or vague secret organizations headed by a former Golden Age hero and a rogue LMD.

 

[TheCorpulent1]

The rogue LMD was pretty awesome, though.

 

[Dread]

The rogue LMD was pretty awesome, though.

But it isn't an established, credible villain, nor it is a threat that some of the higher power members of the team like War Machine or Valkyrie have any trouble beating if and when there is a confrontation; or even Beast to be honest. Unless the leaders of the Shadow Council are expected to escape cleanly as often as Red Skull did. Brubaker can drag on the chase for a baddie longer than "THE FUGITIVE" did.

 

[Scourge2099]

Probably because Taskmaster's a fugitive and he's wreaking havoc everywhere he goes. Or maybe the Org leaks something to Steve figuring the heroes might do their job for them.

Taskmaster's been offing terrorists and just took out a major drug cartel by himself . Wouldn't that make Steve just ignore him ?

 

[Dread]

Taskmaster's been offing terrorists and just took out a major drug cartel by himself . Wouldn't that make Steve just ignore him ?

Not precisely. The Punisher slaughters crime cartels all the time and on occasion super heroes have attempted to arrest him; usually Daredevil or Spider-Man, but Rogers has never approved of those methods. Taskmaster also fled the SIEGE affair when everyone else under Osborn's employ with a criminal record was arrested. To be fair, Taskmaster was authorized as a SHRA authorized Initiative trainer under Stark's administration, so it isn't the same situation as, say, Bullseye or Mac Gargan. But he still is usually acknowledged as, at best, a double agent merc who works for whoever pays. He also was involved in blowing up a diner and executing people without trial.

Plus, if he really is an ex-SHIELD agent who has a secret within him that even Nick Fury is wary of him and wants to keep tabs on him, that's something that would bring Rogers' attention, now that he's running "I Can't Believe It's Not SHIELD".

Assuming Fred Van Lente is working within the recent continuity of SECRET AVENGERS,

Spoiler

Rogers just found out that Nick Fury had just attempted to settle an affair with a sentient LMD of himself by, basically, attempting to murder him/it to keep those secrets safe. It could be possible that Rogers, not believing in killing someone just to bury a secret that's inconvenient, may seek to apprehend Taskmaster with the idea of, "both the Org and Fury want to execute you, I at least will make sure you live". Which, of course, would not help Taskmaster shake off being "framed" in the underworld for being Steve Rogers' operative.

 

[Dread]

FYI, Sept. 2010's sales figures are in, and TASKMASTER #1 sold at #111 of the Top 125 with 18,550 copies sold. It's only a four issue mini series, but I imagine sales for issue four in December will not be pretty.

Given that Taskmaster was the star character in a few issues of AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE, which at it's lowest point sold over 28k copies last year before SIEGE boosted it, that actually isn't too bad. Still, it won't inspire a sequel.

 

[fifthfiend]

But it isn't an established, credible villain, nor it is a threat that some of the higher power members of the team like War Machine or Valkyrie have any trouble beating if and when there is a confrontation; or even Beast to be honest. Unless the leaders of the Shadow Council are expected to escape cleanly as often as Red Skull did. Brubaker can drag on the chase for a baddie longer than "THE FUGITIVE" did.

THE FUGITIVE WAS NOT A BADDIE, DREAD

 

[Dread]

THE FUGITIVE WAS NOT A BADDIE, DREAD

By that I meant the original TV show, "THE FUGITIVE", drug out an innocent man's search for his wife's true killer, "the one armed man", for approximately four seasons and 120 episodes. Brubaker drug out the Red Skull scheme for about five years worth of comics. That's what I meant. I am curious how long he plans to drag out his Shadow Council saga. In theory the Secret Avengers could rout them all in an issue, if they could only find them. Max Fury has all the skills of Nick Fury. John Steele has Class 2 strength at best. And they have minions. That's a mighty challenge...until Valkyrie and War Machine are done warming up.

Of course, THE DEFENDERS had long arcs in which the team kept chasing after the Headmen, but that didn't take itself as seriously, and it wasn't $4 an issue.

 

[fifthfiend]

search for his wife's true killer, "the one armed man"

YOU WIN THIS ROUND

 

[NightBeetle]

http://i54.tinypic.com/34yrzu9.jpgTaskmaster #4 Preview

 

[Dread]

I once again marvel, pun intended, how literally every single writer BUT Ed Brubaker, who writes SECRET AVENGERS, has the Secret Avengers actually fight a real, live villain. Gregg Hurwitz had them fight Captain Barracuda. Fred Van Lente is having them fight Taskmaster. Sean McKeever will have them fight Onslaught. Brubaker has had them fight minions, a possessed Nova, alien tentacles, more minions, and soon to be a former WWII hero who has decided to be evil (but for all we know could be possessed too).

It was a bad sign when literally every single writer who wrote the New Avengers did so better than Bendis did in NEW AVENGERS. That isn't to say Brubaker is anywhere near that bad; in fact, SECRET AVENGERS #7 was a baby step in the right direction. But my point stands. The team only fights real super villains in every single appearance except their own title. That's a bit rubbish.

Moon Knight, BTW, also appears in most every SA appearance outside the main title, too.

 

[Shockdingo]

Man...I am really sad that this is a limited series. It's too much fun!

 

[Dread]

Me too. However, sales don't back that up. Issue two in October sold under 15k. Those aren't the sort of numbers that will convince an editor to commission an ongoing. I will be happy for a great four issue series.

 

[Dark Hulkness]

Sounds okay at first but then i thought about it...its like reading a story about someone with alzheimers, which in the end is gonna get pretty sad so i'm not really sure if this books for me. Maybe if he were to only forget a certain kinda memory or somthing it would be better idk im not a writer i'm just throwing in my two cents...hope all works out well for the writer tho

 

[Dread]

I think it's been working out well so far.

 

[Scourge2099]

Does anyone think that Steve is being a total d*** about the Taskmaster situation ? Dude is being hunted down by every terrorist and mercenary on the planet , but Steve wants to bring him in.

 

[bored]

So, wait, Mercedes is Taskmaster's wife? I've been reading this, and I don't remember that from anywhere so far. Seems like a hell of a reveal for the preview.

 

[Scourge2099]

So, wait, Mercedes is Taskmaster's wife? I've been reading this, and I don't remember that from anywhere so far. Seems like a hell of a reveal for the preview.

Mercedes told Taskmaster she's his wife in issue 3.

 

[Dread]

Does anyone think that Steve is being a total d*** about the Taskmaster situation ? Dude is being hunted down by every terrorist and mercenary on the planet , but Steve wants to bring him in.

I don't think so. Taskmaster has fought the Avengers, including Steve, on several occasions, including even during SIEGE (he took on Steve and Barnes). And while Fury stated that Taskmaster had been secretly working for SHIELD all this time, he ALSO said that all the times Taskmaster did something bad and/or tried to kill the Avengers, that wasn't Fury...that was him. He said something to the effect of Taskmaster's condition meaning he didn't remember he was a good guy, so thus he often operated like a bad one.

Of course, that puts a lot of his "running away" strategy into perspective. Was it always just to escape cleanly, or some subconscious bit from his agent days to avoid killing a superhero?

Still, it would be a bit off if Steve WAS simply shrugging his shoulders about bringing him in. Taskmaster has been an adversary before, and regardless of his "condition", that hasn't changed. Heck, out of the Secret Avengers squad, both Rogers and Moon Knight have battled him recently. Hell, Taskmaster damn near killed Specter & Marlene too.