I just think things don't need to be so complicated with Taskmaster. That's part of what I like about him. He's rational, he isn't a megalomaniac, he rarely gets on revenge quests, like you said. He simply chose villainy as a profession, because it earns you better money than being a hero. He's about getting a job done and cashing a paycheck. And he doesn't really care for the spotlight. Much.
But that's no reason for his origin to be a mystery. I mean the "I'm just a guy" never did, say, the Shocker any favors. No end of Marvel characters have some stuff from their past to mine, so I didn't mind some extra stuff with Taskmaster.
And that's exactly why I dislike the new Origin, because at the end of an issue, I don't want to think "Aww... poor Tasky."
Well, it isn't an excuse for EVERYTHING he does. I mean, in AVENGERS ACADEMY #9, his "sparring" match with Finesse does verge on going too far - he practically strangles her at one point. I just sort of see it as something in the background. He doesn't HAVE to mention it every time he goes out and I sort of hope he doesn't. No need to beat it into the ground.
I hate how it contradicts the things established in the UDON mini. That he has a photographic memory, and unlike other people, who have foggy memories of the past, there's no fog for him. How he can remember every year, day, hour and minute with absolute clarity, and can recall them as if he were there. Now every week he picks up a phone only to repeat the same line again and again "I don't know who I am."
It doesn't contradict it. The recent mini said that Taskmaster's mind fills in things that he doesn't remember to the point that he isn't usually sure what memory is real and what may be an act that he has down. He's very good at functioning despite his memory issues and barely even thinks about it. It is also possible that it has gotten worse over time; that UDON mini, even in "Marvel time", was maybe 1-2 years ago at least. If he doesn't remember how he got his abilities, it is easy to assume he always had them. Perhaps his lesson that mimicing one part of a skill rather than learning the whole thing happened later in life and he just spliced it together as childhood in his head.
I don't mind added layer. But this kind I don't endorse. I hope Fury is screwing with him, trying to give him a fake past so they can manipulate him to do their work.
Seems a bit far fetched. Taskmaster did remember his wife and all that, he just lost it when he had to assimilate Red Shirt's skill.
That I can agree on. He's got the skill, that's for sure, but he seems to be never truly in the fight. Probably because, like mentioned above, he's too rational. There's never really anything big on the line for him, he doesn't turn into a madman and swears bloody revenge like an Osborn, he just lacks that bit of passion to give him the edge in a fight. Unless he's in actual life threatening danger.
Christos Gage got into that angle a little during his A:TI run with Taskmaster and Constrictor. The angle was that the types like Osborn or Gargan or Bullseye become more recognized and thus successful because they "lay it all out on the field" - that being insane sort of works for them. Madmen tend to draw others in around them and spark attention. In real life, we remember the names of serial killers or spree killers more than, say, modestly successful bank robbers. The general thrust of Taskmaster's arc during DARK REIGN was him seeing his chance to move up the ranks and deciding whether the risk was worth the reward. Naturally, Osborn was manipulating him for labor, figuring Taskmaster would be honored just to get to sit at the big table with him, Hood, Dr. Doom and Loki.
That was the other reason why I liked the recent mini. In a way, both the UDON one and Van Lente one involved Taskmaster having a hit put out on him and defending a woman he was romantically involved with; I just think the newer mini raised the stakes and had him fight more recognizable villains (although the UDON mini's trick of having him be able to attain "fast forward" speed for a few seconds now and then was neat and I wouldn't mind seeing that again - it is a useful way to explain him being able to hit, say, Spider-Man some time). Taskmaster knew he would probably lose all his memories again copying Red Shirt's Shi'ar moves; he just decided it was worth it to save his wife.
Taskmaster to me has usually been that villain who has straddled the gray area. He isn't a maniac who carries grudges or kidnaps people's girlfriends, but he is efficient at what he does. One day he can be working for villains or mobsters, the next for the fed. I understand the allure of keeping his past "simple", but the thing is, I don't think it was very memorable as a blank slate, and being memorable is key for many characters.
I mean, Deadpool has a past that is complicated up the wazoo and practically multiple choice, and he had 5 titles at one point. Same with Wolverine. In comparison to both of them, Taskmaster's is fairly simple.
I don't want every Taskmaster story to become a sympathy card; that doesn't mean I don't mind some tragic later underneath the cape and swordplay. In order to keep up the efficiency rating, though, he really does need some wins in his corner. It makes comic seem like wrestling, but the irony is the two sometimes have parallels - like in wrestling, popularity is everything in comics. Wolverine couldn't do half the **** he has if he wasn't popular. I still think it was a tragedy that Sabretooth was killed off before he could have had a real, slam bang rematch with Iron Fist, whose title he debuted in back in the 1970's. If Taskmaster doesn't have wins in a long time, it almost makes him seem like a paper tiger when the Avengers gasp about what a challenge he is, and he hasn't beaten a named superhero since the 90's or something. That doesn't mean he has to kill anyone - just, y'know, beat someone while escaping or something. Draws are nice, but it isn't like if he clobbered, say, Spider-Man or Wolverine or even Hawkeye, it would vastly effect their publicity. The last non-rookie fighter I vaguely recall him beating was the Cat, who was a Shang Chi knock off. Yes, the knock-off of a C-Lister. And that was ages ago.
