WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Marvel's Black Widow, now playing in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access.
Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe have come to expect villain fake-outs, like Iron Man 3's The Mandarin or Spider-Man: Far From Home's Quentin Beck, and even sympathetic antagonists, like Ant-Man and the Wasp's Ghost or Black Panther's Killmonger. However, none of those twists holds a candle to the identity, and heart-wrenching backstory, of Black Widow foe Taskmaster.
That none of the marketing materials for the Marvel Studios film named the actor, or stunt person, behind the mask of Taskmaster was the first tip-off that there's more to this seemingly unstoppable foe than there seemed. Based on the classic Marvel Comics villain with "photographic reflexes" -- he can perfectly mimic his opponents' fighting styles -- Taskmaster pursues Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff across Europe, under orders from the leader of the Red Room, the Russian program that trained her and the other Black Widows. However, that's not Taskmaster's only connection to Natasha's shadowy past; it's not even the most personal.
Early in Black Widow, the audience is finally given the details of the frequently referenced "Budapest Operation," a near-mythical mission carried out by Natasha and Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) on behalf of S.H.I.E.L.D. Although the assignment forged their friendship in fire, it also left behind emotional and, it turns out, physical scars. Their target was General Dreykov, the head of the Red Room first mentioned in 2012's The Avengers. Faced with the possibility of losing him, Natasha made the call to detonate the explosives planted in Dreykov's Budapest hotel room, despite knowing his young daughter, Antonia, was with him. Natasha and Clint believed Dreykov was killed in the attack, and viewed the girl as "collateral damage."
However, in Black Widow, Natasha learns from her estranged "sister," Yelena (Florence Pugh), that Dreykov survived, and remains a threat to them, and to the world. Reunited with their one-time parent figures, Russian super-soldier Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour) and scientist/spy Melina Vostokoff (Rachel Weisz), Natasha and Yelena infiltrate the new Red Room, an aerial fortress to confront Dreykov (Ray Winstone) and bring an end to his Black Widow Program. That's easier said than done, of course.
Now a captive of the Red Room (don't worry, it's all part of the plan), Natasha finally face-to-face with her decades-old enemy in his office, where Dreykov controls the actions of thousands of Black Widows across the globe. Although she is prepared for the revelation that neither she, nor any Black Widow, can directly harm Dreykov, because of a pheromone he emits, she is shocked by his unmasking of Taskmaster.
Rather than a one-dimensional assassin, Taskmaster is revealed to be Dreykov's now-adult daughter, Antonia (Olga Kurylenko), who survived the Budapest Operation, but was left with extensive injuries. As part of the life-saving process, a chip was implanted at the back of Antonia's neck, which enabled her to record and then replicate her opponents' every move. Dreykov beams with something resembling pride, not at has daughter, but at his prize weapon. "She watches everything," he tells Natasha. "And she can do it. She's a perfect mimic, and she fights just like all of yours friends." That's, of course, a reference to the Avengers.
Some elements of fandom will no doubt focus on the gender-swap aspect of the character; as with Ghost in Ant-Man and the Wasp and Flag Smasher in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Taskmaster in the comics is male. However, it's the tragedy of Taskmaster that's front and center in Black Widow. As a child, Antonia is a victim of what Alexei might call "this theater of geopolitical conflict," an acceptable loss in a mission intended to eliminate a serious threat, who just happened to be her father. Rather than saving his severely injured daughter and helping her to live the best life possible, Dreykov had her transformed her into a killing machine.
Make no mistake, everyone trained by the Red Room is victimized by it: Girls are kidnapped, or purchased -- Dreykov views them as little more than a replenishable resource -- forcibly operated upon, and then transformed into living weapons, to be brandished for the assassinations of political enemies and the toppling of regimes. A lucky few, like Natasha and Yelena, escape Dreykov's tyranny, only to be haunted by his memory.
But while the Black Widows were conditioned and controlled, Antonia was literally programmed. That's evidenced early on, in Taskmaster's attack on Natasha in Norway. Sent to recover a metal case, Taskmaster is kept on mission by a readout that flashes across her unblinking cybernetic eye that reminds her of her target. There's no place for improvisation or, indeed, free will.
The unmasking of Taskmaster is the most chilling moment in Black Widow, a thriller fueled by almost-nonstop action, with occasional detours into the brand of humor we've come to expect from Marvel Studios. Antonio's frozen, wide-eyed expression underscores the human lives represented by the often-mentioned red on Natasha's ledger, while her ultimate fate in the film raises questions about whether someone who's experienced the life Taskmaster has can ever do anything but add red to her own.
Directed by Cate Shortland, Black Widow stars Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, O-T Fagbenle as Mason and Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff, with William Hurt as Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross and Ray Winstone as General Dreykov. The film is playing in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access.
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