5 Ways to Take Down Taskmaster

The mysterious man known only as Taskmaster boasts an incredible gift: He can remember and recreate any physical movement he sees. Sure, he could have put those skills to use bettering the world, but instead he's made a name for himself as a villain and a trainer of henchpeople.

Over the years, Taskmaster has mixed it up with just about everyone in the hero game -- and a few of his fellow villains. Though he usually makes out alright, Taskmaster has taken his share of lumps. Still, he's always learning from these experiences and doesn't usually fall for the same trick twice.

With that in mind, here are five ways to take out the perfect fighter, but be warned – what worked once might not work again!

Be Unknown

The skull-faced mercenary made his debut back in 1980's AVENGERS #195-196. His school for scoundrels was discovered by Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and after briefly explaining his abilities, he handled himself well against the combined might of Captain America and Iron Man before escaping. However, when he ran into newcomer Jocasta, she nearly defeated him, but he had a magnesium flare on hand that he used to cover his final escape. Tasky only knows what he's seen, so being totally new on the scene gives you a huge advantage!

Be Crazy

Deadpool and Taskmaster have gotten into it more than a few times over the years. The mimic came to understand the true madness of the Merc with a Mouth after slicing off Wade's finger in DEADPOOL #2. Instead of flying into a rage, DP danced a little number, completely changing the way he moved and nearly knocked him out. By his own admission, Taskmaster's brain could not compute the pure chaos that is Mr. Wilson.

Switch It Up

In AVENGERS #26, Taskmaster was hired to set up a small group of Avengers to make the larger organization look bad. In response, Warbird (Carol Danvers), Captain Marvel (Genis-Vell), Silverclaw, and Ant-Man (Scott Lang) first fought his Split-Second Squad and then the man himself. They all attacked at once, but it was Captain Marvel who made the move that caught Taskmaster by surprise when he transformed into Rick Jones! The skull-faced skell drifted off to la-la land because Jones landed two feet in his face. He got away, though, when someone else grabbed him and blew up the building.

Read His Mind

In in WOLVERINE #167-168, Taskmaster got himself involved in a villain-on-villain tournament that he thought he had in the bag – that was until he ran into Mr. X! When they began to throw down, it seemed like Tasky's opponent knew exactly which moves he was being attacked with. The secret lied in X's telepathic abilities that allowed him to see what his opponents were going to do before they even moved. Already on his back foot, Taskmaster quickly fell to his mind-reading opponent.

Be Captain America

Few villains can get the upper hand on Captain America. Taskmaster's done well a few times. However, the relatively unknown Bucky Barnes' Cap nearly defeated him during Siege in AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #34. More recently, in CAPTAIN AMERICA #4-5, the villain attacked the original Sentinel of Liberty. Even with a poison-tipped arrow that fogged the hero's mind and reflexes, the shield-slinger gained the upper hand by quickly switching between all the styles he's learned over the years to ultimately choke him unconscious.

While it’s not impossible to beat the Taskmaster, it does take some quick thinking to beat him to the punch. (It also helps to have the ability to read ol’ Tasky’s mind.) If you want to know more about Taskmaster -- and the latest Marvel news -- watch the latest episode of Earth's Mightiest Show!