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The Real Identity of the Taskmaster in Black Widow Explained


Credit: Marvel Studios

Warning! This article may contain spoilers for Black Widow. Read at your own risk!

The details of the character have been in the shadows for so long that it has become a surprise when it was revealed in the film Black Widow the real identity of the Taskmaster and it is not like a walk in the park to take it in as it is such a twisted reveal that would churn into your stomachs, so shocking that it will make you feel a deeper connection and even anger to the person who made the Taskmaster.

The Real Identity of the Taskmaster in Black Widow

The Real Identity of the Taskmaster in Black Widow Explained
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Credit: Marvel Studios

The big bad of the film was expected to be the Taskmaster and throughout, the character has been in pursuit of Natasha and Yelena to great lengths without any care if there would be any collateral damage at all. It was as if the character is a mindless drone activated to kill and finish the target, whoever Dreykov wills.

The Taskmaster program was activated by Dreykov when the vial containing the antidote gas of removing the control over the widows was taken by Yelena from a former widow who conjured the chemical. Yelena sent it to Natasha and both of them became targets as they were protecting the vials. Taskmaster is relentless, brutal, and ruthless to the point of eliminating all those in the way of the mission by mimicking the motion of the opponent making it hard to beat.

In a shocking twist of events, as Natasha looks back on the red on her ledger which was killing the young daughter of Dreykov in the process of eliminating him and in hopes of finally ending the Red Room program when Natasha and Dreykov were toe-to-toe in discussing what happened in the past, Dreykov reveals that the Taskmaster is none other than his very own daughter, Antonia, that Natasha thought was killed when she and Clint bombed the building Dreykov was in.

The Real Identity of the Taskmaster in Black Widow Explained 1
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Credit: Marvel Studios

Dreykov shared that Antonia almost died but he gave her a new life, but this time, she was in a suit that if looks could kill, she could. He made Antonia the Taskmaster, the weapon they use for high-value targets and missions. And to be honest, it is so twisted that a father could do that to his very own daughter.

By the end of the film, Natasha chooses to save Antonia and she gave her a dose of the gas in the vial taking her off of control. While she was injured, Melina decided to take her in, and as the scientist that she is, it would be no surprise if she would recover because she will. Antonia also expressed her own despise for her father, even asking if he is already gone.

See the Taskmaster in Black Widow, now in theaters and on Disney Plus Premier Access.

Related: Who is the Red Guardian and What are His Powers in Black Widow?

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