Taskmaster: Anything You Can Do…

Taskmaster (Collected Editions)

by David Michelinie

He's the skull-faced villain who can copy any action he sees - whether it's Spider-Man's agility, Daredevil's fighting moves or Captain America's skills with a shield! That makes Taskmaster more than a match for anyone - even the Avengers! And to make matters worse, Taskmaster runs a training school for villainous henchmen! With the sweetest moves around and an army of thugs eager for extra credit, watch as Taskmaster clashes with a who's who of the Marvel Universe - including Spidey, Cap, Daredevil, Iron Man, Falcon, Hawkeye, Ant-Man, the Thing and Deadpool! Can any of them take him to task?


COLLECTING: AVENGERS (1963) 195-196, 223; MARVEL TEAM-UP (1972) 103, 146; THING (1983) 26; AMAZING SPIDER-MAN (1963) 308; IRON MAN (1968) 254; DAREDEVIL (1964) 292-293; DEADPOOL (1997) 2; HAWKEYE: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST MARKSMAN (1998) 1; AVENGERS (1998) 26; CAPTAIN AMERICA (1998) 44; MATERIAL FROM CAPTAIN AMERICA ANNUAL (1971) 11

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels

352 pages, Paperback

First published February 19, 2020

Reviews

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taskmaster has always been one of my favorite villains. i also have thought he has been way underrated and underused. I was not happy with the movie portrayal of the character so this volume of his exploits was a nice surprise. Good art throughout and interesting stories. Recommended

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected this book to be a sort of "greatest hits"-style "clip show" for the Taskmaster, and on that front I wasn't disappointed. This collection does not aim to tell a single story of the Taskmaster but instead collects a variety of his different features and appearances against a whole range of characters including several incarnations of the Avengers, Spider-Man, Daredevil, the Punisher, Iron Man, and others.

What I most appreciate is that this book does feature the Taskmaster's first appearance, and I was rather surprised that his whole gimmick of running training academies for supervillain henchmen. I thought that was a plot point that was introduced later in his appearances, but that was not the case. And as a man more committed to his business, he never really sets out to defeat this or that hero. He just using his fighting abilities to stall them long enough to get away or to aid in the training of his different lethal students.

I enjoyed this journey across his history and many different depictions. Naturally, it was his Spider-Man appearance during the MacFarlane run that was more visually distinct, but on the whole, he is the same skull-faced villain with photographic reflexes. Great stuff to read in the lead-up to his MCU debut in the Black Widow movie.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taskmaster: Anything You Can Do belongs to the same set of collections as Captain Marvel: the Saga of Monica Rambeau, Mockingbird: Bobbi Morse, Agent of SHIELD, and Mephisto, wherein what readers are provided with are a series of stories that a character appears in rather than a larger coherent narrative. Taskmaster: Anything You Can Do is stronger than some of these entries, as a clear continuity is present either Taskmaster, even if that continuity does not always have clear character progression. I do find value in seeing the character’s origins, especially since some of these adventures showcase Scott Lang’s early years as Ant-Man.

[Eric Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply put, Taskmaster is one of my favorite villains and I love having all his early appearances in one place. Most of the stories are well written with incredible art. The only section where that may not be true is the Hawkeye mini-series, but most stuff from that time period was lacking from Marvel so I can be forgiving.

[Jordan Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great anthology collection/introduction to a classic marvel villain. Featuring some of his best moments from throughout the decades. Definitely worth checking out before the Black Widow movie drops.

[Daniel Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Taskmaster is one of my favourite villains, but I kind of struggle with books like these. Without a continuing story, it is hard to get very invested - especially when Taskmaster introduces himself in the exact same way for pretty much every issue. Very repetitive. I think my highlights were the original full appearance, the Thing issue, and the Spiderman ones. I enjoyed the first Daredevil one, but then got very frustrated with how poorly Taskmaster was adapted. I feel that it was not a very good issue to include in this collection because of that.

Poor - 4/10

[matt murdock · Rating 2 out of 5]

i just don’t really like most comics from the 80s/90s that much but it was amusing to see all the terrifying versions of tasky’s look over the years

[Gary Fortuin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun selection of stories featuring Taskmaster. Some great Ant-man and Daredevil match ups with him in this collection .

[David Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag quality-wise, as you’d expect from such a varied compilation; most of the stories are a bit dated, but interesting to see how the character has evolved over time.