Taskmaster

Taskmaster's History

Antonia Dreykov, also known as Taskmaster, is the daughter of General Dreykov and a commander of the Red Room who possesses uncanny photographic reflexes that allow her to mimic the fighting techniques of other individuals.

Budapest Operation

Antonia is the daughter of General Dreykov, the overseer of the secret Russian Red Room Academy. As a young girl, she was used by the rogue Black Widow Natasha Romanoff to track down her father. Determined the bring the evil man down, Natasha ordered Clint Barton to detonate the explosives and take out Dreykov regardless of his daughter being in the range, collapsing the entire five-story building they were in. Natasha believed them both to be killed and spend years dealing with her guilt of killing an innocent to justify the means.

Transformed into Taskmaster

Neither of the Dreykovs was killed however, and although the general remained unscathed, Antonia was severely injured. Her face was badly burned and her cerebral cortex was damaged, causing her mobility loss. Dreykov saw this as an opportunity and subjected her to extensive experimental enhancements. An external device was fitted to the back of her head that restored her mobility, but also enabled Antonia to remember and perfectly replicate the fighting styles of others by observing and studiying their movements. Like the other Red Room Academy graduates, she was subjected to chemical conditioning developed by Melina Vostokoff that made her a prisoner inside her own body and allowed Dreykov to remotely control her most minute actions. Designated as "Project Taskmaster", she was deployed to the field only in the very extreme situations.

Chasing Down Natasha Romanoff

In 2016 Dreykov send the Taskmaster after rogue Widow Yelena Belova who was in possession of a rare antidote that could counter his mental control over his victims. Taskmaster tracked to package down to Norway and engaged Romanoff, Belova's sister, who was in possession of the antidote and was able to escape. The two rogue Widows reunited in Budapest and Taskmaster and the other Widows chased them through the streets of the city, eventually losing their tracks.

Ambush at Melina Vostokoff's Residence

Determined to bring Dreykov down, Belova and Romanoff teamed up with their "mother" Melina and "father" Alexei Shostakov. Melina pretended to betray them, allowing Taskmaster and the Widows to take them prisoners to the floating Academy that served as Dreykov's headquarters.

Secrets Revealed

There, Dreykov revealed to Romanoff that the Taskmaster was in fact his daughter whom Romanoff intended to kill as a collateral. Distraught, Natasha let Alexei fight the Taskmaster while she was dealing with Dreykov. Shostakov fought to a standstill and eventually was able to trap his opponent inside a secure cell meant for himself.

Destruction of the Red Room

Melina had destabilized the structure, forcing everyone to make a frantic escape in which Dreykov was killed for good. Romanoff refused to let Antonia die and freed her from her cell, even though she was immediately attacked for it.

Freedom

After both made it safely to the ground, Natasha managed to douse Antonia with the antidote, freeing her from the mental control. Antonia was only able to gasp "He's gone" before her fellow Widows, likewise no longer mind-controlled, took her away to avoid being captured by the forces of State Secretary Ross.