The first Black Widow trailer has arrived and it brought with it some first looks at major characters who are poised to make their Marvel Cinematic Universe debuts. Specifically, the trailer provides us with the reveal of both Taskmaster, who will be the main villain, and Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, who is playing Natasha Romanoff’s sister. In both cases, the characters allow for speculation, but there is also room for critique, specifically in the case of Taskmaster.
We already took a look at David Harbour as Red Guardian. Now, it appears that Florence Pugh’s Yelena is also a major fixture in this next Marvel movie, and is positioned here as a big player in the events that will unfold in Black Widow. She fights with Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha before they join forces to fight whatever forces they need to tackle. At this point, the movie’s plot is still largely being kept under wraps. What we know for sure is that the movie will be taking place (mostly) after the events of Captain America: Civil War and before the events of Avengers: Infinity War.
In the pages of Marvel Comics, Yelena Belova trained in the same Russian program as Natasha Romanoff to become a spy. She was positioned as a replacement for Black Widow once her allegiances changed. Much like Natasha, Yelena doesn’t have any true superpowers, but she is a master in combat and an expert marksman. The character made her debut in Inhumans #5 in 1990 and was created by Devin Grayson and J.G. Jones.
Moving on, we’ve got Taskmaster to discuss. This is a villain that many fans were excited to see and, while we saw a version of the character on some artwork released over the summer, we hadn’t seen the figure in action. Until now, that is. Unfortunately, for many, the look isn’t what they were hoping for. Quite a few fans took to Twitter, expressing frustration with the somewhat toned-down look. Taskmaster is missing the blue and orange accents from the costume in the comics. We’re also not seeing the signature cape, hood or skull mask. Considering that we’ve had very faithful costumes for many other characters in the MCU, it’s curious that Marvel opted to go with a more tame big screen interpretation here.
For those who may not be familiar, Taskmaster first appeared in the pages of The Avengers #195 in 1980 and was created by David Michelinie and George Perez. The villain is the alter ego of Tony Masters. Though, we don’t know for sure who is under the mask here and many have speculated we could be in for a gender swap. Rachel Weisz’s Melina is something of a mystery and, speculating a bit, maybe we’re going to see her make a turn in that direction?
Taskmaster is a master in the art of hand-to-hand combat and has a genius-level intellect, in addition to being a great swordsman and archer. Some of that is teased in the trailer, specifically the archery bit. Cate Shortland (Lore) is in the director’s chair for this one, which will be the first Phase 4 MCU movie. Black Widow hits theaters on May 1, 2020, from Disney and Marvel.
florence pugh as yelena belova let me talk to you pic.twitter.com/TwKsg0mbrT
— daysi ✧ (@marvelslarson) December 3, 2019
The rise of Florence Pugh continues! The Florenaissance is thriving! #BlackWidowTrailerpic.twitter.com/EwK7Mci7LA
— Avery Thompson (@avery__thompson) December 3, 2019
cause of death: florence pugh with that russian accent pic.twitter.com/TVRdRF5EbC
— t (@peterquillsI) December 3, 2019
EVERYONE STAN FLORENCE PUGH AND YELENA BELOVA pic.twitter.com/G9W5Uc4QyJ
— brie larson and florence pugh love bot (@briesflorence) December 3, 2019
Grateful for this image of Rachel Weisz looking at Florence Pugh. #BlackWidowpic.twitter.com/DX21Si3axv
— Jamie Jirak (@JamieCinematics) December 3, 2019
shit, THAT is Taskmaster?? We’ve had straight up 1964-ass Ditko Mysterio on screen, but we’re getting Taskmaster: Extreme Paintballer https://t.co/A2h2gvoiTb
— Robert ? Secundus (@RobertSecundus) December 3, 2019
The Taskmaster copies his opponents fighting – what if this is a scene where he’s fighting against Clint??? pic.twitter.com/1fO5OwcjSC
— J Carterx ︽✵︽ (@j_x_carter) December 3, 2019
What We Wanted vs What We Got#Taskmaster#BlackWidowpic.twitter.com/NWFAnmekLR
— Ryan ? Turkey Time ? Anderson (@Ryans_Ramblings) December 3, 2019
Marvel was so dedicated to Black Widow taking place in the past that they designed Taskmaster with the design philosophy of “Comic Characters shouldn’t look how they do in the comics” that’s been dead for years. pic.twitter.com/uTx2sZIE5V
— Cammi @ WINTER TIME (@Change_BTOL) December 3, 2019
the taskmaster copies his opponents’ fighting style… so does that mean………. cl!nt is making an appearance? budapest? 😐 pic.twitter.com/yEYfVhDweX
— abbi 16 (@nomadpoe) December 3, 2019
Taskmaster looking like the Phantom Ranger pic.twitter.com/YWL1XX1LYu
— Heatle Jimmy Buckets (@rbelk_94) December 3, 2019
the black widow trailer but its just florance pugh and rachel weisz pic.twitter.com/3975TiQJAi
— tilda swinton (@rachelweizz) December 3, 2019
Rachel Weisz stars in the first teaser trailer for Marvel Studios’ #BlackWidow, coming May 1, 2020. Link ?? pic.twitter.com/lzzToZ4Ggq
— best of rachel weisz (@badpostweisz) December 3, 2019
the way rachel weisz always looks at florence pugh… i want what they have pic.twitter.com/aGISpWW38N
— abril ? yelena belova stan (@nebulannister) December 3, 2019
RACHEL WEISZ ?
that’s the tweet #BlackWidowpic.twitter.com/FaS6yEFp6X
— chris (@theburrgerking) December 3, 2019
None of us are ready for superhero Rachel Weisz #BlackWidowpic.twitter.com/BKalikEojd
— Digital Spy (@digitalspy) December 3, 2019
