The Marvel villain Taskmaster may have a formidable reputation, but an unnoticed flaw in his powers makes them actually useless. The former SHIELD agent Anthony Masters is one of Marvel's most dangerous mercenaries. He's crossed paths with countless superheroes over the years, trading blows with the likes of Captain America and matching wits with Spider-Man. Villains have often drawn upon Taskmaster's experience and skills for training, and he's regularly worked for evil armies.
Taskmaster's secret lies in a unique memory. His mind has a near-perfect recall for any movement he sees, and his body can replicate it perfectly. He can even mimic films and TV shows; hilariously, Taskmaster has even copied James Bond. But Taskmaster's mind can only retain so much knowledge, meaning his brain prioritizes this knowledge - and wipes out other memories. Events, people, places - Taskmaster forgets them all, in favor of new moves. It means he lives a lonely life, unable to sustain relationships or friendships.
As skilled as Taskmaster may be, though, his powers have a logical weakness. The main problem is that he duplicates a movement he sees, but he can't copy the thinking and training that went behind it. The best martial artists have trained for a lifetime, and they are immediately able to assess a situation to figure out which moves to use. Taskmaster, however, is restricted only to the responses he's seen, and he has no choice but to trust his body to choose between the possible options. He tries to get around this problem by watching people for some time, checking out all the footage he can of top martial artists and hand-to-hand combatants. But he can't learn with them, only from them, so his knowledge is always based on the tactics they possessed in the past - not ones they've learned. Taskmaster's powers are a lot more limited than most fans realize.
Taskmaster's Ability To Copy Fighting Styles is Very Surface-Level
The problems are compounded by the fact Taskmaster has spent so much time learning from superhumans. He carries a shield because he's copied Captain America, for example; but any moves he duplicates will be poor substitutes, because his shield will have a different weight to the vibranium-enriched one Steve Rogers wields, and he lacks the Star-Spangled Avenger's super strength. That means Taskmaster's copied moves will always be far less effective than the ones he saw. Taskmaster has also spent a great deal of time studying heroes with enhanced senses, such as Daredevil - whose radar sense gives him a preternatural awareness of his environment. Though he may copy Daredevil's agility, Taskmaster lacks the radar sense, and so he will never be able to have the sure footing of the Man Without Fear.
This probably explains why Taskmaster tends to lose whenever he goes up against skilled or powerful opponents. His abilities are more than sufficient for run-of-the-mill enemies, but he's rarely beaten the superheroes he dreams of taking on. Taskmaster probably forgets these defeats, though, meaning he'll never be able to learn from them. That, perhaps, is Taskmaster's ultimate weakness - one that means the heroes always win.
