BIOGRAPHY - Page 7
Taskmaster’s mercenary career got back on track, carrying him through several jobs. Deadpool’s 
former “friends” and allies got so fed up with him that they teamed up with the alien Macho Libre to take revenge on Wade. It’s not clear what Taskmaster sought to gain here, as Deadpool proved as unkillable as ever. [Deadpool (3rd series) #36] He was hired as security for an elite armored car delivery in Los Angeles, and sparred with Daken Akihiro when he tried to make a name for himself in the California underworld. [Daken: Dark Wolverine #11-12] The Org also set Taskmaster up with a new training gig in Canada. The ruling Unity Party up north was secretly under the control of the Master of the World, and Alpha Flight was leading a revolution against the sitting government. Taskmaster’s old sparring partner Puck hired him to train up their collection of scientists and other civilians opposing Unity into a functional guerilla force. [Alpha Flight (4th series) #5-8]
For his next job, Taskmaster was hired by Viktor Uvarov, Orion of the former Soviet agency Leviathan. Orion was wasting away, thanks to a trick pulled by his old enemy, Nick Fury, and now Uvarov believed the Infinity Formula in Fury’s veins could stabilize his condition. Rather than go after Fury directly, Orion chanced upon information about Fury’s illegitimate son, Sgt. Marcus 
Johnson, who was born with stable Infinity Formula in his system. Orion’s strike team already killed Johnson’s mother to bring the Ranger back from overseas, and Taskmaster staked out the house waiting for Marcus’s arrival. Their initial fight was interrupted by Captain America and Quake of S.H.I.E.L.D., but Johnson later tracked Taskmaster down for answers about the contract. [Battle Scars #1-4]
The next time he crossed paths with Deadpool, Wilson tried hiring Taskmaster to help him up his game. In truth, Deadpool had lost his healing factor and could no longer rely on his invincibility to carry him through battle. He tried to hide the fact, but his missing finger clued Taskmaster in to what was really going on. Taskmaster used Wade as a patsy while trying to steal Pym Particles 
from a S.H.I.E.L.D. depot. Once Deadpool flubbed the mission for him, Taskmaster had no qualms about telling Wade he also sold the information about Deadpool’s vulnerability to his old enemy, Black Box. [Deadpool (3rd series) #56-57] He later doubled down and sold out Deadpool again to a former federal agent with a grudge. [Deadpool (3rd series) #62]
Max Fury, a rebel Life Model Decoy based on the original Nick Fury, used assets from the Shadow Council to buy out the anarchistic nation of Bagalia. He opened it up to super-villains around the world interested in joining the all-new Masters of Evil. Taskmaster was one of more than a hundred villains who took the opportunity to make a home in this criminal nation-state. Taskmaster also completed a job for Max to recover the Crown of Wolves, one of three ancient relics sought by the Council. Down in the Hole, the most lawless part of an already lawless nation, Taskmaster took his time renegotiating the price for his delivery to Max.
The Crown proved to be a hot commodity when Agent Venom and the Secret Avengers also tried 
to relieve Taskmaster of the item. A prolonged battle and chase scene through Bagalia convinced Taskmaster it was time to cut his losses and sell the Crown back to Max for only double the price. As it turned out, the Crown of Wolves, the Crown of Thorns and the Serpent Crown were a doomsday trinity for summoning the force of ultimate nullification known as the Abyss. The three Crowns merged together and possessed Taskmaster, turning him into the demon’s host body as it spread its infectious nihilism throughout the country, and soon the world. Agent Venom and Eric O’Grady managed to sever the Crown’s connection to Taskmaster, blocking its message long enough for the Avengers to deposit the Crowns in separate Microverses for safe keeping. [Secret Avengers (1st series) #29-32]
Back in Manhattan, Taskmaster was hired for protection by a mogul named Daniel Gump, who had a gift of foresight after making a deal with a devil. Deadpool was being blackmailed by the same devil to kill the people with whom he made deals in order to claim their souls. Gump presented a defensive line of Taskmaster, Batroc the Leaper, Chance, Trapster and Lady Stilt-Man to protect him from Deadpool and an arriving Spider-Man. Taskmaster found himself pretty indifferent to the whole mess, so he quietly asked Wade to avoid the face but take him out of the fight. Deadpool obliged and Taskmaster was “knocked out” but still collected his check. [Deadpool (4th series) #10]
In Bagalia, a lawless nation run by criminals, Taskmaster still managed to piss people off enough to be thrown in a cell. Nick Fury Jr. made a deal with Crossfire to buy Taskmaster for S.H.I.E.L.D., and he was extracted under heavy fire. The new Secret Avengers Initiative used Reverie tech to smother or recover memories for field agents, leaving them unaware of their own activities when 
off-mission. Taskmaster was therefore set up as a S.H.I.E.L.D. double agent who was unknowingly recruited by Andrew Forson, the Scientist Supreme of A.I.M., for the ruling High Council of their new island nation, Barbuda. As Minister of Defense, Taskmaster was placed in charge of gathering and training a standing army for A.I.M… and S.H.I.E.L.D. secretly intended for him to undermine the army when the time was right. [Secret Avengers (2nd series) #2]
After Senator Reb Ralston of the Howling Commandos was killed in an encounter with A.I.M. at a weapons expo, Director Daisy Johnson ordered the assassination of Andrew Forson. Her team infiltrated the island and Mockingbird made contact with Taskmaster. (Contact nearly failed because Taskmaster’s own memory problems made the Reverie triggers unreliable, at best.) They successfully completed a side mission – giving Jim Rhodes access to rogue Iron Patriot drones 
made wild by A.I.M. – but the main team failed to eliminate Forson. They were forced to evac under heavy fire while Taskmaster returned to his covert role, but Mockingbird remained behind disguised as an A.I.M. scientist using camotech. The Reverie triggers left Taskmaster and the other agents oblivious to the fact that they left Bobbi behind. [Secret Avengers (2nd series) #6-7]
As Minister of Defense, Taskmaster was charged with building a genuine army for A.I.M., using either mercenaries or rigorously retrained A.I.M. scientists as soldiers. Either through S.H.I.E.L.D.’s coaching or his own indifference, however, Taskmaster didn’t seem to take the job seriously. There were more than a few casualties when he turned the anti-Super-Soldier robot called T.E.S.S.-One against his class during training. Meanwhile, Taskmaster was just hanging out with Mentallo, another “reformed” super-villain enjoying the tropical life of being a government minister on Barbuda. They played a lot of ping pong, with a pretty even match between psychic powers and photographic reflexes. [Secret Avengers (2nd series) #8]
Eventually, Mockingbird was discovered living on the island in disguise and subjected to Andrew Forson’s attentions. His own Reverie tech, Oneiric, took advantage of Bobbi’s mind with implanted memories of being a double agent for A.I.M. and against S.H.I.E.L.D. Maria Hill activated Taskmaster’s memory triggers and ordered him to rescue Mockingbird. Taskmaster was betrayed by his own A.I.M. “apprentice” (whose friends died fighting T.E.S.S.-One), and he was brought 
before the Scientist Supreme. Forson had gotten deep enough into Mockingbird’s head that she shot Taskmaster on behalf of A.I.M., seemingly killing him. However, Mentallo mind probed Taskmaster in the morgue and determined he was still alive, as Mockingbird had miraculously shot him to miss all vital organs and merely drop him into a vegetative state. Perhaps through Mentallo’s assistance, Taskmaster’s consciousness reasserted itself, and he made his escape from A.I.M. Island. [Secret Avengers (2nd series) #12-16]