TASKMASTER

 

TASKMASTER

Real Name: Anthony Masters

First Appearance: Avengers (Vol. 1) #195, May 1980

Powers: The man who became the Taskmaster was biochemically enhanced by a mnemonic primer, an experimental solution which opened his mind to rapidly assimilating new skills and abilities. This gave him an ability most commonly referred to as "photographic reflexes". Through observation, Taskmaster can break down any form of simple or complex action and imprint it onto his implicit muscle memory. He can duplicate any action he sees, including playing a musical instrument, preparing a gourmet meal, performing rope tricks, etc. His skills are limited to what he can see: He can mimic the ability to play the piano, but not how to read sheet music, and watching someone play Beethoven's 2nd would not allow him to play Beethoven's 9th.

Taskmaster has mastered the fighting styles of numerous super-heroes and villains through personal contact or watching videos of them in action. Short exposure to their skills allows him to mimic specific moves, but extended observation has enabled him to perfectly duplicate their entire set of movements, attacks and counterattacks as one smooth fighting style. As a side-effect of his studies, Taskmaster can predict and reflexively defend against the attacks of anyone he has observed in-depth. He also mastered the skill of breaking down a fighting style after he intuitively learned it, enabling him to "manually" teach the style to the students at his various Academies.

Taskmaster is limited by his human physique in some cases: He cannot duplicate the Iron Fist, for instance, or Spider-Man's more elaborate leaping and bouncing. He can assimilate and "map" techniques onto his reflexes that are beyond his physical capabilities, but cannot fully mimic skills that require a superhuman physique to accomplish. He has accelerated his reflexes to near superhuman speeds at times by mimic techniques by video while watching them on fast-forward, but attempting to force his body to move that fast is extremely unhealthy and quickly exhausts him. He was also able to assimilate Redshirt's Shi'ar avian physique-based fighting style to predict his moves and mimic at least some of his actions, but not all of them.

In his original costume, Taskmaster employed a variety of weapons patterned after those used by super-heroes, letting him combat them with their own tricks. This included duplicates of Captain America's shield, Daredevil's billy club, Black Knight's sword, Hawkeye's bow and arrow, Punisher's guns, etc. Later on, he adopted a tactical body suit equipped with an image inducer for holographic disguises, a standard set of handguns and swords, and photonic weapon systems in his gauntlets that could generate energy-based shields, sais, and even webbing. Taskmaster was briefly able to augment his abilities through a procedure enabling him to outright mimic superhuman powers by observation, but this modification quickly faded away.

Eventually, the full side-effects of Taskmaster's powers were revealed. The "implicit" muscle memories he has assimilated over the years have largely overwritten his "explicit" memory: His personal history, childhood and so forth. He may be able to perfectly identify someone's accent, down to the country and region, but can't remember if he's ever personally been there. These personal memories still exist, but are buried deep within his subconscious most of the time. Learning new skills with his power buries any further memories he has developed since the last use of his powers. Taskmaster makes his way through life using a combination of his reflexive actions and the guidance of his wife Mercedes Merced, who poses as a representative of "The Org" that gives Taskmaster his assignments. Beyond that, he apparently relies upon elaborate bluffs and acting to make it through his every day existence.

U.S. AGENT

 

U.S. AGENT

Real Name: John F. Walker

First Appearance: Captain America (Vol. 1) #323, November 1986 (as Super-Patriot II); Captain America (Vol. 1) #333, September 1987 (as Captain America VI); Captain America (Vol. 1) #354, June 1989 (as U.S. Agent)

Powers: John F. Walker began his career just out of the Army. He underwent the Power Broker Process to enhance his musculature, giving him Class 20 strength, superhuman endurance, reflexes, and resistance to physical injury. Outfitting himself as the Super-Patriot, he used a set of American throwing stars and a Liberty's Torch which produced a jet of flame out from its hilt. After being chosen by the Commission to replace Steve Rogers, Walker was given the patriotic chain-mail uniform of Captain America and the unique steel/Vibranium alloy throwing shield. After Rogers returned, Walker was given a new identity as the U.S. Agent and a new shield forged out of Vibranium.

When he joined Force Works years later, Agent adopted a new set of weaponry, replacing his solid shield with photonic energy generators mounted in his gauntlets. By calling out "Shield -- Ignite!", the generators projected a photon shield onto the back of his arm, which could disperse any energy directed at it. Saying "Shield -- Release!" would discharge the shield's photonic energy as a destructive blast, and he would require a few moments to let the generators recharge before he could form a new shield.

After taking a job with Edwin Cord and the Jury, Agent began using a new eagle badge shield that he could throw and then control its trajectory in midair using control studs in his gloves. He also employed Jury flight disks, mechanical plates strapped to his boots that enabled him to fly with great speed and maneuverability.

At one point, he went back to using his Vibranium shield only to have it shatter into pieces during the aftermath of Battleworld. After being heavily beaten and stabbed through the chest by Protocide, Agent underwent surgical procedures to save his life, which also apparently augmented his strength to some degree in the process. Shortly after this, Walker was approached by the Commission again to head a new department known as STARS. He agreed, and was given a set of modified weaponry. His new crash helmet protected his head from impact and was equipped with built in radio transceivers. His energy truncheon could produce painful surges of energy on contact, at varying levels of intensity, and his new shield was in the eagle badge design but reinforced by tangible photonic energy.

During his period with the new Invaders, Walker frequently utilized grenades and semi-automatic weapons, along with a disk-shaped shield which could extend razor sharp spikes around its border. He later returned to using a stylized version of his discus shield.

In battle with the Thunderbolts, Agent lost an arm and leg to Scourge, who was wielding the Asgardian spear of Odin, Gungnir. Although still super-powered, Walker was forced to use a wheelchair and a mechanical hand for utility. While trapped in a pocket dimension with the Dark Avengers, Toxic Doxie cultivated some symbiote bio-mass to recreate his missing limbs. These limbs seem to look and act exactly like his original limbs, with all their strength. It's unknown if his limbs have a traditional symbiote's vulnerability to fire and sonics.

BARON KARZA

 

BARON KARZA

Real Name: Baron Karza

First Appearance: Micronauts (Vol. 1) #1, January 1979

Powers: Baron Karza rose to power in the sub-dimensional Microverse using lost arts of cyber-genetics and bio-engineering. He transformed himself into pure mental energy, and cast his essence into a shell of living, nigh-invincible armor. After assuming control of Homeworld, he constructed the vast genetic manipulation laboratories known as the Body Banks, which converted the poor and downtrodden into raw materials for the rich to keep themselves alive, and to create his endless series of Dog Soldiers. The Body Banks were powered by the atomic fires from the core of the planet itself, and through them, Baron Karza's armor was constantly enriched with raw energy, giving him nearly inexhaustible stamina. Karza's body also gave him superhuman strength and armored durability, reinforced by an impenetrable force field he could summon with a thought. Karza could launch his fists at opponents as projectile weapons, animating them from a distance to either strangle or pummel his victims into submission. The disembodied hands could also discharge a portion of Karza's own energies, immediately incapacitated someone on contact. He possessed a number of offensive weapons built into his hands, eyes, four chest nodules, and the ruby symbol in the center of his stomach, including blinding light flashes, heat beams, force blasts, and a molecular disintegrator effect. His hands, at least, are capable of firing off multiple blasts simultaneously which can each seek out individual targets. Karza was also capable of self-levitation (though not propulsive flight), long-range teleportation, and forging power-shackles of pure energy to hold his foes trapped. Baron Karza could transmogrify his armored body at will from a humanoid to a centaur form, altering his speed and mobility while also unsheathing mace-like tail and a set of side-mounted engines that could blast him across the landscape.

Karza's power is not limited to his armored body alone: As a being of pure energy, he possesses telepathic powers enabling him to sense and probe the minds of others at will, induce a "mind-bind" to block out certain thoughts, or a "mind-shock" that could have a potentially deadly effect on anyone within range. What's more, he can separate from his body and enter a state of disembodied energy, similar to an astral form. This energy state is still visible to the naked eye, though, and is capable of performing a "mind-merge" and imprinting Karza's essence onto the body of another being. Through this process, Baron Karza can literally transform another person into a replica of himself, complete with all his armor's capabilities. This enabled him to survive his first death by merging permanently with Force Commander to give his spirit a new host, but he was also able to temporarily possess the Earth-created Professor Prometheus. This meant that, while the Microverse natives normally grow only to about 6 inches tall after passing through the Spacewall to Earth, Baron Karza was able to manifest on our world as a full human-sized armored warrior.

CAPTAIN UNIVERSE

 

CAPTAIN UNIVERSE

Real Name: Variable ("Captain Universe" is the generic name for recipients of the Uni-Power, which constantly transfers from one person to another.)

First Appearance: Micronauts (Vol. 1) #8, August 1979

Powers: Captain Universe is not a person. It is the generic name for the recipient of the Uni-Power, a special kind of energy that endows an individual with a host of superhuman powers. The Uni-Power is a manifestation of the Enigma Force, an extra-dimensional energy originating in the subatomic realm known as the Microverse, wielded by the ethereal Time Travelers. The Uni-Power appears to be a floating globule of luminescent energy that appears seemingly from out of nowhere to engulf an individual, conferring upon him or her the costume, powers and knowledge of Captain Universe. The Uni-Power only manifests itself at a time of crisis, be it personal or worldwide, and then withdraws when the crisis has abated. How it chooses the individual who gets full possession of the Uni-Power to solve his or her crisis is yet known. The Uni-Power does not remain with one person for very long. It transfers from one person to another across the face of the world with no perceptible time lapsing between. At all times somewhere on Earth there is a Captain Universe (once, a pair of twins were Captain Universes simultaneously). The Uni-Power first empowered a NASA astronaut named Captain Ray Coffin, which is why the super-powered individual it creates is called "Captain Universe".

The Uni-Power can be manipulated by each Captain Universe in a variety of ways, dependent upon each recipient's imagination and strength. The Uni-Power amplifies strength about fifty times. Thus, if a person can normally lift (press) 150 pounds, he or she would now be able to lift approximately 7,500 pounds. Each Captain Universe is also granted the ability to fly by harnessing the Uni-Power's energy to generate anti-gravitions. The Uni-Power also grants the ability to manipulate the molecular structure of objects, changing one shape into another, or even transmuting the elements of an object from one substance to another. This power of molecular manipulation extends to both organic and inorganic matter. Thus, the Uni-Power can be used to heal wounds by rearranging the molecules of flesh, tissues or organs, or it can be used to alter the physical characteristics of a person (enlarging the hands or changing their features). The Uni-Power can also be wielded like an energy-beam, generating a luminous burst of energy with a concussive force determined to an extent by the user's ability. The Uni-Power also grants each Captain Universe Uni-Vision which enable the user to see the molecular structure of an object, to see through walls, or to see long distances away. The Uni-Vision is emitted by Captain Universe's eyes and produces a visible beam of energy. This energy has certain hypnotic-side-effects: a skillful wielder of the Uni-Vision can use it to hypnotize people into telling the truth.

SASQUATCH

 

SASQUATCH

Real Name: Walter Langkowski

First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #120, April 1979

Powers: Dr. Walter Langkowski was a physicist attempting to recreate the gamma exposure that turned Dr. Bruce Banner into the Hulk, but under controlled laboratory conditions. This resulted in a massive explosion in the northern Canadian wilderness. This explosion was severe enough that it briefly created a tear in the inter-dimensional barrier protecting Earth from the Great Beasts, and one of the Beasts named Tanaraq reached through to "touch" Langkowski. Awakening after the explosion, Walter discovered that he now had the power to transform into an orange-furred bigfoot creature. He reasoned that he had become a gamma mutate, and the normal green coloration caused by gamma radiation was altered by the methods he employed. In fact, Sasquatch was actually Tanaraq's body, and Walter was transpositioning his own mass with that of the Great Beast himself, and each time he did so, Tanaraq's influence on Earth was becoming stronger and stronger. As Sasquatch, Walter stood over 7' tall and was covered with shaggy orange fur. His strength level reached Superhuman Class 100, in addition to increased foot speed, agility, endurance, reaction time, and tremendous resistance to physical injury. He did possess some level of enhanced senses and his fingers ended in claws, but he was rarely interested in employing them. After Tanaraq eventually waxed full control over the Sasquatch body, Snowbird was forced to kill Walter's physical form in order to annihilate the Great Beast. His spirit was recovered and placed inside the Box Mark II robot for a time, but was later lost on the Crossroads to All Realities. Eventually, Walter's spirit found its way into the void inside Shaman's medicine pouch, and possessed the diminutive body of the brain-dead Smart Alec, who was being stored in there. Crawling out of the pouch, Langkowski then transferred his mind briefly into the Box Mark III to combat Pestilence, an evil spirit who had possessed Snowbird's body, which at that point was both dead and transformed into a recreation of Langkowski's Sasquatch body.

After Pestilence was driven out, Walter possessed the Snowbird-Sasquatch and impulsively attempted to transform back into his human self. Snowbird's power was that she always transformed into female, white-haired versions of different animals. By attempting to morph into his human self, Walter ended up transforming into a female version of himself with white hair. This process seemed to disrupt Snowbird's powers, and so Langkowski was never able to access any of Snowbird's other morphing or psionic powers. Now, the he//she combination could only morph back and forth from the white furred female Sasquatch to the white haired "Wanda Langkowski". In the end, though, Narya's patron gods intervened and remove all traces of Snowbird from Sasquatch's body, restoring him to his male human form and orange-furred Sasquatch form. Since that time, Walter has referred to himself as a gamma mutate again, so it seems that the gods transformed him into the very thing he originally thought himself to be. The second Sasquatch was an actual "missing link", one of a hidden race of creatures resembling Langkowski's altered form. He had considerable mass, standing over at least 7' tall, in addition to superhuman strength, running speed, endurance, and resistance to physical injury. He also possessed razor sharp claws and teeth, and presumably had enhanced senses as well.

Walter Langkowski holds a Ph.D. in physics and is also a genius-level intellect with expertise in the effects of radiation on human physiology. He also has extensive knowledge of physics and was a talented football player.

GYPSY MOTH

 

GYPSY MOTH

Real Name: Sybil Dvorak

First Appearance: Spider-Woman (Vol. 1) #10, January 1979

Powers: Known as Skein or as the Gypsy Moth, Sybil Dvorak is a mutant, possessing a version of telekinesis that she has apparently subconsciously limited so that she can only affect "soft" materials like hair and various forms of cloth, fabric, and textiles. Skein is capable of lifting people off the ground and moving them about through the air by hefting them by their clothes. She can cause someone's clothing (or long hair) to turn against them, wrapping them up in a cocoon, constricting to cut off blood flow, or throwing them into a wall or solid object.

While operating in her previous identity as Gypsy Moth, Sybil wove a set of moth-like wings out of soft material and mentally knitted them into the flesh on her back, using them to fly. Skein can manipulate fabrics on an individual thread-level, letting her unweave clothes into individual strands, and mentally weave loose material into new costumes or garments through concentration. As Skein, she keeps thick bundles of fabric around her arms at all times as a constant source of material to work with, sending it out as ropes and lassos or to bind her opponents in place.

PROTEUS

 

PROTEUS

Real Name: Kevin MacTaggert

First Appearance: The Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #125, September 1979

Powers: Proteus is an omega-level mutant able to manipulate and alter reality in any way he can imagine via psionic influence exerted over fundamental forces and principles. His power was limited by line-of-sight and could only affect matter within his visual range. He most commonly used his ability to ripple space and matter around him, like objects seen through swirling water. This can be extremely disorienting and even maddening to living beings. He can dramatically restructure matter and energy, such as turning a rifle into a snake or Cyclops's optic blast into a harmless spray of flowers. This effect could also animate non-living matter, turning buildings into anthropomorphic constructs or making objects seemingly come to life and attack people. He could make solid structures crumble to the ground or explode violently. Proteus could also manipulate gravity in order to levitate and fly or increase the weight of other people and objects.

Proteus also possesses telepathic abilities that enable him to read minds and attack at psychic levels. He could use his telepathy to communicate telepathically or erect mental shields to block other telepaths. Proteus could also absorb information from people or computer systems by touching them, and cross dimensional barriers at will.

In his natural form, he existed in a vulnerable, but dangerous state of pure psionic energy. Originally, he could take possession of human bodies to contain his vast energies and could possess anyone within a few feet of his position. Possession gave Proteus access to all his victim's memories and emotions. His energies would eventually “burn out” his host bodies (as he did with his own natural body), killing them in the process. His energies quickly ate away at their physical frame, causing them to shrivel like a used up husk until the body could sustain him no more and he needed to find another.

His energy form had a natural aversion to metal, making it the only thing that could block his powers or possession, and disperse his energy state. Upon his first resurrection, Proteus had bonded with the energy-absorbing mutant known as Piecemeal, effectively removing his weakness to metal and need for host bodies, until he committed suicide and returned to discorporation. He was resurrected again under the House of M reality with all his classic weaknesses, but later escaped Wanda's reordering of the universe by traveling to another dimension. During the Exiles' hunt for Proteus, he possessed Angel of House of M, Mimic of the Exiles, Justice of the New Universe, and Hulk of 2099 in turn, assimilating portions of their psyches in the process. The Exiles ultimately caged him when he found a non-degrading host body in the Exile known as Morph, and the Exiles used the Behavior Modification machine from Earth-S to reprogram him to believe himself to actually be Morph. His return to the 616 Universe during the events of Necrosha left him with the ability possess multiple host bodies at once.