The recent teaser trailer for Marvel’s Black Widow offers a first look at the movie’s villain, Taskmaster, whose costume has been noticeably changed from the comics. Focusing on what happened to Natasha Romanoff after she was forced to go into hiding in the wake of Captain America: Civil War, the movie will go back to Black Widow’s roots and introduce her former “family” of Russian spies and superheroes: Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), Red Guardian (David Harbour), and Melina (Rachel Weisz).

Directed by Cate Shortland, Black Widow will be the first movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s upcoming Phase 4, and the trailer suggests a return to the spy thriller vibe of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. In keeping with the espionage theme, we still don’t actually know which actor is behind Taskmaster’s mask, leading some fans to speculate that the mysterious villain is one of Nat’s allies in disguise - or perhaps even a returning character from a previous MCU movie. But while Taskmaster is certainly one of the most intriguing elements of Black Widow, it’s hard not to be a little disappointed by this first look at him.

In the comics, Taskmaster has a very distinctive look: a long, billowing hooded cape and, underneath the hood, a skull mask. He’s typically depicted as wielding a sword and shield, often also carrying a bow and arrow, a whip, and other assorted weapons. In fact, wielding a lot of different weapons is kind of his thing. Taskmaster (whose real name is Tony Masters) injected himself with a super-serum that allows him to replicate fighting moves and other skills simply by observing them, making him a jack of all trades - from swordplay, to marksmanship, to martial arts. The trailer for Black Widow showed Taskmaster using his bow and arrow, which indicates that he may well have gone up against Hawkeye in the past - perhaps during the infamous Budapest mission.

Taskmaster does at least have a hood, even if it’s down when we see him in the trailer (he can be seen with the hood up in concept art for Black Widow). However, he doesn’t have a cape and the skull elements of his mask have been heavily downplayed, making it look more like a generic helmet with a subtle skull motif. Fans on Twitter have expressed disappointment with the look, with some comparing Taskmaster’s look to a paintball get-up, and others pointing out his uncanny similarity to the player character of the Crysis games. Popular fan artist Bosslogic even put together an alternative look that’s a lot closer to the comic book version of Taskmaster.

The MCU’s costume design has always faced the challenge of living up to the comics while also avoiding looking too goofy, and this isn’t the first time a character’s comic book appearance has been toned down for the movies. In The Winter Soldier, Batroc the Leaper’s garish purple-and-yellow costume became a tactical vest coupled with camo pants, and the MCU’s Batroc also lacked his comic book counterpart’s mask and distinctive goatee. Similarly, Captain America: Civil War’s antagonist Helmut Zemo never wore his purple balaclava from the comics (though he’ll be making up for that in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier).

It’s still early days for Black Widow, so hopefully subsequent looks at Taskmaster in action will prove that his on-screen look is just as cool as the comics.

More: Black Widow Trailer Teases Natasha’s Marvel Phase 4 Successor

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