[img]http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140404024847/marveldatabase/images/thumb/6/67/Taskmaster_Vol_2.png/300px-Taskmaster_Vol_2.png[/img] Player Name: NightRaider Character: Taskmaster Aliases/Nicknames: Anthony “Tony” Masters, Captain Masters, the “Minister of Defence” Alignment: Good (WTL) Affiliation: S.H.I.E.L.D. Character Origin: [hider=Fog of War] Anthony Masters remembers very little of his own life. From what he has gathered from service files, he has served with the military and S.H.I.E.L.D. all of his adult life. He served in the US military in 1990s, particularly in the Gulf War. When he showed a perchance for stealth and close-combat in the field, he graduated from basic infantry to Covert Ops over his tenure and upon returning home from service, was offered a place at S.H.I.E.L.D. where he ran several successful missions. His most recent run was an undercover stint in the Crime Syndicate in New York, where he gathered valuable intel on the gang’s current objectives. Prior to the incident that lead to his condition, he had just begun serving as S.H.I.E.L.D.’s chief hand-to-hand trainer. [/hider] [hider=The Task at Hand] The reason for the gaps in his memory is from an experimental serum, originally developed during WWII, which was modified by S.H.I.E.L.D. using notes of the original Super Soldier program. Masters volunteered to be the test subject. Repeated testing showed that Masters had developed the ability to memorise and duplicate any person’s movements merely by watching them. The side effects of the experiment were that this memorisation ability came at the cost of his personal memory. Masters began forgetting where he was, what the testing was for, even who he was. In order to bypass this, S.H.I.E.L.D. inserted a syntho-organic, micro-data storage device into his brain, that was linked to it but could not store or erase new memories from it, only access the ones stored on it. Masters has direct access to this device so he can manage what specific memories he retains. As a result, Masters requested that he put back on active duty under the new code name: Taskmaster. [/hider] Taskmaster Data Storage Unit Summary (Taskmaster Eyes Only) [hider=Personal Information] My name is Anthony Masters. I’m currently 32 years old. My birthday is February 24th. I am a former US Army soldier and Special Covert Operations operative. I joined the Army when I was 19 and served as a S.C.O. when I was 25. Look up “Masters Service Record” in S.H.I.E.L.D. database for full details. Both my parents are dead. They were killed in a house-fire when I was serving overseas. Their names were Bill and Virginia Masters. I work for S.H.I.E.L.D. as the head CQB trainer and currently work in the field under the codename: Taskmaster. [/hider] [hider=Tactical Information] Reason for memory loss: memory override due to possession of my photographic reflex power. This power was gained upon injection of a serum that granted these powers. Fighting Styles saved and filed for later use: Wing Chun Savate Capoeira Karate Muay Tai Sambo Judo Aikido Jiu-Jitsu Fencing Kyudo Camouflage Stealth techniques Canne de combat Armament Marksmanship Recently discovered ability to mimic others voices. Must investigate further. [/hider] [hider=Powers and Abilities:] 1. Photographic Reflex Memory: Ability to duplicate almost any physical act that he sees done by someone else only once. This includes combat movements, sleight of hand, practice-based exercises (e.g. piano), marksmanship, archery, gymnastics and aerobatics. A side effect of the photographic reflex is that the speed at which the techniques are observed can affect his movements, increasing in velocity, giving him a burst of near-superhuman speed. He has also discovered that he can copy the vocal muscle movements of others to mimic their voice patterns. 2. Superior Athletic Capabilities: Taskmaster is a naturally athletic individual who has trained his body to near peak-perfection, even rivalling many superpowered heroes and villains in terms of athleticism and physical conditioning. 3. Expert Tactician: His years of Army, Covert and S.H.I.E.L.D. service have shown Masters a myriad of different tactical strategies and procedures. 4. Equipment: Taskmaster utilises a variety of S.H.I.E.L.D. tech, depending on the mission at hand. No matter the mission, he always carries the same equipment: a pair of SW1911, custom-built in black often with silencers attached and a modern double-edged shortsword, based on the classical xiphos used by the Greeks, updated with a modern grip and metal blade,a mix of titanium and secondary adamantium for cost-effectiveness. He also wears a custom bodysuit uniform, made of a prototype fibre mix similar to Kevlar but much thinner and elastic to allow easier hand-to-hand combat. Taskmaster made some personal modifications to the suit, reinforcing the forearm and shin pads to allow harder strikes and protect better when blocking. He also added a face mask to hide his identity, induce fear in his rivals and because one of his pupils thought “thought it looked cool”. [/hider] [hider=Weaknesses:] 1. Full Physical Duplication: Taskmaster cannot copy a feat that requires a power to accomplish. E.g. he may observe someone lifting a huge weight and be able to duplicate the correct movements but cannot replicate the superhuman strength to fully accomplish the act. 2. Energy/Projectile Duplication: Cannot duplicate any energy/projectile capabilities for the same underlying reasons. 3. Underlying Disciplines: He can mimic certain actions but not actions that occur after or are connected to the action. For example, he can mimic a dive into water but not how to swim (unless he observes the swimming action) or mimicking a song that he observed on the piano but he cannot compose his own as he does not know the musical scales. 4. Random Amnesia: When Taskmaster copies a new action, it copies over old personal memories (except those saved in his organo-drive) However the organo-drive can only hold a small amount of information as, due to the intricacy of the surgical procedure, the device could not be that large. So if Taskmaster learns new information, then duplicates a new action, this may copy over the new information. The override is random in what memories it goes over. [/hider] [hider=Why do I want to play this character?:] While I love the mainstream superpowered characters like anyone else, I love 2 other types of characters in the Marvel (and indeed, the overall comic) Universe: the lesser known superpowered characters (such as Deadpool) and the characters that have nothing but their wits and maybe a slight edge. I feel Taskmaster fits into the former. I became fascinated with Taskmaster after learning of him through the Deadpool comics. I feel he would be an excellent character to play in the roleplay as his backstory is very vague and he is one character who has not been revisited and rehashed to death, meaning many avenues have not been explored and I intend to do this. [/hider] [hider=What do I plan on doing with the character:] Not giving too many details away, I plan to reinvent Taskmaster as a “good” but more in the vein of the down-and-dirty hero, the antithesis of Captain America, the hero who does what needs to be done for the good of everyone. [/hider] [hider=Sample post:] His eyes jerked open suddenly, his whole body shaking as his brain jumped back into the realm of consciousness. He tried raising his arms, feeling they were heavy. He looked down and saw straps wrapped around his wrists, securing him to the metallic chair. He tugged helplessly, the chair bolted to the floor, a blank steel table in front of him. Panic rose in his chest, his head darting side to side and taking in his surroundings. The room was dark, covered in shadows except for the area around the table, which was glowing with a white light, highlighting every feature in his eye line. His breathing quickened with each new question that crossed his mind: [i]Where am I?[/i] [i]Who’s taken me? Why? [/i] Then a more terrifying question popped up, causing him to go rigid with fear: [i]Who am [b]I[/b]?[/i] That’s when the screaming started. He tugged and rocked in the immovable chair, screaming for help at the top of his lungs. “Help!! Someone help me please?! Where am I?!” A door behind him opened, flooding the wall in front of him with light. A mirrored panel stretching the wall gave him a glimpse of himself. He had short, jet black hair and a stark red bruise on his cheek. The door closed just as quickly as it opened. A sharp set of footsteps approached him from behind, stepping around him and sat down across from him. The man who sat in front of him was quite plain. He was wearing a dark suit, white under shirt and red tie. His hair was combed back and he wore a small United States flag lapel on his jacket collar. He looked him straight in the eye and smiled lightly. “Do you know who I am?” He tugged at his bonds as he begged for his freedom. “Please, just let me go. Who are you?” The strange man continued to speak. “Do you know who you are?” He began to panic as the strange man somehow knew what had happened to him, probably even caused it somehow. “What did you do to me? Can you reverse it? Please…” He continued to waffle for his life, his release or anything he wanted. The strange man laid out the file that was in his hands and watched him continue to struggle. After several minutes, he placed his hands on the table and quietly said just 3 words. “Tony, please stop.” Tony stopped struggling in his chair, staring at the man sitting across from him. The stranger had said the name so calmly and assuredly, it sparked something in his mind, a sense of…familiarity. “Is…is that my name? Tony? Who are you? Where am I?!” “I’m Agent Jacob Strzeszewski. I’m the Head of Special Internal Operations for S.H.I.E.L.D. You’re currently at the Triskelion, the operations centre of S.H.I.E.L.D. Do you remember how you got here?” Tony shook his head. That’s when he heard a noise behind him, a soft shuffling of feet. There was another person in the room with them. They moved around behind Jacob, sticking to the shadows. Tony called at the man in the shadows. “Please, I just want to know what’s going on?!” The man stepped out, the light flooding every feature. The man was grizzled, his face covered in old scratches and scars. A long, black leather jacket draped his shoulders and trailed along the floor as he stepped out from the darkness. His jet black hair had the vaguest trace of grey and a large black eye patch covered his right eye. The uncovered left was fixed on Tony. “You’ve been through a rough patch, kid, but you’re safe now.” “Who are you? What are you going to do to me?” The man in the jacket smirked, reached forward and slid the open file across to Tony. The file had his picture and his full name with a classified stamp: ‘Anthony Masters’ “The name’s Colonel Nick J. Fury…and we’re going to give you a second chance.”[/hider] Sample Arcs: The Patriot Act: USAgent, Union Jack and Patriot are a rogue SHIELD team that possess tech and a experimental form of the Super Soldier Serum, that only has a short lifespan and have gone dark... The Meta-Game: Taskmaster starts dealing with emerging new mutants/villains: Gravity, Hood, Typhoid Mary etc. Weapon Plus Program: Information on a Canadian bio-weapon program involving mutants has reached the desk of Nick Fury and he's sent Taskmaster to investigate and deal with the various "weapons" the program has lost control of. [img]http://www.comicbookmovie.com/images/users/uploads/11631/avengers%208%20taskmaster.jpg[/img] replace white mask with… [img]http://skullappreciationsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/AO2_2.jpg[/img]