Taskmaster #5 // Review
Tony is an expert in survival. He's a lot of other things, but the other things require him to be a total genius in self-preservation. Tony's skills are put to the test in a showdown with the Marvel Universe's most deadly assassin as the current Taskmaster series draws to a close. Writer Jed MacKay wraps things up with many series-ending expositions that could be described as "bewildering." (Might be described as "boring," too.) The action in the issue glides and rumbles across the page courtesy of artist Alessandro Vitti. The series has been fun to this point, but McKay doesn't quite manage to bring it all together at the end.
There's silence between the Taskmaster and Nick Fury. Fury has been using the villain. He's not expected to think about anything other than the tasks he's been asked to do. He's not going to let that stop him from thinking about his own survival, though…and THAT is what leads him to wonder if Fury isn't being manipulated as well. Taskmaster is going to find it difficult to explore things further…partially because Fury doesn't want to talk about it but mostly because of the explosion. Black Widow has planted a bomb in Fury and Taskmaster's car, and she's closing in for the kill.
MacKay is a really remarkably good writer. This issue isn't written remarkably well. The initial conversation between Taskmaster and Fury is interesting enough. The combat between Taskmaster and Black Widow brings to mind words like "satisfactory." The conclusion, though? The Spy Ex Machina that MacKay throws onto the page at the end of the issue is…it just feels like a rush job to get everything to finish-off everything in a way that feels reasonably final. Every issue leading to the final one seemed to be outlining a cleverly-composed plot that was slowly revealing itself. MacKay pounds the resolution into the ending of the series. It's pretty graceless given how sharply-constructed so much of the rest of the series had been.
Vitti helps MacKay fill-out the final operations of a five-issue equation with some sense of style. The battle between Taskmaster and Black Widow features another appealing nine-panel action sequence. Vitti manages to make the non-violent drama feel appealing as well, which is no small accomplishment given the fact that the issue opens with a four-page conversation between a guy with a skull mask and the guy behind the wheel. Vitti maintains a very expressive appearance for Taskmaster, which comes to the page quite vividly. The artists use many subtle techniques to keep the title character emotionally present on the page even though he's wearing a skull that hides his expressions. This effect remains impressive right through the end of the series.
There's really no reason why the Taskmaster can't have an ongoing series. MacKay's only real problem is that the series has to come to a sudden and abrupt end. The series's overall premise could have run for a few years the way MacKay was managing it prior to this issue. The series would have had more of an appealing disappointment if it had been planned for a longer run. Given the right momentum, it could have taken MacKay years to work up to the level of disappointment at the end of this issue.
