How To Waste A Villain - Black Widow

[@TheCloserLook]

Hey Guys, I hope you enjoyed this one. Right now I'm working on a Cyberpunk 2077 video which is coming along nicely! If you like, feel free to join my discord where we talk about writing and movie related things. I'm always active on it so you can chat with me and the rest of the community. My Discord: discord.com/invite/aJpYPQX Best, - Henry

[@silasespersen6569]

Great video!

[@Runway5]

Was hoping you would make this

[@starwarsorsomething5703]

thanks for making this so i don't have to watch the movie

[@CainCadeyrn04]

Awesome video. After you’re finished with the Cyberpunk video, I think it would be cool to see your perspective on the Netflix Original Daredevil. It’s my favorite show that involves a superhero.

[@horseradishpower9947]

@Freeman Allen He did a great story idea. It is the story Natasha deserves.

[@reapsd1i931]

“If killing others is what you feel so guilty for, why do you still carry a gun?” Such a raw ass line

[@Lizzy3D]

Wouldn't it be a plothole is she fought in later movies still though? Because it seems like it would

[@reapsd1i931]

@@Lizzy3D i mean, she uses her batons to fight aliens? So no?

[@thesnatcher3616]

@@reapsd1i931 Yeah. Classic Injure not kill mindset.

[@alphared3494]

@@reapsd1i931 It would be a plothole. In Endgame, when her and Clint was on Vormir and Red Skull suddenly appears, she gets her gun and points it to him. She didn't fire a single bullet but it shows that she still uses a gun and would pretty much shoot anyone who threatens her life and her friends.

[@cardyb1116]

@@alphared3494 Bro that's probably like asserting dominance on an alien planet? Vormir was a dangerous plan so well..

[@Laxhoop]

The fact that they forgave the mom, despite her being complicit in the kidnapping and torture of girls for decades, simply because now she “feels bad about it”, is like if we forgave Ghislaine Maxwell.

[@TheCloserLook]

Right? That scene where she suffocates a pig is so uncomfortable, the woman is so clearly entirely evil judging from that scene alone, but the movie just seems to gloss over that entirely.

[@lauragroenveld1668]

I was so excited when the mom betrayed them, because now we will get so much emotional conflict! The mom is clearly evil, and now they have to deal with this together, bringing Alexei and the girl closer, and giving Yelena some struggles since she clearly values that lie they lived. This is the dark stuff I was waiting for since the opening was so strong! oh wait nope she's suddenly good now okay I guess

[@Laxhoop]

@Javi Gómez Lozano She let countless girls get kidnapped and tortured, she cannot be forgiven, especially since the MCU wants to be taken seriously.

[@okayge_]

Marvel has a very bizarre moral compass lately with their shows. Similar thing happened in WandaVision at the end when the female agent said "you don't know what you've done for these people" as if her kidnapping and mind-controlling an entire town is somehow a good thing? Wanda was the true villain of that show but for some reason they just glossed over it like it was nothing and everyone pretends like Wanda is some sort of hero.

[@selfimprovement5873]

The Mom was under the mind control drug just like Yalena

[@ianmeyermarietta4328]

I was honestly hoping that in the end, when Black Widow sprayed Taskmaster, that instead of immediately turning to Black Widows side Taskmaster would instead continue to try to kill Black Widow, showing that no matter what Natasha does, she can’t outrun her past, forcing her to either kill Taskmaster or come up with another way to change Taskmasters mind

[@Cookie-jl4st]

That would have been so much better since she really hurt the Taskmaster when she was just a innocent little girl. I mean if I was the Taskmaster I still would want to get my revenge on Natasha.

[@DMDrew]

Yeah just imagine the fall over inside the smoke. Natasha begins to approach. Then you seen them pick up their sword and lunge out of the smoke hitting her in the moment she’s off guard. The dramatic tension of that fight would be amazing.

[@OlafavonGoeding]

And just like that, you would've fixed the ending.

[@noviceunicorn]

I feel like I would have liked if taskmaster had paused, then gone through a range of emotions, eventually going from teary eyes to rage; in essence, still against natasha but with her own autonomy/motivations now. Maybe at some point she could have come around but not in this movie.

[@backtoklondike]

Plus that would make her sacrifice in Endgame make sense. She failed to save Taskmaster so that's another red on her list. And now that she can't even try and confront her past because the vast majority of her still living victims were snapped. So she sees the chance to redeem herself by getting the soulstone.

[@aditchitale8017]

I wish Taskmaster was more like they were in Spider-Man PS4, where he’s obsessed with self improvement. That personality really works with his ability set.

[@joshbruh6584]

Bro I was hoping he’d be how he is in mvc3 he’s always such a cool character and his shit use in the movie just makes me sad

[@kangthetitan5068]

@@joshbruh6584 ikr poor taskmaster could have been the legendary like the comics

[@gandi7828]

I was so hyped when I saw task master because of his condescending voice and his powerful aura in a bunch of other games and shows, I thought this movie was gonna have the usual mind games that task master does, because his/her mind games is a big part of task master, so task master was a little underwhelming, best part of this movie was the relationship between black widow and her sister

[@BeggarsNight]

“I want it like it was in the comics.” Why? What would that personality add to this movie? What would it add to the dynamic between him and Black Widow? Absolutely nothing.

[@Brot33]

@@BeggarsNight and considering all of what you said it would still be better than what we got in the movie.

[@dayoolaleye1265]

You know what would have been nice to see in a Black Widow movie? Black Widow’s origin story. Her upbringing and training; her first kill; the first time she regretted killing; her turning over to SHIELD and coming up with her exit plan; some interaction with Hawkeye, not just some drawings on a wall

[@ellectricc]

we deserved a black widow origin movie !!

[@euphorsia]

This is exactly what I thought the movie black widow would be about before the trailers dropped but unfortunately we didn’t get it 🤷🏾

[@aleski1669]

Exactly!! I thought it was gonna be an origin story but I was severely disappointed

[@leonardorobles7393]

Yeah they dropped the ball on that. Character motivations are everything in a story. If we saw how miserable it was to grow up doing things you didn't want to do, like the winter soldier, we would understand A. Why she needed to leave. B. Why she feels all this guilt. C. Why she wanted to kill Dreykov so bad and ended up killing a child. It all speaks to motive of why she feels guilt because the only reason she got out is by condemning another to a worse fate than hers.

[@mimikelembe]

My exact feeling

[@yourlocalplaguedoctor7023]

No but the reveal of Natasha not even being brainwashed in your version genuinely shocked me lmao. Please write more stories like this!!!

[@wintersoldier164]

Also his taskmaster is chilling

[@Gregorycrafter]

Yeah, if his version was the actual movie, it'd actually be a really good movie worth watching multiple times

[@erebusvonmori8050]

When I watched Black Widow in cinemas that was genuinely the twist I was expecting them to go for

[@ThePsh07]

Yeah I got chills while listening to the rewrite. Amazing how a story can go from okay to great with a few changes.

[@CobaltXMusic]

I wanna like but imma get it to 601 so...

[@dyslexicstoner2408]

Should've had a dark, gritty, and mature movie about her first becoming an assassin and escaping, dealing with her personal trauma, and learning to stay human and kind despite being trained not to be. Every time they mentioned Budapest I was like "why are we not watching that movie right now?" Also, Dreykov and the Red Room was supposed to be such a disturbing and mysterious organization, yet they turned it into yet another forgettable villain. Natasha has one of the darkest pasts of any hero (there's a reason she has always acted so distant with the Avengers), and the Red Room literally human trafficked little girls, and they just screwed it up. The opening credits were exactly what the movie should've been like, it nailed the dark and mature tone. I thought we would finally get something even more gritty than Winter Soldier. And then it turns into a below-average Marvel movie.

[@mckinleyostvig7135]

That movie is rated R and Disney has already said NO Marvel properties will be rated R, even Blade. Just to clarify, I would have also wanted the movie you described.

[@ijimenez1951]

Exactly my point, this movie was the perfect movie for marvel make it r-raated

[@wowisntitanamazinglyamazin9550]

@@mckinleyostvig7135 wait what? Them not making certain marvel properties rated R is the dumbest thing I've ever heard

[@theeloquentweiner7054]

@@wowisntitanamazinglyamazin9550 its Disney are you really surprised? Lol

[@thesnatcher3616]

Exactly. I thought that was the direction they were going to go in. I was excited to see Marvel try to tackle a more grimdark tone like 2019's Joker did, but alas, that did not happen.

[@china_sickness7005]

They did a good job with Yelena and red guardian. The scene where he shows her that he remembers her favorite song and did care about her and Natasha is pretty impactful but it is only between those two characters and not the family as a whole

[@Tiago-xl8ug]

Not even THAT much. The red guardian was pathetic and a joke throughout the entire film. As much as I really loved Yelena, I wish she would have stayed serious and badass throughout some scenes, instead of being goofy and jokey throughout the entire film

[@khaxjc1]

I so wish there had been more than one movie. I feel like multiple movies to set things up and have the relationships develop would have helped.

[@marvelanddcfan5029]

@@Tiago-xl8ug they captured yelenas humor from the comics pretty well

[@demetriusbighen920]

Can we all just see the movie wasn't long enough to add everything... If there was a full version (3 hours) I would watch it..

[@dirtydan5281]

@@demetriusbighen920 Agreed. I really enjoyed the movie but it felt so rushed. It would've done better as a longer film, or a show.

[@khabirgaiarsa7896]

That was genius. Endgame would have made so much more sense after this and it would add so much weight on her decision to [spoiler] for the gem. Beautiful.

[@mahekdesai7596]

That was my exact thought

[@layth6857]

my guy its been 3 years since the movie, I dont think you need to worry about spoilers. if people wanted to see the movie they would've already done so

[@wuhoh5274]

@@layth6857 What about younger people who don't have income? Who literally have to ask someone else before every decision they make? Someone else who at any time could just say no? Or someone who's too poor and just hasn't had the money to spend on something as unimportant as a movie? There are plenty of reasons someone might not have seen something that they want too even after 3 years

[@finalfroggitapproaches6418]

@@wuhoh5274 Pffft.. Look at this nerd.. Paying for movies like some kind of dork.. Seriously though, if you still don’t have enough money to watch a movie after THREE YEARS, I think you get a pass to watch it by other means.

[@heardukey]

@@wuhoh5274 💀💀guy i promise you if anyone were interested in watching Endgame they wouldn’t be watching a movie that came after it

[@traysutherland8491]

"can you wipe out that much red?" Actually it'll be super easy, barely an inconvenience.

[@Kaze0088]

Oh, really?

[@traysutherland8491]

@@Kaze0088 from what I've heard

[@troyvanleeuwen3296]

Wowowow... wow

[@theonlybigmorg]

yeah she just doesn't

[@Nebula644]

I understood that reference

[@markparkinson6947]

The writers of this film should have paid attention to this quote; "The more successful the villain, the more successful the picture.” -Alfred Hitchcock

[@baby_grogu]

I think the MCU in general should pay more attention to this quote. Most of their villains suck.

[@skiehigh6969]

@@baby_grogu on the other hand, DC made a clown literally popular. I wish they focused more on villain character development

[@peterfrank3365]

It's a quote I don't agree with, at least not always. There's more to movies and stories than the villain. Speaking of this movie, the villain's not the only problem.

[@corvistein9016]

@@peterfrank3365 Oh, definitely. I just think it more means that good stories are often built on conflict and if you have a compelling main character, then you need a good antagonist that can challenge them and help enforce a message or allow your character to learn and grow. Like how Darth Vader provides a great and powerful obstacle for Luke to overcome, while Kilo Ren (though I like him personally) doesn't feel as big of a threat

[@adiversion9413]

Good one! I also like "Suspense is when two computer-generated humanoids fight mid-air after escaping a floating headquarters that just exploded."

[@74mackd]

Wow. That’s an awesome alternate plot. Especially her never being controlled. She was acting willfully. And mind manipulation was a coping mechanism, a way for her to retain what little humanity she had left, while doing evil deeds. That’s just awesome

[@AS-ri1mb]

That was literally in the movie anyway though? She wasn't under the influence of the red mist.

[@GOFFBITZH666]

@@AS-ri1mb So… What was the thing that stopped her from killing the main guy despite her being 100% sure she wanted him dead so much that she had the knife ready to go and aimed straight at him?

[@ShokuaK]

@@AS-ri1mb No, I'm pretty sure Natasha was being mind controlled before she defected to SHIELD.

[@ShokuaK]

@@GOFFBITZH666 That was Chekov conditioning the widows to respond to his pheromones, which I believe was separate from emotionless killer conditioning, but Natasha was still implied to have been mind controlled at first.

[@Lazypackmule]

I love that Loki scene, because he clearly doesn't know what that incredibly specific saying means, and just uses the context to bullshit a response, repeating that same phrase over and over hoping that it will convey the proper message and not reveal the fact that he has no idea what he's talking about And it fucking worked, it genuinely psyched her out

[@nars_bars8774]

but it didnt

[@Ieam0309]

@@nars_bars8774 But it did, she says later that she was actually psyched out. She was lying when she acted like it was all just a rouse.

[@atlasfp]

@@Ieam0309 when

[@Ieam0309]

@@atlasfp When she and Hawkeye get together again, she says she has been compromised by Loki then.

[@4cryingoutloud976]

@@Ieam0309 Still it didn’t psyche her out enough and Natasha got the information she wanted out of Loki. He just met the requirement like halfway. 😂

[@HowdyHowdy_]

I still can't get over how Widows character motivation is cleaning the red in her ledger, while she entombs hundreds to thousands of people in an icy avalanche grave that we're literally just doing their job.

[@ADAJ342]

To be fair, you can blame Red guardian for that. He was supposed to just sneak out but he decided to make a scene.

[@georgevelis4651]

@@ADAJ342 and she never showed any signs of caring about all the innocents that died because of that

[@china_sickness7005]

Yeah… they were literally holding dangerous prisoners. I never thought of that lol

[@melobski4]

YES

[@ADAJ342]

@@georgevelis4651, fair point actually.

[@MsQjoe]

I love when characters are meant to be horrifically disfigured and they have like....a facial scar. Maybe some blemishes or a burn. But they're still pretty and typically not disabled by their wounds. It happens so consistently. Every time.

[@eddiefirstenberg1000]

I think the only time I've seen a "horrifically disfigured" character be actually horrifically disfigured is in Star Wars with the various Sith who are grievously wounded, and General Grievous too. And never with the good guys either, just the Sith. Vader gets that terrifying suit and horrible prosthetics, Maul gets those spider legs, Grievous just becomes a robot dude, but Luke gets a beautifully advanced prosthetic that looks exactly like a real hand, and Han isn't even injured by spending a year frozen in a block of carbonite. Finn gets fucking stabbed to death and survives without even damage to his jacket that, mind you, already survived a fucking spaceship crash again with no damage!

[@maggie3842]

Billy Russo/Jigsaw in Marvel's Punisher Series...

[@MsQjoe]

@@maggie3842 I had to go look this up and laughed so hard. They made almost no effort to make him disfigured he's just slightly lumpy ben barnes. Incredible.

[@maggie3842]

@@MsQjoe EXACTLY. What makes it crazier is, that we see the fight that’s supposed to cause the scars. Punisher drags Billy’s face through glass, beats him up etc. I really thought they were gonna commit and then…

[@jillianbrodsky]

oh no, you can’t make them ugly! god forbid we have to relate to a non traditionally attractive character🙃🙃🙃

[@genebaker511]

Your story take is much more sincere and haunting than what we got. The problem with the movie that we got, tries to excuse Black Widow of all her wrong doings with the contrive "programmed against their freedom" plot and pheromones.

[@kialchav]

Agreed. It felt like I was finally watching the movie I was hoping to see but never got.

[@ASummersetproduction]

I remember going wtf when Natasha used the mcguffin on Taskmaster. I was like does the taskmaster really need to be mind controlled to want to take revenge against the person who blew you up?

[@vernonhampton5863]

@@ASummersetproduction Better question, how the hell did that little kid survive the explosion and collapse of the building and her old man was 100% unscathed?

[@ASummersetproduction]

@@vernonhampton5863 it would have made 1000x more sense if she was like Bane where the explosion turned her basically like Robo cop and she needed the taskmaster suit to stay alive (fuck I already wrote a better movie)

[@channel45853]

@@ASummersetproduction the movie should've been rated R

[@djolds1]

Loki: "Can you wipe out that much red?" Feige: "There never was any red. Next movie!" I would pay steep money to see your version of Black Widow. Superior.

[@mainelettuce9040]

I wouldn't simply cuz the Closer look seems to think "I'm sorry" is enough to stop a revengeful person that had there person killed. His movie would be lame too in this regard. Reality is, all Black Widow had to fix was: Taskmaster should still be the little girl but with different parents. In fact have it that she ended up with Drakov BECAUSE of Black Widow making her an orphan. Natasha being reluctant to help with her Mom and Dad should stop the moment they see, Taskmaster about to kill her SISTER as revenge, the sister being the only one who still believed in their "FAMILY". Natasha still gets to use the Red Liquid dust on Taskmaster only too see it was never mind control for her. IT WAS JUST REVENGE. And has to deal with that head on. Natasha gives up telling her heart of what happened to her and how Drakov manipulated them both is the cause of them being there in the first place and Taskmaster is then being pushed by Drakov to get the revenge he raised her to by first killing Natasha's sister so she feels the same pain. Taskmaster with her free will thinks about all the evil Drakov has done and realizes they are only there because of him to then attack him instead. We get a big fight seen as Drakov orders the Windows to kill them all with Taskmaster and the Family vs the Controlled Widows. Widows get broken free with Red Dust and then turn on Drakov. where we see him being brutally tortured to dead and kill off screen with the movie cutting to the family leaving and Natasha asking Taskmaster what she will do now since she no longer just lives for revenge with Taskmasters response being "I'm going to live for me instead from now on". And Taskmaster does speak a little but enough to get her motivation. And kep the pheromones lol it was so stupid lol. Her sister should Never get to kill Drakov.

[@monochromedream-eatingbaku]

@@mainelettuce9040 I mean maybe not irl but have you considered that that's a classic end to a classic story? Literally it's a trope. It's a classic. It's true and tried. Fuckers fight, one has a guilty monologue and apologises, the other thinks "Hmmm maybe revenge is not the way actually and wouldn't bring me long-term peace nor happiness." and then doesn't kill the first person. It's every 3rd story ever.

[@mainelettuce9040]

@@monochromedream-eatingbaku Well if you wanna see another one, go see those shows. I'm sick of them.

[@monochromedream-eatingbaku]

@@mainelettuce9040 I am neither a fan nor opposed, I am simply saying that it isn't just one youtuber's opinion, it's a common device, and considering it's so common, it probably works just fine as a tool. That you are sick of it basically annuls your comment anyway because it makes it clear that you have a personal bias against a tool and as such we have no idea if they story would be lame had it ended that way, because the only one thinking it would is a guy with a personal hate boner.

[@mainelettuce9040]

@@monochromedream-eatingbaku No mate, because if we have so many youtubers using said device, then using a different method is the only real method of comparing which is better. That's regardless of personal bias. And that "personal bias" is literally only there IF IT IS because its been so over used. ITS BORING. Stop defending TCL when he messes up. Its ok to have your own opinion.

[@tblue2338]

Your entire re-imagining of the movie was so good and it even provides further weight to her part in endgame.

[@gatauapaajalah]

Natasha: "I hate you" Mom & dad: "I love you" Natasha: "I love you"

[@j.alexander7554]

me at age 6

[@21_jadhav_rajendra84]

Just going through a phase

[@LilyApus]

Yeah it's definitely weak and convenient, but when someone wants to feel something they can be convinced to change their mind easily, I doubt the character *wants* to hate her parents, so knowing they love her well..makes her love them too, because she wants to.

[@luisapaza317]

Natasha character evolution in the movie

[@theelusive9625]

I hate when people do for free what people paid millions of dollars can't: your version of this would have been amazing.

[@AsteroSloth]

Anyone can come up with a better version of a movie after watching it. Coming up with this the first time is the real challenge.

[@arutorius6080]

@@AsteroSloth I do not understand your comment, it’s not like he is reinventing the wheel or anything. These are pretty basic concepts they totally missed, and that’s what makes me want to bang my head against the wall. The fixes are so easy and so generic that it’s just sad how the potential of the movie was wasted

[@gorgit]

@@AsteroSloth Its about basic fundamentals. They built up to something good, yet wasted everything because of things like the lack of character arcs and a meaningles climax.

[@tjslam26]

@@AsteroSloth Hollywood has script doctors that get the chance to punch up stories or even take things to a different direction. None of the critiques here are based on the actors' performance or the visual effects. Hence, the same issues would've been evident at the screenplay phase. While it *is* a "real challenge" to come up with a fully-formed, perfect script on your first draft, this is not a requirement. MCU had plenty of chances to bring someone in and make necessary revisions. Anyways, MCU probably wouldn't have gone for this rewrite because they prefer their protagonists to be more clearly "good guys". That's why they introduced the mind control aspect in the first place. They'd also want Yelena to do something badass/significant because they're planning on passing the Black Widow torch to her. And, of course, the CGI-filled, big action set piece is a requirement according to their "formula".

[@dmingledorff]

I'm sure the screenwriters came up with something better. However, once it gets the run through by every executive, you get this generic drivel.

[@musicalchieko7341]

I've brainwashed myself into accepting your storyline as what actually happened in the movie. 🤣

[@gotosleep2876]

same 😭 it’s so much better i literally wanted to hear more

[@thedestroyer2alltrolls411]

When fans can write a far better story for a comic book movie than the actual writers of the movie..

[@joshuanaylor3416]

@@thedestroyer2alltrolls411 to be fair he is using the blueprints of the movie so it’s not the same really as making one from the ground up

[@thedestroyer2alltrolls411]

@@joshuanaylor3416 I know, but that’s hardly the point.

[@cooliostarstache5474]

@@joshuanaylor3416 So, what you're saying is that MCU writers only use first drafts

[@Emmi_60]

“If killing others is what you feels so guilty for… why do you carry a gun” got me I wish that is what happen in the film

[@ihavenocommonsensebut2008]

Bro his version legit could have been one of if not the MCU’s greatest movies period

[@TheOmegaFighter]

I just rewatched all her scenes in both Infinity War and Endgame, and she never uses a gun again, just her stun batons and staffs. This would’ve been literally perfect.

[@JB-yp7je]

This perfectly encapsulates why the movie was as bad as it was, Taskmaster literally could’ve been replaced with background soldier #3 and the movie wouldn’t have been any different

[@TheCloserLook]

Who knows? Maybe they'll do a mandarin and just kind of do a soft retcon.

[@JB-yp7je]

@@TheCloserLook Even so, they could’ve just made up a random villain instead of Taskmaster. It’s so unnecessary to reduce an established and charismatic villain in the comics to a generic super soldier

[@TheAlphatitan]

Taskmaster went from cool villain to emotionless movie monster, and even then she’s not a good movie monster.

[@JB-yp7je]

@@TheAlphatitan Exactly, it’s a travesty

[@tyrant-den884]

Better. We love stand out nameless goons. One of the best parts of Force Awakens was a stand out nameless goon.

[@savvy_pineapple2616]

I can’t get over how methodical and creative you are, crafting a story that would have been 1,000,000 times more satisfying and relevant to Natasha’s character growth. Loved the video!

[@realfromtherealreality4148]

I did a summary of Taskmaster's comic book version if you're interested: Imagine a child. A child that was considered a prodigy by many, someone who would go on to become a legend, revolutionizing the world with his aptitudes. The child was neither a super-hero nor a mutant, but he had a talent, something he could call his own despite only allowing him to borrow others' strength. The gift that Mother Nature granted him was a photographic memory. He could perfectly remember everything, every book he ever read was ingrained in his mind, and even to some degree mimic some professionals' skills in sports. Being a good person, a hopeful and optimist one, while also growing up in a loving environment, he decided to become someone that would help others, the ones that couldn't defend themselves, being really confident in his own skills as well as having a good leadership. But one day... Everything fell apart. A simple mission in theory, something that he and his team have done multiple times flawlessly... During a raid on a neo-nazi's hideout, the opponents unexpectedly skillfully defended themselves, and the mission was about to fail, getting everyone killed. But the man couldn't just stand by, he had to save his comrades, and the woman he loved with all of his heart. So, in an instant, he grabbed the serum created by the deranged researcher they were supposed to arrest, and drank it. It was supposed to create super-soldiers capable of competing against Steve Roger. But on the man, that was already too skilled for a simple human, the serum turned him from a hero into a monster. His skills got completely out of hand, giving him the ability to even imitate super-heroes movements and techniques flawlessly, but as the newfound power plagued his mind, what was deemed useless got discarded. His greatest strength became a curse, every time he copies someone, he loses more of his identity, becoming the greatest copycat, his individuality being the price. As he went on the rampage in the hideout, his mind slowly erased the very reason he started it in the first place, as the woman he married could only watch him lose himself in horror. His photographic ability, ended up giving him short-term memory and amnesia. Nowadays the one we call "Taskmaster" trains upcoming super-villains, as skillfully as he did his comrades, ironically not being able to remember them as soon as they leave the academy. He also decided to become a gun-for-hire, probably because you don't need to remember anyone, when you're tasked with bringing death upon humans. He now wanders as a lone soul, simply executing what others tell him to do. A serum of strength took away his life... So that others could keep theirs.

[@Speedstreak]

I haven't read the comics, but after reading this, that is a great tragic villain backstory.

[@bungo2514]

Dayum they could have put SO much more into the movie like this. Even just a flashback explaining this

[@realfromtherealreality4148]

@@Speedstreak Yup, plus it's not like he became irredeemably evil out of the blue. Instead you can see him as more like a purely neutral force, and he's also considered kind of an anti-hero depending on the story.

[@bemon8411]

Sounds like he would have maybe fit in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Writers could have even tried to tie in Taskmaster in Black Widow in to FatWS if they had decided to play him as a character in the series.

[@davantebarbain3216]

I feel meh about the neo nazi just say hydra lol

[@SSJ_EWGF]

TaskMaster was so underwhelming, and that's not even compareing to her comic Male counterpart. On her own, TaskMaster is a waste of a perfectly good antagonist that is the physical embodiment of Natasha's crimes and mistakes, but the character can't even speak so the dynamic is ruined. Black Widow's 3rd act is a joke of a spy movie that relies on explosion and 'evil bad guy exposition' where they explain everything and than conveniently get killed/captured.

[@nathangarr7514]

The gender swap felt entirely unnecessary to me too, it felt like a bait in switch for the sake of having an uninspired awe moment for the audience rather than an action to further the plot

[@nathangarr7514]

Also kind of feel like that Drakov’s daughter should have actually died because as of yet the MCU hasn’t shown anything that personally dark, and that gives perspective to the kind of guilt Black Widow is harboring, which consequently gives the audience a captivating reason to question our main protagonist

[@plebastian2300]

Taskmaster in this movie was never supposed to be an antagonist, just a fake out, she's a victim.

[@nihilisthuman6784]

'a joke of a spy movie that relies on explosions and bad guy exposition'.... hmmm.. Sounds like a clichee James Bond movie directed by Micheal Bay xP

[@nihilisthuman6784]

@@plebastian2300 a dead one

[@lilsyyyy]

I love how the tweaked ending really connects and hits hard with Natasha’s actions in Endgame. Like she was still hanging on the edge of a cliff, waiting for a moment to really end her guilt and ‘let go’ for good (sad wink) Her sacrifice honestly had more impact for me when her standalone film wasn’t created yet lol.

[@madman9606]

"If killing others is what your feeling so guilty for, why do you still carry a gun?" That is such a badass line. Taskmaster is one of my favorite Marvel villans. And having him presented as a hollow shell is really disappointed. That said, I would love to see your adaptation of the movie instead.

[@samahsaadi839]

The line really works too cuz she doesn't fire a single bullet in Infinity War or Endgame.

[@felixdabest5806]

Lol I amagained genji from over watch saying that line

[@orangeapples]

@@samahsaadi839 oh, right. She uses the sticks. The closest thing to a gun is her grappling tools. The only time we saw her use the gun was in the trailers.

[@MR._3]

@@samahsaadi839 There was a scene in the Endgame trailer of her target practicing but it got deleted which proves this even more

[@homemadefilms5718]

if I heard that line in theaters, it would probably stick with me for soooooo long. It's such a powerful quote.

[@thisguy3372]

I seriously don’t understand how no one has hired you yet. These rewrites never cease to impress me

[@pagatryx5451]

I agree it's a better general direction for the story to go in but the true skill of writing comes from the details so it's hard to tell how good he might be or not. BUT the real answer is because our entertainment industry is pretty garbage. Hollywood's not the type of place to put skill and talent ahead of connections and money.

[@TheCloserLook]

Thanks man, I'm glad you like them! But as for getting involved in the film industry... eh. Right now I'm working on my debut novel. I think it's just more liberating and fun to do novels over screenplays.

[@lucasnevarez4943]

What was described in this video was a way better story than what we got. A story arc for both hero and villain.

[@vernonhampton5863]

@@TheCloserLook You give up a lot of control with screenplays, that's for sure.

[@LargenirGK]

Hirers evaluate the effectiveness of scenarios on other criteria. And yes, they are dumb drones. And yes - all the money is in their hands.

[@blutarchmann9070]

I came here to see how Black Widow could've been a better movie. Saying that i'm thoroughly impressed with your ideas would be an understatement. Someone should hire you to write these movies.

[@baraodesantos9993]

You see the movie is THAT BAD when Yelena's vest has a better story ark than red guardian does. It's so frustrating to see someone that could be so carismatic or really try his best to become a real father figure or at least prove he's still a hero being waisted with idiotic jokes or/and having his power nerfed for sake of the plot. The final scene of him against Taskmaster could "prove" that he's capable of defeating captain america and could be a really good scene for the character, but they made him a idiot that haves to be saved by melina all the time

[@deviousmiscreant4662]

nice pfp

[@ieajackson5518]

@@deviousmiscreant4662 why do so many people have that pfp?

[@baraodesantos9993]

@@ieajackson5518 personally I don't know I just used it cuz it was kinda funny

[@ieajackson5518]

@@baraodesantos9993 ok. :)

[@marselo1316]

@@baraodesantos9993 why are you locked in the bathroom

[@nithyamuralidharan4949]

"If you want to kill me, do it. Because you deserve it and I deserve it too." Actual tears in my eyes. Imagine we got this movie and not the... action figure advertisement that it is. Amazingly done changes to the script, the whole rewrite was much more compelling 👏

[@I_HaveTheHighGround]

One thing that frustrates me so much about this movie, is the fact that Yelena finds out that her mother was the reason for her suffering and mind control, but was simply cool with it? No conflict, no debate. Just like oh well! I had no free will for almost my entire life and my mother’s invention was the reason for it but she’s family so it’s not bad! Also your version is amazing! Gave me chills.

[@atlasprime6193]

Filmento also made a good point on how the movie loses its spy thriller vibe as it progresses. Which is what disappointed me the most because the character of Black Widow lives on a completely different world and genre than the rest of the other characters. That intro sequence was legit the best.

[@Ytomany]

That’s why I can’t watch these marvel movies anymore after infinity war they literally all are the same and it’s noticeable the little effort they put into it. I’ll watch Spider-Man maybe doctor strange and everything else I am weary of. The shang chi movie looks exactly like what I fear another weak movie that is samey that they try to bolster by using the greater marvel universe.

[@emberfist8347]

Actually I disagree the chase in Budapest was great and the best part was Red Guardian singing to Yelena.

[@chomosuke0720]

@@emberfist8347 Seeing Natasha survive unscathed from a literal fall from a building while crashing into stuff kinda makes me wonder why she died when she fell in Endgame lol.

[@tjslam26]

@@Ytomany The CGI-filled, big action set piece in the third act is a requirement according to the MCU "formula". Even in a movie as grounded as Winter Soldier.

[@Ytomany]

​@@tjslam26 That is cause they all follow the same formula, always always always, even when it doesnt fit. Dr strange I would've like 100 times more if the movie was just him training to get stronger but then it suddenly skips that to get to the clichés. Shang chi after the new trailer looks exactly like that, it looks like snake eyes which was a souless movie made to be made but devoid of any human passion what so ever, every now and then you might get some passion like infinity war or endgame but I cant sit through these anymore. One thing i can say about dr strange is he got infinitely more interesting after his own movie.

[@tylermech66]

the fact that none of these women who have been trained since early childhood have no actual loyalty beyond mind control was what struck me as being absolutely infantile. that... that just doesn't happen. I was waiting for the twist where Taskmaster's mind control cure works... and then she just keeps fighting, because she hates Natasha to her core instead of just following orders.

[@davantebarbain3216]

Facts

[@admincommand2016]

Exactly, rather than stop fighting after getting free of the program, taskmaster continues fighting, because she would've want to kill Natasha anyways

[@PsypherWolf]

It would make sense, mind control or not, she's the person who ruined her life.

[@ShadowKamehameha32]

@@admincommand2016 Or have it revealed that she was never under mind control to begin with. Just 100% devout to her father.

[@Krystalqueen737]

I hoping that when the dust cleared, she would’ve kept goin. Because she wasn’t mind controlled

[@coledemole]

Personally I think it would have been cool if they didn’t reveal who taskmaster is, instead having them being a faceless embodiment of her past, that way they could return later and show some more of taskmaster’s copying.

[@Guineapigsreadingbooks]

We could have seen her trying to figure it out, flashing through all the people she harmed as taskmaster explained a generic story of being harmed by her, showing her having to overcome just how many people she had hurt in such a big way.

[@xsomili5501]

Hmm I disagree. To see an actual hurt, disfigured, human in devastating emotional pain and hatred (can show the difference in their faces when flashing back to the child's face and current face) is more effective than a faceless mask person in thick armor protecting them, not showed to be vulnerable physically or emotionally

[@CYMotorsport]

Maybe less important but boy does Natasha age well. We’re shown the scene when she spares the child and then shown the subsequent scene where her TREMENDOUS memory, despite recovering from brain washing immediately recalls a child’s face years later, and she herself looks not a day older

[@randomt800kiddo2]

nerds who love or hate movies based on comic book references will say some shit like "she had a variation of the super soldier serum in the comics that makes her not age"

[@AusSP]

@@randomt800kiddo2 Well, yeah, it was biotech something something. Not that the movies establish much of this, that I recall.

[@LucyWest370]

@@randomt800kiddo2 thats not what we do but ok

[@randomt800kiddo2]

@@LucyWest370 don't see why you needed to defend an exaggerated statement i made, but ok

[@weebshit6728]

she has slowed agility

[@aacmbirdzilla2343]

My biggest problem with the movie is how tone killer it is, like, we start the movie with a serious, dark tone with little girls been kidnapped in containers from their families and homes, and then we have a final battle in a big, sci-fi, hidden, "secret" station floating in the sky

[@3Guys1Video]

:0

[@exzyyd392]

I mean the opening credits were a shitty cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit. The tone was ruined as soon as that happened

[@tjslam26]

The CGI-filled, big action set piece in the third act is a requirement according to the MCU "formula".

[@3Guys1Video]

@@tjslam26 disgusting

[@nutellaninja4667]

I wouldn't say the Red Room being a floating station was a "tone killer." This is the MCU. The Red Room being a floating station was actually pretty cool. The main problem is that the emotional impacts missed the mark over and over, and the final mid-air fight was pretty lame.

[@rowni]

That alternate movie made me depressed af, its brilliant 👏🏽 I loved the twist of her having free will all along. Such a chilling revelation. I wish we had your version!

[@n8y80]

I really hope that since the armor of Taskmaster still exists in the MCU, the real Taskmaster in the comics, Anthony Masters, will find the armor in a future movie or show (possibly Armor Wars) and redeem the character. Please Marvel, please, Taskmaster had absolutely no lines don’t end it there 🙏🥺

[@Ramsey276one]

The TRUE Taskmaster!

[@RetardedGoat16]

Honestly i think they could have done a better job at Taskmaster's design, especially the skull helmet.

[@sowceitup5547]

Pretty sure they called the girl antonia masters in the movie

[@personanonomys6546]

@@sowceitup5547 it’s Antonia drekov in the movie

[@n8y80]

@@sowceitup5547 Dang it. I think that may really be the end of Taskmaster then…..

[@julianichols2737]

As a writer and storyteller, Taskmaster was one of the most ignored characters to date. I was so excited for her dialogue and emotion, how she fit into this world of heroes and villains. I just... ack. It didn't seem like they cared about how they wrote Tasky.

[@miccool9ice363]

@OnThe Oreo Sadly not in black widow Yet the male stunt double got the majority of the screen time Really frickin stupid that they didn’t keep him as a man if you ask me

[@migueljosephicasiano8862]

It’s a HE and never will be a SHE

[@dirtydan5281]

After Natasha used the red dust on task master, I was expecting her to be completely unresponsive because I thought she was targeting Natasha out of her own free will for revenge. I was a little disappointed to see how she really was just a motivationless puppet.

[@justtrying1952]

I can not believe they changed TM into a she, I mean his trademark was his super deep voice, smh I’m just so done with Disney right now

[@e3n701]

@@justtrying1952 mate disney has always been about reputation social one in fact im not surprised that they suddenly dropped this shit in the middle of the literal year that feminism is being hostilised so as long as they get good rep by the idiots and snowflakes they don't care

[@lamp2556]

I feel like most One-Time Villains could be improved by just making them evil for the sake of it. No tragic backstory, no deeper reason, just evil for the sake of it.

[@OlafavonGoeding]

That would be the main villain of Birds of Prey and people didn't like that either... I loved what Ewan McGregor did with the character though

[@Sevren_]

@@OlafavonGoeding I mean Joker was that

[@Alex1000tenten]

@@Sevren_ Joker still had a personality and good dialogue Making someone's only personality them bring evil is very boring

[@Sevren_]

@@Alex1000tenten no I mean literally. They’re literally called a character trope.

[@TitanBolt99]

@@Alex1000tenten No it's not boring. If done right you can make a pure evil character into somebody that is intimidating, dangerous, deadly, and can still be very imposing and they can still be a really great villain.

[@themagnificentmrmcgee]

Having just seen Black Widow today myself, I completely agree with all your points. It's a film that had a lot of brilliant points and lot of potential but ironically when it came to payoff and action in general it fell flat

[@TheCloserLook]

Pretty much this.

[@isinganddootherthings4616]

I disagree I liked the movie alot solid 8 out of 10 I liked the taskmaster twist it works in the context of this movie man again this is all subjective man

[@themagnificentmrmcgee]

@@isinganddootherthings4616 I agree it sort of works in the context but the execution was poor in my opinion. for me it's a 6/10 movie

[@Nemesis0921]

They could've added more depth to Taskmaster, she's just someone being controlled, barely a character. They could've had a flashback where Ana is out of ICU and she finds out Natasha is the one who tried to kill her so she spends the rest of her life training to take out Natasha, watches her and the other avengers from previous events, learns their moves and adopts the codename Taskmaster. Civil War happens, the team is disfigured and Ana then makes her move.

[@movieonline4947]

That story made Natasha a villain in her own movie, even worse, it's to a child, which will make the audience hate Natasha when she fights Task Master. People love Joker's solo Movie because when he fights, he actually fighting people who are "worse/being awful" to him, he is a hero in his own film.

[@colesteinmetz]

Yeah they kinda dumped everything important at the end

[@emberfist8347]

They have had her stay dead because Natasha should have something to feel guilty over.

[@Spidervenom23]

@@movieonline4947 Nat isn't the Villian in this movie nor Ana is. It's has always been the same person who made Nat into a Slave. The Same person who abused his own Daughter, Drekyov is the Villian in this movie. it wasn't never about Tasky. It was always about The Red Room and Drekyov.

[@movieonline4947]

@@Spidervenom23 Have you read my comment? I only replied to OP. Nat is not the villain. But the OP suggestion will make her a villain and Ana the protagonist because Nat is the cause of what happened to her. OP: "They could've had a flashback where Ana is out of ICU and she finds out Natasha is the one who tried to kill her so she spends the rest of her life training to take out Natasha, watches her and the other avengers from previous events,"

[@hktog1676]

The ending... made me cry just hearing it. Imagine what could have happened if it actually happpened.

[@FallenChaos619]

In my opinion of Drakov's death, is the most funniest villain death in whole MCU. He like "ahhh~" burn off just like that and his glasses survive wtf. 9:04

[@ItsPREPP98]

Like those cartoons where a person dies and their clothes remain

[@carebear2025b]

I'm starting to notice a pattern with their high concept projects (Black Panther, WandaVision, Falcon & Winter Soldier, Black Widow). They always set up big moral/societal questions that could be great, but they undercut it with a lazy ending.

[@seb______]

Yeah it just looks like theyre scared to really dive deep into it. Im lowkey excited and scared for what they have for doctor strange

[@abiracharya9225]

Well they don 't do it with the Tv shows in my perspective

[@thirdplanet4471]

Maybe they short change themselves because they don't have the answers for such questions

[@jakespacepiratee3740]

Winter Soldier was good, though.

[@iamgroot2810]

WandaVision and TFATWS had some lows, but other than that they were pretty good imo, I loved them.

[@mattxzilla3938]

“Can you wipe out THAT much red?” Super easy! Barely an inconvenience!

[@J7041-u7m]

When you said "most forgettable villain since Malekith" I unironically thought to myself "Who?".... so spot on assessment there! :)

[@birchlinwood213]

"Starlord"

[@fearofowl5973]

I had to pause and thought "What does Warhammer have to do with any of this?"

[@theiammike123]

*"Go ahead. Shoot me. What better way for a murderer to redeem themselves than to murder some more?"* Damn TCL. That quote slaps hard.

[@billienews]

It slaps so hard. What a quote 👏

[@ninjaf00t]

@David Mutchler 21:39

[@kolboi7097]

I love your take on how Black Widow should've gone. One little extra thing I thought you could add would be to the scene where Taskmaster raids their mum's farm. While the Red Guardian is getting beaten down, and Natasha is running away, they both look at each other and he smiles. Then the Red Guardian would slowly get up, exhausted, but then say to Taskmaster "I can do this all night". (Ofc, under the premise that the attack is done at night) This would help to solidify the connection between the Red Guardian and Captain America that was stated throughout the film as well as be a great character moment for him in showing his selflessness to protect his family. Natasha could even overhear this and have this be the moment to turn her back around to help.

[@philnorfleet1371]

And it'd be a great callback to the best relationship in the MCU, Cap & Widow. :)

[@tweshasaini7957]

idk i think him saying i can do this all day would be too cheezy

[@skychieftain]

Nah red guardian should die there.

[@trentmiller976]

I love when you do the alternate plots even if it makes me depressed because of what it could’ve been. However if Natasha were to throw her gun away it wouldn’t make much sense given the timeline as she then goes back to using it again in infinity war, end game and later installments. I do like the idea thi

[@RhysLloyd2611]

I mean Outriders aren't really people they're animals, she only kills them, she fights Proxima Staff to Staff and then Wanda kills her, she doesn't kill anyone in Endgame and then she sacrifices herself, this redone plot would make those other movies stronger. She'd probably realise that Vormir is her clean slate moment, doing something selfless to bring back billions of dead. Maybe add Taskmaster to the plot credit scene with Yelana so he knows what she did

[@6thgraderfriends]

Actually in Infinity War she says, "We don't want to kill you, but we will." It would make MORE sense to have the gun throwing scene in this movie. I always thought that line felt a little out of place. Like, really Natasha? After all this time you're not going to kill an enemy?

[@leandrinho4144]

The little changes you made get even better when you realize she uses batons instead of guns after the time this movie is set on

[@thechroniclegamer4285]

I feel smart but dumb, I was able to tell the villain learned fighting styles from enemies after the first 2 appearances, but I expected it to be a robot, not some husk of a person

[@DemigodShmurda]

Bro, I was so sure that Taskmaster was gonna be a robot the first time I saw it too!

[@thechroniclegamer4285]

@@DemigodShmurda what’s funny is I didn’t even know *who* taskmaster was Just knew he was interesting and (percieved) as smort

[@stopske9332]

I was so hyped when I saw Taskmaster. (I watched a few KZbin clips of like fight scenes so I kinda knew who he was and that Deadpool was like one of the few if not the only one that could actually win a 1v1) so "It's Taskmaster! And he's a robot?" gave me way too much hope for the action scenes😔

[@gr3g0ryxxx37]

Okay but wasn't the most frustrating thing about Taskmaster the one scene in the third act where she confronted Red Guardian. Like he spent the whole film comparing himself to Captain America and talking about the battle they likely never had. Then at the end of the film you have a character who can copy anyones fighting style and she has a shield. Wouldn't it have been amazing to have Taskmaster say something Captain America like and start fighting like Captain America. Then Red Guardian could have that cathartic moment of actually fighting what is essentially Captain America, if he wins, great, if he gets beat also cool. So many great lines could hvae come out of that. Instead we just cut away and miss the whole fight. Literally the moment before it cut I was so hyped it was upsetting.

[@emberfist8347]

The real annoying part is Red Guardian only gets one moment where he isn't played as a joke compared to everyone else who gets several moments of emotional depth. Even worse, the one moment he got was only in the film because of David Harbor's suggestion.

[@danbert8]

I was disappointed that Taskmaster didn't start fighting like an overweight, drunken old man... Given the tone of the movie, I thought they were going to play that fight as comedy with both of them being inept...

[@emberfist8347]

@@danbert8 I honestly wanted Red Guardian to be badass in that scene. He is old yes, but he still strong enough to break some's hand during an arm-wrestling competition.

[@jessec.6876]

No thats just fucking fan service, the worst aspect of taskmaster is definitely explored in this video

[@abiracharya9225]

How about he says you really can't do this all day can you ? You are no guardian

[@victormagoco9752]

The mistake of Marvel was sacrificing character dynamics on the altar of allegory, they wanted to focus on the evil old guy using mind control to subjugate women and even his daughter rather than Natasha’s sins, they even go so far as basically one-upping Natasha’s willingness to kill an innocent child for revenge by making the guy turn the kid into a puppet

[@mrnexus1996]

My goodness your version is SO much better

[@ThinkTwice2222]

Imagine if taskmaster WASN'T under mind control... That she was motivated by pure revenge and BW tried the red dust and it didn't initially work. Being faced with no escape but to finally face the death she's been escaping for years

[@emberfist8347]

I would rather they didn't gender-bend Taskmaster. They already Drakov be the villain who has a personal connection to Black Widow and could easily have the daughter stay dead so he can be motivated to take revenge on Natasha. Now that the Avengers have broken up, Drakov realizes this would be the perfect time to take revenge for what Natasha did and he hires Taskmaster to kill her. Taskmaster was only in it for the paycheck so after Drakov is killed at the end by Natasha, he just leaves because he isn't getting paid to stay.

[@berenice9000]

@@emberfist8347 imo, having the gender swap actually helped to deceive the audience since they expected the villain to be a guy. I say this is an instance where they utilize that well. Sadly the execution of the character afterwards sucked.

[@madscientist916]

@@berenice9000 The bait and switch was bad though as Taskmaster fighting scenes were a dude with his male proportions, and when the helmet comes off the suit somehow shrinks to her female proportions.

[@khasanbekmalzagov6240]

@@berenice9000 but what does that achieve? Its subverting expectations solely for the sake of subverting expectations, is that not what most people criticize the sequel trilogy for?

[@berenice9000]

@@khasanbekmalzagov6240 Don't get me wrong, I'm not praising the decision or anything. However, that was the only moment in the 3rd act that made me perk up. There was potential because they at least managed to surprise the audience, cheap tricks or not. If they went with the same storyline, and made taskmaster a guy, there would honestly be no surprise element, as it'd be an obvious guess. This is just me acknowledging what worked with what they had, but in general I think most people would agree that a different story direction would've been much better.

[@happyfrantic7127]

This man speaks like my English teacher. I find the resemblance amusing, especially how they both emphasise their points in a similar fashion, and how their voices change similarly depending on what they want to express (e.g. absurdity, amusement, annoyance)

[@TheCloserLook]

Whoever said I wasn't your english teacher? 😁

[@TheRealGamada]

@@TheCloserLook it is all coming together...

[@tutorialslave]

Beautiful rewrite! I for one would've added more family time in the beginning (at least 15 minutes) with one scene of a completely improvised dance choreography performed by Alexi, Yelena and Natasha standing out and setting up a way of the three of them ultimately taking down Taskmaster since none of their movement patterns can be predicted due to their "jazz-esque" nature.

[@mikesfilms9480]

Holy! That rewrite was so awesome and makes the villans so much more impactful and interesting. I got genuine goosebumps at the reveal there was no mind control , you are so talented 👏

[@TheCloserLook]

Thanks Mike, I'm really happy to hear you liked it.

[@4heerquit101]

I think that the twist about drakov's daughter being taskamster ruins the entire single arc of taskmaster, a charecter capable of so much more...this is pure dissatisfaction Also, not giving her her own mind really ruins the charecter

[@tyrant-den884]

I think it's fine. Just make her sentient. Make her the one running the Red Room. She doesn't care about her dead dad, just whet he left behind that should can use. Then ditch the "I have thousands of agents all over the world" because its too late to convince us there was another super secret underground force that niether Hydra nor The Hand knew about. She'd be specifically training anti-Avengers. Then Natasha would be using her old family to save her new one.

[@iflyte]

@@tyrant-den884 While I do like that its kind of a nod to the fact that Task is often utilized as a trainer of other supervillains/heroes for a bunch of organizations, it takes away from the simplicity of the character that makes him originally so awesome. He's a extremely clever and intelligent hired gun, not a mastermind, literally the ultimate wild card when written at his best, watching him totally fuck with ironman in his UDON run is immensely satisfying.

[@tyrant-den884]

@@iflyte they really aren't one in my pitch. They still plan to use their anti-Avengers as mercenaries. Black Widow would be doing her job as a spy by neutralizing the wildcard before it can come into play.

[@Aciarr]

@@tyrant-den884 so just have him be big boss from metal gear?

[@tyrant-den884]

@@Aciarr no no no no no no no no. Have _her_ be big boss from metal gear. I mean right now the villain is just Russian Albert Finny from Bourne Ultimatum, but less awesome.

[@joaohenriquerocha3425]

Amazing change to the story, but there needs to be a mention of Dreykovs daughter since she was mentioned in Avengers. I'm not saying she has to be Taskmaster, but she just needs to be mentioned somewhere in this movie.

[@patriciaaudrey2695]

The drekov daughter thing MAYBE could be change form about she killed drekov daughter that drive her crazy, but some kind of her become drekov’s daughter by murdering people in her own will ( because drekov is the one who have her the task)

[@LilyUnsub]

Or doing it from the angle as she was known as "drakov's daughter", like the right hand of drakov, giving her more of the responsibility of being 'the first' that set the bar for the rest of them and tying into the idea of she chose to do those things willingly.

[@smartlinus2592]

Your own idea of the way, the story could have been is absolutely amazing. You would have deserved to write this movie. You really understand this character

[@TheCloserLook]

Thanks, I'm really glad you think so!

[@jords6714]

That actually made me so emotional. If only they had hired you to write the film because what you just described was impeccable beyond a shadow of a doubt, just wow!

[@allan1448]

I really loved the way you changed the character arcs. Now it feels earned what happens with Black Widow in End Game. Bravo!

[@Laxhoop]

They took Taskmaster and took away everything that makes Taskmaster, Taskmaster, outside of the name and a mask that vaguely looks like a skeleton face.

[@chair803]

But wait!!! She can replicate fighting styles!!!! Which she doesn’t actually do all that much against Natasha

[@TheCloserLook]

Apparently, even the design they massively toned down, because anything that looks too much like a skull gets banned in china.

[@neropunkt]

@@TheCloserLook wait, that's the fucking reason? 😞🔫

[@resboy3793]

@@TheCloserLook this is what happens when you are more interested in making a high grossing movie, rather than a good film.

[@Spartan0430]

@@neropunkt isn't censorship great?

[@JayDee-c8f]

Imagine Taskmaster being who she was in a movie, but she has free will and is a mercenary that works for her dad, but also for revenge on Natasha. No other changes in plot.

[@harlannguyen4048]

She would also have the same personality as her comic counterpart to put the cherry on top.

[@kjbeast677]

That would've been way better

[@Username4real]

Thank you for getting rid of the hormones that was so stupid and played into weak women trope. Your version was SOOOO much better. Shame you didn’t write it!

[@lukesanders8912]

“To look at a great example of character growth and development, let’s look at Pixar’s UP” *UP intro music starts playing* That was a blindsiding attack Closer Look

[@JoaquinGonzalez-vanckx6]

I'm so glad this is the sentiment you had with the film. I felt the same way. The beginning was good, and the 2nd act was building up so well, especially with the family reunion. But that third act... what a letdown. And I loved taskmaster from the comics. Then he just became another wasted villain, like Doomsday :( Great video though!

[@dr.stronk9857]

@Freeman Allen he was in the spider man game on PS4 and dude was badass, though he was more of a side villain

[@JacobGrim]

This should have been a revenge story about her finding and trying to kill her parents (mostly mom) for being solely responsible for kidnapping her and her sister to be tortured, mutilated, and brainwashed for decades. The ending felt so wrong

[@KnightsRealm98]

@Freeman Allen Taskmaster in the comics has a photoreflective memory, allowing him to mimic skills and abilities. He also injected himself with a super-soldier serum that made him basically Captain America, but added mimicry powers. Unfortunately, his mind is so filled with his skills (and the skills of others) that he forgot his life as Tony Masters, which included a wife and a tenure at SHIELD. He possesses the abilities of Daredevil, Spider-Man, Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Panther, and many others, as well as his own abilities. He is singlehandedly responsible for most of the thugs and goons all supervillains have, because he trains them. He is able to banter with Spider-Man, being quite snarky in his own right. His focus is on becoming more powerful and getting money, which is why he became a mercenary. Basically, he's Marvel's greatest fighter and one of the deadliest villains. I personally though, going into the film, that he was going to be hired by Ross to track Natasha down, or by the families of any of Nat's past victims. But they made a completely different character, and made that character uninteresting. Why not just give Antonia her own alter-ego instead of taking Taskmaster's? That's my biggest question with gender/race/personality/sexuality/overall character swaps, is just why not make a new character? Why take a pre-established character and completely rewrite them? (Unless that character is outdated, nonsensical, or otherwise pointless in adaptation)

[@kajabarens2209]

I was so shocked by that mindcontrol plot twist with Dreykov. I need to see that on screen, that was some amazing writing my friend

[@stopstaringatmewtf7651]

I feel like, instead of changing Taskmaster's real identity, it would be easier to change Antonia's alter ego. I feel like it would work better if she was the Iron Maiden instead, as it has a perfect red herring in Melina, it enhances the theme of Natasha's story coming full circle by having her battle an enemy with an iron suit, and also it ties into the Black Widow mythos.

[@TheInkPages]

You had me up to the very ended - the idea of her looking at the gun in her hand and throwing it away that's where I feel your rewrite comes apart as you have to consider it's place in the greater MCU timeline, and the fact that she goes on to fight people and use weapons in the films that follow chronologically from the Black Widow film. Other than that, I really like the direction you took the re-write. Definitely is the better story.

[@jadecampbell3965]

Could've pulled an iron man 😂😂😂 blown up suits who?!?!?

[@TheInkPages]

@@jadecampbell3965 True! True! Lol!

[@flamingwheel9926]

If you want to see such dynamic between hero and villain, read the Vinland Saga Manga, it starts showing how much "red" thorfinn accumulated, and later on, it will start to have said dynamic, i truly recommend it

[@grzegorzbaranowski7148]

I like how Dreikov is a James Bond villain/Harvey Weinstein and taskmaster is his daughter whose first words after being freed from his influence were "Is he gone?" because she felt so tormented by him. It fits the story.

[@justtrying1952]

It’s your opinion, but in my opinion I hate how they gender swapped Task master, Female Task master in the movie was just a sad version to her better Male comic-book counterpart

[@ashy6367]

@@justtrying1952 not to mention her stunt double was male

[@justtrying1952]

@@ashy6367 Yea, and the stunt double was captain America’s stunt double. (which is cool in my opinion) I don’t understand why they didn’t just give the whole entire role to him, he would have been perfect, lol

[@nicoleabrenica]

I’m 50 seconds into the video here and i just gotta say that a lot of people were let down by this movie’s “villain” because they were looking at taskmaster AS the villain… when she really wasn’t. She was still wasted as a CHARACTER but by no means is she the villain of the film so i still heavily enjoy this film. Honestly we expect to see more of Taskmaster in the future but i personally don’t see the entire film as a “colossal failure” just because of taskmaster. So personally, i wish taskmaster’s motivation was different. Her motivation is artificially created by the actual villain. There would have been much more character development if she was angry BECAUSE of what Natasha did but she ends up being angry because she “has a chip in her brain”. It’s just lazy but i don’t think that takes away from the other great themes of the film as a whole.

[@owyemen9367]

She wasn't the main villain yes but she was still a secondary villain most of the physical threat was by her and she was definitely an obstacle in the way of the hero

[@simos6jipros154]

It's not just bad cause of Taskmaster. Melina turning on Dreykov on the fly is incredibly unrealistic after we just saw her proudly torturing pigs. Yelena and Natasha should have died 5 times each. Dreykov's death was the most unsatisfying death ever. The pheromones were dumb. Red Guardian is made a joke. Using Taskmaster instead of Red Widow is one of the dumbest moves I have ever seen. Red Widow was perfect for this but noooo let's use this beloved character because that way people will want to watch the movie. So many people said that their most anticipated part of the movie was Taskmaster and they made him Winter Soldier Jr

[@hansenhorst3117]

She would have been better if they really used real action scenes build around taskmasters abilities Take for example signature moves from Cap, Black Panther, Black Widow, Bucky, Hawkeye etc to really show her capabilities

[@mychalbyrum4231]

Gender swapped characters always suck, she didn't even get a single line

[@nicoleabrenica]

@@mychalbyrum4231 taskmaster? Yeah she did. It was very small tho but she did speak

[@cutieapplepie]

Dude. That ending made me CRY just be you describing it… so beautiful

[@MaxWelton]

Taskmaster has one line: “is he gone?” after getting the “red gunk” in her face. Still a terrible decision

[@carpedm9846]

Those tweaks really DO make it ground shattering. Ouchies on my feelies my dude.

[@RMV1560]

I absolutely love what you did if you could kind of make a fanfic out of it I would watch it. You absolutely saved the character of taskmaster and give us a compelling story for black widow. I think having taskmaster not be under his own control heavily takes away from the character I mean she doesn’t even speak any words no lines at all where is the depth for the personal vendetta when it’s revealed.

[@pin2peen972]

In my words "Black widow lacks the love usually given to the production of MCU movies" It looks like it was made by people who never wanted this movie to be made

[@vernonhampton5863]

I don't know about that. If anything, it feels like it was made by people trying to make Black Widow: Borne Identity edition, abut were told 'no' a lot by the studio heads.

[@ridwana4037]

Cue the Marvel's executive email leaks where He said female centered superhero movie doesn't sell tickets. Yeah, They only care after Wonder Woman is a success in Box Office.

[@amplifi3dgaming608]

Im genuinely invested in this new script you made, literally hanging on every word lol if this was in the movie it would be a mastapiece 👌

[@TheCloserLook]

Well, I'm glad you liked it!

[@mrsirperson9656]

This is what I love most about this channel. Even during major criticism, you don't resort to uncontrolled ranting or taking shots at fans of the movie, like some other channels I've seen. You're a lot more calm and careful to explain why you think a certain way about a movie, so even if I disagree with something you say, I can still understand and accept your point of view. Maybe not 100% calm, but still a lot more mellow (although I do totally agree with everything in this video)

[@Laxhoop]

This film couldn’t redeem Black Widow, because she already did that in End Game. She sacrificed her life to not only save Hawkeye, but half of all life in the universe. Her self-sacrifice was crucial. And this movie spits on that sacrifice, by cutting off the scene where her sister mourns her death, with a comedic nose-blowing, followed up with a joke about being allergic to the Midwest. If you didn’t think Marvel was incapable of writing real humans, or meaningful drama, this should be all the proof you need. The mourning of a character’s death, a character we’ve known for close to 10 years, was cut short by a joke, and bait for future movies/TV shows. This is what Marvel does. It takes the moments you want to see, and either goes “We’ve put half the moment you want to see in this movie, watch the next one to see the whole thing”, or “Watch the next thing to see this moment”, and so the entire series is just “Oh man, I can’t wait for that moment that they baited!”, with no one taking the time to realize a lot of the “moments” in the thing they just watched, were kind of lackluster, or downright awful. We all wanted a Black Widow movie after Iron Man 2, and honestly, I think if it had come out back then, it would have been better.

[@ExeErdna]

Somebody said on YT I forgot whom they are atm yet EVERYTIME something deep happens in the MCU they HAVE to throw in some "joke" even when it doesn't work. That's why I honestly checked out at Ragnarok because that was the point I was like "This is just gonna get worse and worse."

[@markparkinson6947]

I also felt so angry at de Fontaine, for being an absolute insensitive asshole, when we are trying to mourn with Yelena, and all of a sudden, some woman that we barely know just walks in like she owns the place.

[@luke2max]

@@ExeErdna Since that was mostly improvised it was supposed to be just funny so that explains that

[@luke2max]

I think that's good characterization of her because she doesn't care about yelena or Natasha she just cares about herself

[@MaisyDaze2412]

Love the MCU and I really really liked this movie but I've been saying the same thing for years. They'll give themselves an opportunity to let a strong emotional scene play out and they cut it off with a joke. Endgame handled this the best in my opinion but still.

[@ontasbulent5709]

Taskmaster in this movie is just Taskmaster in his name. They should have simply called her something different and the problem would have been solved. Now we are robed of Taskmaster in the MCU unless they do something with the multiverse

[@SilverSpireZ]

On a brighter note, if the real Mandarin’s appearance in Shang-Chi is any indication, we might get the real Taskmaster in 2029.

[@Napstablooky]

@@SilverSpireZ yeah, to be fair they didn’t even call her taskmaster, just “the taskmaster project.” It’s very possible the real task master is out there and they just developed some software that can emulate his photographic reflex ability.

[@RaRmAn]

@@Napstablooky You know that could make for a good story, having Tony (real Taskmaster) find out that someone made pale imitations of him and make it about him hunting them down.

[@BenJaded]

this is a very good point

[@brybanz2085]

bro this video made me experience a wider range of emotion than black widow. you explaining up made me tear up

[@Crashking416]

The Winter Soldier already did everything that this movie attempted to do, and did it a thousand times better.

[@khfan4life365]

Well, we had an emotional attachment to Bucky. We see him in First Avenger. We never see Ana in a previous movie, except for that reference from Loki. We never got to build that emotional attachment with Ana like we did with Bucky. Marvel goofed on this.

[@kjbeast677]

I dont think Marvel has it in them to make anything on par with 'The Winter Soldier' when it comes to story, plot, or the very espionage action spy thriller vibe that movie had. It just feels like they don't care anymore.

[@colbycoles6983]

It’s legitimately heartbreaking how much better your version of this movie is.

[@winterealics3708]

I actually gasped when you said natasha was never brainwashed and i was actually invested in your "fanfic". Like i felt that it was so good. Love your analysis too

[@mitchellhouser1572]

Wow, your changes would have definitely improved the movie significantly and really added a strong emotional element that it desperately needed.

[@TheCloserLook]

I'm glad you liked it Mitchell!

[@melonyrobinson9944]

I've heard that the higher ups at Disney had a large say in the third act and it seems like the action scenes that consumed most of it were required by them

[@ashcheri680]

I've got to say it, you are making yourself into a master storyteller by doing these videos. The way you can define flaws, explain how to make them better, and then take the time to rewrite them into something a thousand times better is going to make your own stories works of art. I can't wait to see what you write and publish. I'll definitely be buying and reading all your stuff as soon as it releases!

[@leozimmer8390]

“They only needed a few changes to make this movie great” Rewrites the entire movie

[@3Guys1Video]

Lol

[@FlyingHeatball]

I enjoyed his version more

[@isobelle2357]

when I got to the "Up" section of the video it doesn't matter if I'm watching the film, or watching someone talk about the film I just started ugly crying so bad

[@lightmagik2156]

Gonna be honest, im a huge black widow fan and i loved the movie, but the story that you just explained is SO GOOD!!!!!

[@zechariahmckenzie7557]

I agree completely.. it's so sad as to how close this movie was to perfection. Taskmaster would've been a waste as a villian, but Drakovs daughter could've been a great villian without actually being taskmaster. Idk why they did that, but either way, if only they changed a few things it would've been so much greater..

[@gabrielcarrasco8414]

Probably to help sell the movie. For similar reasons they brought Carnage to Venom. Taskmaster has a fanbase.

[@Spooknight]

Heck, she could’ve been Madame Mask or something

[@creed8712]

@@gabrielcarrasco8414 to be fair who else is venom gonna fight?

[@RaRmAn]

comic readers like Taskmaster, so they used his name to sell tickets, the fact that they are going to piss them off doesn't matter, they'll find out after they pay to see the thing.

[@emberfist8347]

Here is a better idea. Have the daughter stay dead and Drakov hire Taskmaster as revenge for her death.

[@vb2050]

Why is it that everything this channel proposes throughout his videos, eventually end up becoming head-canon for me? The changes makes the characters feel real, relatable, understandable. I would love to see a movie directed by him, id pay top dollar to see them because they are just so damn good.

[@MrRoombastic]

21:35 as a writer, that part gave me goosebumps, you shouldve wrote the movie