#his team got god tier photographers this is insane

[cdramastuff]

Wang Duo on the set of The Blossoming Love.

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #196: The Terrible Toll of the Taskmaster

June, 1980

Annnnnnnd we’re back.

Sorry for missing days. When I get sick I get sick bad and also grumpy.

But now we’re back and continue with Taskmaster’s inaugural story.

He has an interesting costume.

So last times: The Avengers were having a slow day for once until a guy called Selbe burst in and asked for help. Some orderlies from the Solomon Institute of the Criminally Insane came to retrieve him but Wasp felt something was amiss and perhaps decomposed in the nation of Denmark. So she followed them back to the Institute, snuck in, and got captured.

The Avengers followed Wasp and Yellowjacket and Ant-Man snuck in, and got captured. But then they fought their way free and got captured again.

This has just been a very repetitive day for the insect-themed size-changing superhero cadre.

This time:

Taskmaster has mastered the task of thinking about how to keep shrinking superheroes captive and put the three in clamps that apparently atomically bond with the wrists and ankles so if they try shrinking, they’ll lose their hands and feet and those are important for superhero work.

Also Taskmaster talks in a very casual, colloquial way. Drops his g’s off the end of words and such. Makes him sound more muscle than the guy who masterminded a series of mook training academies but its possibly part of why people like him so much.

Wasp asks who he is and Taskmaster decides the best way to show what he’s all about is ordering a squad of his trainees to try to murder him so he can show off by beating them up.

Pro-tip: If a teacher ever asks you to physically assault them, its probably a ruse and you’re going to get your ass kicked to make the teacher look good. Its the Ushan DeLucca method. That and a hefty dose of fantasy Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Anyway, Taskmaster promises ten grand to any trainee that masters the task of murdering him and then kicks all their asses.

He shows off his shield throwing technique (just as good as Captain America’s), his Daredevil-tier billy club technique, his Spider-Man-esque gymnastics, and archery that could be compared to Hawkeye’s.

And then after he beats up the trainee squad, he docks them pay for sleeping on duty while Wasp marvels vacantly at Taskmaster’s skill.

Wasp: “Th-that... that was incredible! But how -- ?”

Taskmaster: “I’d like to say I work hard at it, sweetcheeks, but t’be perfectly honest, it just comes natural. Y’see, I was born with what the shrinks call ‘photographic reflexes.’ That’s somethin’ like ‘photographic memory,’ only it’s a whole lot scarcer!”

He discovered it growing up when he would watch cowboy shows on TV and then perfectly pull off the same rope tricks he had just seen without any practice.

And it wasn’t just rope tricks, obviously. Otherwise he’d be... the Lassoman or something. He realized he could duplicate any action exactly just by watching it done. He made himself the hero of the football team by watching one pro-game.

He even considered become a superhero to make more of his special talents but realized that the big bucks were made on the criminal side of things.

But he realized that the downside to becoming a criminal was all the superheroes that all of a sudden wanted to punch you so he prepared by watching newscasts, documentaries, and anything that showed the heroes on film so he could pick up their sweet moves.

Hence why he carries around what he carries around. He picked up all of Captain America’s shield moves, Hawkeye’s archery, Daredevil’s billyclubbery, etc. Also he carries around a lasso because I guess you just don’t forget your first.

But in the midst of all this learning, Taskmaster realized something else. Being a supervillain could be lucrative but it could also get you beaten up by superheroes a lot and who needs that hassle?

So instead he decided to set up a string of academies where he could train goons for the idiots on the frontline getting beaten up by superheroes.

He’s a very pragmatic guy. He once mentioned during Avengers Academy that he just works for whoever pays the best. He’s not in it to rule the world or make the big score. He’s happy getting a continuous supply of income by providing a necessary but probably illegal service.

And his operations have been running smoothly AND secretly for years.

Then Dr. Solomon went and ruined all of that by getting superheroes involved.

Way to be, Dr. Solomon! After Taskmaster trusted you with an administrator job!

Taskmaster tosses him to the ground but says he’s a fair man and will give him a chance to defend himself. If he beats Taskmaster, despite Taskmaster just having beaten an entire squad of trained warriors and Dr. Solomon never even holding a firearm before, then Dr. Solomon gets to live.

I’d give you one guess as to what happens but you don’t even need that many.

Dr. Solomon fires some kind of gun (it was on the table with Ant-Man’s helmet so its possibly Yellowjacket’s Disruptor pistol but he doesn’t even use that anymore) but the recoil was so bad that it hit Taskmaster’s shield without Taskmaster even having to move the shield.

That’s just really bad, Dr. Solomon.

But before Taskmaster can kill Dr. Solomon, something happens to stop him.

Dr. Solomon has a heart attack and dies while complaining what a common way to die it is.

And Taskmaster just declares him a wimp.

Anyway. Now that disciplinary proceedings are done, time to get the business back on track. They need to kill the superheroes so operations can resume and age up Selbe so he can replace Dr. Solomon so nobody notices he’s missing.

Meanwhile, outside, the Avengers continue to stand around in the snow and wait.

But while they wait, Iron Man thinks some Thoughts about how far the Avengers have come.

Iron Man: “Funny, I should be thinking about the danger we may soon face -- but I can’t keep my mind off of us, the Avengers... and how we’ve changed. Use to be we’d bicker at the drop of a hat, squabble over any little difference. But now it seems we’ve hit the right combination -- or maybe we’ve just matured.”

As an example he thinks of Wonder Man, who lost nearly a decade in suspended animation, and Beast, who went overnight from acclaimed scientist to a blue, furry freak. Harsh words, Tony.

But they accept one another not just as coworkers but as friends. No matter what they look like or how they act. And he reflects that its a shame ‘normal’ people can’t learn to behave similar.

Also: while he’s reflecting on how it takes many kinds to make a fruit cup, some ants crawl over his face and obstruct his vision.

Which he realizes is a signal from Yellowjacket or Ant-Man!

Time to stop standing in the snow and Avengers Assemble!

Meanwhile, inside, Taskmaster contemplates on what to do with his captive heroes. Maybe use them as target dummies in his dagger-throwing class?

To be fair, they are all dummies. Ya dummies.

But then the Avengers make like famous X-Factor member the Kool-Ade Man and OH YEAH right through the wall.

Iron Man: “We’re the Avengers, mister. And you’re holding three of our friends against their will.”

Captain America: “Will you release them now -- or do we have to start breaking things more painful than walls?”

According to Wasp, before the helmet was taken away, he was the one who managed to signal for his ants to get help.

Taskmaster: “Well, I guess that’s just o’ matter of live an’ learn, dumplin’.”

So he signals a group of specialists he just finished training for Hammerhead. Cyber-Squad X!

Who look touch but Iron Man isn’t worried and decides to see if they can stand up to a full-intensity wide-beam repulsor blast!

Apparently they can.

I won’t lie. I love it when comics do gags like that.

Apparently one of the Cyber-Squadders X had a device that could reflect Iron Man’s repulsors right back at him. Which means there’s nothing for it but for the Avengers to get in the thick of things and scrum.

SCRUM!

... Apparently Vision shot someone in the face with his eye lasers but more than that Beast apparently makes people smell his feet as a battle tactic.

Truly the ways of superheroes are fantastical.

Selbe (remember him?) realizes that all these people are risking their lives for him (not true, they’re here for the Wasp) and decides its time he did something to help them.

He grabs a piece of rubble and KLOPPs a guard in the head to knock him out and steal his gun and blasts the stasis controls, freeing Ant-Man, the Wasp, and Yellowjacket!

Yay, Selbe!

And then Ant-Man quickly puts his helmet on because maybe all these criminals have seen his face already but god forbid the Avengers do!

Ant-Man: “My daughter’d kill me if everyone else found out my secret identity before she did!”

And the various superheroes continue to fight the Cyber-Squad X while Captain America and Iron Man break through the fight to confront the master of tasks himself, the Taskmaster.

Cap attacks Taskmaster but Taskmaster perfectly counters his moves and when Iron Man circles behind to try to sneak repulsor attack, Taskmaster fires a disruptor arrow to neutralize Iron Man.

He knew that Iron Man would circle around because its what he would have done and he masters tasks. ITS IN THE NAME.

Taskmaster: “Man, what an opportunity! I could take the Avengers on, one-on-one, an’ maybe, with my reflexes... I could defeat them all! But then again, maybe I couldn’t! There ain’t no bucks in feedin’ an ego -- an’ it’d be awful hard runnin’ business from a jail cell!”

So he kludds Cap with his shield and then kraks him with a bow and then makes a break for it. And he even closes a blast door behind him so Iron Man and Cap can’t follow.

PRAGMATISM!

New plan. He’ll run to central control and flood the entire facility with sleep gas, which will take care of everyone but Iron Man and Vision and then-

A metal woman?

At some point Jocasta snuck away from the group so she could be standing in Taskmaster’s way right at this moment. And also he doesn’t know who she is so he doesn’t know what she’ll do.

He throws his mighty shield but Jocasta just puts up a force field. So he shoots an electro-shaft to short the field out and Jocasta blasts the arrow so the electrical energy is released near him instead.

Taskmaster: “Blast you, robot! I’ve never seen you before! Don’t know what you’re gonna do next! But just gimme time, an’ I’ll --”

And then Wasp and Yellowjacket shoot him in the face.

Because Jocasta bought time for the rest of the Avengers to clean up the Cyber-Goon-Squad X and catch up.

Iron Man: “So now it’s just you and us, Taskmaster. And I suggest you come along peacefully. Unless you think you can take all of the Avengers on at once!”

Which he doesn’t think he can do. And he’s not willing to roll the dice on it either. So he makes like a Dragon Ball character and uses some magnesium flares to blind the Avengers so he can expeditiously retreat.

By the time Iron Man gets his vision back (having been fortunate enough that he had peril-sensitive shades built into his helmet, basically), Taskmaster has already gotten back to his super high tech ship which is jetting away.

Vision was the second to get his vision back, humorously enough. I mean, I find it humorous because I kept trying to capitalize the V when I talk about vision the idea of seeing and not the synthezoid.

Iron Man tells Vision that Taskmaster is gone but he has a feeling it won’t be the last they hear of him.

Anyway, back downstairs to check on the people who aren’t as good at recovering vision like Vision.

Iron Man tells the Avengers that Taskmaster got away.

Captain America: “That’s too bad. But at least we’ll be around to have a next time -- thanks to Jocasta. Lady, we’ve had a tendency to overlook you in the past, but I think I speak for the whole group when I say -- that’s about to change.”

Vision: “As one who has discovered the benefits of companionship in a similar manner, Jocasta... welcome.”

Jocasta: “‘Welcome’...? You know, I think I like that word. Yes... I think I like it very much.”

You will believe that even an android without tear ducts can feel like crying but not physically be able to!

I mean, sucks that it takes literally saving the entire team for them to give her the time of day but finally! Justice for Jocasta! Small talk and conversations and anecdotes! Give unto her your socializing!

Just please. Writers. Give her stuff to do! Don’t let this be the Falcon again except she was on the team longer and has done LESS.

That aside: Taskmaster?

I think he has a good showing for why he’s a lasting and beloved villain. He doesn’t really have the motivation to try to take over the world or become god or kill that blasted Richards like Dr. Doom but he’s not really a villain of the week like Sandman or Stilt-Man either. He has bigger ambitions than robbing banks but smaller ones than robbing worlds.

He figured out a good pragmatic way to rake in ill-gotten gains without having to go out and engage in fighting superheroes himself.

And when superheroes did get involved in his work he had the clarity to see that discretion was way better than valor. Like 1000 times better.

And his powers are interesting, if not flashy, and present a way that he can punch way out of his weight class.

Some writers take it too far where super reflexes just means he wins unless you can come up with something unexpected when really even if he can imitate moves perfectly, he shouldn’t be able to do them with the same power or speed as some of the people he’s imitating.

But he’s an interesting dude and I can see why he stuck around.

Even if the way the story started wasn’t the strongest. I feel like there’s a disconnect between ‘growing a clone for free organ transplants’ and ‘super academy for training supervillain goons’ and I get that part of the point is that Dr. Solomon goofused up by spending resources on this and then got the Avengers involved when Taskmaster would have been running things on the DL forever.

But I feel that ‘growing a clone for free organ transplants’ is an interesting enough concept in its own right, even if it is now several movies, that it didn’t need to just be the opening band for Taskmaster.

And more could have been done with ‘super academy for training supervillain goons’ too honestly. I feel that its a hell of a secret to keep that all these supervillains are getting their goons from one place and the superheroes have remained oblivious.

It feels like there could have been a story in the Avengers trying to unravel the mystery of who is training these nerds and it ends up at Taskmaster.

But I don’t want to judge the comic on what it could have been. It was an interesting enough story of the Avengers saving someone who is not legally a person because the rights for clones are indeterminate in the Marvel Universe, not helped by most clones being grown to mess with Spider-Man or so Mr. Sinister has an inexhaustable supply of Marauders.

Next time, another three part storyline. But one that tangentially relates to Godzilla? Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

Follow @essential-avengers because when I was sick I felt bad about not doing posts and that’s good work ethic! Reward me!

[buttonholedlife]

Get to Know Tripnotic and His Aggressive Dubstep Style | EDM Identity

After several festival appearances in 2019, Tripnotic caught our attention and is a dubstep artist to watch closely in the future.

Since breaking onto the scene, Tripnotic has been working hard to develop his sound and make a name for himself in the dubstep community. He’s already leaving a lasting impression on listeners with a style that spans across multiple subgenres, from the deep dub track “Interference” to the harder vibes in his official bootleg of “Alien Invasion” by Moonboy.

This year, Tripnotic traveled across the country while showcasing his unique take on bass music with a big summer tour that included festival stops at Electric Forest, Imagine Festival, and Summer Camp. After stumbling upon his set at North Coast Music Festival in Chicago, I had to learn more about this up and coming artist and what he has planned for the future.

Following the biggest year of his career yet, Tripnotic is wrapping up 2019 with an appearance at Lights All Night and has more tour dates and track releases to look forward to in 2020. We sat down with Tripnotic to learn more about his influences, his production style, and his favorite memories from this year!

Stream EDMID Guest Mix 191 || Tripnotic on SoundCloud:

Hi Tripnotic, thanks for chatting with us today! Let’s start off by taking a look at your background in the EDM world. Who are some artists that first got you into the scene and what led to you making the aggressive style of dubstep that you’re known for today?

Yo, thanks for having me, I appreciate the opportunity to share a little about myself! To be honest I couldn’t tell you who the first artists I really listened to were, when I first heard EDM it was at “rave parties” in peoples’ fields, barns, and basements (I’m from the South if you can’t tell) but I didn’t even register it as EDM at the time.

One of my friends from those parties eventually convinced me to come to a real show with Flux Pavilion and after that, I was hooked. I started off listening to mostly bigger artists like Borgore, Pretty Lights, and of course Skrillex. I actually started off making more trap when I started producing almost three years ago but once I started to learn more I fell in love with making dubstep. I’ll make any genre honestly but with how dubstep has been evolving it’s just currently my favorite. I just make what I like hearing and if others like that too then it’s even better!

You just released “Gas Pack,” another collaboration with Infexzion. What’s your favorite part about working with him and how did that relationship start?

This one’s actually funny, a lot of people don’t know this but plot twist… Infexzion and I are actually twin brothers, so basically when our Mommy and Daddy loved each other very much is when that relationship began. We definitely butt heads at times being brothers and all but it’s a huge blessing to share the same passion with a sibling and chase our dreams together.

Some of your most recent releases are bootlegs of Griz and Subtronics’ “Griztronics” and “Illusion” by Bassnectar and Peekaboo. What are some production techniques you utilize when remixing someone else’s song and does that differ from your original work?

Bootlegs are a little different since I don’t have the actual stems of the track, I’m just working with the master WAV. For those, it’s a lot of finding pieces I can work with then resampling and post-processing to make it sound more like my own.

Depending on what I’m trying to do for the track sometimes I want it to sound really different like “Griztronics” and I’ll add more of my own sounds, drums, etc. With “Illusion”, I kept most of the core sounds the same.

What are some of your favorite parts about the production process, and do you have any favorite plugins or techniques that really enhance your sound?

Honestly, just the whole process of creating and playing with sounds and trying things out is something I love. There’s no real right or wrong to an extent, just what sounds good. I use a lot of the Waves bundles more than anything, Izotope Ozone a lot, and you really can do some cool stuff with Convolution Reverb.

Serum and Phase Plant are really my go-tos though I guess. I’ve really been really focusing on layering and just giving more depth and uniqueness to my tracks now.

This past summer, you performed at Imagine Music Festival and the GoodBus Stage at North Coast & Electric Forest, as well as other fests. How do you make your sets stand out when you’re playing for new fans at a festival?

I try to play a little bit of everything and give each person there a taste of something they might like, plus trying to expose them to new music as well… but honestly, at the end of the day, I just play tunes that I really enjoy and hope that means everyone else will too!

You played several shows over the last few months on the Synthesize Me Cap’n tour – can you share some of your favorite memories from those shows and this summer?

17 shows and 9 festivals was definitely a blessing. It really took the tour ending and looking back on the whole experience for it to set in, and it was just surreal. I met a bunch of new friends and had the best summer of my life.

If I had to pick a few I think playing Houston Grimefest was one of my favorite shows, I stood on the booth for the first time and the energy that night was insane. It also linked me with some of the most amazing people I’ve met on the Nocturnal Waves team that I’m working with now.

North Coast was probably my favorite festival set this year. Every festival was an amazing experience and I had a great time playing, but spending the weekend with all my Chicago homies on the GoodTeam is always a good time. Love that crew. Also have to mention the first show of the tour in Arkansas with the Hidden Sound team, even though it wasn’t huge it was special as the first show and my first tour and love the guys in that fam as well!

Thank you to all the dope promotion teams and hospitality for having me out, taking care of me, and friendships formed! Much love to all the photographers, VJs, and other artists I played and worked with. Y’all were amazing, keep grinding and I look forward the next time we work together on even bigger opportunities. Last but most definitely not least thank you to all my friends (fans) who came out or supported me making this all possible, I love you guys and had a blast raging with y’all! Most importantly I wanna give all the credit and glory to God though, without Him I wouldn’t be here doing any of this and I’m truly blessed for these opportunities.

If you could share one piece of advice with other up and coming producers looking to make their break in the dubstep scene, what would you tell them?

Make more friends than connections. Don’t compare yourself or measure against others’ progress, everyone has a different path. Work harder, it’s never hard enough. Establish a clear consistent brand, interact with your supporters, keep up with content. These might sound vague but honestly there are no “A, B, C” steps to this, you have to find what works for you but hopefully, these guidelines help some….I’m still figuring things out myself.

You recently gave a shoutout to EDM Twitter for helping to kickstart your career this year. What’s your favorite part about connecting with your fans on that platform?

All the EDM Twitter fam definitely holds a special spot in my heart. I’ve just received a lot of love and support from that community that helped get my name around for the tour. I got to meet and work with other awesome talented people from the community on tour which was amazing but I hate the word “fans”. Everyone has a part to play in this beautiful scene and none of us could do it without the others, I’m just grateful to have people to support my dream and share experiences together.

Looking towards 2020 and beyond, what does the future hold for Tripnotic? Is there another tour and more original releases on the way?

Oh yeah, I mean it’s cliche but lots of “big things” coming soon. I have a couple cool releases and event announcements to make closing out this year but 2020 is gonna be a new level. I’m wrapping up my first EP for a major label that I’ll build a tour off of but expect to see me on more than just one tour next year…maybe even as support for a top tier artist. I have to keep things pretty vague but there’s gonna be a lot of chances to see me play in 2020, some cool merch things, and a couple unique announcements. I can’t wait honestly!

Finally, what are some fun non-music related facts you can share with us?

Before DJing took over my life I was a Division 1 paintball player, sponsored competitive snowboarder, and published poetry writer. I have a “third set” of most of my teeth behind the adult ones so I’m part shark (lemme on a Bite Me tour, Jauz), I’ve been growing my hair out for four years, and I’m a black belt.

Thanks so much for having me and listening to ramble; I enjoyed letting everyone get a glimpse into my trippy mind…. and yes I go by Tripnotic for the exact reason you think I do. Much love and stay blessed!

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This content was originally published here.