TASKER
Real Name: Unrevealed; possibly Tasker
Identity/Class: Extraterrestrial (unidentified race) cyborg
Occupation: Gamesmaster and overseer of the laws of combat
Group Membership: The officials, etc. of the Games
Affiliations: Marshals;
formerly Megaira, Termagent;
apparently worshipped unspecified "Dark Ones"
Enemies: Battletide, Dark Angel (Shevaun Haldane), Death's Head (Minion), Hercules (Heracles/Alcaeus), Killpower (Julius Mullarkey), Knights of the Tempered Brotherhood/Temploids, Psylocke (Elizabeth Braddock), Sabretooth (Victor Creed), Smith, Wolverine (James Howlett/Logan);
Residents:
formerly Megaira, Smith, Termagent;
possibly formerly Tasker and the marshals, although they may well have only been present during the Games;
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None 
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
formerly the planet Colosseum, in a "dark back-water of space," unidentified star system and galaxy
First Appearance: BattleTide#2 (January, 1993)
Powers/Abilities: Tasker was a skilled announcer, able to entertain vast numbers of spectators both local and viewing remotely. He had knowledge of the Games, as well as a respect for Termagent and Megaira.
He floated on a hoverdisc, and he may have operated the advanced equipment of the containment spheres and/or their transportation ship(s) as well as teleportation equipment to transport the combatants to their battle zones. Or, maybe he was just an announcer...
Possessing four arms, a large frame, and perhaps scales on his skin, he may have superhuman strength, durability, and/or battle skills, but he did not demonstrate any such skills in his appearances.
He had very thick, coarse-looking
lips, with small gaps between each of his teeth. He also had a thick
structure in place of where a human would have an eyebrow.
The right upper side of his head was replaced by (apparently) metal, including both a bionic eye and ear (the specifics of which are unrevealed).
Height: Unrevealed (perhaps 5'10")
Weight: Unrevealed (perhaps 300 lbs. at that height; he's pretty stocky, seemingly muscular, and has four arms)
Eyes: Red (both are red, although the right eye is bionic)
Hair: None
Skin: Green; possibly scaled
History:
(BattleTide#2 (fb) - BTS) - Every three "cycles" (see comments) for an undetermined period of time, Tasker served as the gamesmaster for the Games on Colosseum.
(BattleTide#3
(fb) - BTS) - The "Omniversal Transmitter" in the Tower provided a
direct link to viewing channels of the populated cosmos.
(BattleTide#2 - BTS) - Termagent and Megaira transported a number of warriors captured from Earth -- including Dark Angel, Death's Head, Hercules, Killpower, Psylocke, Sabretooth, and Wolverine -- to Colosseum, instructing Tasker to prepare to receive the combatants in their training cells.
(BattleTide#2) - Three hours later, in the Arena-Plex, floating on a hoverdisc in front of a number of viewscreens with the "invited" combatants in containment spheres, Tasker introduced himself and addressed the record-level crowd:
"Every three
cycles, warriors from across the multiverse were invited to Colosseum
to participate in the greatest blood sport of them all...the Games."
Tasker then reviewed the history of the Games and announced that this year
would be the most spectacular and ruthless Games ever held, as this
year, they were to the death.
After noting that
notorious heroes from the lower order worlds, like Earth, had been
"persuaded" to participate, Tasker then outlined the Games' rules:
The combatants -- wearing
inhibitor collars to force their compliance -- were all paired with a
partner for the course of the battle, and if one of the pair died, the
partner would be slain by the collar. Refusal to fight would be
punished, as the collar would stimulate an overdose of adrenal
hormones (see comments).
Monitoring via holo-cameras would prevent any escape, the
combatants' every move would be monitored by trillions of beings across
the Multiverse (see comments).
Tasker further advised the combatants to prepare themselves for day one, the elimination round, with those who survived going through to the following day's final, free-for-all conflict, where they would contend with the Game's all time champion team, Termagent and Megaira.
At Termagent's command, the
combatants were transmatted to the battle zones -- notably Battle Zone
One, Battle Zone Two, and the Oasis sector -- where they met their
partners and engaged in combat.
(BattleTide#3) - After many fierce combats, Tasker
interrupted the battles, returning the warriors to stasis cubes and
announcing they had completed the first day of contest and had fought
well:
The survivors would get to enjoy a night of supervised relaxation
before tomorrow's final free-for-all bout.
The next day, Tasker welcomed all spectators to the final, bloodiest day of the Games:
"You join as the contest reconvenes. Remember, the victors will be the last team standing at the end of play.
And over in Sector XZ45, those popular teams from the planet Earth have congregated together for a last stand and are taking on all comers...
Pity they'll have to take on each other before a victor is found...
Let's join the action..."
As the Earth combatants plus Smith, their inhibitor collars having been disabled by Killpower (or who had shown them how to disable their or the allies' collars), removed their collars, a shocked Tasker announced, "By the Dark Ones, I don't believe it! Somehow they've overridden the security controls!"
Tasker or someone else reported this occurrence to Termagent and Megaira, who traveled to Sector XZ45 to confront the heroes just as the Battletide -- drawn by the bloodthirsty combat as Termagent and Megaira had intended -- arrived just outside Colosseum's orbit.
(Battletide#4) - Colosseum shook as the Battletide washed over it, watching this on a viewscreen in the main arena, Tasker noted:
"Well, Game-fans, I don't know quite what's happening...
There seems to be something wrong with the remote coverage...I--"
And he was cut off as the Battletide burst forth from the viewscreens, knocking him off his hoverdisc to fall into the crowd of terrified spectators.
Comments: Created by Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning, and Geoff Senior.
The Colosseum stories occurred within the Marvel UK imprint.
As far as I could tell, Tasker wasn't seen after he was knocked off his hoverdisc by the Battletide. Most likely, he was badly injured in the fall and trampled by the fleeing spectators. If he survived that, he was likely driven into a battle-crazed frenzy by the Battletide and rushed out with the rest of the crowd en masse, battling the Earth combatants (and Smith) who were protected from the Battletide by Dark Angel, Psylocke, and the Temploids. If he survived that, then he was probably amongst the refugees that the Temploids helped to return home.
Tasker may have been a previous
combatant who became an announcer after retiring, as is commons with
professional athletes, but there's really no further information than
what we have in the history above to define him.
The metal/bionic portions of his skull make it seem
even more likely that he was indeed a combatant at some point...
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Tasker should be distinguished from:
Appearances:
BattleTide#2 (January, 1993) - Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (writers), Geoff Senior (artist), John Freeman (editor)
BattleTide#3 (February, 1993) - Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (writers), Geoff Senior (artist), Jacqui Papp & John Freeman (editors)
BattleTide#4 (March, 1993) - Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (writers), Geoff Senior (artist), Jacqui Papp (editor)
First posted: 10/24/2020
Last updated: 10/24/2020
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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