Thunderbolts* is a movie all about redemption. It all starts when Yelena Belova realizes that something is missing from her life and that leaving the Red Room behind for another shady organization won’t remove the red from her ledger. However, turning over a new leaf has to take a back seat because her boss, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, has one last job for her best operative. Yelena heads out to the desert to take out a target, which seems easy enough because she’s been killing people her entire life. The mission hits a snag, though, when three other mercenaries show up and start causing trouble.
Since all the characters in the O.X.E. facility are “shoot first, ask questions later” types, it’s hard for any of them to get a read on the situation. The only reason they stop trying to kill one another is that Taskmaster takes a bullet to the head from Ghost’s gun, ending her run in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after one movie and some change. And while it seems like the moment is done for nothing but shock value, there’s more to it than meets the eye.
Marvel Studios Thought Long and Hard About Who to Kill Off in Thunderbolts*
Thunderbolts* received great reviews after it hit theaters in May 2025. Both critics and fans were calling it a breath of fresh air, but for some, all of the good press was masking a major issue. Taskmaster was marketed as a key member of the team, yet she didn’t even make it halfway through the movie. Fans voiced their frustrations online, and director Jake Schreier responded, explaining how he and Marvel Studios landed on Taskmaster being someone who needed to die.
“It was something that happened after the strike, when we were redeveloping the script,” Schreier explained. “I know that there are people that have reached out to let me know that they’re displeased with this, and I totally understand that. It’s not something we did lightly. As we looked at the script and tried to do a new version, it was a little bloodless. In order to honor these characters and what they do, being contract killers … to have that movie take place with no one showing what that means didn’t really feel like it would land with as much impact. We considered all versions of it.”
While Schreier’s explanation doesn’t make the death go down any easier, it does help the movie explain itself. After all, Thunderbolts* has a clear message, and it wouldn’t hit as hard if everyone got a happy ending.
Thunderbolts* Is All About Facing One’s Demons
If everyone had walked out of the O.X.E. facility in one piece, it’s hard to imagine they would’ve stuck together and stuck their necks out to save Bob. Taskmaster’s death makes Yelena think even harder about her choices, as her former enemy reminds her a lot of herself. She tells Ghost and John Walker as much as they are walking through the desert. While Walker brushes the whole thing off, it’s clear it gets to Ghost a bit because she’s not someone who loves to have blood on her hands.
Sure, it’s fair to criticize Marvel Studios for failing to do Taskmaster justice, both in Black Widow and Thunderbolts*, but it’s hard to argue against the merits of her death. It must happen to put the rest of the characters on the right path. Now, to honor the mercenary taking one for the team that she never gets to join officially, the MCU better have a variant waiting in the wings, one that can have a real future in the franchise.
Thunderbolts* is streaming on Disney+.
Were you upset that Taskmaster died so quickly in Thunderbolts*? How do you feel about the character in the MCU in general? Let us know in the comments below!
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