Warning! Spoilers ahead for Taskmaster #4 from Jed MacKay and Alessandro Vitti
Taskmaster just took down a contingent of the Black Panther's best warriors in Wakanda. In the latest issue of Marvel Comics' Taskmaster, Tony Masters is nearing completing his mission with Nick Fury Jr. in order to prove his innocence in the murder of Maria Hill. While he's already gained the kinesic signatures of Phil Coulson and Ami Han, he needs to read the signature of one final intelligence operative to unlock the Rubicon Trigger project Hill was working on before her death, and it's none other than Wakanda's General Okoye.
In Taskmaster #4 from writer Jed MacKay with art by Alessandro Vitti, Taskmaster agrees to a halo insertion into the heart of Wakanda itself, which leads to his capture by the Hatut Zeraze, otherwise known as the Dogs of War, the Black Panther's secret police in charge of the nation's security. Led by General Okoye, Masters claimed he had come to Wakanda under the pretense that he was seeking asylum, desiring to join the Wakandan army to better train the War Dogs. Taskmaster is an incredible fighter after all, and the mercenary has made a career out of training capable soldiers, henchmen, and security teams for some of the most powerful people and organizations in the Marvel Universe. However, he also called the War Dogs soft, which they took as a personal challenge to be met by combat (which was exactly what Masters was hoping for).
Seeking to teach Taskmaster a lesson and determine his worthiness, General Okoye watched as Masters fought an entire squad of War Dogs simultaneously, using his impressive skills as a fighter to great effect thanks to his photographic reflexes. After a short brawl, Taskmaster incapacitated the entire elite unit, which prompted Okoye herself to entire the fight. Despite Taskmasker's infatuation with Okoye due to her own prowess as a fighter, the pair fought an intense duel, trading blows that would have completely wrecked lesser warriors. However, Taskmaster eventually gained the upper hand and became the victor.
While Taskmaster more than proved his worth and skill to the Wakandan warriors in this fight, Okoye determined that they would not be enlisting Taskmaster, and he was promptly turned over to the U.S government. However, this was all part of Taskmaster's plan, unbeknownst to Okoye. The entire reason for instigating the combat trial was so Masters would have enough time to study and watch the general get the final kinesic signature needed to unlock the Rubicon Trigger.
In any case, Taskmaster effectively proved his longstanding status as one of Marvel's greatest fighters in this issue, and what better way to do so than to take down some of the best warriors Wakanda has to offer? However, Taskmaster's challenges are far from over, as he still has the Black Widow on his trail with the intent to kill him for Maria Hill's death. Here's hoping Taskmaster will have enough time to clear his name before she finds him in future issues from Marvel Comics.