Sometimes, less is more even when they "Ultimatize" an existing, 616 character. It's great when the writers can come up with a whole new way to showcase an old character, but for the Taskmaster I don't think a total overhaul would be neccessary. I've always thought Taskmaster was an extremely cool, but underutilized character, especially for his abilities. That, and for a long time, his get-up was pretty goofy... or maybe it's just me who's not a big fan of skull masks with cowls and buccaneer boots.
I haven't had a chance to read the series, but I've seen the redux of the Taskmaster done awhile back, which looked like a major improvement looks-wise. Honestly, I think at this early point in the Ultimate line, he'd make a great addition. Perhaps Loeb and Joe Mad could make him a healthy addition to Ultimates v3... and honestly, he could easily work as either hero or villain. Thinking about it, he would make an excellent "drill instructor" type for Fury's new recruits to SHIELD and his superhuman task forces (wether or not the Ultimates will still be a part of that in v3 remains to be seen), or the "coach of the supervillain all-stars", getting paid to teach would-be suppervillains how to defeat the objects of their rage, maybe showing established villains how to get revenge on the heroes who humiliated them in the past. The possibilities are limitless... but the basic premise of the character is fine the way it is.
I'm always anxious to see what the creators can do with 616 characters, especially if they have a spotty history in their original manifestations.
As anyone who's read Marvel comics for as long as I have, there were tons of characters who had all the potential, but because of bad writing, looks (think 70's and 80's Marvel especially) or what have you, never really "took off".
