Quicksilver (Marvel Comics)
- For Quicksilver (DC Comics), see Max Mercury.
| Quicksilver | |
|---|---|
 Art by Roy Allen Martinez | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Uncanny X-Men vol. 1, #4 (1964) |
| Created by | Stan Lee Jack Kirby |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Pietro Django Maximoff |
| Species | Human Mutant |
| Team affiliations | The Avengers, Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, Inhumans, X-Factor, House of Magnus |
| Notable aliases | Pietro Frank |
| Abilities | Time travel by vibrating molecules at faster than light speeds Mutate other beings through use of Terrigen Crystal formations on his body |
Quicksilver (Pietro Maximoff) is a fictional character that appears in the Marvel Universe. He has been both a superhero and a supervillain, and associated with the X-Men, Avengers, Inhumans and X-Factor. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, Quicksilver first appears in X-Men vol. 1, #4 (March 1964). He is the son of the mutant supervillain Magneto, and is the twin brother of the Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff). A mutant, Quicksilver originally possessed the superhuman ability to move, think and react at great speeds.
Publication history
Quicksilver featured in an on-going series. [1]
Fictional character biography
Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch's mother - Magda - takes sanctuary at Mount Wundagore, the home of the High Evolutionary, after seeing her husband Magnus use his magnetic powers for the first time. Once there, she gives birth to the twins but dies soon after. As Wundagore was no place for human infants, the High Evolutionary places them in the care of the gypsy Django Maximoff, who raises the twins as his own children. [2]
Once Pietro and Wanda reached adulthood, they discovered that they are mutants. Pietro discovers he possesses superhuman speed, while Wanda learns that she can influence probability. The pair later display their powers in public, and are attacked by a superstitious mob. They are saved by their father - now the supervillain Magneto - although neither Magneto nor his children are aware of their connection. Magneto then recruits the pair for the first incarnation of his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The Brotherhood battle the X-Men on several occasions, although the twins become reluctant members and only remain because of their obligation to Magneto. When Magneto and his lackey the Toad are abducted by the cosmic entity the Stranger, the Brotherhood dissolves and the twins declare their debt to Magneto to have been paid. [3]
Soon after this Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch are recruited by the hero Iron Man to join the team the Avengers. Together with leader Captain America and former villain Hawkeye, the four become the second generation of Avengers, and are later dubbed as "Cap's Kooky Quartet". [4] During one mission Quicksilver is wounded by the robot Sentinels, [5] and found by Crystal, a member of the Inhumans. [6] Crystal nurses Pietro back to health, and the pair are eventually married. [7]
It is during this time that Wanda becomes romantically involved with their Avengers teammate, the android Vision. Although Pietro initially disapproves, he eventually gives his blessing to their marriage. [8] The twins later meet Robert Frank, also known as World War II hero the Whizzer, who was present at Wundagore with his wife at the time of their birth. Robert Frank briefly joins the Avengers, believing Pietro and Wanda to be his children. [9] This is later disproved when Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch are abducted by Django Maximoff and taken to Wundagore, where after being released they learn the truth from Bova, the midwife who delivered them. [10]
Darker days
Quicksilver and Crystal eventually have a daughter, Luna. [11] It is at this time that Magneto discovers his relationship to Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch and chooses to tell them the truth. Quicksilver is repulsed and tells Magneto that he had his chance to be a father years ago [12] Unfortunately Quicksilver and Crystal's marriage is strained when Crystal has an affair [13] and again later by the actions of Maximus the Mad - the brother of Inhuman king Black Bolt - who uses technology to push Quicksilver into insanity and evil behaviour. [14] Although later cured, [15], Quicksilver is still angry with Crystal and joins the U.S. government-sponsored superhero team X-Factor. [16] During this period of estrangement, Crystal almost has an affair with the Avenger the Black Knight. [17]
Quicksilver and Crystal are finally reunited when the Avengers, X-Factor and X-Men team up to stop a group of mutant terrorists who have kidnapped their daughter Luna and are responsible for a civil war on the island nation of Genosha. After dealing with the threat, Quicksilver learns of Crystal's relationship with the Black Kight and leaves, also resigning from X-Factor. [18] Quicksilver later takes Luna and joins the High Evolutionary, assisting him and his Knights of Wundagore in fighting off the villains Exodus and Man Beast. During the course of this war, Quicksilver uses the experimental Isotope E to augment his powers and allow him to move at greater supersonic speeds. [19]
House of M
The Scarlet Witch suffers a mental breakdown over the loss of her children and starts to warp reality in order to recreate them, resulting in random attacks on the Avengers. The Avengers and Doctor Strange place her in a coma, and then turn her over to Magneto. Magneto, however, is unable to help her and several members of the Avengers and X-Men suggest killing the Scarlet Witch. A panicking Quicksilver convinces the Scarlet Witch to correct her mistakes by using her powers to turn the world into a world of peace. Wanda then warps reality into the House of M - a world where mutants are in a majority and humans are in a minority, with Magneto established as absolute ruler.
Several of the heroes eventually regain their memories, and attack Magneto who regains his own memory and realises that Quicksilver is to blame for this disaster. Magneto then kills Quicksilver by crushing him with a Sentinel. The Scarlet Witch, however, revives her brother, and tells Magneto that he has chosen the mutants over his own children. Wanda then says "No more mutants" and changes the world back into its original form, with the result being that 98% of the mutant population are now powerless - including Quicksilver.[20]
Son of M
Quicksilver becomes depressed, and is soon confronted by an angry Spider-Man, who has memories of the altered world in which he was married to deceased love Gwen Stacy and had a child. Quicksilver decides to kill himself and jumps off a building, seriously injuring himself. Crystal arrives and teleports him to the Inhumans' lunar base for medical attention, believing he has become suicidal at the loss of his powers. After treatment by an Inhuman healer, Quicksilver asks Black Bolt for permission to undergo Terrigenesis and morph into an Inhuman, being unable to live life as a normal human being. Quicksilver's request, however, is denied as he is of human blood, and Terrigenesis is reserved only for those of pure Inhuman stock to decrease the chance of a detrimental mutation.
Quicksilver ignores the ruling and breaks into the sacred Terrigen Caves to expose himself to the Terrigen Mist. There appears to be no effect until Pietro is confronted by an older version of himself, who explains the nature of his new "time-jumping" powers, and reveals the plan to take the Terrigen Crystals back to Earth and restore the mutant population. Quicksilver manages to obtain a canister of Terrigen Crystals and with Luna and the Inhumans' pet dog Lockjaw travels to Genosha. Quicksilver then exposes surviving mutants to the mist, which restores their abilities but at dangerous levels.
The consequences prove to be disastrous - several mutants die as their powers mutate beyond all control; Luna becomes addicted to the Terrigen Mist; Magneto is beaten senseless in front of Luna by an enraged Quicksilver and the cannister is eventually confiscated by the US military. A desperate Black Bolt attempts to stop this and by uttering the word "war" and unleashing his ultrasonic scream signals the start of war between the Inhumans and the US Government. Quicksilver escapes and exposes himself to even greater levels of Terrigen Mist, which has the unexpected side effect of allowing Pietro to grow the Terrigen Crystals from his actual body and restore mutant abilities at will. Quicksilver now has two goals - "curing" mutants and preventing a great disaster which he glimpses on a trip into the future. [21]
Powers and abilities
Quicksilver was originally capable of running at the speed of sound (770 miles per hour), but exposure to the High Evolutionary's Isotope E made it possible for him to run at supersonic speeds of up to Mach 5 (3,806 miles per hour). After losing his powers, Quicksilver regained metahuman abilities courtesy of the Terrigen Mists.
Quicksilver can now vibrate his atoms so quickly that the molecular speed he generates displaces him out of mainstream time and space and a "jump" into the future is possible. Quicksilver could initially jump from an hour to up to twelve days into the future and remain for several minutes or even several hours before tiring and being recalled to his present time. Quicksilver can also return at will at any time. When Quicksilver returns, he arrives back at almost the exact moment (and place) he left so as to appear to have been gone for a nano-second. Quicksilver is also able to bring inorganic objects back from the future. This ability, however, seems to have affected his physical health, as each time Quicksilver meets up with a future self, they look increasingly haggard. Quicksilver has also discovered how to jump only mere seconds ahead in time, and create an indefinite number of "temporal dupes" that can be controlled with a certain amount of coordination.
Several weeks of exposure to the Terrigen Crystals has also caused an anomaly within Quicksilver in that the Crystals now grow out of his body, granting him the ability to empower former mutants with their superhuman abilities. It is unknown as to whether the effect is permanent, but the results are apparently unpredictable. Quicksilver has claimed that the chaotic results are due to a lack of worthiness on the mutants' behalf, which has yet to be proven. [22]
Ultimate Quicksilver
In the Ultimate Marvel Universe, Quicksilver was a member of Magneto's Brotherhood who together with the Scarlet Witch goes on to join the Ultimates. This version of Quicksilver has undergone continuous emotional abuse by Magneto which culminates in Quicksilver abandoning him and joining the Ultimates. The Ultimate version of Quicksilver is also faster than the Earth-616 was when possessing super speed, and states that as a teenager he was capable of reaching speeds of Mach 10. [23]
Alternate versions
- In Marvel 1602, Quicksilver appears as Petros, the assistant (and secretly, son) of the High Inquisitor of the Spanish Catholic Church, Enrique (the 1602 version of Magneto).
- In the MC2 universe, the speedster Bluestreak is based on Quicksilver.
Appearances in other media
- Quicksilver appears in Data East's 1991 arcade game, Captain America and the Avengers as a supporting character.
- Quicksilver guest-stars in several episodes of the X-Men Animated Series. He is voiced by Paul Haddad.
- Quicksilver appears in the animated television series X-Men: Evolution Quicksilver is voiced by Richard Ian Cox.
- In X2: X-Men United, the name "Maximoff" appears on a computer screen in a list of mutant names.
- Quicksilver has a cameo appearance in the video game X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse.
Other characters by the same name
Quality Comics published a super-speedster named Quicksilver in National Comics, during the Golden Age of comic books; when he was revived by DC Comics in the pages of The Flash, he was renamed Max Mercury to avoid trademark confusion with Marvel's long-established character (similar to DC's use of Shazam! as the title for the comic starring Captain Marvel).
References
- ^ Quicksilver ran for 13 issues from 1997 - 1998
- ^ Recounted in Vision and the Scarlet Witch #1 - 12 (1985 - 1986)
- ^ Uncanny X-Men vol. 1, #11
- ^ Avengers vol. 1, #16
- ^ Avengers vol. 1, #102
- ^ Fantastic Four vol. 1, #118
- ^ Fantastic Four vol. 1 #150
- ^ Giant-Size Avengers #4 (1975)
- ^ The Whizzer joins unofficially as of Giant-Size Avengers #1 (1974)
- ^ Avengers vol. 1, #185 - 187
- ^ Fantastic Four vol. 1, #240
- ^ Vision and the Scarlet Witch #6 (1986)
- ^ Quicksilver discovers this in Vision and the Scarlet Witch #10 (1986)
- ^ First seen in "corrupted" mode in West Coast Avengers Annual #1 (1986)
- ^ X-Factor Annual #2 (1987)
- ^ X-Factor #71
- ^ Crystal rejoins the team and meets the Black Knight in Avengers vol. 1, #343
- ^ Bloodties ran for 5 issues through Avengers vol. 1 #368; X-Men #26; West Coast Avengers #101; Uncanny X-Men vol. 1, #307 and Avengers vol. 1, #369 (1993)
- ^ Quicksilver #12
- ^ House of M #1 - 8 (2005 - 2006)
- ^ Son of M #1 - 6 (2005 - 2006)
- ^ Son of M #6 (2006)
- ^ Ultimates 2 #12 (2006)