- “You didn't see that coming?”
- ―Quicksilver
Pietro Maximoff (also known as Quicksilver) is a character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe who appeared in Avengers: Age of Ultron and is the twin brother of fellow Avenger, Wanda Maximoff, alias Scarlet Witch.
Quicksilver was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
Background
Personality
Pietro was fun-loving, kind, caring, serious, moral, honorable, selfless, and intelligent, he was also slightly overconfident, arrogant, impatient, tenacious, and short-tempered, compared to his twin sister, Wanda, Pietro was far less quieter and far more aggressive.
Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Superhuman Speed: Quicksilver could move at extremely high, even supersonic speeds. He could move so fast that he looked like a blur.
- Extreme Force Generation: Due to his speed, Quicksilver's momentum allowed him to enhance the force in his attacks, strikes, impacts, and collisions, often propelling objects or people several feet, that he used to compensate for his average human strength.
- Accelerated Perception: Quicksilver's speed extends to his senses and mental capacities, able to take in information and process it just as fast, allowing him to see the world as if it is in slow motion, which combined with his physical speed lets him think, perform actions, react to events, long before a anyone/anything can even perceive or detect him. He had perfect control over this ability, he was not always seeing the world in slow motion.
- Supercharged Brain Activity: Quicksilver could access superhuman levels in his brain further than processing information. He could test theories, understand difficult equations, run trial and error in his brains at superhuman speeds, and permanently remember and instantly recall everything he has read, seen or heard without trouble.
- Superhuman Agility: Quicksilver's speed extends to his agility, as he was far more flexible and had greater balance than a normal human.
- Speed-Induced Resistance: Quicksilver could resist the effects of friction, reduced oxygen, and kinetic impact, while moving at incredible speeds.
- Superhuman Metabolism: Quicksilver had a hyper-accelerated metabolic rate, enhancing his body, physicality, senses, brain, mentality, and power to move and act while also making him less able to be stunned by attacks or injuries.
- Superhuman Reflexes: Quicksilver's speed extends to his reflexes, allowing him to react to danger and events much faster than a normal human. His reflexes were so fast that they even allowed him to catch bullets in mid-air.
- Bodily Vibration: Quicksilver had the ability to vibrate most or all of his cells and overall parts of his body on command for various effects.
Abilities
- Expert Hand-To-Hand Combatant: Quicksilver was extremely skilled in hand-to-hand combat; his fighting skills combined with his intelligence, superhuman speed, and reflexes, made Quicksilver a formidable opponent alone in single combat.
- Bilingualism: Quicksilver was capable of fluently speaking English and Sokovian.
Appearances
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Pietro and his twin sister Wanda participated in a series of experiments conducted by HYDRA in hopes of saving their country, Sokovia, from war. As results of these experiments, Pietro achieved superhuman speed; while Wanda won numerous mental powers as telekinesis, hypnosis, and energy projection. In the mid-credits scene, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch appear with Baron Strucker at a facility in Sokovia. Strucker also revealed he intended to use them for an unspecified purpose.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Soon after, the Avengers arrived in Sokovia and raided Strucker's facility, stealing the scepter and arresting Strucker. In the confusion, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver escaped from their holding cells and, though inexperienced, were able to use their powers to evade the Avengers and escape. Quicksilver himself used his powers to distract Hawkeye and Captain America, using his speed to try to stop their advance and to protect a bunker, which is destroyed by the Hulk soon after. When Tony Stark took the scepter, he tried to stop him but was stopped by his sister. He asked why, but she just smiled.
Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver were soon called by Ultron to join him in his plans to destroy the Avengers, knowing that with their powers, they can tear the opposition apart. He told Ultron why not just kill the Avengers, Ultron replied that he did not want them to be martyrs. Soon after, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver accompany Ultron in acquiring Ulysses Klaw's supply of vibranium. When the Avengers arrived, Quicksilver attacked Captain America, then Thor trying unsuccessfully to use Mjølnir against him. When Scarlet Witch attempted to "hex" Hawkeye - but was subdued by him, because he learned from his past experience of being mind-controlled by Loki. Quicksilver saved her in the nick of time. He took her outside Klaw's base, where she caught sight of the Hulk and manages to "hex" him as well.
When the twins arrived in Seoul, Wanda learned of Ultron's plans upon touching the Cradle and they left the facility, much to Ultron's rage. The twins then assisted Captain America in fighting off Ultron on a moving passenger train. Scarlet Witch managed to stop it when it went off the rails, while Quicksilver saved people on the road of the train. The twins then accompanied Captain America back to Avengers Tower and tried to stop Stark and Banner from bringing Vision to life. Quicksilver succeeded to cut off the electricity from Vision's cradle, but he is soon attacked by Hawkeye, only to witness Thor bringing Vision to life. He and Scarlet Witch then joined the Avengers in stopping Ultron and saving Sokovia.
He along with his sister, Vision and the Avengers traveled to Sokovia to stop Ultron and prevent his plan was a success. Before the battle, Quicksilver went to a police station and asked them to help evacuate the city. Quicksilver bravely uses his powers to save countless lives. When his sister volunteered to guard the key from Ultron, he asked her if she was sure of it, she replied to go and come back for her when the battle ended. He uses his own body to shield Hawkeye and a civilian boy from the Quinjet's bullets, proving he was a true hero and a true Avenger. Unfortunately, Quicksilver dies from his wounds, much to his sister's sorrow. His sister avenged his death by ripping out Ultron's metal heart. After the battle, his fellow Avenger Hawkeye named his newborn son Nathaniel Pietro, in honor of him.
Gallery
Trivia
- Another version of Quicksilver appears in X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse and X-Men: Dark Phoenix, portrayed by Evan Peters. The Quicksilver in those films is a completely separate adaptation of the character from the one featured in this article nor is he part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As of now, both Quicksilvers are owned by Disney. This version is named Peter Maximoff, on account of being born and raised American.
- In the comics, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are the children of Magneto, the leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants.
- Aaron Taylor-Johnson's mid-credits role in Captain America: The Winter Soldier was uncredited.
- Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn revealed that both the twins were originally going to appear in the film's post-credit scene.
- Despite his character's death, Aaron Taylor-Johnson is contracted to reprise his role in future pictures. This has led to fan speculation that his character may be revived in Infinity War. As shown on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., those with Inhuman DNA, such as Skye, were revived with the GH.325 drug without any ill effects, even before their latent abilities were awakened. However, Marvel producer Kevin Feige has stated that Pietro is permanently dead. The fact that Marvel now has the rights to the Evan Peters Quicksilver further muddles the issue.
- In Age of Ultron, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were portrayed as brother and sister. Ironically, in the 2014 film, Godzilla, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen's characters, Ford and Elle Brody, are portrayed as husband and wife.