Comic Info
Comic Name: Quicksilver/Heroes for Hire (Volume 1)/Heroes for Hire/Quicksilver
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Tom Peyer/Joe Edkin/John Ostrander
Artist: Rob Haynes/Casey Jones/Derec Aucoin/Ivan Reis/Paschalis Ferry/Chris Renaud/Hector Collazo/Mark Bagley/Tom Lyle/Alex Morrissey/Don Hillsman
# of Issues: 16
Release Date: 2015
Quicksilver #1
Reprints Quicksilver #1-13, Heroes for Hire (1) #15-16, and Heroes for Hire/Quicksilver Annual ’98 (November 1997-November 1998). Who is Quicksilver? Is he the son of Magneto and heir to his throne or is he the Avenger? With the Avengers and his wife dead at the hands of Onslaught, Quicksilver finds a new path as the leader of the Knights of Wundagore for his benefactor the High Evolutionary. Time moves quickly…especially in Quicksilver’s case and being the son of Magneto means that he might not seek out trouble, but trouble will find him!
Written by Tom Peyer, Joe Edkin, and John Ostrander, Avengers: Quicksilver is Marvel Comics superhero collection. The collection features art by Rob Haynes, Casey Jones, Derec Aucoin, Ivan Reis, Paschalis Ferry, Chris Renaud, Hector Collazo, Mark Bagley, Tom Lyle, Alex Morrissey, and Don Hillman, and issues in this collection were also collected as part of Avengers Assemble—Volume 1, Iron Man by Kurt Busiek and Sean Chen Omnibus, Avengers by Kurt Busiek & George Perez Omnibus, Iron Man: Heroes Return—The Complete Collection, and Luke Cage, Iron Fist & The Heroes for Hire—Volume 2.
Quicksilver was always a dull “hero” to me and the fact that his “quicksilver” temper always made him a hothead, also made him uninteresting. Until X-Factor #87 (February 1993) which gave the character and depth he was missing (and also explained the persona of all other speedsters in the comic worlds). I hoped that the Quicksilver series was going to explore that aspect of Quicksilver when it was released, but it feels like more of the same (and that is 1990s same).
Quicksilver #7
Quicksilver probably never needed an ongoing series. Limited series and one-shots probably could have covered the character. This volume has Quicksilver juggling a lot of events following Onslaught where he lost his sister and his wife, but much of it is rather mundane and uneventful.
Quicksilver is best when it gets down to the clockworks of Quicksilver. Travels into his past and his relationship with Crystal (and in turn with the Black Knight) are where the meat of the series is…but it gets caught up in the whole High Evolutionary/Exodus/Heroes for Hire storyline which dominates the last part of the collection. It is better than some of the 1990s stuff, but it also doesn’t feel particularly exciting or distinctive (especially since much of it hasn’t been touched since this storyline ended). I feel there were some interesting things happening in this book and Heroes for Hire, but it was never fully recognized.
Avengers: Quicksilver is fine for fans of the character, but fans of the movie character might find it not very fulfilling. Like X-Factor, the X-Men movies really gave Quicksilver the spark he needed and made the character infinitely more entertaining and deep. Too often Quicksilver is written as the guy who screws up because of his attitude (especially after this collection). It is good to see him as a hero as he is here, but Avengers: Quicksilver leaves you wanting more.
