Quicksilver #1
The Beast in Me
Quicksilver has returned to his native Transia, where he struggles to come to terms with the loss of his wife, Crystal of the Inhumans.[1] To keep a part of her alive, he has started recording audio journals addressed to her so he can talk about what has happened since she left. Plagued by dreams of Crystal’s demise during the Onslaught conflict, and haunted by his past and his family connection to Magneto he frequently races across the country side to clear his head.[2] This has made raising his daughter Luna alone incredibly difficult, but he is devoted to keeping her safe. Pietro’s run and diary are interrupted when he gets a distress call from the High Evolutionary’s Citadel of Science, the place where he has been staying this entire time.[3]
At the Citadel of Science, the Knights of Wundagore are protecting the facility from an invasion of Genoshan Mutates that have joined up with the Acolytes. The New Men known as Lord Tyger and Lady Ursula in particular are providing cover for the cow-woman Bova and her charge, young Luna Maximoff. Inside the citadel, the High Evolutionary is contacted by Exodus, leader of the Acolytes. A fanatic believer in Magneto’s vision of mutant supremacy he has launched his attack for two fold reasons: First, Luna being a human granddaughter of Magneto and the High Evolutionary’s experiments in evolution. Both of which are viewed as blasphemy to the Acolyte’s beliefs.[4] The Evolutionary reminds Exodus that Magneto is dead and that if he continues his attack he’ll be faced with destruction as well.[5] That’s when Bova and Luna are brought to the High Evolutionary for protection.
Outside, Quicksilver arrives on the scene and, fearing for his daughters life, fights his way through the army of Mutates attacking the citadel.
Elsewhere in the citadel, a team of Acolytes — Fabian Cortez, the Kleinstock Brothers, Cargill, Unuscione, and Scanner — force their way inside. Using her powers, Scanner is able to locate the fleeing High Evolutionary and his Knights, telling the others that they are trying to flee in an airship. In the hanger, the High Evolutionary expresses the need to hurry, fearing that the Acolytes will discover his newly discovered Isotope E. This is overheard by Scanner in her electro-transition form and she reports this back to Cortez.
Outside, Pietro is assisted by other members of the Knights of Wundagore: Lord Gator, Lady Ursula, Lord Tyger, Sir Steed. After slaughtering the Mutates the New Men agree to lead Quicksilver to where Luna is being kept.
Back inside, the High Evolutionary tires to hold back the attacking Acolytes with his personal force field. However, Cortez is able to use his ability to boost the powers of others to a degree that they can shatter the field. This prompts the High Evolutionary to trick them into opening the water filled laboratory of the New Man known as Sir Dolphis, causing them to be bowled over by the water, washing Cortez and the Kleinstock brothers down a hole in the floor.[6]
Quicksilver and the other Knights — now joined by the canine Lord Churchill and Lady Vermin — enter the facility just as Cortez and the Kleinstocks try to shoot Luna as Bova attempts to load the girl into an escape ship. Quicksilver’s super speed manages to throw off Fabian’s gunshot, causing him to strike the Kleinstocks instead. Cortez then tries to shoot a second time but this time Sir Steed leaps in the way, taking the fatal bullet intended for Luna and covering their escape.
That’s when Exodus arrives on the scene, having taken an interest in obtaining this Isotope E and destroying it. The High Evolutionary refuses to surrender the substance without a fight. In the ensuing clash between the Acolytes and the Knights of Wundagore, Exodus is bitten in the ear by the diminutive Lady Vermin. This infects him with a fast acting virus that will cause temporary dementia. Reacting to this bite, Exodus teleports himself and his fellow Acolytes away.
In the aftermath of the battle, the High Evolutionary decides that in order to keep Isotope E away from their enemies he must go in hiding. He decides to knight Quicksilver and make him the caretaker and leader of the Knights of Wundagore. A title that Pietro accepts with honor. As the High Evolutionary takes off to points unknown, Quicksilver and the Knights retreat from the Citadel of Science.[7]
Recurring Characters
Quicksilver, High Evolutionary, Knights of Wundagore (Sir Ram, Lord Anon, Lord Churchill, Lord Gator, Lord Tyger, Lady Ursula, Lady Vermin), Acolytes (Exodus, Fabian Cortez, Cargill, the Kleinstock Brothers, Unuscion, Scanner), Luna
Continuity Notes
At the time of this story, Crystal and Pietro’s sister the Scarlet Witch are believed to have died along side members of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four in Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1. They were actually transported to a pocket dimension where they have been living reimagined versions of their past lives. They will be found and returned to their proper reality in Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4.
In this story, Quicksilver is repeatedly referred to as both a mutant and the son of Magneto. Their relationship is incredibly complicated:
Pietro has been led to believe this since Vision and the Scarlet Witch #4.
A flashback panel here shows Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch fighting alongside Magneto against the original X-Men. This is a call back to their first appearance in X-Men #4 when Pietro and Wanda were founding members of Magneto’s Brotherhood of Evil Mutants.
Here, Pietro believes his mother was Magda, the wife of Magneto. Per Classic X-Men #12, Magda fled her husband afraid of his powers. She is alleged to have arrived at the High Evolutionary’s Citadel of Science where she is believed to have given birth to twins. To protect her children she fled into the winter mountains where she is presumed to have died. As explained in Avengers #186. How much of this story is true following the revelations below remains to be seen as of this writing in December, 2022.
However, years later, both of these facts are revealed to have been lies. In Uncanny Avengers #4-5, it is revealed that Pietro was kidnapped as an infant by the High Evolutionary. In order to cover up his experiments he made it so Pietro would register as a mutant.
In Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #3 it is revealed that his mother is actually Natalya Maximoff. The identity of his biological father (as of this writing) remains unrevealed.
How Quicksilver came to live with the High Evolutionary and his New Men is explained in Quicksilver #7.
The Genoshan Mutates working with Exodus and the Acolytes desire to see Luna dead all stem from the Bloodties storyline when the X-Men and Avengers prevented the Acolytes from stoking the flames of a civil war in the mutant apartheid nation. See Avengers #368-369, X-Men (vol. 2) #26, Avengers West Coast #101, and Uncanny X-Men #307.
Magneto is not physically dead, but his current status and what people believe happened to him at the time of this story he might as well have been. See, Magneto had his mind wiped by Professor X in X-Men (vol. 2) #25. Magneto’s catatonic body was lost to the Acolytes when their space station, Avalon, was destroyed by Holocaust in X-Men (vol. 2) #43. Later, an amnesiac yet somehow younger version of Magneto was found in issue #46. He would go on to be associated with the X-Men and take the name Joseph and everyone believes he is the real Magneto. In reality, he’s actually a clone created by Astra to kill the original, as we’ll learn in X-Men (vol. 2) #86.
Delphis asks if the invasion has already begun. A footnote here reminds readers that the High Evolutionary knew that he’d become a target of Exodus back in Excalibur #113.
The High Evolutionary flees to the Savage Land. Isotope E isn’t special to anyone but him, as the Evolutionary own personal evolution has become unstable causing him to regress down the evolutionary ladder. In order to maintain his proper human form he must expose himself to the isotope. See Quicksilver #8-9