Pietro Maximoff, also known as Quicksilver, was a superhuman Sokovian citizen who possessed superhuman speed, reflexes and accelerated perception. He was the twin brother of Wanda Maximoff. He was killed by Ultron whilst saving citizens.
Years later, Ralph Bohner, with the help of the witch Agatha Harkness, impersonated Pietro as a ruse to discover how Wanda was able to create the Westview Anomaly.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Pietro was born in 1989 along with his twin sister, Wanda, to Olek and Iryna Maximoff.
WandaVision[]
"Previously On"[]
In Novi Grad, Sokovia, Pietro called out his parents for not speaking in English during their TV night. Pietro was annoyed by Wanda's choice of show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, but enjoyed watching it regardless. Shortly, a Stark Industries bomb hit the Maximoff home, killing Olek and Iryna instantly, followed by a second which didn't detonate. Wanda unknowingly used a probabilty hex which stopped the bomb from detonating. The twins were trapped there for two days.
Avengers: Age of Ultron Prelude - This Scepter'd Isle[]
As HYDRA was harnessing the power of the scepter for a variety of effects, such as powering paraphernalia ranging from their own technology to Chitauri tech recovered from New York, Strucker approaches a group of Sokovian rioters, offering them the power needed to save their country. Among the rioters are twins Pietro and Wanda Maximoff. The Sokovians agree, and each undergo a number of tests where they are exposed to the scepter's energy; out of all of the test subjects, only the Maximoffs survive.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier[]
Wolfgang von Strucker led a HYDRA scientist to "the twins", and declared it was the "age of miracles". Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch were held in separate cells in the HYDRA base.
Avengers: Age of Ultron[]
- "You didn't see that coming"
- ―Pietro[src]
Pietro and his sister Wanda were waiting with Baron von Strucker when the Avengers raided the Sokovian HYDRA outpost. The Twins joined the fight and Pietro caught Hawkeye's arrows before they could hit their target and taunted him asking "you didn't see that coming?" He also punched Captain America, knocking him down before rejoining his sister who decided to let the Avengers take Loki's Scepter after seeing inside Tony Stark's mind.
Ultron, knowing that the Twins hated Stark, met with them in a Sokovian monastery where Pietro explained how their family was killed by Tony Stark's bombs. Ultron offered them a position by his side and they accepted.
They went to South Africa to get Vibranium from Ulysses Klaue but were attacked once more by the Avengers. Pietro engaged Captain America and managed to land several blows before being knocked down. After finding Wanda injured from her fight with Hawkeye they both left with Ultron for Seoul.
In Seoul, Wanda read the mind of the currently-being-built Vision who was embedded with the Mind Gem and saw the cataclysmic future that Ultron desired. Pietro lifted his sister and escaped the laboratories. When the Avengers came to stop Ultron, Pietro and Wanda assisted them and once the Vision was retrieved they return with Captain America to Avengers Tower.
Pietro sided with Captain America when it was discovered that Stark had began to upload J.A.R.V.I.S. into the Vision, wishing to create another android. Pietro pulled out the power sources when Hawkeye shot the glass floor he was standing on. After the Vision explained his alliance, the group left for Sokovia where Ultron had returned to.
During the Battle for Sokovia, Pietro managed to help evacuate some of the civilians and destroy several dozen Ultron Sentries. When Ultron attempted to gun down the Avengers using the Quinjet Pietro saved Hawkeye and the injured child he was carrying. After he stopped running he realized that the bullets had actually hit him and fell down next to Hawkeye, his last words being "You didn't see that coming".
In the aftermath of the battle, Hawkeye gave his newborn child the middle name Pietro in honor of his fallen ally.
Character traits[]
Pietro and his sister Wanda have Eastern European accents. Pietro had an impatient personality because it seems to him that the rest of the world was moving in slow motion and that he is constantly waiting for it to catch up. He had a fun-loving, semi-serious flare to him.
Pietro was a rather cocky, arrogant, impatient, tenacious, and quick-tempered person. These personality traits are likely a side affect of his super-speed, due to thinking and acting at a much faster rate than most. Despite this, Pietro had a desire for peace as he wished to save his country to the point he was willing to be experimented on by HYDRA, giving him the formidable powers he now possesses.
He also deeply cares for Wanda and the two shared a deep bond though they would occasionally bicker like normal siblings. He looked after his sister and relied on her for support. Wanda was devastated by Pietro's death at the hands of Ultron, to the point she said to Ultron that she just "died".
Pietro originally desired to destroy the Avengers and in particular, Tony Stark for revenge, to the point they decided to join Ultron when he said he shared the same goal. However, Pietro chose to betray Ultron when he found out about his true goal, showing that he was willing to put aside his personal grudges for the greater good.
Out of his relationships with the Avengers, his most complicated was with Clint Barton. Ever since they first met, the two had constantly competed, fought, and taunted each other. Though this initially started out as hatred, their relationship eventually becomes a friendly rivalry and they became good friends and teammates through Pietro helping the Avengers, while still continuing their friendly banter during the Battle of Sokovia. He later proves himself a true hero and Avenger by sacrificing his life to protect Clint and a civilian boy from the Quinjet's gunfire. Clint later named his newborn son, Nathaniel Pietro Barton, showing that he deeply respected Pietro for his choices.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Superhuman Physiology: Pietro and his sister Wanda are classified as "Enhanced" by the Avengers. The twins were experimented on by Strucker using the Mind Stone in the Chitauri Scepter. The results gave the twins different and unique power sets as a result. Pietro's body is adapted towards the rigors of high-speed running. His cardiovascular and respiratory systems are many times more efficient than those of a normal human being. The chemical processes of Pietro's musculature are so highly enhanced that his body does not generate fatigue poisons, the normal by-products of locomotion, which force the body to rest. Instead, his body constantly expels waste products during his accelerated respiration through exhalation. His joints are smoother and lubricated more efficiently than those of a normal human being. His tendons have the tensile strength of spring steel. His bones are incredibly durable, able to withstand the dynamic shocks of his feet touching the ground at speeds a human could never achieve or withstand. His practical reaction time is several times faster than a normal human's and the speed at which his brain processes information is heightened to a level commensurate with his bodily speed, enabling him to perceive his surroundings while traveling at high velocities. His lachrymose is more viscous than normal, thus preventing rapid evaporation and replenishment of surface fluids on his eyeballs under the influence of high wind velocity to occlude his vision.
- Superhuman Speed: Pietro had the ability to run at extremely high, even supersonic, speeds. When imprisoned by Wolfgang von Strucker, he was able to move from one end of his cell to another in less than a fraction of a second. His powers made him almost unbeatable in battle, with his speed he could generate extreme force and momentum. In his confrontation with the Avengers, he managed to avoid multiple attacks, and knocked down Captain America in seconds. This power made him able to outmaneuver someone as fast and perceptive as Hawkeye with absolute ease, catching his arrows and sending him flying through the air multiple times. It was only his ignorance towards Mjölnir that allowed Pietro to be caught off guard, knocking him down for awhile. Shortly afterwards, however, he took down Captain America again. He used his speed to quickly save Scarlet Witch from Hawkeye after knocking him down as well. His enhanced momentum allowed him to dismantle and crush numerous Ultron Sentries by moving at accelerated speed and colliding with them.
- Superhuman Strength: Pietro had enhanced momentum, which 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. This allowed him to match Captain America's far superior strength in their confrontation, allowing Pietro to send the latter flying to the floor with a super-accelerated punch. During the Battle of Sokovia, Quicksilver used this ability again to dismantle and crush numerous Ultron Sentries by colliding with them at great speeds. This force, however, was not enough to injure Thor, who was barely affected by Quicksilver smashing into him at supersonic speeds. Quicksilver's aura seem to protect those he carries even though they lack his enhanced physiology. Quicksilver can move multiple people in an instant, without risking whiplash injury or damage caused by high speed air friction.
- Accelerated Perception: Pietro's speed also 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 has perfect control over this ability, he's not always looking the world in slow motion.
- Supercharged Brain Activity: Pietro can access superhuman levels in his brain further than processing information. He can 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: Pietro possesses superhuman agility being more flexible and having greater balance, able to change direction immediately, he can make sharp turns on city streets without sliding or losing his balance, and helps him leap farther and higher while running.
- Speed-Induced Resistance: Pietro can resist the effects of friction, reduced oxygen, and kinetic impact, while moving at incredible speeds.
- Superhuman Metabolism: Pietro 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, as he quickly recovered from the being shot in the arm and could still act as if he were not injured.
- Superhuman Reflexes: Pietro's increased speed also augments his reaction time, 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. As a result, Quicksilver tends to see the world around him as if it were in slow motion, especially when he was moving at super speed.
- Bodily Vibration: Pietro had the ability to vibrate some or all of his cells and overall parts of his body on command for various effects.
Abilities[]
- Bilingualism: As a native Sokovian, Pietro spoke that language fluently, in addition to English (albeit with a thick Sokovian accent).
Relationships[]
- Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch - Younger twin sister; deceased.
- Olek Maximoff - Father; deceased.
- Iryna Maximoff - Mother; deceased.
- Ultron - Ally turned enemy and killer.
- Ultron Sentries - Allies turned enemies.
- Vision - Ally.
- Helen Cho - Enemy turned ally through brainwashing.
- Baron Von Strucker - Ally.
- Dr. List - Ally.
- Avengers
- Steve Rogers/Captain America - Enemy turned ally and team leader.
- Tony Stark/Iron Man - Enemy turned ally and teammate; deceased.
- Thor Odinson - Enemy turned ally and teammate.
- Bruce Banner/Hulk - Enemy turned ally and teammate.
- Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow - Enemy turned ally and teammate; deceased.
- Clint Barton/Hawkeye Enemy turned ally and teammate.
- Ralph Bohner - Impersonator.
Appearances/Actors[]
- Marvel Cinematic Universe (3 films)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (First appearance) - Aaron Taylor-Johnson
- Avengers: Age of Ultron - Aaron Taylor-Johnson
- Captain America: Civil War (Referenced only)
- Marvel Cinematic Universe (2 TV series)
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- "The Dirty Half Dozen" (Mentioned only)
- WandaVision
- "Now in Color" (Mentioned only)
- "On a Very Special Episode" (Mentioned only)
- "Previously On" - Gabriel Gurevich
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
- Marvel Cinematic Universe (1 comic)
Behind the scenes[]
- The film's character is loosely based on the Ultimate Marvel version of the character.
Trivia[]
- On October 30th, Aaron Taylor-Johnson officially signed on as Quicksilver.[1]
- Taylor-Johnson's Kick-Ass co-star Evan Peters portrayed the X-Men version of the character in 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past and 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse.
- Two cinematic versions of Quicksilver currently exist simultaneously. Quicksilver can be used by either Marvel Studios or 20th Century Fox providing that the latter doesn't mention anything about his allegiance to the Avengers and the former doesn't refer to him as a "mutant" or name him as Magneto's son. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige stated that the Marvel Studios' version of Quicksilver would differ from Evan Peters' version of the character from X-Men: Days of Future Past in that they would focus on his history in Eastern Europe, while the X-Men version of the character omitted this background detail.
- 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 Daisy Johnson, were revived with the GH.325 drug without any ill effects, even before their latent powers were awakened.
- Pietro's screen time in Avengers: Age of Ultron is 26:43.