Son of M

(Marvel, 2006)
™ and © 2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Pietro Maximoff, aka Quicksilver, was one of the many mutants who left powerless after the events of Marvel’s 2005 event: House of M. Pietro has always been an impulsive, hot-headed character, so his reduction to merely human status is not something he accepts with resignation. When his attempted suicide is thwarted by Spider-Man, he calls on his estranged wife, Crystal of the Inhumans to take him to her home in Attilan on the moon where his daughter Luna also lives. But Pietro has more than the comforts of family in mind. Atillan is the home of the Mists of Terrigan which triggered the mutation of the Inhumans and which Pietro believes can be his salvation. But Black Bolt denies him access because the mists are the heritage of pureblooded Inhumans, which he clearly is not. Of course, Pietro does not accept this judgment and exposes himself to the mists anyway, causing changes he did not foresee. Nevertheless, Pietro persuades his daughter to help him steal the crystals which are the source of the mists and then flee to earth where he envisions himself as the savior of mutant kind.

— George Haberberger

From the Comics Buyer’s Guide:

His personality defined by his powers as much as anything else, former speedster Quicksilver now finds himself forced to live life at the pace of those he previously held in contempt—normal human and super-human alike—in the aftermath of “House of M.” David Hine’s story convincingly portrays the plight of the former mutant and Avenger, typically an unsympathetic character (arrogant is one of the more polite words used over the years to describe Pietro), as he endures—at a snail’s pace compared to his former existence—life’s ordinary indignities as well as a beating at the hands of common thugs he would previously have dealt with in an instant, instead being rescued by Spider-Man. He gets no sympathy, however, from the normally easy-going hero, still haunted by the memories of the life he lost in the undoing of the “House of M.”

Roy Allen Martinez’ illustrations, aided by the tones employed by color artist Pete Pantazis, perfectly suit this tale, skillfully conveying the mundaneness of the life Pietro is living.

— George Nelson

Jump to issue: