Jeanne-Marie Beaubier,DC is undeniably more known for its speedsters than Marvel. Just in terms of the number of speedsters, DC has got their competition way outnumbered. So, when comparing the companies in regard to the power and speed of their speedsters -- characters whose primary power is super speed -- DC is way ahead at the finishing line. However, most of Marvel's fastest characters aren't speedsters, per say. And when just looking at how fast characters are, period, Marvel's right up there with DC, which is why we decided to rank Marvel's fastest characters from slowest to fastest.
These characters span the over 70 years of Marvel history. A couple of them first appeared alongside Captain America during the Golden Age, while others haven't made their first appearance until the last decade. A good chunk of this list consists in well-known heroes -- albeit, well-known for reasons other than their speed. When conducting our research for this, we were surprised to find out just how fast some of Marvel's most popular characters truly are. Particularly stunning was the number of characters that turned out to be faster than Quicksilver. We've also included a decent amount of lesser-known characters that, although they often sneak under the radar, are crazy fast. Here are Marvel's 25 fastest characters, ranked.
25 WHIZZER (ROBERT FRANK)
Robert Frank, otherwise known as the Whizzer, first appeared in U.S.A. Comics #1, created by Jack Kirby and Charles Nicholas. Frank gained his powers of super speed early on in life after receiving an infusion of mongoose blood. He later took up the codename "Whizzer" and gained recognition as a crime-fighter focusing on Nazi espionage in the U.S. during WWII. In the years since the war, Whizzer joined a short-lived superhero team known as the All-Winners Squad and then disappeared for a while, not to emerge again until he had a conflict with the Avengers.
The Avengers had stumbled upon Whizzer's highly dangerous son, propelling Whizzer to use his powers for the first time in years to protect his offspring from the heroes. After the dispute, Whizzer and the Avengers made amends, and the old hero even fought alongside the Earth's Mightiest Heroes for a few missions. Despite being known for hyper-speed in his heyday, Whizzer would've never been able to hang if he were to go up against the other speedsters on this list. He maxed out at 100 miles per hour when he was in his prime. Impressive for sure -- but compared to the other characters on this list? Not so much.
24 3-D MAN
Delroy Garrett Jr., aka 3-D Man, made his debut in Avengers (vol. 3) #8, written by Kurt Busiek and drawn by George Perez. Garrett Jr. was first introduced as the hero Triathlon, a former Olympic athlete who'd acquired strength, speed, and durability that equated to that of three times the world's greatest natural athlete. Triathlon worked alongside the Avengers in a crucial mission against Kang the Conqueror, before disappearing, only to re-emerge years later during "Civil War". During that event, Triathlon fought as a member of Captain America's Secret Avengers. After the conflict concluded, Triathlon joined the Initiative where he changed his codename to 3-D Man.
He was featured in subsequent events, joining the Skull Kill Krew during "Secret Invasion", fighting the inverted Scarlet Witch during "Axis", and resisted Hydra during "Secret Empire". 3-D Man can reach a top speed of approximately 105 miles per hour, and, thanks to his superhuman stamina, can maintain sub-maximal speeds for several hours. With that kind of speed, 3-D Man just makes out list. If he were to compete with the other characters on this list -- guys and gals who can run beyond the speed of sound and even reach light-speed -- he wouldn't be much of a match.
23 BLACK RACER
Ariana Saddiqi, aka Black Racer, first made her appearance in Captain America (Vol. 1) #337, written by Mark Gruenwald and drawn by Tom Morgan. The villainous speedster debuted as a member of the Serpent Squad, along with Viper, Puff Adder, Fer-de-Lance, and Copperhead. The team went up against Captain America, who swiftly defeated them. Later, in Quasar #17, written by Mark Gruenwald and drawn by Mike Manley, Black Racer participated in a race between the fastest in all of the universe, put together by the cosmic speedster called the Runner. Black Racer didn't to so hot and was outpaced by the likes of Quicksilver, Makkari, and Whizzer early on in the race. In recent years, she's continued to work alongside the former members of the Serpent Squad against Captain America. She was last seen in Captain America: Sam Wilson as a member of her renamed team of villains, Serpent Solutions.
It's unknown how fast Black Racer can run, but the fact that she was invited by Runner to participate in a Galactic Marathon speaks volumes. Only the fastest in the galaxy receive an invitation from Runner -- who is himself one of the fastest in the universe. For this reason, we have her beating out several other characters on this list.
22 SPITFIRE
Jacqueline Falsworth, aka Spitfire, made her debut in Invaders #7, created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Frank Robbins. The daughter of Union Jack, Falsworth gained super speed after a receiving a blood transfusion from the original Human Torch. She discovered her new ability when the armored Nazi agent known as Blue Bullet attacked the Invaders and she sprung into action to help out. Shortly after that, Spitfire officially joined the Invaders. After a fight with Master Man, a Nazi who'd received a dose of Super Soldier Serum, Spitfire was again in desperate need of blood. This time when she received an infusion from the Human Torch, she de-aged, leaving her in a similar situation to her fellow Golden Age superhero, Captain America.
Spitfire has been shown to be able to run faster than the speed of sound. To adapt to the type of stress this put on her body, she physiology experienced permanent changes. Her metabolism sped up, her bones became stronger, and her body stopped secreting the normal by-products associated with fatigue, allowing her to not only run fast but also run long. In addition to that, Spitfire has some vampiric abilities including super strength and the ability to sprout fangs.
21 SLINGSHOT
Yo-Yo Rodriguez, otherwise known as Slingshot, made her debut in Mighty Avengers #13, created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Alex Maleev. Shortly before the events of "Secret Invasion", Nick Fury threw together a secret strike force team called the New Warriors. Slingshot, along with Phobos, Hellfire, Sebastian Druid and Stonewall made the team. Some of their most notable missions included fighting the Skrulls during "Secret Invasion", helping out during "Siege", and fighting the forces of Hydra. It was after a battle with Hydra that Slingshot lost both of her arms and was fitted with prosthetic arms in their absence. If that wasn't enough, Slingshot's budding career as a superhero was cut short when she was apparently killed by Wrecker.
There's a nuance to Slingshot's super speed that sets her apart from any other character on this list. As soon as she's done using her super speed, she automatically returns to the spot from which she started running. Aside from this and the fact that she got her powers from her father's mutated DNA, there isn't much known about Slingshot's super speed -- her max speed is never revealed. And, if Slingshot really does remain dead, it doesn't look like we'll ever find out.
20 SPEED
Thomas Shepherd, aka Speed, first appeared in Young Avengers #10, created by writer Allan Heinberg and artist Jim Cheung. Speed came into play when the Young Avengers were seeking help in the wake of Hulkling being captured by Kree Sentries. They broke Speed out of his prison, where he'd been put for accidentally destroying his school due to his unstable powers. Speed couldn't be happier to be free and quickly became a key member of the young team of heroes. Along with the other Young Avengers, Speed participated in some key events in Marvel history, such as searching for Scarlett Witch who'd been missing since "House of M", fighting on the frontlines during "Secret Invasion", and rescuing the wounded during the battle at Asgard in "Siege".
Speed's maximum velocity remains to be seen, but we do know that he's capable of supersonic speeds. He's achieved Mach 4 before -- four times the speed of sound. Despite this, he doesn't appear to be too close to Quicksilver in speed. The two once had a friendly race, and Quicksilver, who didn't appear to be trying at all, kept up despite carrying Wiccan over his shoulder. However, Speed is still quite young and his true potential remains untapped.
19 AURORA
Aurora, born Jeanne-Marie Beaubier, was introduced in X-Men (Vol. 1) #120, created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Byrne. Aurora is the twin sister of Northstar and also started out as a member of Alpha Flight. Her powerset is identical to that of her twin brother, making her also capable of becoming a living projectile. Aurora functioned as a key member of Alpha Flight in the early years, playing an instrumental role in the team's prolonged conflict with Loki. She struggled with split personalities, going back and forth between multiple personalities and psychological wholeness. Recently, during the All-New All-Different era, Aurora joined the Alpha Flight Space Program -- a team formed to be Earth's first defense against alien threats.
Having the same abilities as her brother Northstar, Aurora used to be capable of the same level of speed. However, Dr. Langkowski molecularly restructured Aurora's body, resulting in a reduction of her power. While she has superhuman speed, it's nowhere near what it used to be. Rather than closing in on the speed of light, Aurora now maxes out just above the speed of sound. Due to where her power level currently sits at, we decided to put her behind her brother on this list.
18 HERMES
Hermes Diaktoros first made his appearance in Venus #3, created by Stan Lee and Ken Bald. The Olympic god Hermes, who stems from Greek mythology, possesses powers of incredible speed, super strength, flight, and immortality, among other abilities. He hasn't been featured in many Marvel stories in recent decades -- he was more prominent during the '50s. At that time, Hermes participated in adventures with other Olympic gods, like Venus and Jupiter. Notably, Hermes ran into the Asgardian god of mischief, Loki, who'd cast a spell that de-powered Hermes and the other Olympians. Luckily, Venus managed to persuade Loki to return the powers back to the Olympians.
Hermes has been recorded regularly running past the speed of sound. His max speed is running one mile per second, which equates to approximately Mach 4.6. However, despite being the fastest Olympic god, and a mythological figure is mostly known for his speed, Hermes wouldn't be able to compete with most of the characters who have made this list. For this reason, we've placed Hermes fairly high up, even behind some of Marvel's barely known characters. He would have to run much faster than four and half times the speed of sound to even break the top ten on our list.
17 NORTHSTAR
Northstar, made his first appearance X-Men (Vol. 1) #120. He is a mutant capable of super speed by becoming a living projectile, and he started off as a member of the Canadian superhero team, Alpha Flight. In one of the most notable Northstar stories, the Jean-Paul discovered an abandoned baby in a dumpster. The HIV-positive baby died shortly after, motivating Northstar to come out as gay -- making him Marvel's first openly gay character. In the years after, Northstar explored life outside of Alpha Flight. He joined the X-Men and mentored Alpha Squadron, before finally returning to his original team.
The way that Northstar's power works is that he's able to concentrate and channel his vast stores of kinetic energy into a single direction, allowing him to either move his entire body at super speed or just parts of his body. While he's never traveled close to the speed of light, it is theoretically possible that he could do so. However, if he did, it would be at a great cost to his body and his environment. It's for this reason that Northstar ranks below some of the other characters on this list who've proven at least once, if not on multiple occasions, that they can travel at or faster than the speed of light.
16 BLUR
Blur, made his debut in DP7 #1, written by Mark Gruenwald and drawn by Paul Ryan. Blur started out on an alternate Earth in the very vast Marvel multiverse. Blur has the ability to move at incredible speeds, but with the rule that he also needs to huge quantities of food in order to keep up with his accelerated metabolism. He's also incapable of voluntarily ceasing movement -- in order to sleep, he has to receive tranquilizers. After "Secret Wars", Blur found himself on Earth-616 with most of Marvel's other heroes. He and other heroes who had lost their world during the event formed a new Squadron Supreme, intent on ensuring that their new world doesn't suffer the same fate as their old ones.
Although his maximum speed has yet to receive an official measurement, Blur has been recorded to have run at least 300 miles per hour. In Squadron Supreme (Vol. 4) #3, written by James Robinson and drawn by Leonard Kirk, the Squadron Supreme come into conflict with the Avengers Unity Division. During the issue, Blur proved himself capable of keeping up with Quicksilver. Whether or not he's faster than Marvel's trademark speedster has yet to be seen.
15 CAPTAIN MARVEL (CAROL DANVERS)
The current Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers, made her first appearance in Marvel Super-Heroes #13, written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Gene Colan. After getting mixed up with Captain Mar-Vell and the Kree Empire, Danvers' genetic material was altered so that she became half-Kree. This left her with an assortment of powers, including super strength, speed, and flight. Following her transformation, Danvers adopted the codename, Ms. Marvel. As Ms. Marvel, she worked as a solo hero at first, but after assisting the team on multiple occasions, Ms. Marvel joined the Avengers, a team that she'd be an on-and-off member of for her entire career. Recently, after Mar-Vell had sacrificed himself against the Phoenix Force, Danvers took up the name of Captain Marvel to honor him.
Danvers' Kree physiology gives her a variety of superhuman powers, from super strength to the ability to shoot phototonic blasts. She can also fly at incredibly high velocities, and it's been said that she's flown at Mach 3 for several consecutive hours, suggesting that her potential for speed is enormous. That combined with her ability to survive in the vacuum of space is what qualifies her for being such an effective cosmic hero, guarding not just Earth, but the galaxy at large.
14 WHIZ KID
Whiz Kid made her first appearance in She-Hulk #4, by writer Dan Slott and artist Juan Bobillo. She was introduced as an associate of She-Hulk's, both of them working for law firms. Initially, Whiz Kid isn't interested in heroics -- despite having super speed, she has no interest in using it to fight crime and would rather use to help out with her job at the law firm. However, after the events of "Civil War", and the Superhuman Registration Act was passed, Whiz Kid was forced to register as a superhuman. She then decided that she might as well try to save lives with her powers. During "Secret Invasion", Whiz Kid apparently died while attempting trying to protect the other heroes from the Skrull version of Yellowjacket.
Despite her relatively short time in comics, Whiz kid ranks among the Marvel Universe's top speedsters. She's been said to be able to have run faster than 30,000 miles per hour, which equates to around 39 times the speed of sound. It's a shame that she left the Marvel Universe -- we think she's faster than Marvel's other young speedster, Speed, and could've potentially rivaled the velocities that Quicksilver runs at. Here's our vote for Marvel giving her the resurrection treatment.
13 PHYLA-VELL
Phyla-Vell, who's gone by several aliases, including Captain Marvel, Quasar, and Martyr, made her first appearance in Captain Marvel (Vol. 5) #16, by writer Peter David and artist Paul Azaceta. Phyla, the artificially created daughter of Mar-Vell, first appeared to combat her brother Genis-Vell, who'd temporarily gone insane. Phyla went on to play a key role during the "Annihilation" event. During the final battle with Annihilus, Phyla took the Quantum Bands from Annihilus, allowing Nova to defeat the weakened villain. In more recent years, Phyla joined the Guardians of the Galaxy and clashed with the villain Magus, before meeting her abrupt end at the hands of Thanos in Guardians of the Galaxy (Vol. 2) #24.
When in possession of the Quantum Bands -- as with all users of the Bands -- Phyla ranked among the fastest in the galaxy. She was able to channel vast amounts of energy with the Bands into a source for super speed, propelling her across space at supersonic speeds. However, it's unclear Phyla would match up against some of her Kree relatives in a race. Unlike her father, Mar-Vell, she wasn't particularly well-known for her speed. Rather, what set her apart from the other Kree was her mastery over hand-to-hand combat.
12 SPEED DEMON
James Sanders, aka Speed Demon, made his debut in Avengers (Vol. 1) #69, written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Sal Buscema. Sanders' life changed forever when he accepted work on behalf of the Grandmaster in exchange for super speed. Initially, Sanders posed as a fraudulent Whizzer, fighting on the Squadron Sinister against the Avengers. Free of his debt to the Grandmaster, Sanders took up a life of crime as Speed Demon. He was frequently thwarted by Spider-Man, motivating him to join Beetle's Sinister Syndicate. The Syndicate proved to be unstable and quickly disintegrated into warring factions. Since then, Speed Demon has been all over the place. He tried his hand as an anti-hero and joined the Thunderbolts, then, again, worked for the Grandmaster on a new team called Supreme Power.
During the Superior Spider-Man era, Speed Demon joined the Sinister Six -- and was almost beaten to death by the Doc Ock-possessed Peter Parker. Speed Demon can regularly run at supersonic speeds. Among his many feats is running across water and up walls. He's also participated in the Runners Galactic Marathon, making him one of the fastest characters in the Marvel Universe. He gave it his best shot but ultimately lost to an alien named Fastforward.
11 BETA RAY BILL
Beta Ray Bill made his debut in Thor (Vol. 1) #337, written and drawn by Walter Simonson. Bill is a cosmic hero who, with the help of his Stormbreaker hammer, can reach incredible speeds. An alien from Korbin, Bill rose to prominence after a run-in with Thor, when, to the shock fans, he was found to be one of the few beings in the universe worthy of lifting Mjolnir. Shortly after, he acquired the Stormbreaker hammer, a weapon that rivaled Mjolnir in power. Bill, a cosmic hero, has never stayed in one place for very long. He's helped the Asgardians on various occasions, as well as Earth heroes like Spider-Man and Omega Flight, but he's also fought Galactus in space and protected the universe from an inter-dimensional threat from the Cancerverse.
Without Stormbreaker, Bill has the strength and speed to make the finest human athlete seem puny. With Stormbreaker, Bill is capable of reaching the speed of light. As a cosmic hero, that kind of speed comes in handy. Bill can often be seen zipping across the galaxy, from his ship called the New Korbin Skuttlebutt to Asgard to Earth to anywhere else. His ability to travel at the speed of light earns him a respectable ranking on our list.
10 QUICKSILVER
Pietro Maximoff, otherwise known as Quicksilver, was introduced in X-Men (Vol. 1) #4, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby. Quicksilver, the son of Magneto and brother of Scarlet Witch, started out as an antagonist of the X-Men, serving the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Quicksilver quickly reformed and joined the second generation of Avengers. Despite doubts over whether or not Quicksilver and the other new recruits deserved to be Avengers, the new team successfully thwarted major threats, including Doctor Doom and Kang the Conquerer. Since then, Quicksilver has been an on-again-off-again Avenger, having recently served as a member of the Avengers Unity Division.
Quicksilver started out with the relatively underwhelming ability to just break the speed of sound -- a feat that now seems almost common among Marvel's superpowered characters. However, after being captured and experimented on by the High Evolutionary, Quicksilver's powers received an upgrade. While it's unknown just how fast he can now travel at full speed, he continues to outdo himself. Once, he jogged around the world in 92 seconds, and another time he ran straight up Mount Everest without breaking a sweat. We aren't so confident he can hang with some of Marvel's cosmic heroes, but he appears to be Marvel's fastest pure speedster for sure.
9 CAPTAIN MAR-VELL
Captain Mar-Vell was introduced in Marvel Super-Heroes #12, written by Stan Lee and drawn by Gene Colan. Of Kree descent, Mar gained favor with Marvel's heroes when he saved Earth from Supremor, the intelligence that governed the Kree empire. Mar developed a psychic link to the hero Rick Jones, allowing him to take part in many battles from a distance, and play a key role in ending the Kree-Skrull War. Among the many things that Mar-Vell did during his superhero career, his greatest effect was probably how he mentored other cosmic heroes, such as Carol Danvers, who took over the mantle of Captain Marvel after Mar died for the second time during the events of Avengers Vs. X-Men.
Thanks to his Kree physiology and Nega Bands, Mar possessed many super-humanoid abilities -- including the ability to travel through space at incredible speeds. His powers were increased after he met with a godlike being named Zo. Zo transformed him into the most powerful Kree (save for Ronan), enhanced his abilities, and granted him the power to transport himself across the galaxy. At one time, he was seen traveling side-by-side with one-time Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, who'd transformed into pure energy. It's for that reason that we have him so high on our list, and just behind...
8 SPECTRUM
Monica Rambeau, aka Spectrum, first appeared in Amazing Spider-Man Annual (Vol. 1) #16, written by Roger Stern and drawn by John Romita Jr., Rambeau was working for the New Orleans Harbor Patrol when she came into contact with extradimensional energy, gifting her with the ability of flight, speed, and the ability to transform herself into pure energy. Rambeau started out with the Captain Marvel codename, and it wasn't long until she was accepted on to the Avengers. Rambeau fought for the Avengers for long period and eventually rose into a leadership position, which she had to later leave due to injuries. When Mar-Vell's son, Genis-Vell, came to claim the Captain Marvel title, Rambeau conceded and became Photon. Years later, when she joined the Mighty Avengers, she changed her name to Spectrum, which she still goes by now.
Spectrum can turn herself into any form of energy within the electromagnetic spectrum, allowing her to zip through space at astonishing speeds. While in her form of pure energy, Spectrum is quite easily capable of reaching light-speed. The ease and method with which she can reach high speeds set her apart from many on this list. However, it appears that she maxes out at light-speed, which is why we've put her behind several other heroes.
7 QUASAR (WENDELL VAUGHN)
Quasar made his first appearance in Captain America (Vol. 1) #217, written by Roy Thomas and Don Glut, and drawn by John Buscema. While working as a security guard for Stark Industries, sent to guard over a research project on the Quantum Bands, Vaughn and his team were attacked by A.I.M. In order to secure the Bands, Vaughn put them on and discovered that he had a talent for using them and controlling their power. Vaughn became Quasar and used his powers to defend Earth for a while, before setting out into space to explore and protect the universe. Quasar played an active role in many Marvel events, such as "Infinity War", "Secret Invasion", and "Annihilation".
The Quantum Bands are responsible for most of Quasar's immensely powerful abilities. As with all of the other users of the Quantum Bands, Quasar is capable of reaching incredible speeds. Similarly to Spectrum, Quasar is capable of transforming himself into pure quantum energy, allowing him to disperse his form across time and space. Quasar's ability to become quantum energy has the effect of making it appear as if he's teleported across large distances, which is why we have him just edging out Spectrum on our list.
6 NOVA (RICHARD RIDER)
Richard Rider, aka Nova, made his first appearance in Nova #1, by writer Marv Wolfman and artist John Buscema. As a teenager, Rider was chosen and inducted into the Nova Corps and received the powers of strength, speed, and flight. Nova honed his powers over time and became a key member of the original New Warriors. Long after his debut, Nova became involved with the greatest challenge of his life during "Annihilation". Annihilus was attempting to conquer the universe and had begun by wiping out most of the Nova Corps. Nova joined forces with elite cosmic heroes like Quasar, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and Silver Surfer. Nova avenged his fallen comrades in the event's conclusion when he slew Annihilus.
Nova has a direct link to the Nova Force, a deep well of energy that provides him with his set of powers. One of the ways in which he harnesses the Nova Force is by using it to reach incredible speeds while in flight. He numbers among the elite few cosmic heroes that are capable of light-speed travel. In fact, he regularly surpasses the speed of light while traversing the universe -- but does so only when he is far enough outside of a planetary atmosphere for fear of damaging the planet.