When Quicksilver Ran Out on X-Factor

CBR

By Brian Cronin

Published Feb 10, 2019

In their feature examining characters pulled out of series due to editorial reasons, CSBG spotlights Quicksilver's race from X-Factor to the Avengers!

This is a feature called "Beg Steal or Borrow," which is about when comic book characters are abruptly pulled from one book to another. I'm not talking about when comic book characters simply migrate from one title to another (I spotlight examples of that in my feature, "Looks Like I'm Moving"). I mean examples where a writer has a character taken out of the book against their wishes. It almost always happens in team books, but sometimes it occurs in solo titles, as well.

Quicksilver's tenure on X-Factor was an odd one. The cover of X-Factor #71 pretty clearly spotlighted the lineup for the new team (which was the replacement for Freedom Force as the United States government's sponsored mutant superhero team), all in their matching uniforms and yet Quicksilver was nowhere to be seen...

In the actual issue (by Peter David, Larry Stroman and Al Milgrom), Quicksilver shows up in Washington D.C. looking for X-Factor...

When he finds them, he collapses at the door of their team home...

He was visiting them because he was looking for help with his mutant powers, which seem to be killing him.

He was warned of the attack on his powers by a mysterious villain...

It turns out, however, in X-Factor #75 that it was all just stress...

So Quicksilver just sort of ended up on the team. However, he did not wear a uniform like the rest of them. There was a good bit in X-Factor #87 (by David, Joe Quesada and Milgrom) where he talks about he doesn't fit in with the rest of the team...

Later, Val Cooper showed how little she knew about Quicksilver...

However, in X-Factor #93 (by Scott Lobdell, J.M. DeMatteis, Terry Shoemaker and Al Milgrom), we see that Quicksilver might finally have to get a team uniform...

It debuts later in the issue, in hilarious fashion....

In the next issue, though (by Lobdell, DeMatteis, Paul Ryan and Milgrom), he reflects about missing his estranged wife, Crystal, who is a member of the Avengers...

Still, he seems pretty much part of the team now, right? Dude JUST go an X-Factor team uniform! And yet...

Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='Fatal attraction pulls Quicksilver away!']

In X-Men #25, Magneto strikes back after the world's governments tried to create a force field to keep him out. So Xavier puts together a team in X-Men #25 (by Fabian Nicieza, Adam Kubert and Matt Ryan) to take Magneto down. Quicksilver shows up to help out by joining the team due to it being, you know, his own father that they are after...

When they actually get into battle with Magneto, Pietro and Magneto have a big fight scene and it was actually to save Quicksilver that Wolverine attacked Magneto and had the adamantium pulled out of his skeleton!

Okay, so Xavier then mindwipes Magneto and the X-Men go home, but at the same time, Quicksilver's daughter with Crystal, Luna, is kidnapped to Genosha and the X-Men agree to help him get her back...

This leads to a crossover with the Avengers (who have also come to Genosha to rescue Luna) and in the end, Quicksilver helps get his daughter back but Magneto's replacement, Exodus, almost kills him...