Well before characters like Guy Gardner pr USAgent hit the scene, Pietro Maximoff was the first hero I can remember thinking of as kind of a jerk. Sure, there was Namor, but in those days I considered him as much of a villain as a hero. Quicksilver was always clearly on the side of good, fighting alongside The Avengers, Inhumans and X-Men - but there was no getting around his abrasive personality. It was cool to see that not all superheroes had the same cookie cutter type of good guy personality, and it helped with the the group dynamics of the teams he operated with. I did like the explanation later on that he could never fully shut off his speedy perception, so the world always seems in slow motion for him, leading to a state of irritation.
Cap's Avengers was my first "exposure" to the team. I think it was the '60's Captain America cartoon. It was interesting that Cap was leading a group of reformed criminals...
ReplyDelete"Cap's Kooky Quartet"
ReplyDeleteBack in those days, Hawkeye could be kind of a jerk as well--at least in the way he treated Cap with disrespect....
I always preferred the Jack Kirby version of The Black Racer, myself. The current version looks too much like the love child of Marvel's Darkhawk and GI Joe's Snake Eyes!
ReplyDeleteOh well, goodbye Pietro...
ReplyDelete;)
Even the Flashes have trouble outrunning the Black Racer, and it's canonical (from the JLA/Avengers crossover) that Quicksilver -- lacking, as he does, access to the Speed Force -- is significantly slower than them...
Someone once noted that of all the Marvel characters, the two who had retained their original personalities and stayed the most consistent were Quicksilver and Hawkeye. I can't deny that I've greatly enjoyed both of their appearances. Hawkeye did a dynamite job leading the Avengers... I wonder how Quicksilver would have done if forced into the job?
ReplyDelete@ELS: it probably would've been "Goodbye Cap's Kooky Qaurtet."
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a very interesting point, ELS. Of all the Avengers, Quicksilver might be the one who has served the longest without ever serving as team leader. (I'm not sure. Has Wanda ever been the team leader? Or the Hulk?) Anyway, I'd like to think that despite his abrasive personality that Quicksilver would rise to the occasion and become a patient and effective leader. On the other hand, it seems unlikely that anyone would be able to follow his directions fast enough to suit him.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, it wold make for an interesting story.
I'd love to see your take on a Black Racer / Deathurge crossover. Maybe cooperating where Deathurge is trying to make a character kill themselves so Black Racer can take their soul?
ReplyDelete@Sonofjack - Wanda was the team leader (not the field leader) of Kurt Busiek's Avengers in volume 3. The Hulk has never led the Avengers, but I don't think he's been a member long enough at any span to qualify.
ReplyDeleteIf I think of the Avengers from Avengers #100, then the only ones who haven't led the team (that I can recall) are the Hulk, Quicksilver, Hercules, the Black Knight, and the Black Panther. And the two "Blacks" could probably have pulled it off.
Black Knight was the field leader during the time he and Sersi, Herc, Crystal et al were the Avengers (at least when Cap wasn't around). Not their best era, with everyone wearing those horrible leather jackets.
ReplyDeleteEso de verdad paso?
ReplyDelete