The Quickening

We live in an age of very fast people. Not only do you have The Flash on The CW, but you also have two versions of Quicksilver in "X-Men: Days of Reboot's Past" and "Avengers: Soufflé of Ultron". With so many speedsters, I'm sure people are asking, "what's the difference". Prepare to be answered!

The Flash is one of DC Comic's many legacy characters, spanning many years of incarnations. The first Flash was Jay Garrick (1940), second was Barry Allen (1956), third was Wally West (1959/1986), and last was Bart Allen (1994/2006). Talking about each Flash is a post in itself, so I'll be focusing on Barry Allen given he's the best known. Barry Allen was a forensics scientist who was doused with thunderstruck chemicals which gave him the power of super speed. This newfound power drove Barry to become The Scarlet Speedster himself, The Flash. Having super speed connected Barry to The Speed Force, a force of nature like time or death. The Speed Force's power allowed Barry to expand what he could do with his speed: vibrate his molecules so fast he could go through walls, spin fast enough to create whirlwinds, speak and read at hyper speeds, and even travel through time. In the DC Universe, Barry Allen is the fastest living being. A founding member of The Justice League, Barry has many friendships across the superhero community, mainly with Oliver Queen/Green Arrow, Hal Jordan/Green Lantern, and Bruce Wayne/Batman. Similar to Superman, Barry is best known for his likable and trustworthy personality, and like Batman he has had his fair share of sidekicks like Kid Flash and Impulse. Barry Allen is one of The DCU's most influential heroes and undoubtedly its fastest champion. And yes, he even beat Superman in a race.

Created in 1964, Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver was believed to be the twin brother of The Scarlet Witch and the son of mutant villain Magneto, however it would be later revealed that he and his sister were not Magneto's children and were in fact experimented on by a cosmic villain, resulting in their individual powers. Before the revelation that he was not a mutant, Quicksilver was part of Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. One year later, he and his sister would become part of the second generation of Avengers. He also married and had a child with the Inhuman Crystal, but their marriage did not last. There was a period where Quicksilver lost his "mutant" powers, but used The Inhuman's Terrigen Mist to give himself new powers like duplication by grabbing future versions of himself, teleporting by jumping into the near future, and witnessing events far before they happen. These powers eventually faded away and he regained his former powers. While his sister Scarlet Witch would be the catalyst for many events in the Marvel Universe, Quicksilver was always the tag-along character, mostly written to be overprotective of his sister. Often the annoyance to other characters, Quicksilver is very much the kind of guy you hate being around, but can't finish the job without.

One of the most interesting things about these two characters is that they have both described the world as being slow to them, that their constant super-speed renders the rest of the world too sluggish. That fact says a lot about their personalities as Quicksilver has always been impatient, stubborn and easily upset, while The Flash is usually patient, hopeful and lighthearted, though these character differences most likely stem from personal upbringing as Quicksilver grew up as a criminal and The Flash grew up to be a cop. Their speed allows them to do things most people don't consider when the factor of super-speed comes to mind, and their creativity is only as impressive because they've literally had all the time in the world to think about their abilities. Now if you really need to ask, The Flash is faster than Quicksilver. Reason being is that while Quicksilver is naturally fast, The Flash's connection to the literal manifestation of speed endow him with much more power. The realm of colors and universes is not the feature that sets these two apart, it is rather the personality and motivations that make them who they are. Thanks of reading!
P.S. I'll be doing a new podcast series called "Public Origins" very soon, it will be a podcast where I explain the origins of comic book characters! Please vote on which character I should cover: Hank Pym/Ant-Man, Arthur Curry/Aquaman, or Elizabeth Braddock/Psylocke. You can vote by commenting your character's name here on The Panel Biter, or on The Panel Biter's Facebook and/or Twitter. Please cast your vote, the first podcast for "Public Origins" starts this coming Friday!

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