So unless you’ve been living under a geek-rock, you know about the so-called Quicksilver Wars between Bryan Singer and Joss Whedon. It comes down to this: Both Whedon and Singer are going to be using the mutant hero Quicksilver in their movies X-Men: Days of Future Past and Avengers: Age of Ultron. For those who don’t know, Quicksilver has the mutant ability of super speed, and is the son of the super-villain Magneto and the sister of the Scarlet Witch. He has been both a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and the Avengers. He’s not a very well-known character in the Marvel Universe and this is probably the most attention the poor guy has ever received. So how can the character of Quicksilver be the same in both X-Men and Avengers?
This article is 100% speculation, based on various articles and news items from the past several months.
•1944: The mutant known as Eric Lensherr (and his family) is sent to Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland when he was approximately 18 years old. Due to his emerging mutant powers of magnetism, Lensherr is experimented on by Klaus Schmidt (AKA Sebastian Shaw), a fellow mutant and Nazi.
•After being liberated from the Concentration Camp, Lensherr meets a gypsy girl named Magda and they have two children together, Pietro and Wanda. Pietro is born several years before Wanda. Because of his need for revenge on Schmidt and the other Nazis that experimented on him, Lensherr’s new family is quickly abandoned shortly after the birth of Wanda.
•1962: The Cuban Missile Crisis is later revealed to be an attack against mutants fighting on opposite sides of the battle. Lensherr’s best friend, the mutant telepath Charles Xavier, is shot and paralyzed as a direct result of Lensherr’s powers. Lensherr adapts the name Magneto and begins his fight for mutant superiority. He begins to recruit mutants to his Brotherhood of Mutants.
•1963: Magneto assassinates President John F. Kennedy by magnetically “bending” Lee Harvey Oswald’s bullet fired from the Texas School Book Depository. He is tried for the crime and is incarcerated in a plastic prison, the only type of cell that can hold a mutant with his abilities.
•1973: The mutant known as Wolverine is sent back in time to prevent an apocalyptic future from happening. In order for this to happen, former best friends Magneto and Professor X must work together. Around the same time, Pietro’s mutant powers begin to develop – he has the ability to move at super-fast speeds. Since Wanda has not yet hit puberty, her mutant powers remain inactive. The two are extremely close and Wanda is frequently photographed wearing a princess costume. He becomes violently protective of Wanda, a trait that will continue well into the future.
•Pietro is recruited by Wolverine and Professor X to break Magneto out of his plastic prison. He wears “a 70’s-type costume” with a silver lamé jacket and is considered an arrogant hot head. His powers do not allow him the gift of patience. He is given his new mutant name, Quicksilver. He now considers Pietro to be his “slave name” and no longer goes by it.
•1973-2014: After the events of Magneto’s escape, Quicksilver goes back home to be with his little sister. Eventually, Wanda’s mutant powers of probability manipulation emerge. Quicksilver and Wanda, eventually known as the Scarlet Witch, go around Europe and Britain for the next 30 + years, but Quicksilver doesn’t appear to age due to his accelerated metabolism. Wanda grows up but remains similarly young due to her mutant powers. They are referred to as being “euro and edgy.” The two end up working for HYDRA (the former scientific arm of the Nazi party, defeated by Captain America in WWII) and its new leader, Baron Von Strucker. They quickly become experienced warriors/terrorists and refer to themselves as twins.
•2015: By this time, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch do not wish to be referred to as mutants, nor is their previous association with their father, Magneto, brought up. In the parlance of Agents of SHIELD, they are “Gifted” individuals and are on SHIELD’s Index of super-powered individuals. Due to their actions in HYDRA, they end up on the radar of SHIELD, and are pressed into service with the Avengers. The team, headed by Captain America, is at odds with the two reluctant heroes.