Comments on: A Year of Cool Comic Book Moments – Day 323

By: Push You Down

Push You Down — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 15:45:11 +0000

There’s the bit about Quicksilver caring for someone on the team. He gives a very pointed “no comment.”

I can’t remember if this was followed up on or referring to something specific.

15 years later I’d look back at it as an oblique reference to Polaris- Pietro maybe suspected a relation there?
But I have no idea.

By: Gary

Gary — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 21:33:21 +0000

@ noodles – that’s where the retention thing came from and where the “most” qualifier came from. I just couldn’t remember who wrote that series, only those McKone pencils. Thanks for giving me a writer’s name to go with it.

By: pibcak

pibcak — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:55:31 +0000

I dunno, while I do find it a fascinating bit of characterization for Quicksilver, I think it’s equally fascinating that Doc Samson had already figured that out (unless anybody thinks that he just *happened* to have a jigsaw puzzle of a snail–and thus the perfect metaphor for Pietro’s point–sitting around half finished).

By: Dalarsco

Dalarsco — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:10:03 +0000

On speedster thought, I’ve always assumed that they think faster, thought not necessarily better, than non-speedsters. It lets them keep up with the fast movement they are doing, but they can’t make the same kinds of logical connections that super-scientists do.

By: wwk5d

wwk5d — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:01:38 +0000

Jacob T. Levy – Yes, she was, but not sure what PAD planned for her. A lot of storylines he had set up were left hanging after he left mid-story (when the team visited Genosha), so who knows? It ended up being some organism that placed her under the control of the Acolytes…

Rob Ocelot – Yeah, JQ does tend to give his characters Medusa hair…

The Epilogue issues to the X-cutioner’s song are all pretty good, actually. Better than the actual cross-over (though the cross-over itself is kind of fun, in a switch your brain off before you start reading it kind of way…)

By: JKC

JKC — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:07:03 +0000

Imagine the concentration it would take for Quicksilver to talk at a speed that Doc Samson can understand him, and put the puzzle together at the same time. Pretty impressive feat on Quicksilver’s part.

By: Rob Ocelot

Rob Ocelot — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:06:40 +0000

Quesada’s art from this era both intrigues and repulses me.

Of course, this was a time when every ‘hot’ artist picked something and grossly exaggerated it as their signature. Remember Sam Kieth’s ridiculous curly cues? Or Liefeld’s extra muscles that can’t actually attach to a bone? Or McFarlane’s over use of the webbing?

Anyway, Joe has taken Quicksilver’s distinctive hairline and exaggerated to a ridiculous eye gouging degree — UNTIL that last panel when those rogue hairs look like Bunny Ears which is so right it’s awesome. (If the puzzle had been of a tortoise it would have been perfect).

By: Dan Felty

Dan Felty — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:12:27 +0000

This is good character work.

Boy, do I find Quesada’s art incredibly ugly!

By: Jacob T. Levy

Jacob T. Levy — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:45:59 +0000

Like everyone said– a classic issue all around. I love how *wrong* Val is about everything.

At the end of that issue, doesn’t some scary offscreen beastie grab her as part of a cliffhanger? If so, I don’t think I stuck around long enough to see the resolution of it. Loved PAD’s X-Factor but (like some others) was well and truly burned out of X-Books by the end of X-C S.

By: noodles

noodles — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:32:26 +0000

@Gary – FYI, Johns established in HIS Titans run that Bart (uniquely) can retain stuff he reads super fast.

By: Gary

Gary — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:55:51 +0000

RE: Super speedsters thinking fast

They certainly do. When Jay Garrick had his leg broken by Professor Zoom in “The Return of Barry Allen”, Wally notes in the epilogue that Jay has read the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica in the short time he’s been laid up.

In the Mike McKone pencilled Teen Titans, the writer would note that most super speedsters do not retain what they read at super speed. I don’t know how I feel about that. It’s probably just a matter of total recall – the whole Encyclopedia Brittanica is a LOT to remember.

Those are DC speedsters, but there’s no reason to think that Quicksilver doesn’t work the same way.

By: Mario

Mario — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:39:14 +0000

To Ethan:
i’ve thought of that myself. The best i can come up with is that part of Quicksilver’s mutation is the ability to think fast enough to be able to use his powers, know what i mean? What good is super speed if you can’t register that there is something in the way a mile or two ahead and if you don’t take appropriate action to circumvent that obstacle you’re going to make a nice sound-effect-y “SPLAT!”
I’m not saying all speedsters in comics have super intelligence but it seems to me that it makes sense that there brains are hardwired in such a way as to allow the speedster to notice/understand the world around him at super speed.
What do you think?

By: Josh

Josh — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:36:24 +0000

One of my favorite piece of PAD’s work. (Nice art by JoeyQ, too) It’s a terrific character piece for all of X-Factor, really, and one of the best uses for Doc Samson. (Shame he’s apparently going to be evil now or something?)

This era of X-Factor reminded me a little of Giffen/Maguire/DeMatteis JLI, with less slapstick and more sarcasm. Really fun stuff.

By: James

James — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:22:57 +0000

you’d think a speedster would know to tie his shoes.

By: Teebore

Teebore — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:58:58 +0000

Mary, this was issue #87.

I’ve always loved this entire issue, but this moment is ALWAYS the one that comes to mind.

“…your entire world… is FILLED with people who can’t use cash machines.”

Brilliant. I’ve enjoyed Quicksilver, from his earliest appearances to the present day, significantly more simply because of these three pages.

By: Mary Warner

Mary Warner — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:51:36 +0000

Which issue was this? I don’t know precisely when the X-cutioner’s Song happened, but I know it was probably around ’93 or ’94, right? I had no idea Quesada was at Marvel that long ago. I have X-Factor #94, and there was a reference to Pietro’s annoyance at the slowness of the rest of the world, and I think there was even a reference to him having talked to a therapist. So maybe that issue was shortly after this one. I’m not sure. You really should give the issue numbers for all of these. Just saying that a story takes place right after a famous epic crossover is no help for those of us with no knowledge of that famous crossover.

By: Kelly Thompson

Kelly Thompson — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:36:43 +0000

This issue kind of blew my mind as a kid and I never forgot it. It was great to see it revisited here. Like others have said here, it was a total turning point for me with the character…amazing work on behalf of Peter David.

By: cmh

cmh — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:46:37 +0000

Apodaca: Sorry, I’ve gotta ask. Were you referring to the suit or the shoes?

The cash machine bit does bring to mind Alan Moore’s line that “life is an endless gallery of statues”.

By: jazzbo

jazzbo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:35:49 +0000

Isn’t it usually explained with any of the speedsters that their brains move proportionally faster than a regular person as well? Because if they didn’t, in reality, a person like the Flash or Quicksilver would kill themselves the first time they move at super speed and don’t notice a tree or building or car in time and slam into it at the speed of sound.

By: Gary

Gary — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:29:39 +0000

Peter David and Joe Quesada knocked it out of the park on this one. Quicksilver’s session was the best of the lot, too. “…your entire world… is FILLED with people who can’t use cash machines.” Dang. Definitely a turning point in how I thought of the character.