Quicksilver #3
Killer Instinct
Quicksilver and his new charges the Knights of Wundagore, have ventured into New York City to investigate a strange spatial phenomena that is causing it to rain all over the globe.[1] Once in the city, they discovered Thundra rampaging in the street. When Quicksilver tired to stop her he is suddenly ambushed by her lover, Arkon, who has threatened to destroy him for harming his chosen mate. Caught in the middle of the fight are the Knights known as Lord Tyger, Lord Churchill, and Lady Vermin. Suddenly, the New Men vanish, leaving warriors from Arkon’s world in their place, leaving Quicksilver to deal with these threats alone.
The trio of New Men have found themselves transported to Arkon’s home world of Polemachus where the sky is currently on fire. As they try to make sense of their new surroundings they are ambushed by Thundra, who was transported here as well.
In nearby religious temple Brothers Cranus and Gullo observe the proceedings on a mystical globe. They were the ones who began transitioning people between dimensions. They believe that by doing so they will be able to spare the people of Polemachus from the flaming skies by swapping the position of their planet with Earth. Since Arkon has a soft spot for that world, Brother Cranus had secretly drugged Thundra, creating her berserker rage, in an effort to keep their ruler busy until the process completed its course.
Back on Earth, Arkon continues his fight with Quicksilver, demanding that the speedster return his mate to him right away. However, before he can attack Arkon is ambushed by the rest of the Knights of Wundagore: Sir Ram, Sir Delphis, Lord Anon, Lord Gator, and Lady Ursula. Arkon is particularly bothered by Lord Anon who has his animal nature obscured by a mask. When asked what type of animal he is, all Lord Anon will say is that he’s the worst kind.[3] While Arkon is pre-occupied, Quicksilver uses his super-speed to remove the warrior’s quiver of lightning bolts. Pietro then convinces Arkon to stand down so they can work together on solving the current crisis.
Arkon explains that the situation began when Thundra suddenly went berserk during a feast. Suddenly, she vanished and the skies caught fire, prompting Arkon to go to Brother Cranus, the local priest for advice. Cranus explained to him that Thundra’s abduction and the sky-fire were all part of some kind of invasion from Earth. Despirate to get his beloved back, Arkon believed Cranus’ tale without much thought. Arkon’s faith garners mocking from Lord Anon, who has to be reminded by Quicksilver that the Knights respect everyone’s faith. Sir Delphis runs a scanner and discovers that the dimensional disturbance is actually coming from Polemachus itself and that is where Thundra and the missing Knights ended up getting transported. Quicksilver hands Arkon back his lightning bolts and suggests they work together to get to the bottom of this crisis.
On Polemachus, the situation is getting worse as more people from Earth keep appearing in this reality. It takes all of Tyger, Churchill, and Vermin’s skills to fend off Thundra and keep the trapped bystanders safe. That’s when Arkon’s lightning bolts transport himself, Quicksilver, and the rest of the Knights of Wundagore to this dimension. Setting eyes on her mate, Thundra turns her aggression toward him instead. However, before a brawl can break out, Delphis sneaks up behind her and injects her with a drug that cures her of her madness, confirming his theory that somebody had drugged her. Back in her right mind, the warrior woman knows exactly who was responsible and storms the holy temple to confront Brother Cranus. It is here, they learn how Brother Camus was only trying to safe his people, although he was willing to sacrifice the entire population of Earth to do so. That’s when Delphis reveals that he can figure out what is causing the skies to burn and offers to stay behind and save Polemachus.
This is satisfactory to Arkon, who thanks Quicksilver and his allies for help. When the group are teleported back to Earth, there is a disturbance in the process which separates Quicksilver from the others. Pietro ends up back on Earth, but in and open field. As he tries to figure out where he is, the rain suddenly stops and the sun comes out. It reminds him of how his late wife Crystal would use her elemental powers to alter the weather and make it sunny. Suddenly, Crystals hands cover his eyes from behind and asks him to guess who. Unable to believe it, Pietro turns around and is delighted to see that his wife is alive and well. When she asks if is going to say hello to his wife, he tells her that he never said goodbye and kisses her.[4]
Recurring Characters
Quicksilver, Knights of Wundagore (Sir Ram, Lord Anon, Lord Chuchill, Lord Gator, Lord Tyger, Sir Delphis, Lady Ursula, Lady Vermin), Thundra, Arkon, Crystal
Continuity Notes
At the time of this story, Quicksilver is recording audio diaries addressed to his wife, Crystal. He believes that Crystal and his sister the Scarlet Witch are believed to have died along side members of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four in Onslaught: Marvel Universe #1. They were actually transported to a pocket dimension where they have been living reimagined versions of their past lives. They will be found and returned to their proper reality in Heroes Reborn: The Return #1-4. In fact, the storm in this issue is caused by the events of that story and are heralding their return.
In this story, Quicksilver is repeatedly referred to as both a mutant and the son of Magneto. Their relationship is incredibly complicated:
Pietro has been led to believe this since Vision and the Scarlet Witch #4.
However, years later, both of these facts are revealed to have been lies. In Uncanny Avengers #4-5, it is revealed that Pietro was kidnapped as an infant by the High Evolutionary. In order to cover up his experiments he made it so Pietro would register as a mutant.
In Scarlet Witch (vol. 2) #3 it is revealed that his mother is actually Natalya Maximoff. The identity of his biological father (as of this writing) remains unrevealed.
The identity of Lord Anon and why he wears a mask is explained in Quicksilver #11. After a recent attack on his home, the High Evolutionary decided to evolve another wolf. However, since the other New Men feared wolves were evil thanks to the Man-Beast (a rogue creation of the Evolutionary) he created the armor that disguises his identity. What nobody knows right now is that the Man-Beast actually returned, murdered the real Lord Anon, and took his place. He is currently biding his time until he can seize the Evolutionary’s new Isotope E for himself.
This moment is expanded upon in Quicksilver #7, where we discover that the Scarlet Witch and Black Knight both arrive on the same scene moments later. It gets ugly pretty quick.
Topical References
To bystanders watching the fight between Thundra and the New Men wonder if this is a Disney production. When Lord Tyger uses the word “hell", they quip that it might be a Warner Brothers production instead. The joke being that Disney is squeaky clean family fare, which is not really the reality since the company owns a number of material geared toward adult audiences, particularly now following the 20th Century merger. That said, references to Disney would no longer be considered topical since Marvel is owned by Disney. The Warner Brothers reference on the other hand would because it is a real world company.
