X-factor: The Quick and the Dead Review
Author: Peter David
Artist: Pablo Raimondi
Colors: Jeremy Cox
Damn, every time I see a picture of Quicksilver I am reminded of how much he’s been royally fucked in recent years. Every since House of M the character has been dragged, shit on, and turned into a psychotic/pseudo villain. If there is one man that can make me care for Quicksilver again it’s Peter David. After all if it wasn’t for his X-factor # 87 I really wouldn’t be giving a rat’s ass about Pietro.
Life has not been good for Pietro. After being humiliated and defeated by Layla Miller Quicksilver has fallen even further. He is powerless, lost, hanging on the brink of sanity, and is a John Doe currently being held in a jail cell. But in his mind he is confronted and haunted by hallucinations and voices of his past. Everyone important to him shows up: Scarlett Witch, Magneto, Crystal, Luna, and even Layla Miller who informs him that deep down inside he didn’t want to kill her. She also tells him to follow the butterfly out the cell window. He can see across the rooftops of New York City from his jail cell, and upon one of them, he sees a couple having a domestic dispute. This leads to the man dragging the woman to the edge of the building. Pietro pulls the bars off and runs at top speeds to save the woman. He then takes a small trip around the globe coming to different conclusions about his life.
There are really some gorgeous series of dialogue between Pietro and his hallucinations. Magneto mentioning why everything has to go back to Hitler and the emotional reunion between brother and sister. I really feel bad for Pietro and the way his life has turned to utter shit. It was a really powerful tale of Pietro finding faith again and moving on from his recent lifestyle. While the book is not for everyone, the book really catches new readers up to speed…no pun intended.
The artwork by Raimondi is fantastic for the most part. He really makes Pietro look like a bum and a desperate man. He really captures the spirit and power of the moment of Quicksilver's revelation. Pietro’s facial expression when he realizes his powers returned are priceless. It was really nice to have David and Raimondi team up again. Other times it seems that his faces are a little off. It’s a great turning point in the life of Quicksilver and if you’ve enjoyed his recent devolution or just care about the character I highly recommend reading this book. A-
Quicksilver is back!
Finally a great character is brought back to life after the shamefull treatment he was receiving since House of M.
This doesnt mean that he was being badly written (Son of M is really good) but he was pushed TOO MUCH towards evil to be actually in-character.
Thankfully a lot of the hints (Silent War, some of Son of M and his last issue in X-Factor) showed that he was still a good man.
Welcome back Avenger!