Wikipedia

Peter Maximoff

This article is about the X-Men film series character. For the Marvel Cinematic Universe character, see Pietro Maximoff (Marvel Cinematic Universe).
Not to be confused with Ralph Bohner.

Peter Maximoff is a fictional character appearing in 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series, portrayed by Evan Peters and based on the Marvel Comics character Quicksilver, a mutant with the ability to move at superhuman speed. The character appeared in the films X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), and Dark Phoenix (2019), and had a cameo appearance in Deadpool 2 (2018).[1][2][3][4]

Peter Maximoff
X-Men film series character
Evan Peters as Peter Maximoff in the film X-Men: Apocalypse (2016).
First appearanceX-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Last appearanceDark Phoenix (2019)
Based on
Quicksilver
by
Adapted by
Portrayed byEvan Peters
In-universe information
Affiliation
Family

Appearances

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Quicksilver first appears as a comic book character in X-Men #4 (March 1964) and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby.[5] The character initially appears as an antagonist to the X-Men, although before long he becomes a member of the Avengers and appears as a regular character in that title beginning with Avengers #16 in May 1965. He has made numerous other appearances in that title, and other related titles, sometimes as a member of the team, sometimes as an ally, and sometimes as an antagonist. In the early 1990s, an animated X-Men TV series for Fox Kids was successful enough to impress 20th Century Fox, leading producer Lauren Shuler Donner to purchase the film rights for the comic book characters, including Quicksilver, in 1994.[6][7]

In May 2013, director Bryan Singer announced that Evan Peters had been cast as Quicksilver in the X-Men films.[1] Peters played the character in the 2014 film X-Men: Days of Future Past,[8] and its 2016 sequel, X-Men: Apocalypse.[9] In 2019, he reprised the role of Quicksilver in the sequel film Dark Phoenix.[10] Following The Walt Disney Company's purchase of 21st Century Fox, all X-Men-related characters were transferred back to Marvel Studios.

In X-Men: Days of Future Past Maximoff is introduced as a mutant who can move, speak and think at supersonic speeds. Peters described Quicksilver as "very fast, he talks quick, he moves quick. Everything else is very slow compared to him, it's like he's always at the ATM waiting for the bastard in front of him to finish".[11] Costume designer Louise Mingenbach, who drew heavily from 1970s styles for most of the clothing seen in the 1973 scenes, had Peters wear 1981-inspired clothing; this was Mingenbach's way of showing Quicksilver's irreverence for the exact time and place.[12]

In X-Men: Apocalypse, the character takes on a much larger narrative role.[13] Maximoff is revealed to be the son of Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto, who is unaware of this son.[14] Peters stated of the film,

"I have learned that he's my father at this point ... It's like an adoptive child or any kind of child who has a strange father trying to ... He knows who he is now so he is trying to find him. He's been searching for him. It's been 10 years and he hasn't found him and then something happens".[14]

Peters also makes a brief cameo appearance as Maximoff in the live-action film Deadpool 2 (2018), along with other team members from Apocalypse.[15]

In Dark Phoenix, Peters described the character as more mature and subdued in the film, being focused on using his abilities for good as a member of the X-Men.[16]

Fictional character biography

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Early life

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Maximoff and his two sisters were raised by his mother, with Maximoff never having met his father. As a teenager, he uses his super speed to steal things.

Meeting the X-Men

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Further information: X-Men: Days of Future Past

In 1973, he is visited at his mother's home by a young Charles Xavier and Hank McCoy, along with a time-travelling Wolverine, who knows Maximoff from another point in time. They convince Maximoff to help them break Erik Lehnsherr out of his prison beneath the Pentagon. Maximoff does so by vibrating the glass roof of Lehnsherr's cell fast enough to shatter it, and when security guards confront them in a kitchen, Maximoff uses his super speed to disarm and disorient them before Lehnsherr can use his powers to harm the guards. Maximoff then parts with the other four before they board a plane for Paris.

Fighting Apocalypse

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Further information: X-Men: Apocalypse

In 1983, Maximoff sees news reports of Lehnsherr, now wanted as an international criminal, surfacing in Germany. Maximoff goes to Xavier's school, arriving just after the powerful mutant En Sabah Nur and his Four Horsemen kidnap Xavier, and after Alex Summers's attempt to stop them triggers an explosion that could destroy the mansion. Sensing the danger, Maximoff uses his super-speed to evacuate the building but fails to save Alex, who disappears in the explosion. During a conversation with Mystique, Maximoff reveals that he has learned the Lehnsherr is his father, and had left his mother before Maximoff was born. In the climactic battle, Maximoff fights and briefly appears to have the upper hand against En Sabah Nur, until the villain is able to trap one of Maximoff's legs in the sand and break the other. En Sabah Nur summons Psylocke to kill Maximoff, but it turns out to be Mystique in disguise, who attacks En Sabah Nur, prompting the rest of the Four Horsemen to turn against him. Later, as the X-Men watch Lehnsherr and Jean Grey rebuild the mansion, a cast-wearing Maximoff tells Ororo Munroe that he has decided not to tell Lehnsherr yet that he is his son, but that he will remain at Xavier's school. Later still, a recovered Maximoff is shown preparing to train with other X-Men to take on future threats.

Dark Phoenix

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Further information: Dark Phoenix (film)

In 1992, Maximoff accompanies several other X-Men on a mission to aid a damaged space shuttle, teleporting to the out-of-control vessel with Nightcrawler and using his super speed to rescue the astronauts on board. During the mission, however, Jean Grey is struck by an energy which amplifies her psychic powers but disturbs her emotional equilibrium. Later, when the X-Men confront a confused and distraught Jean Grey, Maximoff almost reaches her before she is able to knock him away with her powers, seriously injuring him. He recovers shortly afterwards.

Behind the scenes

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For X-Men: Days of Future Past, Australia-based Rising Sun Pictures created a sequence considered by many reviewers the centerpiece of the film's effects, where Quicksilver uses his super speed in the Pentagon kitchen. Depicting how, to a speedster, actions in real time come down to a virtual standstill, objects float around in slow motion. After doing a LIDAR scan of the kitchen set, the digital recreation added many computer generated props—cooking gear, cutlery, vegetables and water released by a fire sprinkler system—rendered in near microscopic detail regarding placement and lighting, particularly because the footage had to work in 3D. To simulate Quicksilver running on the walls, Evan Peters and a stunt double were filmed in both the set being suspended by a harness and on a treadmill that stood in front of a chroma key green screen. Only Peters' legs were digitally replaced.[17][18][19] Director Bryan Singer shot all of Quicksilver's scenes in 3,600 frames per second to demonstrate his super-speed.[20][21] Despite the sequence only having 29 effects shots,[22] it required nearly seven months of work from RSP's team of 70 artists.[23] The sequence won two 2014 Visual Effects Society Awards, for Outstanding Effects Simulations in a Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture, and for Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Photoreal/Live Action Feature Motion Picture.[24]

Rising Sun Pictures also provided the effects for Quicksilver's time-stopping, quick motion effects in the mansion rescue scene in X-Men: Apocalypse,[25] which was also nominated for a Visual Effects Society Award.[26]

Reception

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Screen Rant described the character as "one of the most beloved characters from the Fox X-Men movies", whose "super-speed was represented with unique and often humorous slow-motion sequences, resulting in Quicksilver becoming a fan-favorite amongst X-Men's repertoire of mutants".[27] For his performance in X-Men: Apocalypse, Peters was nominated in the 2016 Teen Choice Awards as a "Choice Scene Stealer".[28] Critic Richard Roeper wrote of that film that the "signature scene" of the film is the one in which "Quicksilver (Evan Peters) uses his super-duper-duper-duper speed to save dozens of students, all to the tune of 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)' by the Eurythmics", describing the scene as "a beautiful, funny, exciting, altogether magical sequence — as entertaining as anything I've seen at the movies in a long time", and closing with the recommendation that "[y]ou owe it to yourself to see Quicksilver do his thing".[29]

The X-Men film series version is one of two live-action adaptations of the comic book character, the other appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Sokovian experimental subject Pietro Maximoff, who is the twin brother of Wanda Maximoff.[30] In 2021, Peters appeared in the MCU television series WandaVision as Westview resident Ralph Bohner, who posed as Pietro (and exhibited Pietro's speedster abilities) under Agatha Harkness' control. This was a reference to Peters' role as Peter.[31] Peters also appeared briefly as Bohner in episode six of the 2024 follow-up series, Agatha All Along.[32]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Evan Peters Joins X-Men: Days of Future Past as Quicksilver". Superhero Hype. May 23, 2013. Archived from the original on December 21, 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  2. ^ Total Film (May 20, 2014). "X-Men: Days Of Future Past Quicksilver controversy: writer Simon Kinberg speaks". Archived from the original on January 9, 2020. Retrieved August 9, 2016 – via YouTube.
  3. ^ "Quicksilver will have expanded role in X-Men:Apocalypse". IGN. May 21, 2014. Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  4. ^ Kit, Borys (June 29, 2017). "'X-Men: Dark Phoenix': Evan Peters Returning as Quicksilver (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  5. ^ Brown, Jonathan Rikard (July 2013). "X-Factor vs. X-Factor: A look at the role of identity in Peter David's X-Factor". Back Issue!. No. 65. Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing. pp. 73–78.
  6. ^ Lee, Stan; Claremont, Chris; Singer, Bryan; Shuler Donner, Lauren; DeSanto, Tom; Arad, Avi (2000). The Secret Origin of The X-Men (DVD). 20th Century Fox.
  7. ^ Jensen, Jeff (July 21, 2000). "Generating X". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on May 5, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2008.
  8. ^ "Evan Peters to play Quicksilver in X-Men: Days of Future Past". Variety. May 23, 2013. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  9. ^ "Quicksilver will have expanded role in X-Men: Apocalypse". IGN. May 21, 2014. Archived from the original on September 24, 2014. Retrieved September 23, 2014.
  10. ^ Kit, Borys (June 29, 2017). "X-Men: Dark Phoenix: Evan Peters returning as Quicksilver". The Hollywood Reporter. Exclusive. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  11. ^ Maytum, Matt (July 21, 2013). "X-Men: Days of Future Past: 10 Things we learned at Comic-Con 2013". Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  12. ^ Stelios, Phili (May 23, 2014). "GQ+A with Louise Mingenbach: The Days of Future Past costume designer on X-Men". GQ. Archived from the original on May 27, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
  13. ^ Libbey, Dirk (July 18, 2015). "X-Men: Apocalypse will feature a bigger and better Quicksilver scene". CinemaBlend.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  14. ^ a b Shirey, Paul (January 21, 2016). "Meet the X-Men: Apocalypse cast: Storm, Magneto, Cyclops, Psylocke, & more!". JoBlo.com. Archived from the original on January 22, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
  15. ^ Davis, Brandon (May 18, 2018). "Simon Kinberg directed that hilarious Deadpool 2 scene". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on May 19, 2018. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  16. ^ Bacon, Thomas (May 28, 2018). "How Quicksilver has changed for X-Men: Dark Phoenix". Screen Rant. Exclusive. Archived from the original on May 29, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  17. ^ Failes, Ian (May 27, 2014). "Future threat – X-Men: Days of Future Past". Fxguide. Archived from the original on October 1, 2018. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  18. ^ Sentinels: For a Secure Future (Featurette). X-Men: Days of Future Past Blu-ray: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. 2014.
  19. ^ "Rising Sun Pictures Makes Time Stand Still in "X-Men: Days of Future Past"". Rising Sun Pictures. Archived from the original on January 17, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  20. ^ Singer, Bryan [@BryanSinger] (August 6, 2013). "Brightest set I've ever filmed" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved September 26, 2013 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ "1977 World Record Scandal" Archived June 28, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. X-Men: 25 Moments. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  22. ^ Frei, Vincent (May 23, 2014). "X-Men—Days of Future Past: Richard Stammers—Production VFX Supervisor". Archived from the original on May 28, 2014. Retrieved May 31, 2014.
  23. ^ "Oscar nominations 2015: Adelaide visual effects supervisor 'shocked' by Oscar nomination". ABC Online. January 17, 2015. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  24. ^ "13th Annual VES Award Recipients". Visual Effects Society. February 4, 2015. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  25. ^ "Rising Sun Pictures extends its mastery over time in X-Men: Apocalypse". CG Society. June 6, 2016. Archived from the original on June 8, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  26. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (January 10, 2016). "Rogue One leads Visual Effects Society feature competition with 7 nominations as Doctor Strange, Jungle Book grab 6 each". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  27. ^ Abernathy, Kristen (February 8, 2021). "Marvel Can Pick The Best Bits Of The X-Men Movies To Improve MCU Canon". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on February 14, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  28. ^ "Teen Choice Awards 2016—Captain America: Civil War Leads Second Wave of Nominations". E! Online. June 9, 2016. Archived from the original on January 28, 2017. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
  29. ^ Roeper, Richard (May 24, 2016). "Quicksilver's heroics rev up routine X-Men: Apocalypse". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on September 12, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  30. ^ "Quicksilver vs. Quicksilver: How 'Avengers' and 'X-Men' introduced the same character differently". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 10, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  31. ^ Agard, Chancellor (February 5, 2021). "WandaVision recap: Family ties, for real". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 6, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  32. ^ Anderton, Ethan (October 17, 2024). "Agatha All Along Reveals The Sad Fate Of WandaVision's Most Controversial Character". SlashFilm.
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