What Happened to Quicksilver in Marvel ‘Ruins’ Storyline?
Besides the mainstream Marvel Universe, plenty of stories are placed in alternative universes. Some of these universes are fascinating, giving us a look at different versions of the characters. Some, like ‘What If…?’ offers a look at an alternative sequence of events that might have occurred, and then there’s Marvel’s ‘Ruins’ universe. In ‘Ruins,’ everything that can go wrong will go wrong. It’s a dystopian universe where superheroes are grotesque abominations, dangerous to the public. One of the superheroes that had to be “contained” was Quicksilver, and in this post, we’re going to analyze his story. Let’s see what happened to Quicksilver in ‘Ruins.’
In Marvel’s ‘Ruins’ Quicksilver was held at a specially designated prison to contain his mutant powers. Most mutants were, due to their powers, dangerous to themselves and to others. Quicksilver’s legs and arms had to be amputated to contain his powers. He was one of the prisoners that Philip Sheldon encountered while he was researching information for his new book detailing dangerous mutations and the horrific state of superheroes called ‘The Marvels.’
Now that we’ve given you a short recap of what happened to Quicksilver in Marvel’s ‘Ruins,’ it’s time to analyze it in a bit more detail. If you’re interested in more, stay with us and keep reading!
What is ‘Ruins’ about?
“For every kiss, a bullet in the face.
‘Ruins Vol. 1 #1’
For every action, a reaction.
For every event, there exists a potential, a mirror event, an exactly opposite possibility.
If the world you know is one of Marvels, where heroic women walk invisibly through horror and men of fire ride the upper reaches of the air…
…Then only a misstep or a stopped heartbeat away is a world of ruins”
This quote perfectly sums up what ‘Ruins’ is about as we’re going to take a look at one bleak, desperate, and horrific universe. Marvel’s ‘Ruins’ is a series of issues released in 1995 set in an alternate Earth-9591 and was originally imagined to be a parody of ‘The Marvels’ series.
‘Ruins offers us a glimpse into a dystopian world where superheroes, instead of attaining superpowers, are disfigured and horrifically ‘ruined’ beyond repair. Most superheroes either struggle with controlling their powers, or the accidents that led to their creation instead left them in a state beyond repair or help. For example, in ‘Ruins,’ Bruce Banner, after being exposed to gamma radiation, instead of being transformed into the Hulk, gets transformed into a gree mass of tumors.
‘Ruins’ is told from the perspective of Philip Sheldon, a reporter that used to work for the Daily Bugle but left the position to write a book about horrible things that happened to superheroes. Philip felt that the world had gone wrong somewhere along the line, perhaps due to Murphy’s law or something else. He felt like an invisible force was making things wrong and disgusting. He decided to chronicle those happenings and events as he traveled across the country and interviewed people and superheroes that were somehow touched by “superpowers that went wrong.” He planned to release a book titled ‘The Marvels’ that tells the story of “ruined men and women.”
Mutants are held at a specially designed prison that was, in reality, a torture chamber
Now Quicksilver’s story is told on a single page of ‘Ruins Vol 1 #2’ released in 1995. Philip Sheldon boarded the plane for his trip to visit a special prison where mutants mostly are being held in an effort to contain their powers. And trust me, their powers need containing, as you will soon discover.
Philip sits right next to Mystique and witnesses her starting to shapeshift uncontrollably. Mystique is soon taken away by “Men in Black,” but they explain that her shapeshifting and being so many people in such a short span of time left her with a devastating multiple personality disorder. Mystique needs to take pills that keep her brain from imploding, but she sadly forgets to take them often.
After the incident with Mystique is taken care of, “Men in Black” accidentally shove aside a certain “hippie” who turns out to be Magneto himself. The shove disables his magnetism-controlling device that keeps his powers under control strapped to his chest, and all hell breaks loose.
Philip describes that magnetism was so strong he could feel iron from his blood being pulled from his veins, and his tooth filling was ripped from his mouth so hard that it damaged two healthy teeth that were on the way. Eventually, Magneto’s powers lead every metal object in the vicinity to attach to him, and he is crushed by a plane and killed on the spot.
Philip eventually reaches the “special” prison for mutants, and he can see most of the mutants in a horrible state, either suffering or waiting for death, mutilated beyond recognition.
Wilson Fisk serves as the prison’s warden and leads Philip through the halls, where he encounters famous mutants such as Scott Summers, Kitty Pryde, and, Quicksilver.
Quicksilver was mutilated in an effort to control his powers
Wilson explains that the only reason they allowed Philip to visit the prison is that he is dying, and the president is aware of it, so he decided to grant a dying man his wish. Philip and Fisk reach Quicksilver’s cell, and the reporter can see Peitro, in his Avengers uniform, leaning against the wall. Quicksilver’s legs and arms had been amputated, and the wounds were still fresh, judging by the bandages that he had around his stumps and the amount of blood in the cell.
Fisk refers to Quicksilver as “Quickie” and tells Philip that he has been mutilated for “his own good.”
We don’t know what later happens to Quicksilver, but he was probably kept in the cell for the rest of his life, too ruined to join the society.
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