Aaron Taylor-Johnson debuted as Quicksilver in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and 12 years later, Marvel Studios has finally replaced him as the MCU's main speedster. Taylor-Johnson's Quicksilver was a joy to watch on screen, but his time in the MCU was cut short in Avengers: Age of Ultron, when James Spader's evil titular synthezoid fired a barrage of bullets at Clint Barton and a young kid. The speedster zoomed in to get the pair out of harm's way, only to take the bullets himself, sacrificing his life to save both.
Ruaridh Mollica's Tommy Maximoff is officially the MCU's main male speedster, fittingly taking over from his uncle Pietro Maximoff, and is arguably the more compelling character. Marvel Studios gave Tommy one of the most storied arcs in the MCU, one that came full circle in VisionQuest. The son of Wanda Maximoff and the Vision, Tommy was created out of Wanda's grief after Vision fell at the hands of Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War.
She created a hex over the town of Westview in the Disney+ series WandaVision, building the illusion of a family sitcom world where Vision is alive and they have two sons, Tommy and Billy. Since Tommy's existence was initially an illusion, he blinked out of existence when Wanda undid her Hex over Westview in the WandaVision finale.
Tommy's soul was left wandering, but as fate would have it, that was far from the last time fans would get to see him. In the second installment of the WandaVision trilogy, Agatha All Along, Billy, who also happened to be gifted with powers similar to their mother, guided Tommy's soul to a new host.
A young boy named Thomas Shepard, who was being drowned by bullies, became this host as Tommy's soul inhabited his body. This act of reincarnation left Tommy with a fractured identity that was thoroughly explored in VisionQuest.
The final installment of the trilogy gave Tommy's powers more depth than the MCU did for Taylor-Johnson's Quicksilver. Tommy learned to use his abilities beyond simply moving from one point to another at supersonic speed, finding other creative applications for them.
He can generate an electric charge, which he used while trying to resuscitate Vision after the synthezoid powered down his and Ultron's cores to end the nanobot threat. In the end, it took Tommy and Billy matching their powers to zap their father back to life. The way his powers are represented on screen also looks very cool, leaving a blue blur whenever he dashes around.
Tommy is depicted as faster than his uncle ever was, with the final episode of VisionQuest showing him basically slowing down time and pulling off impossible feats in mere milliseconds.
He moved chess pieces around, wrote a message on a table for a captive Vision, and had a full-blown conversation with him and Jocasta, all without Virgil Horton even noticing. That scene was one of the most impressive depictions of speed in the MCU, only falling short of Evan Peters' iconic Quicksilver scene in X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Interestingly, Peters returned to play Pietro Maximoff in the MCU, appearing in WandaVision. Unfortunately for fans, it turned out to be a fake-out, with Peters' character later revealed as Ralph Bohner, a regular Westview resident puppeteered by Agatha to get to Wanda.
MCU Quicksilver's backstory was not as fleshed out as Tommy's, and we barely got to see him use his ability beyond a movie where he was just a supporting character. An entire trilogy allowed fans to connect with Tommy on his road to becoming the MCU's main speedster. Tommy's future looks exciting, especially in a universe full of other fast characters he can interact with.
Other Fast Marvel Characters Confirmed or Expected in the MCU
Sentry
Lewis Pullman's Bob Reynolds debuted in Thunderbolts as one of the most powerful beings in the MCU. His speed stunned the team during the Watchtower fight, where he moved faster than the eye could follow and took down his peers in an instant. Valentina Allegra de Fontaine described him as stronger than all of the Avengers rolled into one, and speed was a core part of that package.
In the comics, Sentry's molecules are able to move faster than the current timeline. He flies at vast supersonic speeds and can even teleport in a flash of light. Pullman returns in Avengers: Doomsday as a member of the New Avengers, and he may cross paths with Tommy, especially since the VisionQuest post-credits scene revealed that Doom has recruited Tommy's mother.
Thor
Chris Hemsworth returns in Avengers: Doomsday, with marketing already showing Thor alongside his daughter Love. Few MCU characters can move as quickly as the God of Thunder. Stormbreaker lets him summon the Bifrost and jump between realms in seconds, and his flight speed in battle is remarkable. In the comics, he moves even faster, traveling at light speed using Mjolnir.
Thor also shares history with Tommy's family. He helped bring Vision to life in Avengers: Age of Ultron and fought beside Pietro in Sokovia on the day he died. If Vision returns as a member of the Avengers in the future, a meeting with the synthezoid's son is something worth looking forward to, especially Thor's reaction to learning Vision has a son.
Human Torch
Joseph Quinn lit up The Fantastic Four: First Steps as Johnny Storm. Flame-powered flight makes Johnny one of the fastest fliers in the MCU, and the film proved it during the space chase, when he took on the Silver Surfer, a being capable of faster-than-light travel.
Quinn joins the Doomsday cast alongside the rest of the Fantastic Four. A Johnny and Tommy meet-up in the future feels natural, with both being brash young hotheads with something to prove.
Sam Wilson
Anthony Mackie's Captain America earned his wings the hard way. Captain America: Brave New World showcased his vibranium wing suit in high-speed aerial combat, including a dogfight over Celestial Island and the climactic clash with Red Hulk.
Sam combines jet-powered flight with elite aerial combat instincts, making him one of the fastest non-superpowered heroes alive. As the new leader of the Avengers, Sam is likely to meet Tommy if the speedster features in Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars.
Falcon
Danny Ramirez's Joaquín Torres officially took up the Falcon mantle in Brave New World, trading his drone Redwing duties for a wing suit of his own. He flew alongside Sam through the film's biggest action moments and returns in Avengers: Doomsday. Torres is among the youngest heroes in the MCU, and a possible interaction with Tommy does not look far off.
Angel
Asa Germann will play Warren Worthington III in Marvel Studios' untitled X-Men film, directed by Jake Schreier and set for release on May 5, 2028, following Avengers: Secret Wars. Germann, best known as Gen V's Sam Riordan, originally auditioned for Cyclops before Marvel offered him Angel instead.
In the comics, Angel's wings make him one of Marvel's premier fliers, and his transformation into Archangel upgraded him with metal wings and razor-sharp feather projectiles. Fox previously brought him to life through Ben Foster in X-Men: The Last Stand and Ben Hardy in X-Men: Apocalypse.
A meeting with Tommy would need to wait for the Mutant Saga. In the comics, Billy and Tommy count Magneto as their grandfather through Wanda, but that connection is currently impossible in the MCU. Still, if Marvel gives the Maximoff family some connection to the mutants, Tommy and Angel crossing paths is possible.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
