The final mini is the Roy Martinez-drawn Son of M. Also written by Hine, it features the Scarlet Witch’s brother, Pietro Maximoff aka Quicksilver, who played a pivotal role in House of M.
“The only person he [Quicksilver] has always been sure of was Wanda,” stated the writer. “Every other relationship has been troubled and contradictory. In the House of M he talks with real emotion about his time with the Avengers, as if that was the one time he really belonged somewhere. He has suffered rejection from his father Magneto. His marriage to Crystal was another source of betrayal when his wife had affairs with other men.
“Only Wanda has always been there for him, which is why he was willing to do so much to save her,” revealed Hine. “He would literally sacrifice the world for her. That intensity is his greatest quality and his greatest flaw. I don’t like straightforward characters and I don’t really believe in noble constant heroes. Quicksilver has all the contradictory elements of the anti-hero. That does it for me.”
Although his actions had a deleterious affect on a vast number of the MU’s inhabitants, Quicksilver does not see what he did as wrong. “Pietro would like to think of himself as the saviour of the universe,” explained the writer. “That’s what House of M was all about. But he screwed up so badly that he’s lost a lot of self-esteem. He still doesn’t see himself as a bad guy though. If everyone had just behaved, his version of the Universe would have been perfect. Hmm, come to think of it, didn’t God have a similar problem?”
Maybe, as Hine revealed, it is not actually Wolverine who is the worst off for recalling that other reality. “He [Quicksilver] remembers everything. That’s a hell of a burden. He is suffering from a huge weight of guilt and he no longer has the resources to deal with it.”
- House of M (Ultimate Edition) end notes
