Family Matters 3-Pack with Quicksilver Action Figure

By Hervé St-Louis
June 22, 2021 - 08:55

Quicksilver is the brash and impatient mutant introduced in X-Men #4 (1964) as one of Magneto’s minions. A reluctant acolyte, he, and his twin sister the Scarlet Witch were attempting to navigate a world that hated mutants. Later reforming as heroes, Pietro Maximoff and his sister, Wanda Maximoff left Magneto for the Avengers. Pietro would not stay long and soon marry an Inhuman princess named Crystal and become a father. Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch were born and raised in the obscure Wundagore Mountain in the Balkan country of Transia.

Two other Quicksilver action figures had been released by Toybiz in the past. It was the same action figure but with a blue and a green variant. Quicksilver’s costume in X-Men #4 was green while he changed it to blue in the Avengers. Quicksilver is the best-known speedster at Marvel, but not the only one. Never as fast as DC Comics’ Flash, Quicksilver is not the nicest guy around and is overtly protective of his sister, the Scarlet Witch. While his origin as a mutant and even the identity of his real parents has changed several times since his introduction in 1964, there are things about Quicksilver that have remained the same, even in the 20th Century Fox and Marvel films. He has white hair and is fast. Let’s just admit that it’s cool to have competing representation in two huge film franchises by two competing studios (at the time).

Likeness

This is the Avengers’ “blue” Quicksilver whose hair is grey instead of white. The two spikes on his hair are also missing. The blue used for Quicksilver’s suit is more Olympic blue rather than cornflower blue. Thus, there is too much yellow in the blue. It looks starker than the cornflower blue, especially when standing the action figure next to the bright Scarlet Witch and Magneto. Without this starker blue, Quicksilver would fade in the background.

Being the blue version of Quicksilver means that the action figure is not based on the green version designed by Jack Kirby but the late Silver Age, early Bronze Age version that was in the Avengers and who used that costume until the 2000s. The bolts on the belts may be up or down, depending on which artist you refer to for this design. Because this is the early Avengers’ Quicksilver, his suit is skin-tight and not made of heavier fabrics, like Jack Kirby’s.

Sculpt

The head is too big. The sculpt of the face is nice but it could have been used for Magneto. Quicksilver looks like he’s humped. The feet are very large, probably to accommodate his weight when pausing him as running. This is not a great sculpt.

Paint

The white plastic parts have this white shine on them instead of being pure white. Instead of being white, they decided that these would be silver. The bolts throughout his costume are wearing off quickly or were never well applied. Because this is an Amazon exclusive, there is no way to look for the best painted set, as one would do at a store. There is some shading on the hair to accentuate the “silver” look.

Scale

Because his head is out of proportion, Quicksilver appears to be short, but he is not. He is still a tad shorter than his sister, given the fact that she has big hair. He looks great next to other Marvel Legends, but not next to Star Wars nor G.I. Joe Classified action figures.

Stability

Quicksilver is stable because of his huge feet. However, when paused as if he were running, he will not be as stable and cannot really stand on only one foot while the other is in the air. You may want to use a posable action figure stand, even though he has no peg holes for them.

Articulations

The articulations are where Quicksilver shines. He has an incredible butterfly shoulder that is so flexible, that it offers a lot of play and posing opportunities. His head is on a ball joint, but it does not rock side to side well. He can bend his neck up and down easily too which helps in running poses.

Quicksilver has shoulder articulations, bicep curls, double elbow articulations, wrist articulations that curl and bend up and down. He has a very good abdominal crunch, and his waist can twist. He has hip articulations that can move forward, and sideways to some extent, but he cannot do a Van Damme split. He has thigh curls, double knee articulations, and shin curls. His ankles pivot and bend down and up.

Plastic

Quicksilver’s torso does not appear to be made from PVC nor resin like rest of his body parts.

Props

Quicksilver has two pairs of hands. One set is a fist, the other a karate chop set, that is good for when he runs.

Packaging

Quicksilver came in one box with his father Magneto, and his sister, the Scarlet Witch. The back of the box explains the characters and depicts some shots from comics where they were featured. I like that.

Cost

The Family Matters set originally retailed for $39.99 USD, but Amazon changes the prices of these constantly, so you have to be on the look out for a deal if you don’t want to pay over a hundred dollars for this set. None of the action figures are incredible so why pay so much? I got my set for $55 CAD which is a good deal.

Availability

Only Amazon sells this set officially. Anything you get from another venue was bought from Amazon (or bootlegged). Amazon seems to have plenty in stock unlike other exclusives that they have had in the past. I’m not sure if it is possible to get the figures separately from one another though second parties.

I recommend this set only to fans who really like the comic book characters depicted here. It is a better comic book Quicksilver than past versions. Otherwise, wait a bit and maybe Hasbro will release a better comic book Quicksilver. They have recently released their first Marvel cinematic universe Quicksilver which is out of place with this set.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12

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