In terms of Marvel’s superhero teams, theX-Menhave a seeming monopoly on superspeed, with heroes like Northstar, Aurora, Transonic, Quick, Meanstreak and Speed. However, thereareother heroic speedsters in the Marvel Universe who don’t have the benefit of the X-gene - here are the 10 fastest do-gooders on Marvel’s books.
We’re only considering outright heroes on this list, sogodly speedsters like Hermes and the Runner don’t make the cut, while official supervillains weren’t even considered. As ever, we’ll include a few honorable mentions, as well as a couple of controversial entries that we already know we’ll be hearing about in the comments…
10Calamity, aka James Wa
Civil War Introduced Some Little-Known Heroes
Iron Man’s plans in the epicCivil Warevent didn’t stop at bringing down Captain America. Tony wanted the new Superhero Registration Act to facilitate the 50 States Initiative - an ambitious attempt to base a registered superhero team in every US state. Fans see Iron Man, Reed Richards and Yellowjacket auditioning (and even developing) some of these heroes inCivil War #6, by Mark Millar & Steve McNiven, including the speedster Hermes.
Hermes was renamed Calamity for his service in California’s The Order - a short-lived hero team who got their own self-titled series in 2007, from Matt Fraction and Barry Kitson.Thanks to cybernetic augmentation, Calamity is capable of reaching a maximum speed of Mach 3, using his powers to battle villains including Obadiah Stane and the Skrull invasion of Earth.
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The Marvel Universe is home to many ultra-fast heroes and villains, but there are ten who race ahead of the rest in the current timeline.
9Makkari
The Eternals' Speedster Is Essentially a God
A member of the Eternals, Makkari eschewed many of the species' other potential powers to focus on her speed. Makkari was a major influence over ancient Greek and Roman culture, and was one of the Eternals often mistaken for a god by mortals. Makkari was at one time the one link between the Eternals and their creators, the Celestials, but ultimately lost this power. Pushing her body to the limit to regain this connection, Makkari lost her senses of hearing and speech, and is now one of Marvel’s few hard-of-hearing heroes, alongside Hawkeye and Echo.Makkari’s speed has never been officially measured, butMarvel’s official character profile states that,“Makkari’s optimum speed is not known, but is likely Mach 3.”
8Le Vent
The Fastest Man in Europe Is Cursed with Speed
During the events ofCivil War, the Thing took a unique position - unwilling to submit to an unjust law, but also unwilling to fight his government. Ben Grimm resolved to ride out the tumultuous period in Paris, ending up working with Les Heroes de Paris - a group composed of the Superman-esque Adamantine, cat-like Anaïs, Americana-loving Cowboy, truth-compelling Lumière Bleue, ghost-like Detective Fantôme, French Batman Comte de Nuit, and armored enforcer Docteur Q, as well as the super-speedster Le Vent, aka the Wind.
La Vent’s speed powers are mystical in nature, as the hero (for unknown reasons) was cursed by a sorcerer to never be able to slow down. Despite this unfortunate origin,La Vent is known as"the fastest man in Europe"and can run at Mach 4, as well as being strong enough to throw the Thing like a wrecking ball. Le Heroes De Paris were created by J. Michael Straczynski & Mike McKone.
The 10 Fastest X-Men In Marvel Comics
Most fans know Quicksilver is among the fastest Marvel superheroes, but there are many other super-fast X-Men characters from the comics.
7Whiz Kid
Not Every Speedster Fights Crime
Not every speedster wants to be a vigilante, especially whentheir powers mean they bleed at super-fast speeds. Whiz Kid was originally introduced in 2004’sShe-Hulk #4(by Dan Slott & Paul Pelletier) as part of a trio of superfast individuals working for the legal firm of Goodman, Lieber, Kurtzberg & Holliway. Whiz Kid was content using her powers to deliver various legal papers at impossible speeds, but was sadly forced to register with the government during the events ofCivil War.
Despite the high risk of death from injury, Whiz Kid worked with the Liberteens - a 50 State Initiative team assigned to Pennsylvania.Whiz Kid moves at an outrageous 30,000 MPHand was essential to connecting up the 50 State Initiative when it was discovered the Skrulls had placed an impostor on every team. Sadly, she died fighting the Invasion, after using her speed to create a tornado that saved other heroes from a toxic gas. Of course, in comics, no death lasts forever…
Inspired byWWII hero the Whizzer, Whiz Kid was a member of the Speedsters Union - an organization for super-fast individuals who use their powers professionally, rather than to fight crime.
6Blur, aka Jeffrey Walters
The Squadron Supreme’s Speedster Antihero
There have been many heroes known as the Blur in Marvel Comics, but Jeffrey Walters made the name his own as a member of the Squadron Supreme - a group of antihero superhumans who went further than the Avengers in attempting to keep the world safe, including executing Namor for his crimes leading up to theSecret Warsevent. Blur is one of the most dangerous speedsters in Marvel lore -as a trained soldier, his combat skills are far in excess of most superheroes.
While Blur’s maximum speed hasn’t been reliably quantified,Squadron Supreme Volume 4 #3from James Robinson and Leonard Kirk saw him equal Quicksilver’s speed (by Pietro’s own admission) and claim he could surpass it. He certainly proved himself smarter, using a hidden tripwire to decisively take down the Avengers' speedster.
This version of Jeffrey Walters' Blur comes from Marvel’s alternate continuity the New Universe, with the hero later making the jump to Marvel’s mainstream continuity.
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Here are the 30 gods, mutants, sorcerers and robots that currently hold the top spot when it comes to power in the Marvel Universe.
5Quicksilver, aka Pietro Maximoff
Pietro Hasn’t Been Considered a Mutant Since 2014
While he’s often seen as a mutant, Quicksilver was only wrongly believed to be a member ofhomo superiordue to themistaken belief that Magneto was his father. Marvel’sAXISevent dispelled this myth, with later confirmation thatPietro’s speed actually comes from the experiments of the High Evolutionary. Quicksilver isn’t just fast - his body has been transformed to perfectly complement high-speed movement, making his reaction speeds and dexterity ultra-sharp, even for a speedster.
Over the years, Quicksilver has consistently increased his speed, training and removing mental blocks that kept him in a ‘safe’ speed range.Avengers vs X-Men #2(Jason Aaron, John Romita Jr.) confirmed thathe can move at Mach 5, however this is a baseline not a limit, and during the events ofAvengers: No Surrender, he ran so fast that he became detached from the linear flow of time (though this was possible partly due to his sister’s magic.)
Quicksilver has an even faster sister, known as Luminous. The enforcer of the High Evolutionary,Luminous has Quicksilver’s speed and Scarlet Witch’s magic, but so far is a truly evil individual.
4Photon, aka Monica Rambeau
The Former Avenger Can Reach Lightspeed
The former Captain Marvel, Photon is one of Marvel’s most respected heroes, and is one of few to have led the Avengers. Monica has control over the electromagnetic spectrum, and can transform her entire body into light. This allows her to move at lightspeed, withCaptain America and the Mighty Avengers #9(from Al Ewing and Luke Ross) confirming thatshe can move fast enough to destroy the planet by impacting it in a hard-light form.
The Ultimatesby Al Ewing and Kenneth Rocafort explored Photon’s powers, revealing that she has fully become energy and must expend effort to appear human, misleading her allies about her true limits and abilities.
3FastForward
Is This Marvel Hero Actually DC’s Flash?
In 1990’sQuasar #17, Mark Gruenwald & Mike Manley made the gutsy decision toeffectively steal the Flash from DC Comics. During the events of DC’sCrisis on Infinite Earths, Barry Allen’s Flash pushed his speed further than ever before, disintegrating and seemingly dying. Five years later, a superfast hero in a torn red and yellow costume crashlanded on Marvel’s Earth, remembering nothing of his life except that his true name sounded something like"Buried Alien."
The hero later took the name FastForward, and famously engaged in a race set up by the Runner -an Elder of the Universewho is obsessed with racing and speed. FastForward beat out other speedsters including Makkari and Quicksilver, with the Runner crowning him"The Fastest Man Alive"- Flash’s iconic nickname over at DC. The character hasn’t been seen much since, especially after Barry Allen returned to DC lore.
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The list of super-speedsters in the DC universe continues to grow. But who is really the fastest? Spoiler: it’s not just the Flash Family.
2Sentry, aka Robert ‘Bob’ Reynolds
At His Fastest, Sentry Broke Lightspeed
The Sentry is Bob Reynolds - a normal kid who ingested a new version of the Super Soldier Serum and received the power of"a million exploding suns.“Sentry has similar powers to DC’s Superman, but those powers are a lie. Bob Reynolds' true superhuman ability is to control reality on a molecular level. The Sentry has Superman-esque powers because that’s how Bob sees his idealized self, while alsocreating the demonic Void- the equally powerful embodiment of Bob’s doubt and self-hatred.
Sentry’s various feats prove that there’s really no limit on his powers, withsome accomplishments suggesting he even moves faster than the speed of light. This was shown in Rick Remender and Daniel Acuña’sUncanny Avengers #10, when the narration notes that after tackling Thor,“The Sentry’s velocity bends space and time. Their atoms are hurled forward at many times the speed of light.“However, this was while he was empowered by the Celestial Death Seed, and it’spossiblehe’s not quite this fast with his default abilities.
Sentry’s biggest drawback is that his powers are unreliable. While Sentry is immensely strong and fast, he’s limited by Bob Reynolds' imagination and mental state, which is fragile at the best of times.
1Silver Surfer, aka Norrin Radd
Galactus' Former Herald Redefines Speed
Like the Sentry, Silver Surfer can move at speeds"surpassing the speed of light,“thanks to the reality-warping Power Cosmic granted to him by Galactus. While theSurfer can open holes in reality to travel impossible distances through hyperspace, he can do the same with pure speed thanks to his board, which is a physical part of him with its own secondary sentience (implied to be an aspect of his own subconscious mind.)
While various sources confirm Silver Surfer is faster than light, the most iconic is the cover to 1995’sSilver Surfer #110, proclaiming,“Faster than light… He flies… into the OUTER VOID!”
Reconfigured on the biological level to be the ideal being for space travel over vast distances,Silver Surfer’s Power Cosmicalso allows him to warp time and reality, meaning he can technically arrive at his destination before he set off. He’s also able to call in favors from allies like Eternity, who - in 2017’sSilver Surfer #10, from Dan Slott and Michael Allred - empowered Silver Surfer to instantly travel from one side of existence to the other. Is Silver Surfer Marvel’s fastest hero? Since the Sentry died inKing in Black, it’s a pretty sure bet.
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Honorable Mentions
Those are the 10 fastest Marvel heroes who aren’t mutants, and so sadly will probably never be invited to join theX-Men- let us know who else you think should be on this list, and who should be higher or lower in our ranking, in the comments below.
