Speed (Marvel Comics)

Thomas and William were twins supposedly born to Scarlet Witch and Vision; in reality, they were magical constructs, created by Wanda's hex powers. It was revealed that she used slivers of Mephisto's life essence to give her children souls. Tommy and Billy were eventually reabsorbed by Mephisto and ceased to exist.

Thomas "Tommy" Shepherd was raised in Springfield, New Jersey as the only son of Frank and Mary Shepherd, who are divorced.

Wiccan and the other Young Avengers locate him as another teenager with ties to the Avengers using the same program devised by the Vision that Iron Lad used to locate most of the current Young Avengers, their intent being to recruit more super-powered teens who could help them rescue their abducted teammate, Hulkling.

The Young Avengers find Tommy in a high-powered facility in Springfield that Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) initially describes as "just juvie" (juvenile hall), though the facility and its staff are equipped with advanced offensive and defensive technology such as robotic suits and power dampening containment cells.

Vision states that Tommy is being held at the facility, presumably under court order, because he "accidentally" vaporized his school. When they release him from his cell, it is immediately noted that Tommy, a white-haired speedster, bears a striking resemblance to Billy ("twin-like") and Quicksilver, sharing the latter's hair color and similar abilities.

The team encounters the armed officers of the facility. Tommy cynically and cruelly begins attacking the officers and fleeing doctors, stating that he had been locked up for months and that during his time there, he was tested and experimented on with the goal to make him into a living weapon. Hawkeye and Patriot manage to stop him and convince him to join them in rescuing their teammate Hulkling from Kl'rt the Super-Skrull.[2] Little more has been revealed about the facility or Tommy's experiences there prior to his release, nor have they been addressed by the other Young Avengers or Tommy himself.

In Young Avengers Presents #3, Tommy joins Billy as they search for the Scarlet Witch through Genosha and Wundagore before finally encountering Master Pandemonium at a former residence of the Scarlet Witch and the Vision. Master Pandemonium decides not to fight the boys after recognizing Wiccan's magic as being the same as the Scarlet Witch's. Instead, he elaborates on their history concerning Mephisto and the Scarlet Witch and advises them that the history they search for is filled with "darkness and chaos" and that they should embrace who they are in the present. In the past, the Scarlet Witch used her reality warping powers to create twin sons, unknowingly, from two (of five) scattered fragments of the soul of the demon Mephisto that were previously lost to him in an ill-fated encounter with the powerful mutant child Franklin Richards.[3][4] When the boys' souls were reabsorbed into Mephisto, because of the power Wanda put into the soul fragments, they destroyed him and their souls were reincarnated as William Kaplan, the Young Avenger Wiccan, and Thommy.

In Young Avengers Presents #6, he goes on a date with Kate to help relieve her tensions about losing her name and bow to Clint Barton. He then helps her break into the Secret Avengers home base and reclaim her bow. During the course of the evening, the two share a kiss, addressing the heretofore unspoken love triangle between himself, Kate, and Patriot. However, Kate decides to attempt a relationship with Patriot instead.[5] In Young Avengers #12, Tommy decides to officially join the team and adopts the codename Speed.[6]

When the Young Avengers confront the group of teenagers that have been using their name, Tommy immediately recognizes the member Coat of Arms (Lisa Molinari). It is revealed that Tommy knew her from "juvie" and is implied that they used to have a relationship.[7]

Tommy and his friends are recruited to assist in defending Asgard when it is attacked by the forces under the control of Norman Osborn. Specifically, Tommy is tasked with delivering a backup suit of armor to Iron Man, which is essential in winning the day.[8]

When the Young Avengers disband following the events of the Children's Crusade, Tommy gets a job assembling tablet computers. He eventually meets and befriends Prodigy, a former member of the New X-Men, and partners with the boy to catch a thief dressed as Patriot. The thief attacks Speed and dissipates his body, before leaving a horrified Prodigy behind.[9] Once the matter was resolved by Prodigy kissing the thief accidentally and it releasing Tommy, Tommy responded by saying Prodigy is "moving too fast," which is an indication that Tommy may have interpreted their previous meetings as dates. Tommy later danced with Kate and was embraced tightly by Wiccan.[10]

Tommy also appears alongside the other Young Avengers in Avengers: The Children's Crusade - Young Avengers, a one-shot with the possible future timeline where the Young Avengers are grown up and now the Avengers. Tommy is together with Kate, who is pregnant and expecting twins. The timeline is the result of Iron Lad continuing to alter the timestream in an attempt to defeat Kang the Conqueror.[11]

In the one-shot Lords of Empyre: Emperor Hulkling,[12][13] Speed and Prodigy go out drinking with Hulkling, who describes that Speed and Prodigy "always have exactly one and a half drinks and start making out".[13]

In the one-shot Avengers Fairy Tales, Speed appears as the White Rabbit in an adaptation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He refers to the March Hare (Wiccan) as his brother.

Tommy Maximoff Art by Ariel Olivetti.

In The Last Avengers Story (which uses an alternate timeline), Billy and Tommy grew up as the children of the Vision and the Scarlet Witch. As a child, Tommy witnessed the accidental murder of his mother by his uncle, Quicksilver, which caused their father, the Vision to become emotionless and withdrawn. Tommy (known as "Tommy Maximoff") chose to become a student of Doctor Strange and learn the mystic arts. He and his brother Billy (who became a villain known as "the Grim Reaper" and sought revenge against him and their father) communicated via holograms where Tommy implored his brother to give up his villainy, stating that he was apprehensive to fight him.

Eventually the Reaper joined forces with Kang the Conqueror and Ultron-59 and their "final battle" with the Avengers. Tommy sought advice from Doctor Strange about what to do concerning his brother, stating that he was not ready to fight him. Tommy decided to assist the Avengers and tried to reach and recruit the Vision, who had become near-catatonic and enormous having apathetically allowed his molecules to diffuse, but to no avail. Angered and frustrated, Tommy left to fight his brother. Tommy and Billy were locked in battle until their father the Vision saw this and came to his senses and destroyed Ultron, ending the fight.

Unlike his Earth-616 counterpart, Tommy Maximoff inherited his mystical abilities from his mother the Scarlet Witch rather than his uncle's super speed. As a student of Doctor Strange, Tommy was able to perform various magical feats, including concussive mystical bolts and creating force fields.[23]