Magneto and his son Quicksilver have never had a great relationship, with the speedster Avenger standing against his fanatical father countless times. But in the Ultimate Marvel universe, Pietro and his father’s relationship was even worse, as the infamous mutant terrorist regularly abused and berated his son. The true breaking point of their relationship was when Magneto’s anger over Pietro’s actions saw him tear through the Ultimates just to punish his son and daughter with an example of gruesome power that would never fly in the MCU.
In this parallel Marvel dimension that did away with mainstream continuity to tell new, shocking stories, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch are Magneto’s children and members of the Brotherhood of Mutant Supremacy, though they’re still consistently reminded of their human parentage by their feared leader and father. With Quicksilver getting constant abuse despite being one of the fastest people on Earth, it was Pietro’s intervention that helped the Ultimate X-Men defeat Magneto when he attempted to kill the President and take over humanity with a reprogrammed Sentinel army. Afterwards, Pietro and Wanda attempted to lead and re-direct the Brotherhood’s efforts, but this new direction did not fly with many of the other members. Eventually Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch joined the Ultimates, their universes’ version of the Avengers.
In the “Ultimate War” storyline, written by Mark Millar with art by Chris Bachalo, the Ultimates deal with the return of Magneto and the disappearance of the X-Men. While the Ultimates deliberate on a plan, the Triskelion loses power and Magneto makes his move. With walls and bullets no obstacle, the returned mutant villain wants to have a word with his children. Captain America and Thor put up a valiant effort, but they are no match for Magneto’s powers, nor his lectures as he knocks them down. When Pietro stands up to take his punishment, his father explains that his anger doesn’t come from Pietro having helped defeat him (which he claims made him proud), but because Quicksilver took his magnificent Brotherhood and ruined it, tainting its goal by assisting humanity instead of dominating it. When Wanda chimes in that she’s just as guilty as Pietro, their father comments that her punishment is to watch as Magneto uses his powers to shoot out Quicksilver’s kneecaps.
Although Magneto is able to escape and the battle-worn Ultimates take out their frustrations on the innocent X-Men later, Pietro and Wanda’s trauma doesn’t stop them from trying to see their father once he’s back in captivity. Magneto proves he’s the worst kind of father, considering both of his children as embarrassments to him and their race for their betrayal. Although his son’s powers enabled him to heal once the proper surgery had occurred, Magneto’s brief attempt at concern for his son’s well-being near the end of the “Return of the King” storyline – asking after his health – showed that maybe he did actually care about his son, but he cared more about mutant domination. In the end, it’s surprising but oddly predictable that the Ultimate version of Quicksilver would eventually become more of a villain than a hero. Sadly, in this world at least, Magneto was able to damage his son beyond all recovery.
