Quicksilver

X-Men: Days of Future Past was great; X-Men: Apocalypse was kind of meh. But in both cases the highlight was the same: Quicksilver, played by Evan Peters performing an incredible super-speed rescue (filmed in super slo-motion with cool music and lots of effects.

Who is the greatest Avenger of all time? You probably have your personal favorites. You probably also have a pretty good idea who the popular favorites might be. We wanted to know for sure, so to mark the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron we conducted a giant-size poll to give you the chance to choose between more than 100 Avengers members, and rank them from least to best. Now the results are in. And we think there are a few surprises.

One of the most delightful surprises of 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' was Quicksilver, the fast-talking, even faster-moving superhero played by Evan Peters, previously best known for his roles on 'American Horror Story.' Although early looks at the character online gave us the impression that he might be something of a joke, Quicksilver ended up delivering one of the best scenes of the film. Not only will he be returning for 'X-Men: Apocalypse,' but the second unit director is teasing that we might see the young hero strike out on his own at some point.

The Marvel superhero Quicksilver is not a big deal. I say that as someone who counts the guy among his favorite characters. What can I say? His snotty superiority has always spoken to me on a profound level. Yet I concede that the mutant speedster is not a marquee name. He's not even as popular as his nearest DC equivalent, the Flash. Calling him "B-list" may be a little generous. Despite this he's going to appear in two separate movie blockbuster franchises played by two different actors in a single year -- a feat that Superman, Spider-Man, Batman and the Hulk can't match. None of this is because of public demand. So what is it about the character that landed him in this unique position?