The Flash and Quicksilver are two of the fastest heroes in comics, but one hero came out ahead when Wally West raced the Avenger in Marvel vs. DC.
The epic crossover, DC versus Marvel, saw several exciting battles between iconic heroes. In this '90s crossover, readers even got the chance to vote on several matches between their favorite Marvel and DC characters. Out of all of these fights, the most evenly-matched battle appeared to be between Quicksilver and The Flash, the most prominent speedsters of their respective worlds.
This clash of speedsters arrived in 1996's Marvel versus DC #2, by Peter David, Claudio Castellini, Dan Jurgens, Paul Neary and Joe Rubenstein. Quicksilver and The Flash came together when two cosmic entities known as the Brothers reunited after eons. With each representing either the Marvel or the DC Universe, the entities decided that only one of their creations could survive.
The two entities couldn't battle each other, as the results would be catastrophic. As a result, the heroes from each universe would fight against each other during individual battles. The rules required one hero to immobilize another in order to win. Whichever universe won the most matches would survive, while the losing universe would be destroyed.
The Flash and Quicksilver were paired against each other for one rather brief fight that lasted a grand total of three pages. This frenzied fight began with the two speedsters racing through the streets, while The Flash boasted about how much faster he was than Quicksilver. The Scarlet Speedster also noted that they could have been friends, battering Pietro Maximoff while he spoke.
Quicksilver didn't care about their possible friendship, since he just wanted his universe to live. During the fight, a giant oil truck came towards the speedsters, swerving and crashing into the street. In the resulting explosion, The Flash went out of his way to save the father and son who were inside of the truck.
Quicksilver took this opportunity to ambush The Flash, pummeling him with a flurry of blows. Immediately, however, Pietro felt guilty about taking such an easy shot. Quicksilver hesitated, thinking about how he was simply angry that someone else was faster than he was. In this time, The Flash recovered, taking the moment to immobilize Quicksilver and win the fight.
While The Flash won this fight, it wasn't an outcome that was determined by the creators at Marvel and DC. Rather, the battle was determined by fan vote. Although the creative team could decide the specifics of how the fight went down, they couldn't change the eventual result. This method of determination left readers wondering who should have won the fight, with no fan vote to make this decision.Ultimately, even without a vote, The Flash probably should have taken this battle. For one thing, it's important to note that The Flash in this story was Wally West. At this point in history, Wally was reaching the peak of his speed. In 1993's The Flash #79, by Mark Waid and Greg LaRocque, Wally finally pushed past his own psychological barrier, growing fast enough to defeat The Reverse-Flash.
At this time, Wally had increased his connection to the Speed Force, increasing his power tremendously. In 1995's The Flash #100, by Waid, Salvador Larroca, Carlos Pacheco and Oscar Jimenez, Wally traveled into the Speed Force itself, emerging faster than ever with new abilities such as granting temporary speed to others.
Quicksilver, on the other hand, had no equivalent power source. At the time, Pietro was considered a mutant, trained by Magneto to use his powers properly. Quicksilver had years of experience of fighting alongside the Avengers and living with the Inhumans. Still, Quicksilver didn't have a speedster mentor like Barry Allen to train him, and he certainly had nothing like the Speed Force to boost his power.
During their fight, Quicksilver even admitted he was slower than Wally, something that was not specifically determined by fan vote. Wally West may have won this fight due to fan voting, but The Flash probably would have emerged victorious anyways.