Speed

Speed, the alter ego of Thomas Shepherd, is one of Marvel's most electrifying young heroes — a wisecracking speedster with the raw power to shake reality itself. Tommy is the reincarnated soul of Thomas Maximoff, one of the twin sons of Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch, making him part of one of the most emotionally charged and cosmically tangled family trees in comics. His connection to the House of Magnus ties him directly to Magneto, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch, giving collectors a character whose books intersect with some of Marvel's biggest storylines and most valuable back issues.

Though the groundwork for his existence was laid in The Vision and the Scarlet Witch #12 (1986) — a key issue for any serious Marvel collector — Tommy himself came into his own during the landmark Young Avengers series launched in 2005 by writer Allan Heinberg and artist Jim Cheung. His debut as Speed gave the Young Avengers their resident powerhouse and resident troublemaker, a teenager who inherited Quicksilver's velocity but paired it with the volatile, reality-warping energy of his mother's mutant legacy. His ability to vibrate molecules, phase through solid matter, and unleash devastating vibration blasts separates him from a crowded field of speedsters and makes him genuinely dangerous on the page.

Speed plays a central role in some of the most celebrated Young Avengers stories of the modern era, including the emotionally resonant Children's Crusade arc, where the twin brothers' search for the Scarlet Witch brought the entire extended Avengers family to a breaking point. His appearances in Jonathan Hickman's Avengers-era books and later team adventures have kept Tommy relevant across multiple Marvel eras, while his ties to Wiccan — his twin brother Billy — anchor some of the most heartfelt storytelling the publisher has produced in recent decades.

For collectors, Speed's books represent a smart, forward-looking corner of the Marvel back-issue market. Young Avengers #10 (2006), his first full appearance as Speed, is a book worth tracking down, and the entire Jim Cheung-illustrated Young Avengers run commands strong secondary market prices thanks to its devoted fanbase and critical reputation. With both Speed and Wiccan firmly embedded in Marvel's future plans — including increased multimedia exposure — now is the time to build out your Tommy Shepherd collection before the broader market catches up.