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QUICKSAND

Real Name: Unrevealed

Identity/Class: Human mutate

Occupation: Professional criminal;
                     formerly scientist

Group Membership: None;
formerly Unstoppables (Juggernaut/Cain Marko, Primus), Women Warriors (Asp/Cleo Nefertiti, Black Mamba/Tanya Sealy, Diamondback/Rachel Leighton, Skein/Sybil Dvorak), Fifty State Initiative, Thunderbolts army (Ajaxis, Aqueduct, Batroc the Leaper, Beetles (3 in various armors), Blacklash (unidentified), Bloodstrike, Boomerang, Bushmaster, Coronary, Dr. Octopus/Otto Octavius, Eel/Edward Lavell, Ironclad, Killer Shrike, King Cobra, Mongoose, Over-Mind, Ox/Ronald Bloch, Porcupine/Roger Gocking, Pretty Persuasions, Rattler, Red Ronin, Slyde, Smiling Tiger, Tatterdemalion, Texas Twister, Unicorn/Milos Masaryk, Vapor, Vector, Vermin, Whiplash (unidentified), Whirlwind/David Cannon, X-Ray); Masters of Evil (Aqueduct, Bison, Black Mamba, Blackwing, Boomerang, Cardinal, Constrictor, Crimson Cowl/Justine Hammer, Cyclone, Dragonfly, Eel, Flying Tiger, Gypsy Moth, Hydro-Man, Icemaster, Joystick, Klaw, Lodestone, Man-Ape, Man-Killer, Scorcher, Shatterfist, Shockwave, Slyde, Sunstroke, Supercharger, Tiger Shark), Superia's Femizons (Anaconda, Arclight, Battleaxe, Blackbird, Black Lotus, Bloodlust, Bombshell, Chimera, Dansen Macabre, Dragoness, Dragonfly, Elektra Natchios, Ferocia/Fera, Frenzy/Joanna Cargill, Gladiatrix, Golddigger, Gypsy Moth, Ice Princess, Impala, Ion, Iron Maiden, Karisma, Knockout, Mindblast, MODAM, Moonstone, Mysteria, Nightshade, Pink Pearl, Poundcakes, Princess Python, Screaming Mimi, Snapdragon, Steel Wind, Superia, Titania/Mary MacPherran, Vapor, Vertigo (Savage Land Mutate), Water Witch, Whiplash, Whiteout, Wrangler, Yellowjacket/Rita DeMara)

Affiliations: Anaconda (Blanche Sitzniski), Avengers (Ares, Hawkeye/Bullseye, Iron Patriot/Norman Osborn, Ms. Marvel/Karla Sofen, Sentry/Robert Reynolds, Spider-Man/Mac Gargan, Wolverine/Daken), Cape-Killers, Constrictor (Frank Payne), Deadpool ("Wade Wilson"), Enchantress (Sylvie Lushton), Griffin (Johnny Horton), HAMMER, Headmen (Chondu/Harvey Schlemerman, Gorilla Man/Arthur Nagan, Ruby Thursday/Thursday Rubinstein), Hood (Parker Robbins), Icemaster, Lightmaster, Caroline Le Fay, Mockingbird (Barbara Morse), Mongoose, Owl (Leland Owlsley), Pandemonium Axles, Piledriver (Brian Calusky), Rubber Maid (Andrea Margulies), Sandstorm (Tony Trainer), Schizoid Man, Scorcher, Shadow Initiative (Badd Axe, Penance/Robert Baldwin, Ringer/Keith Kraft), Silk Fever, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Sunstreak, Supercharger, Taskmater (Tony Masters), U-Foes, Arnim Zola;
formerly Seth

Enemies: Shamari Asbery, Asgardians, Avengers Resistance (Debrii, Gauntlet/Joseph Green, Justice/Vance Astrovik, Night Thrasher/Donyell Taylor, Rage, Scarlet Spider/Patrick, Slapstick, Tigra, Ultragirl), Bloodaxe (Jackie Lukus), Luke Cage, Cannonball (Sam Guthrie), Cloud 9 (Abigail Boylen), Defenders (Elsa Bloodstone, Clea, Hippolyta, Misty Knight, Dani Moonstar, Valkyrie/Brunnhilde & Annabell Riggs), Doctor Strange (Stephen Strange), Guardsmen, Hercules, Maria Hill, Humanitech Robotics Inc. (Dr. Xander Zynn, others), Iron Fist (Daniel Rand), Nightmare, Nova (Richard Rider), Adam Peters, R.A.I.D. (Radically Advanced Ideas in Destruction), Sandman (William Baker), Guido "Jerry" Saprisiti, "Victor Shade" (Ultron Mark Twelve; possessing Whirlwind/David Cannon), SHIELD, Texas Twister (Drew Daniels), Thor (Odinson), Thor Girl (Tarene), Thunderbolts (Atlas/Erik Josten, Charcoal/Charlie Burlingame, Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Jolt/Hallie Takahama, Moonstone/Karla Sofen, Songbird/Melissa Joan Gold), Thunderstrike (Eric Masterson), Venom (Flash Thompson), the Warden (aka. Human-Adaptoid), Wasp (Janet Van Dyne), Werewolf (Jack Russell), X-Man (Nate Grey);
formerly Bison, D-Cel (Miranda Manuel), Thunderbolts (Atlas/Erik Josten, Blizzard/Donnie Gill, Joystick/Janice Yanizeski, Smuggler/Conrad Josten, Songbird/Melissa Joan Gold, Swordsman/Andreas Strucker), X-Men (Mimic, Rogue), Arnim Zola

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: "Beach Goddess", "Pathetic cut rate Sandman knock-off" ,"Sand-witch" (nicknames used by Nova)

Base of Operations: The Raft near Ryker's Island, New York;
   formerly mobile with the Unstoppables;
   formerly Humanitech Robotics Inc. in Upstate New York;
   formerly an upstate New York penitentiary;
   formerly the Raft;
   formerly Women Warriors headquarters, Delaware;
   formerly Camp HAMMER, Desert Flats, New Mexico;
   formerly Denver, Colorado;
   formerly Manhattan's Upper West Side, New York
   formerly Mount Charteris, Colorado;
   formerly the New York subway system;
   formerly New York City

First Appearance: Thor I#392 (June, 1988)

Powers/Abilities: Quicksand's body entirely consisted of a sand-like substance. She possesses superhuman strength (lifting at least 80 tons) and can control her own density to allow objects such as bullets, fists or swords pass through her without harm. She can reshape her body into a variety of forms, usually she merely elongates her limbs to land punches or trap people, but she has been known to shift her form to resemble a tank. She can disperse to escape capture or dispel her form into the air to become a sentient "sandstorm". Quicksand can use common grains of sand to replenish portions she might lose during battle or use it to increase her own volume. Even when she is scattered or shifted into other forms such as glass, Quicksand's mind remains intact and can actively work towards reassembling itself.

Height: 6'8" (as Quicksand, though variable), 5'4" (pre-transformation)
Weight: 500 lbs. (as Quicksand, though variable), 100 lbs (pre-transformation)
Eyes: Yellow (as Quicksand), Brown (pre-transformation)
Hair: Sandy yellow (as Quicksand), black (pre-transformation)

History:
(Thor I#392 (fb) - BTS) - A female Vietnamese-American scientist was caught in a nuclear accident which altered her atomic structure and changed her into a living sand creature. Furious at the fate that had befallen her, she swore to have her revenge.

(Thor I#392) - Quicksand decided to attack a soon-to-be operational nuclear plant in New York, just as Sigurd Jarlson (Thor), Eric Masterson and Guido Sapristi were meeting with the plant's owner Adam Peters for a possible construction bid. "Sigurd" quickly excused himself and changed to Thor. He engaged the brash, headstrong Quicksand who was able to hold her own against the thunderer, blasting his eyes with sand and smashing him with concrete hard punches. She even survived him calling down a torrential rain to clear his eyes, with the fight eventually moving to inside the plant. As fate would have it, the two dueling superbeings crashed through a wall near a corridor Eric Masterson, Guido Sapristi and their associate Jackie Lukus happened to be in. Realizing this was an opportunity, Quicksand held the three civilians hostage in her giant, sandy palm. Unimpressed, Thor threw his hammer to free his friends which was exactly what the villainess was hoping for. With a well-timed sandblast, she deflected Mjolnir's path preventing the hammer to return to the thunderer. Without his mystical mallet, Thor was seemingly defenseless against Quicksand who proceeded to batter him senseless.

(Thor I#393) - Quicksand continued her ferocious attack, trying to choke Thor with sandblasts until the thundergod grew so furious he slammed his fists on the floor, creating a small earthquake that startled his opponent. This allowed Thor to reclaim his hammer, which was reason enough for Quicksand to temporarily retreat, fleeing through a nearby airvent. She re-emerged deeper in the reactor core and quickly took out the workers on that level. She then used her scientific expertise to activate the nuclear core, setting it to meltdown in a few, short minutes. By that time, Thor had found her again and continued the fight, calling her a monster as soon as he learned what she had done. Quicksand managed to escape while Thor dealt with the imminent explosion: he teleported the entire nuclear facility to another dimension where it could detonate without harming a soul.

(Thor I#402) - The Mongoose, acting on Seth's orders, approached Quicksand and offered to restore her to normal if she attacked Thor for him. Though hesitant and belligerent at first, Quicksand soon agreed to a partnership when Mongoose produced a device that was briefly able to restore her to normal. Quicksand went to Guido Sapristi's construction site, where Mongoose had fought Thor earlier, figuring that if she started trouble there he would soon show up. Quicksand made her presence known and attacked Sapristi, which drew out Thor. After a brief, ferocious fight in which it became obvious Quicksand was able to use her form to hold Mjolnir.

(Thor I#403) - As the fight between Quicksand and Thor continued, Mongoose and Seth readied their assault from an unseen flying craft hovering right above the construction site. Quicksand prepared for a final assault, shifting her form into that of a battle tank and charging Thor, only to be dispersed when he threw Mjolnir right into her make-shift barrel. Moments later, Seth and Mongoose fired an energy beam at Thor, which was Quicksand's cue that her part of the assignment was finished. She took her leave of Thor, telling him he'd been "a terrific date."

(Captain America I#387 (fb) - BTS) - Quicksand was among the many super-powered females assembled by Nightshade to become Superia's Femizons.

(Captain America I#388) - Quicksand boarded the luxurious cruiseship the S.S Superia, bound for Femizonia Island. On the way to the tropical island, she planned to work on her tan and shifted to her human form. When her massive fellow passenger Anaconda was blocking the sun, it led to a fight that the other Femizons gleefully cheered on. Shifting into her Quicksand form, the sandy villain easily beat back Anaconda (see comments).

(Captain America I#389) - Their fight was eventually broken up by Bombshell who threatened to show Quicksand what her energy blasts could do to her particles if she didn't let up on Anaconda who had already been pounded into submission (see comments). Later that night, Quicksand enjoyed a front row seat when she attended the "Power Pageant," an exhibition of superhuman feats that was interrupted when contestant Ferocia smelled the presence of Captain America and Paladin on the ship. All the Femizons joined in to attack the two heroes.

(Captain America I#390) - Outnumbered and outgunned, Captain America and Paladin were eventually overpowered and captured by Quicksand and the other Femizons. A little while later, the S.S. Superia arrived on Femizonia Island.

(Captain America I#391) - Quicksand, along with all the other Femizons, attended Superia's meeting in which she outlined her plans to guide Earth into becoming Femizonia, the 23rd century alternate future where Thundra hails from. (she wasn't seen fighting when Captain America and his allies thwarted Superia's plan in the next issue)

(Web of Spider-Man I#107 - BTS) - Through unrevealed means, Morelle Pharmaceuticals obtained a bio-sample of Quicksand, which they intended to study as part of Project: Sandstorm at Empire State University. Morelle had also gained a sample of the Sandman's unique genetic material. When the two samples were bombarded with microwaves by grad student Tony Trainer they interacted and caused a massive explosion that changed Trainer into the sand manipulating Sandstorm.

(Web of Spider-Man I#107) - Quicksand and Sandman happened to arrive at ESU at the same time, both eager to retrieve the stolen parts of their bodies. They came in just in time to see Trainer in his new Sandstorm form, ready to take on Spider-Man who had been on campus to save people from the explosion.

(Web of Spider-Man I#108) - Quicksand briefly battled Sandstorm but, true to form, eventually allied herself with him to take on Spider-Man and Sandman. Their combined efforts proved ineffective, the two heroes easily took them both down.

(Thunderstrike I#13 - BTS) - Quicksand was recruited by the Egyptian god Seth to serve his needs. He sent her and the Mongoose to aid Bison, another one of his superhuman operatives who he had tasked to retrieve the deadly element Inferno-42 before SHIELD could destroy its stash.

(Thunderstrike I#13) - Quicksand and Mongoose arrived to join Bison at the underground SHIELD facility moments after he had faced Thunderstrike and Luke Cage.

(Thunderstrike I#14) - Quicksand took on Luke Cage while the mere presence of his old, lethal enemy Mongoose was enough to give Thunderstrike pause. During the fight, Bison's girlfriend Shamari Asbery wandered into the facility. Figuring a hostage would be ideal, Quicksand grabbed her. Seeing his wife in danger made the reluctant villain Bison realize he was backing the wrong side. Slamming his hands together to create a powerful shockwave that tore Quicksand's form apart, Bison saved his wife. Just then, SHIELD decided to flood their subterranean facility to make sure no one could get to the Inferno-42. Somehow, Quicksand managed to evade capture.

(Thunderstrike I#22) - Teaming up with her partner the Mongoose, Quicksand threatened Guido Sapristi at his construction site. The foreman was saved by the Bloodaxe and the arriving Thunderstrike. The wild and out of control Bloodaxe used her mystic weapon to turn Quicksand to glass in preparation of shattering her form altogether. Thunderstrike prevented the battle-mad vigilante from carrying out his plan.

(Thunderbolts I#24 (fb) - BTS) - Quicksand was recruited into the Crimson Cowl's new, army-like incarnation of the Masters of Evil. She moved to the team's base in Mount Charteris, Colorado.

(Thunderbolts I#25 (fb) - BTS) - Quicksand arranged for her one-time ally Bison to join the Masters as well. (no hard feelings there)

(Thunderbolts I#24) - Quicksand attended the meeting of the Masters in Mount Charteris where the Crimson Cowl presented her plan to use weather manipulation technology to extort the world's governments. Unbeknownst to the Masters of Evil, Hawkeye and the Thunderbolts had infiltrated their base, but seeing all the Masters together gave the heroes considerable pause.

(Thunderbolts I#25) - The Thunderbolts sent a reluctant Moonstone to infiltrate the Masters of Evil, by pretending she had quit the team. Crimson Cowl was distrustful of Sofen and had her outfitted with power-dampening shackles. She then ordered Quicksand, Bison, Constrictor and Shockwave to escort Moonstone to the nearest cell. On the way there, Quicksand was delighted to see the snotty Sofen so thoroughly humiliated and aware she was no longer in command. Bison interjected, stating he didn't join up for power, all he wanted was to earn enough money to be able to return to normal so he could be a good husband to his wife Shamari. He added that he remembered how becoming human was something Quicksand also wanted once. She replied there'd be plenty of time for that after she'd earned her fortune.

(Thunderbolts I#33 (fb) - BTS) - Observing Quicksand and the other Masters from a hidden location, long time Mount Charteris resident Ogre decided he needed to take action since he didn't care for the Cowl's forces at all. He quietly left a key that would unlock Moonstone's power dampening shackles in her cell.

(Thunderbolts I#25) - Some time later, just as the Cowl had declared to the world she expected a trillion dollars in "ransom money", the Thunderbolts mingled among the Masters disguised in the costumes they'd covertly taken off captured and defeated members of the team. Moonstone decided to inform the Cowl of their presence, which led to a huge fight. Quicksand mostly focused on taking down Atlas. But when the Thunderbolts decided to switch opponents, she was used by Songbird to douse the flames of her fellow Masters member Scorcher. Eventually, the Thunderbolts defeated the Masters and made sure they were all sent to jail.

(Nova III#4 - BTS) - Quicksand was robbing a jewelry store on the Upper West Side of Manhattan when police arrived to stop her. The altercation was picked up by a local radio station that incorrectly identified her as Sandman.

(Nova III#4) - Nova (Richard Rider) heard the report and rushed to the scene of the crime, eager to fight a high profile villain like Sandman. When he arrived, he was thoroughly disappointed to see Quicksand, calling her a pathetic cut-rate Sandman knock-off. However, Quicksand proved herself to be a formidable opponent, quickly smothering the hero with her sandy form. Panicked and not in control of his Nova powers, Rider unleashed an energy blast from his eyes that turned Quicksand into glass. While he was trying to grasp what had just happened, a truck driver slammed into Quicksand, shattering her body completely.

(Thunderbolts I#103 (fb) - BTS) - Quicksand reconstituted her body.

(Thunderbolts I#103) - Quicksand was in Denver, Colorado and trying to keep a low profile. However, the cops still recognized her and demanded she turned herself in. When she refused, the Thunderbolts were sent in. She fought the team for a while, but ultimately proved unable to withstand their combined might. After Songbird used a hard sound wedge to split her in half, Blizzard quickly used his new and improved freon suit to "turn her into a popsicle" upon which the Swordsman fired an energy blast that blew her to pieces. Demonizing the use of excessive force, Songbird ordered the team to collect all the pieces before she could reconstitute herself. Quicksand was covertly taken to baron Zemo's folding castle where she was restrained and imprisoned along with dozens of other supervillains the Thunderbolts had captured in recent weeks.

(Thunderbolts I#104 (fb) - BTS) - After he had collected enough villains for his plan, Operation: Justice Like Lightning, Zemo sent Quicksand and the others for training to a military base in the Desert Flats of New Mexico. To ensure her loyalty and cooperation, Quicksand was injected with a subdermal phase-shift locator. This device, designed by the Fixer, would automatically teleport her to a holding facility if she broke the parameters of the assigned mission.

(Thunderbolts I#104) - Quicksand was assigned to one of the Thunderbolts field teams tasked to bring in stray supervillains. She joined Blizzard, Fixer and Joystick on a mission to Portland where they fought and captured the U-Foes. After returning their enemies to the team's folding castle headquarters, Quicksand accompanied Zemo on a visit to their Desert Flats training facility.

(Thunderbolts I#107) - During the Wellspring of Power crisis, Baron Zemo tasked the Thunderbolts army to keep the peace. Quicksand was assigned to Alpha Squad, along with Boomerang, Eel, Doctor Octopus, Porcupine, Whirlwind and X-Ray. The team was sent to Chicago, where they struggled to keep the rioting crowds in check.

(Avengers: The Initiative#26) - Quicksand was assigned to join the Women Warriors, Delaware's official state team as part of the Fifty State Initiative. The Women Warriors (Asp, Black Mamba, Diamondback and Skein) were officially presented by Norman Osborn during a televised press conference. The other new state teams were Psionex, defending Maryland, the U-Foes for North Carolina and the Force of Nature for Oregon. When reporter Sally Floyd questioned Osborn about the fact the new teams were pretty much comprised of criminals, the director of HAMMER assured her that every member was registered and licensed.

(Avengers: The Initiative#29) - Quicksand and the other Women Warriors, joined by Constrictor, responded to a RAID attack at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport. When a member of the RAID attack squad shot down a plane, Quicksand and the others decided to flee rather than help prevent the crash. In the end, Constrictor was able to stop the plane before it killed Diamondback, the only Women Warrior who remained behind. Later, at a press conference to discuss the incident, the Women Warriors acted as if their desertion never happened. Later, Quicksand was brought to Camp HAMMER to help fight off Justice's Avengers Resistance alongside Shadow Initiative members and Cape-Killers.

(Avengers: The Initiative#30) - Quicksand continued to defend Camp HAMMER from the invading Avengers Resistance, along with Scorcher, Penance, Taskmaster and the Hood. Their fight was cut short by Nightmare who tormented a fair number of the heroes and villains with vivid manifestations of their deepest fears before moving on. This allowed the renegade New Warriors to escape.

(Siege I#1) - Quicksand was seen among the forces gathered by Norman Osborn to invade Asgard. She and the others were drilled by Ares who instructed them about the coming battle. The god of war reminded them that while they knew all about the Asgardians, they in return knew nothing of them.

(Avengers: The Initiative#32) - En route to Broxton, Oklahoma (where Asgard had recently been relocated to), Quicksand overheard Taskmaster and Constrictor discussing the foolishness of the mission. The Constrictor felt it was suicide taking on the gods of Asgard. Quicksand dismissed his concerns, calling them "small "g" gods" only to remind him she'd fought Thor before and that he wasn't all that to begin with. Her teammate Asp chimed in to say she'd actually heard Quicksand had ran from that encounter "like cheap mascara." Quicksand was ready to punch Nefertiti, but Black Mamba calmed them down before it could come to blows.

(Siege I#1) - Soon after the siege began, Thor showed up but was attacked by Iron Patriot (Norman Osborn), Ms. Marvel (Karla Sofen), the U-Foes and Quicksand. Their combined assault brought the thunderer to his knees.

(Siege I#2) - Quicksand watched as Osborn placed Thor under arrest. However, before he could be taken into custody he was rescued by Maria Hill who stormed on to the scene, firing a bazooka from the back of a pickup truck driven by her friend Jared. She confused the villains long enough to escape with Thor.

(Siege I#4) - After the siege of Asgard had ended and Norman Osborn had been deposed, Quicksand and the other members of his "villain army" were apprehended by Nick Fury and his SHIELD forces. Fury announced they were all officially war criminals and would be shot on sight if they tried to make a move.

(Avengers Academy#15) - Quicksand attempted to escape the Raft after one of the seven mystical hammers of the Worthy crashed into the facility. However, before she was able to get off the prison island, she was captured by Initiative member Justice (Vance Astrovik) who contained the sandy villain in a telekinetic force bubble.

(Fear Itself: Youth In Revolt#3) - Through unrevealed ways, Quicksand escaped prison. She travelled to Philadelphia where she planned to commit mass murder (possibly influenced by Skadi's hate-inducing energies that were sweeping the world at the time). Before she could carry out her plan, she was defeated by Thor Girl and Cloud 9.

(X-Men Legacy I#275 (fb) - BTS) - With the Raft still being rebuilt, Quicksand and a number of other recaptured supervillains were temporarily housed in prisons that were not actually designed to hold super powered criminals. Quicksand ended up at a facility in upstate New York along with Ruby Thursday, Griffin, Schizoid Man, Icemaster, Silk Fever, Supercharger, and Lightmaster. Easily overpowering the assigned Guardsmen, they staged a prison break. With the FF and Avengers unavailable, the warden contacted the X-Men. Rogue and Mimic were dispatched.

(X-Men Legacy I#275) - By the time Rogue and Mimic arrived at the prison, Quicksand was already outside and was effortlessly beating the Guardsmen who had no defense against her raging sandstorm. Rogue, after having borrowed his powers, teamed with Mimic to generate iceblasts sufficient enough to freeze and contain Quicksand.

(Fearless Defenders#9 - BTS) - Somehow escaping prison once again, Quicksand was hired by Caroline Le Fay to assist the Enchantress (Sylvie Lushton), along with the Headmen. Enchantress was tasked to reanimate the ancient entities known as the Pandemonium Axles, who were currently trapped in statue form.

(Fearless Defenders#9) - The Pandemonium Axles mission brought Quicksand and the others in direct conflict with the Defenders (Valkyrie, Clea, Misty Knight, Elsa Bloodstone, Moonstar, Hippolyta). Quicksand took on Hippolyta, who happily started lopping off her sandy arms. This bought Enchantress enough time to finish her spells and revive the Pandemonium Axles. However, when the Defenders were joined by Iron Fist, Werewolf, Hercules, X-Man, Venom, Cannonball, and Dr. Strange the tide of the battle quickly turned against them. Quicksand was attacked by both Hercules and Hippolyta and seemingly slithered away before she could be apprehended.

SECRET WARS III HAPPENED

(Amazing Spider-Man I#791 (fb) - BTS) - Dr. Xander Zynn captured Quicksand and shattered her body, turning its parts into silicon matrixes he then used at his corporation Humanitech Robotics Inc. as the intelligence controlling his Humanitrons robots. Quicksand remained trapped inside the robots and helpless.

(Amazing Spider-Man I#791) - During an excursion to Humanitech Robotics Inc. by the Daily Bugle's science section staff, new editor Peter Parker got the chance to look at the program the robots were running on and recognized it as brain patterns. Zynn claimed that the artificial intelligence was modeled after human-level thinking. Parker and Bobbie Morse, who was working at Humanitech as a security expert, became suspicious when one of the Humanitrons flipped out when Colin of the Daily Bugle tried to open its head to look at the silicon matrix.

   That night Spider-Man and Mockingbird went to Humanitech and found out that the silicon matrixes were actually human brainwaves that Spider-Man believed to be part of a hive mind. The Humanitrons attacked them, but Zynn arrived and was afraid that the heroes would ruin everything. One of the Humanitrons overrode its programming and pleaded with Spider-Man, who ripped open the robot's head to release the silicon matrix. More Humanitrons pleaded with Spider-Man and Mockingbird and they released all the matrixes while Zynn didn't understand why two Avengers would ruin him just to help a super villain. Quicksand reformed after the matrixes shattered and Spider-Man was kind of surprised that it was not Sandman. Quicksand threatened to kill Zynn, but Spider-Man reminded her that she owed him for releasing her and asked her to spare Zynn. She agreed and then escaped the facility.

(Jessica Jones II#18) - Quicksand took refuge in Owl's home for wayward criminals to lie low for some time.

(Juggernaut III#3 (fb) - BTS) - Working for Absolution Solutions as their director of research Arnim Zola used irradiated Technetium 99M particles to mind-control Quicksand.

(Juggernaut III#3) - Zola used Quicksand like a puppet to attack the trial of Juggernaut and get his hands on his mutant ally D-Cel. Damage Control learned of the irradiated particles inside Quicksand and told Juggernaut to severe her head from her body. The plan worked and D-Cel used her powers to slow down the sand particles in Quicksand's head to keep her from rejoining her body. Damage Control then removed the irradiated particles from the head and found out that they originated from the Absolution Solutions facility Zola was working for.

(Juggernaut III#5) - Some time later Juggernaut took all the sand that Damage Control could salvage from Quicksand's body and brought it to Zola in a desert in North Dakota. There Zola and his lab partner Primus, who used a machine to draw new material from the surrounding area to reconstitute Quicksand. Though Quicksand wanted revenge on Zola, Juggernaut convinced her to not kill him because Zola had brought her back after Juggernaut had asked him to. Juggernaut suggested to Primus and Quicksand to work together to turn their lives around by helping people like them.

(X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic#15 (fb) - BTS) - Zola provided an A.I.M. jumpship to the Unstoppables.

(X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic#13) - Professor X and D-Cel hired the Unstoppables to extract the mutant Rubber Maid from a Texas prison. Quicksand gave Juggernaut some cover by creating a sandstorm and he broke through the prison's walls, but was then opposed by local hero Texas Twister until he was captured by Juggernaut's teammate Primus. Twister revealed that his orders came from the governor and Juggernaut and his team came to the conclusion that the Warden was behind capturing Rubber Maid. Unfortunately for them Deadpool was hired by the Warden to deliver Rubber Maid to his own superhuman prison the Dungeon.

(X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic#14) - Deadpool's car got stuck in Quicksand and then tackled by Juggernaut before Primus saved Rubber Maid from it. Deadpool confirmed to the Unstoppables that the Warden had hired him. Juggernaut made Deadpool realize that the Warden was going to replicate his powers. Juggernaut decided to stop the Warden with the Unstoppables after bringing Rubber Maid to a Krakoan gateway. Quicksand wondered if the mutants could just bring them to Warden's prison eight miles up in the air, but Juggernaut told her that they had to ask Zola for help because the mutants could not be implicated in this mission.

(X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic#15) - Primus took Juggernaut, Quicksand and Deadpool to Zola's hideout in their A.I.M. jumpship. Zola created a rocket for Juggernaut to reach the Warden's Dungeon, which was based on a modified S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. Quicksand considered the rocket a bad idea.

(X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic#16) - Deadpool, Primus, Quicksand and Zola watched Juggernaut arrival on the Dungeon. Primus, Quicksand and Deadpool then took the A.I.M. jumpship to the Dungeon, which had crash-landed in the desert. The trio attacked the Warden's agents until they were all confronted by the former Warden, now known as the extremely powerful Human-Adaptoid.

(X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic#17) - Quicksand suggested fleeing after Primus was quickly taken out by the Human-Adaptoid. She was going to flee when the Human-Adaptoid absorbed her powers using Absorbing Man's powers.

(Avengers Inc.#5 (fb) - BTS) - Dr. Henry Pym, still partially influenced by Ultron, created robotic ants with each possessing part of Ultron's code inside them. He sent these ants to a list of criminals to temporarily place them in a state of seeming death and play a sound file that made it seem like they were victims of the Scourge of the Underworld. As a consultant coroner Pym planned to pick up the victims and gain their cooperation after they regained consciousness 40 hours after their seeming demise. He wanted to create a new Lethal Legion in his plot to destroy Ultron, but was actually duped by Ultron into creating this team so Ultron could use their bodies to be reborn.

(Avengers Inc.#1 (fb) - BTS) - Quicksand was shot in the head and seemingly died in her cell while imprisoned at the Raft.

(Avengers Inc.#1) - After Quicksand was taken to the Raft's morgue, Janet Van Dyne was brought into the situation since another victim was her longtime enemy, Whirlwind. Upon seeing the seeming corpses, Janet became suspicious as to how Quicksand and five other small-time criminals were killed while alone in their cells and she later requested the files on Quicksand and the other criminals from Mayor Luke Cage. More suspicious than ever, Janet returned to the Raft and asked to see the six corpses once more.

(Avengers Inc.#1 (fb) - BTS) - Dr. Henry Pym didn't want Janet to get involved in the case and decided to cancel the whole batch of criminals.

(Avengers Inc.#1) - While she was investigating the bullet hole left in Whirlwind's head as the Wasp, a guard suggested to just take the bullet from Quicksand's remains, but Quicksand jumped back to life. Quicksand suffocated the guard and then attacked the Wasp, bullet hole still in her head. Despite the Wasp's attempts to talk things over, Quicksand and the other awakened criminals continued their attack until Whirlwind awakened, seemingly possessed by a man calling himself Victor Shade, an alias used by the synthezoid Vision. Taking advantage of the distraction, the Wasp blasted Icemaster, who retaliated with an ice blast that froze Quicksand when the Wasp dodged. The guards soon entered the room and took all of the very confused criminals back into custody while Quicksand was still trapped in ice.

Comments: Created by Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz & Al Milgrom.

Superia's Femizons, the Masters of Evil, the Initiative and the Thunderbolts army...You name it, Quicksand joined it. One might be afraid she could be spreading herself too thin, but hey... that's kind of her thing. If you consider her appearances: since the late 90s, she hasn't really done anything but show up in 'cattle call'  type crowd scenes or whenever there's need for a whole bunch of villains. And to think she's been around since 1988 without even being named. However, Quicksand's co-creator Tom DeFalco was kind enough to confirm to the Appendix that he and Ron Frenz already had her origin worked out: "Whenever I created a character with Ron Frenz, we always did a detailed biography about him/her. I'm pretty sure that Ron and I knew Quicksand's secret identity and had worked out her origin. We also knew how her powers worked and how they differed from Sandman. But--I don't know if I still have my old Thor notebooks or where they are at the moment." So, Quicksand's secret origin could still be out there, just waiting to (how fitting) be unearthed. Maybe someday...

Without the DeFalco/Frenz origin, other creators made things up as they went along. For one thing, whether or not Quicksand can return to her human form is a subject of some debate. During her first appearances in Thor, she was being stuck in her sandform was the reason she joined with Mongoose in attacking Thor. That story seemingly ended without him giving her the means to revert back to her old self. However, when she appeared next in Captain America she was a human being who shifted into Quicksand, seemingly with effortless ease. Some time later, during her tenure as a Master of Evil in Thunderbolts she stated that she preferred making money over actively finding a way to become human. 

Though unconfirmed, it seems the blonde woman breaking up the fight between Quicksand and Anaconda in Captain America I#389 was in fact Bombshell. In those days, the explosives expert had briefly gained the ability to generate energy blasts from her hands. Perhaps that made her cocky enough to go and face a superior opponent like Quicksand head on.

Quicksand received profiles in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89#6, Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition I#8, Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Update#5 (2011) and Thor: The Legend (1996).

Profile by Norvo. Updates by Markus Raymond.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Quicksand should not be confused with:

images: (without ads)
OHOTMU Update '89#6, p7, pan1 (main image)
Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Master Edition#8, p37, pan1 (handbook)
Thor I#392, p14, pan1 (the sandstom that walks like a woman)
Thor I#402, p7 pans 1,2,3 (briefly turned human)
Captain America I#389, p5, pan4 (beat Anaconda)
Nova III#4, p5, pan1 (is not the Sandman)
Thunderbolts I#25, p11, pan2 (wants to make her pile)
Thunderbolts I#103, p22, pan1 (trapped by the Thunderbolts)
Avengers: The Initiative#32, p8, pan1 (ran like cheap mascara)
Fearless Defenders#9, p18, pan1 (dispelled by Hippolyta)
Amazing Spider-Man I#791, p17, pan3 (freed by Spider-Man and Mockingbird)

Appearances:
Thor I#392 (June, 1988) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Frenz (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Thor I#393 (July, 1988) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Frenz (pencils), Brett Breeding (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Thor I#402 (April, 1989) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Frenz (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Thor I#403 (May, 1989) - Tom DeFalco (writer), Ron Frenz (pencils), Joe Sinnott (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Captain America I#387 (Early July, 1991) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Rik Levins (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Captain America I#388 (Late July, 1991) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Rik Levins (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Captain America I#389 (Early August, 1991) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Rik Levins (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Captain America I#390 (Late August, 1991) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Rik Levins (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Captain America I#391 (Early September, 1991) - Mark Gruenwald (writer), Rik Levins (pencils), Danny Bulanadi (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Web of Spider-Man I#107 (December, 1993) - Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk (pencils), Stephen Baskerville (inks), Eric Fein (editor)
Web of Spider-Man I#108 (January, 1994) - Terry Kavanagh (writer), Alex Saviuk (pencils), Stephen Baskerville (inks), Eric Fein (editor)
Thunderstrike I#13 (October, 1994) - Tom DeFalco & Ron Frenz (writers), Ron Frenz (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Thunderstrike I#14 (November, 1994) - Tom DeFalco & Ron Frenz (writers), Ron Frenz (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Thunderstrike I#22 (July, 1995) - Tom DeFalco & Ron Frenz (writers), Ron Frenz (pencils), Al Milgrom (inks), Ralph Macchio (editor)
Thunderbolts I#24 (March, 1999) - Kurt Busiek (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Thunderbolts I#25 (April, 1999) - Kurt Busiek (writer), Mark Bagley (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Nova III#4 (August, 1999) - Erik Larsen (writer), Joe Bennett (pencils), Armando Durruthy (inks), Ruben Diaz (editor)
Thunderbolts I#103 (August, 2006) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Tom Grummett (pencils), Gary Erskine (inks), Molly Lazer (editor)
Thunderbolts I#104 (September, 2006) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Tom Grummett (pencils), Gary Erskine (inks), Molly Lazer (editor)
Thunderbolts I#107 (December, 2006) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Tom Grummett (pencils), Gary Erskine (inks), Molly Lazer (editor)
Avengers: The Initiative#26 (September, 2009) - Christos Gage (writer), Rafa Sandoval (pencils), Roger Bonet (inks), Jeanine Schaeffer (editor)
Avengers: The Initiative#29 (December, 2009) - Christos Gage (writer), Jorge Molina (pencils), Victor Olazaba (inks), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Avengers: The Initiative#30 (January, 2010) - Christos Gage (writer), Jorge Molina (pencils), Victor Olazaba & Andrew Hennessy (inks), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Avengers: The Initiative#32 (March, 2010) - Christos Gage (writer), Mahmud Ashar (pencils), Rebecca Buchman (inks), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Siege I#1 (March, 2010) - Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Oliver Coipel (pencils), Mark Morales (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Siege I#2 (April, 2010) -  Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Oliver Coipel (pencils), Mark Morales (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Siege I#4 (June, 2010) -  Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Oliver Coipel (pencils), Mark Morales (inks), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Avengers Academy#15 (August, 2011) - Christos Gage (writer), Tom Raney (pencils), Scott Hanna & Andrew Hennessy (inks), Bill Rosemann (editor)
Fear Itself: Youth In Revolt#3 (September, 2011) - Sean McKeever (writer), Mike Norton (pencils & inks), Lauren Sankovitch (editor)
X-Men Legacy I#275 (December, 2012) - Christos Gage (writer), David Baldeon (pencils), Jordi Tarragona (inks), Dan Ketchum (editor)
Fearless Defenders#9 (November, 2013) - Cullen Bunn (writer), William Sliney (pencils & inks), Ellie Pyle (editor)
Amazing Spider-Man I#791 (January, 2018) - Dan Slott (writer), Stuart Immonen (pencils), Wade von Grawbadger (inks), Nick Lowe (editor)
Jessica Jones II#18 (May, 2018) - Brian Michael Bendis (writer), Michael Gaydos (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)
Juggernaut III#3 (January, 2021) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Ron Garney (artist), Jordan D. White (editor)
Juggernaut III#5 (March, 2021) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Ron Garney (artist), Jordan D. White (editor)
X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic#13-15 (December, 2021) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Matthew Horak (artist), Jordan D. White (editor)
X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic#16-17 (January, 2022) - Fabian Nicieza (writer), Matthew Horak (artist), Jordan D. White (editor)
Avengers Inc.#1 (November, 2023) - Al Ewing (writer), Leonard Kirk (artist), Tom Brevoort (editor)

First Posted: 04/23/2015
Last updated: 03/03/2024

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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