‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Endgame’ were both successful adaptations of the 1990s Marvel crossover event The Infinity Gauntlet. After Endgame and the opening up of the multiverse, as well as the introduction of a general shake-up in the whole MCU, this allows us to speculate about future crossover events that might influence the films of Phase 4 and beyond.
In this post, I want to explore potential inspirations in Marvel comics for upcoming phases of the MCU. Obviously if any of these crossover events become actualized, the value of the comics will surge.
To start we can say that it is most likely, as Marvel introduces new heroes, that the scripts will draw from crossover events after Infinity Gauntlet; that means events from the 2000s and up. Since some of those were hit and miss: Secret Empire, for example, was not to everybody’s taste, while Secret Invasion was generally more positively received. This lack of critical success makes the possibility of Marvel retconning earlier crossover events like Secret Wars possible.
Marvel Super-Heroes Secret Wars #1 (May 1984) - First issue in titled series
Crossover events on a large or even universe spanning scale were rare before this series. Even if its inspiration (bolstering a Mattel action figure toy line) was less than lofty, it still managed to capture the imagination of younger readers. More than that, this series has a villain (The Beyonder) more powerful than Thanos! This comic also has stand-alone issues that have been gaining in value over the years. A perfect example is issue #1. Once a one-dollar garage sale book, it is currently being bought for as high as $189.00 (05/07/2019 eBay sale) and has a FMV in 9.8 grade of $140.00. So, while everyone was seeking out SW #8 for the Spidey black suit connection, other issues in the series have seen definite price surges.
House of M #1 (July 2005) – First Issue of the House of M Series
Much better received than Secret Wars, was the 2005 House of M event. Since a big question on the mind of every comic fan is: ‘when will the MCU introduce the X-Men?’ the 8 comic crossover series of House of M, originally released from July to December of 2005 as a sequel to the Avengers Disassembled event, might be what does it. Focused on Wanda Maximoff, aka the Scarlet Witch, it shows the Avengers and X-Men dealing with the consequences of her and Charles Xavier’s warping of reality. In this reality, the House of M (Magneto and his family) rule the world from the island state of Genosha as the most powerful beings on earth. House of M #1 currently has a total of 121 copies on the CGC census. That’s not a lot and, as of my writing this, you can pick up a NM copy for under 10 dollars (i.e. still a bargain bin book). But take a look at the recent sales, and you might be surprised what’s happening. HoM #1 in 9.8 CGC certified blue label sold on September 2018 on eBay for $80.99! This gives it a positive return on investment, since Sept of 2014, of +69.7%. Impressed yet? If so, find a copy now rather than later.
Secret Invasion #1 (May 2008) – Skrull Replacements Revealed
Another, and even better received Marvel crossover series, was Civil War - but that was already used successfully in Phase 3. As Marvel enters Phase 4 however, the new ‘Infinity Gauntlet’ might be the 2008 event: Secret Invasion. I’ve recommended this comic in the past (see: Marvel Crossover Events to Keep an Eye On), I would still recommend seeking out copies. Especially as, currently, the preconditions for this series, the existence of Skrulls, has now been established with the MCU ‘Captain Marvel’ film introducing them and their shape-shifting powers. Written, like House of M, by Brian Michael Bendis – this series would make for an interesting film once famous heroes were discovered to be Skrull spies.
Apparently, I’m not the only one who believes this comic arc will make an MCU appearance, since the fair market value of a graded 9.4 copy has jumped, in less than a year, from $28.00 (in July 2018) to $40.00 (today). 12 month returns on other grades are as follows:
9.8 grades are positive +35% returns after 4 eBay sales. These include, a 03/03/2018 sale for $45.00, a 07/05/2018 one for $55.00; 01/10/2019 = $99.99 and 03/04/2019 = $35.00
9.6 grades show positive roi of +41.6% after 3 eBay sales. Sold on 12/28/2018 = $30.00; 01/21/2019 = $34.99 and the last sale on 04/01/2019 was for = $49.99.
