Sabretooth took a swipe at eBay, with Iron Fist #14 clawing its way to the top of the sales charts.
The X-Men excitement held strong for another week, sending those X-keys to the top of eBay. And that's exactly what the index is all about - the sales. With an emphasis on the volume of comics sold rather than fair market values, the Hottest Comics ranks the 100 issues by sales.
Below, you will find the movers and shakers of the secondary market with the comics that gained the most positions from 10 days all the way to 365. Who's at the peak of this particular mountain? Sabretooth.
10 DAYS
He is Sabretooth, hear him roar, and he'll have fun with blood and gore. Isn't that how the old song goes?
It was another huge week for your X-Men keys, but Wolverine's archnemesis took the prize. Sabretooth collectors had to be overjoyed as his debut in Iron Fist #14 was the single hottest comic on the entire marketplace. What's got buyers so excited for good ol', murderous Victor Creed? The sudden spark of attention could be coming from two different sources.
The most likely reason Iron Fist #14 is powering through the rankings is Deadpool & Wolverine. The nigh endless rumors and gossip surrounding that flick has been ad nauseam. If even half of the talk is to believed, basically every former Fox property will be part of the action. That goes double for the Fox Marvel movies, especially the worst of the lot...which doesn't exactly narrow things down. Any X-Men character sounds perfect for Deadpool & Wolverine. Naturally, fans were not surprised to learn that Liev Schreiber reportedly will reprise his role as Sabretooth.
The other factor is X-Men '97. The huge buzz surrounding the new show has given many X-keys a market boost, and Iron Fist #14 is feeling the effects as well. We have yet to see Sabretooth (aside from Morph's brief transformation) in the cartoon, but we all know he's on the way. After all, he's synonymous with Wolverine and was a popular villain from the original X-Men: The Animated Series.
30 DAYS
27 AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #252 (+49)
The big winner over the past month was Spidey's first appearance in the classic black suit. In fact, it was a great week for black suit collectors, but more on that in the next entry. Then again, ASM #252 is a Usual Suspect among the eBay top sellers, so it's not shocking to see the issue getting a bump, but climbing 49 positions is impressive all the same.
The black suit's everlasting popularity is why ASM #252 stays in the top-100 comics week after week. Maybe it will drop toward the bottom from time to time, but it always rebounds because comic fans adore Spider-Man's symbiote phase. Couple that with another Venom movie on the horizon and persistent rumors of an MCU Black Suit Saga, and you've got the recipe for secondary market success.
60 DAYS
Here we have more black suit goodness ascending the eBay ladder. While Spider-Man #13 didn't have the same success as ASM #252, it definitely had a good run this week. And it's all thanks to that same love for the black suit.
Actually, it might be just as much fans' love of Todd McFarlane covers. Either way, Spider-Man #13 was on the move this week, gaining over 40 spots since February. Again, it's a perennial favorite due to the iconic cover art with Spidey dressed in black and striking the same pose as readers saw on the series' first issue. There's also the first appearance of the Subhumans found in Spider-Man #13, but they are a footnote at best, at least until they inevitably make it to the MCU or the Sony-verse.
90 DAYS
Maybe Echo didn't reel in the viewers quite the way Marvel Studios and Disney had hoped, but that doesn't mean the show didn't please Echo fans. We are bound to see her in future MCU installments, most likely in the upcoming Daredevil: Born Again, and that could be why there's a sales spike for her debut comic.
At the moment, there's no word on what the future holds for Echo. While the probable scenario is for her to remain in DD's neck of the woods, fighting street-level crime, the comics have told a much different story. In recent years, the Marvel editorial staff has shifted the Phoenix Force to Avengers territory despite it being rooted in X-Men lore. Not only is the cosmic entity now Thor's biological mother, it has found a new host in Echo. That gives her powers on the same level as Marvel's heaviest hitters.
If a Phoenix-powered Echo is a preview of things to come in the MCU, whether in live-action or the animated What If...?, then it would help explain DD #9's jump through the rankings. The interesting part will be if this key can maintain the momentum or if it will fall off the pace over the next month.
180 DAYS
This issue isn't going to be leaving the Hottest Comics anytime soon.
Last week, audiences finally got to meet Mister Sinister in X-Men '97, and there's definitely more to come. In fact, the latest episode introduced a demon which points toward "Inferno" still taking place in season one. The icing on the Sinister cake would be seeing him recruit Sabretooth and the rest of the Marauders for Mutant Massacre, but that might be too dark and violent for Disney Plus. Hey, a fan can dream.
As exciting as X-Men '97 has been, there's more to UXM #221's reign atop the sales charts than just the new cartoon. Even before Disney bought Fox, Sinister's Essex Corporation was making a presence in the X-Men films. Rumors swirled of him being brought to life on the screen, and that gossip has only gained traction as the mutants get closer to their MCU debut. Since Deadpool & Wolverine will firmly establish the X-Men, what's to say that we won't see Sinister in that film?
365 DAYS
51 EDGE OF SPIDER-VERSE #2 (+40)
Since this time last year, Spider-Gwen/Ghost Spider/Spider-Woman has ruled the rankings. Although there's still no timetable for Beyond the Spider-Verse's theatrical release, it's not slowing the secondary market's obsession with the alternate universe Gwen Stacy. Don't forget that an animated Spider-Woman film is being developed, which gives buyers even more incentive to invest in Edge of Spider-Verse #2.
Considering how high prices have risen for Spider-Gwen's first appearance, it's hard to imagine them going much higher. The best time to have gotten a copy was prior to Into the Spider-Verse, so the profit margins are slim by the current fair market values. Still, she has legions of fans and the upcoming movies will only bolster those ranks. That could be enough to bump the values for EOSV #2 at least a little.
