As popular as the story of the Symbiote saga is, we still haven't seen a proper adaptation of that story on the big screen yet. Sure, we had Spider-Man 3 with Topher Grace as Venom, but that film was overstuffed with three villains and tried introducing the symbiote, black suit Spider-Man, the origin and death of Venom in ONE film. We also have Tom Hardy's version of Venom, but that interpretation never made sense to me. How can you have Venom without Spider-Man?
That's why I'm excited to finally see the symbiote attach itself to Tom Holland's adaptation of Spider-Man. And we know it's coming since we saw Hardy's Venom accidentally leave a remnant of the symbiote in the 616 universe with Tom's Spider-Man.
Amazing Spider-Man #252 (Marvel, 1984) CGC 9.4
This is one of the most important key issues of the Copper Age. A beautiful homage to Amazing Fantasy #15, Amazing Spider-Man #252 dramatically reveals the symbiote costume for the first time. We wouldn't learn about the origin of the black suit for another seven months when Marvel published Secret Wars #8.
About the specific copy up for auction, this CGC 9.4 is a respectable grade; according to the CGC Census, a 9.4 is in the top 47.3% among all universal blue labels. In terms of its value, a 9.4 reached an all-time high of $509 in May 2021 during the height of the comic boom. However, unlike many comics that plummeted in value starting in 2022 and throughout 2023, Amazing Spider-Man #252 didn't crash as badly as many others did. Today, the FMV for a 9.4 is $300.
As of Friday, July 22nd, the current bid on PWCC was $195.
Web of Spider-Man #1 (Marvel, 1985) CGC 9.8
Some would debate whether this is key issue, but I think it's a minor Copper Age key purely due to its gorgeous cover. I'm sure some people would disagree, but I think this is one of the best Spider-Man covers of all-time. Painted by Charles Vess, this cover evokes imagery related to Batman -- and perhaps that's appropriate considering how the symbiote made Peter more aggressive.
You might be surprised to know that, at the height of the comic boom (June 2021), a CGC 9.8 copy of this book sold for nearly $400. Recent sales of 9.8s, however, have been in the $150 to $165 range. Could it drop a bit lower? Perhaps, but don't expect to get it for less than $125 (which is what it sold for in 2019 before the comic boom).
As of Friday, July 22nd, the current bid on PWCC was $72.
Amazing Spider-Man #258 (Marvel, 1984) CGC 9.0
I think this is an underrated minor key issue in the Symbiote saga. In this issue, Peter takes his black costume to the Baxter Building so Mr. Fantastic can study it. After studying the costume, Reed learns that the costume is actually a living creature that is trying to bond with Peter permanently.
After Peter begins to struggle with the symbiote, Mr. Fantastic fires a sonic blaster at the costume, stunning it, and then entraps it in a container. Although this issue doesn't have a first appearance, it still tells a critical part of the symbiote story.
According to GoCollect, the FMV of a CGC 9.0 copy of this issue is $20; however, recent sales of a 9.0 have been in the $40 to $65 range. As of Friday, July 22nd, the current bid on PWCC for this item was $5.
Did any other items in PWCC's weekly auction catch your attention? If so, please let us know in the comments section below!
