Silver Age
X-Men #14
Few villains have menaced the X-Men quite as often as the Sentinels, the mutant-hunting robots that first appeared in this book. It may seem odd to invest in villains with little if any, personality, but that has never stopped the sentinels from creating great stories. Thanks to classic stories like Days of Future Past and E is for Extinction and their large presence in the X-Men Animated Series, the Sentinels are permanently etched in mutant history.
Graded Analysis: This book is up well over 100% in most grades. As a silver-age X-Men book, prices run very high, even in lower grades. If you can get your hands on this book, there is little reason to believe that, over the long run, it will not make you your money back and then some.
Bronze Age
Uncanny X-Men #129
UXM #129 contains the first appearance of Kitty Pryde, Emma Frost, Sebastian Shaw, and the Hellfire Club. Furthermore, it also marks the beginning of the acclaimed Phoenix Saga storyline. Emma and Kitty are two of the most beloved X-characters of all time and it's not hard to see why. Both are incredibly fascinating, multi-faceted women who leap off the page and command your attention (Emma especially).
This book is already not cheap, but prices will go stratospheric when those two inevitably show up in the MCU. And even if those adaptations do not impress, it will not change this book's seminal role in arguably the most important X-Men story ever published.
Graded Analysis: Now is an EXCELLENT time to buy. Uncanny X-Men #129, for years, was a steady performer with consistent year-over-year gains. Prices shot up massively during the covid-era, but have now largely regressed to pre-pandemic prices. There is little reason to believe the book will not resume its pattern of steady gains, making it an excellent, high-value floor investment with a ton of MCU upside.
Copper Age
Uncanny X-Men #221
This book features the very first appearance of Mr. Sinister. Sinister is a great investment because there are so many different ways he can generate a strong return. On the comic book front, the character has never been more interesting, as Kieron Gillen's inspired, over-the-top take on the character is headlining the phenomenal Sins of Sinister event.
When it comes to TV, there is every reason to believe the character will show up in X-Men '97, the follow-up to the X-Men Animated Series where many fans first encountered him. And finally, there is strong speculation that he will appear in the MCU, especially since most of the other marquis X-Men villains have previously been adapted. Now may be one of the last times his first appearance is even somewhat affordable.
Graded Analysis: Though the book is up all-time in most grades, I would recommend investors stick to 9.6s and above. The FMV history is too erratic in lower grades, at least for my personal risk tolerance. Prices for this book have been declining over the past few months, as many comics continue to surrender their covid-era gains.
Those declines have massively slowed lately, however, indicating that the worst may be behind us. If that is the case, investors should be watching and waiting to see if they can grab this key before prices start climbing back up.
