The Phoenix story arc (X-Men issues #101-138) is so compelling it's been adapted for film not once (in ‘X-Men: the Last Stand’ from 2006) but two times; it will form the basis of the soon to be released, perhaps final Fox X-Men film, ‘Dark Phoenix’ in 2019. Unfortunately, regarding all film adaptations (as I explained in a previous article) what makes the Phoenix Saga so good as a multi-issue comic book story arc is also precisely what works against it succeeding in a 2, or I would be so bold as to wager, 3 or even 4 hour movie.
The Phoenix Saga is a tragic tale of power, love and corruption. When Jean Grey becomes the Phoenix she attains a level of power no single human could (or should) possess. As the old expression goes ‘power corrupts’, and Chris Claremont and John Byrne were at the top of their game when they gave us this story of how the awesome power obtained by Jean in a tragic accident leads to her absolute corruption.
In this post, I do not want to discuss plot points or aspects of how the story of the Phoenix is a classic (everybody knows that already) instead what I want to look at is the gradual rise in value of the two central key issues in the unfolding of the Phoenix Saga.
Those comics are X-Men issue #101, when Jean first becomes the Phoenix and so standing as the first issue of the 'Phoenix Saga' and X-Men #134; the first appearance of the Dark Phoenix and the dramatic denouement of Claremont and Byrne’s saga, i.e. the narrative apex of the ‘Dark Phoenix’ part of the saga.
At the moment X-Men #101 is undoubtedly the more fervently sought out comic however issue #143 has recently gained in value. Will X-Men #134 overtake #101 in the future, or is issue #101 destined to remain the comic sought out by collectors of Bronze Age X-Men when they think of the Phoenix Saga?
X-Men #101 (October 1976) - First appearance of Phoenix
This comic begins the first half of the Phoenix Saga, which I like to call Phoenix Light. It reveals how Jean Grey first acquires the Phoenix Force and shows how this event not only saves the lives of the X-Men but sees Jean re-born as a different character manifesting new powers (goodbye Marvel Girl, hello Phoenix!). At this stage, and until Jean repairs the M’Kraan Crystal, we are given just a hint of what will happen. This comic has a vibrant cover and ends another classic X-Men story arc featuring their very first foe Magneto. In that sense its popularity is understandable. And its popularity has made it highly valuable. Currently a 9.8 copy of X-Men #101 has a fair market value of $4,000.00. To put that in perspective, in the context of Bronze Age X-Men comics, only Giant Size X-Men #1 (FMV at 9.8 = $9, 750.00) and X-Men #94 (FMV in 9.8 = $7,000.00) beat it. What do returns look like? They are up in all but the lowest of grades. Only 2.0 and 3.5 graded copies show negative returns. Best returns over the last five years have been on 6.5 at positive +128.6% and 9.8 at positive +116.2%.
X-Men #134 (June 1980) - Phoenix becomes Dark Phoenix
This comic features the high point of the tragic ‘Dark Phoenix’ part of the saga. This is the point where the Phoenix Force utterly consumes Jean’s mind and becomes a force of death and destruction. This comic is gradually gaining in value. Partly, this may be due to all the attention the Dark Phoenix aspect of the story receives in films. Personally, I’m not optimistic that any Dark Phoenix movie can succeed and do justice to this story, but the fact that Disney will eventually take over the X-Men, and perhaps give us a more comics accurate version of the group, is good grounds for seeking out these keys. And this comic is undoubtedly a key. Current FMV on a certified 9.8 is $800.00. But, and significantly, only two years ago this comic in that grade was worth a quarter of that, and you could have picked it up for around $200.00 (#101, by contrast, was worth about exactly half its current value two years ago). Returns on #134 are also slightly stronger than #101 at the moment, but only slightly, with positive showings in every grade except 5.5. Best returns are on: 8.5 at positive+127.8% and 9.6 at positive +153.8%.
What’s a collector and X-Men fan to do? The only solution, I think, is to own them both. When it comes to Bronze Age X-Men keys, I’d be shocked if the value of any of these comics is going to decline any time soon.
