Did you know the Avengers Charter (UN version) includes a monthly stipend of $100 for the part-time/on call members?  Quite the allowance.  With the team’s deep pockets and Rolodex, the roster has experienced many different combinations of names.  With that, here we examine the market for a few comic books where the key aspect is the Avengers team experiencing additions and/or subtractions from its membership.

 

 

AVENGERS #16 (1965)

In one of the first reconfigurings of the Avengers team, most of the original members leave, which compels Captain America to form a new one with notable recruits such as Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch. Below are sales for Avengers #16, CGC 8.5 and 7.5 (the top 27.9% and 54.9%).

When looking at the sales data for Avengers #16 since 2011, the most noticeable aspect is a short-term spike in sales prices that occurred in early 2015. The major event that could have influenced this was the 2015 release of Avengers: Age of Ulton; an association between the reshuffling of the Avengers on the silver screen and the speculation that a comic book that did something similar would benefit. One might try to argue that the reshuffling of the team members is similar, but that is still too far apart. A few of the story beats are also similar, but again, not a good basis for financial investment speculation.

Unfortunately, the quick rise and fall resulted in a heavy loss for the people that jumped on the book; with sales prices immediately plummeting back to prior levels within a few weeks. For the 8.5 grade, the single highest sale price suffered a loss of well over 50% to this day; on the optimistic side, good for the seller. A similar spike occurred again 2019, but of the two grades examined it was most apparent in the lower end of 7.5. It would appear that few learned the lesson from the first spike. Outside of the spikes, the books do appear to experience a very, very, slightly positive trend.

 

 

AVENGERS #100 (1972)

Another major reshuffling of the Avengers team occurs in the milestone issue of Avengers #100. With the “Avengers Assemble!” call on the cover, the heroes do so in order to rescue Hercules who has been captured by Ares. Sales data for Avengers #100 in CGC 9.4 and 9.0 (the top 24.6% and 48.2%) are shown below.

If Avengers #16 was a hard sell for the association to the movie team reshuffling, Avengers #100 is even further apart. This, however, didn’t stop speculators for the book; it too experienced a spike in both 2015 and 2019. Like the book above, it would not be surprising to see the price levels fall back to prior levels within the next two months. Also similarly, Avengers #100 does have a very slight upward trend in the long-run.

 

 

AVENGERS #52 (1968)

The above books contain multiple instances of members joining/leaving, so with Avengers #52 we try to isolate it to one member joining; specifically that of Black Panther. With the Avengers apparently dead, it is up to the Black Panther to stop the Grim Reaper (first appearance). It’s also personal for the Black Panther, as the Grim Reaper had killed Wonder Man. Sales for Avengers #52, graded CGC 9.0/9.2/9.4, are shown below; this spans the top 24.4-53.5% of the census.

With Avengers #52, the 2015 spike in sales prices was only observed in the higher 9.4 grade; however, interestingly a different spike occurred for all the grades almost a year later in 2016. This double spike was likely a result of a combination of the plethora of news surrounding Black Panther’s casting and speculation of the films he’d appear in. Like the above books, in the following months, sales prices returned to prior levels. Another similarity is that Avengers #52 also appears to have a very slight overall upward trend in its sales prices.

 

 

THE BOTTOM LINE

  • Avengers #16 (1965) – See above. Do not buy on the spikes. Long term HOLD.
  • Avengers #100 (1972) - See above. Do not buy on the spikes. Long term HOLD.
  • Avengers #52 (1968) – HOLD

 

 

“Reserve substitutes assemble!!” – The remaining Avengers after the primary team was zapped, (Avengers #329)

 

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