The Avengers Infinity War is going to thunder into theaters on opening night this Thursday. The blogosphere has rumors about largest pre-sales of all MCU movies to date. I don’t doubt it. The anticipation and hype have been frothing like a cappuccino from a barista steam wand. The latest report has Chris Hemsworth claiming there will be 76 characters both heroes and villains appearing in the Avengers: Infinity War. That has got to be some record. After all, when have we seen 76 characters in any movie? Let’s hope it is mostly well-known heroes and villains from Marvel and not just extras in the Avengers phalanx.

One such hero is the preeminent headliner for all of Marvel. Which is why I chose him first of the Avengers to review. Everyone knows Avengers #1 is a great book to own, but how about an interesting and much cheaper modern pick. My choice is Amazing Spider-Man #529. The first appearance of the dreaded Iron Spider.

Amazing Spider-Man #529

Tony Stark gives Peter Parker a new armored costume in this comic ASM #529. The armored suit premiered in Spider-Man: Homecoming and was a hit. The armor has some fun abilities we haven’t seen. Iron Spider has a host of tech: limited bullet proofing, mechanical arms (Waldoes), a cloaking device, carbon filters for toxins, IR sight, smart liquid metal morphing ability, and GPS (Wiki). These add-ons will make for an interesting Infinity War to be sure.

Surprisingly, ASM #529 is still at a meager price in comparison to its peers ($39 eBay) and given it is a primary key for the Marvel Character. Iron Spider armor is a massive change for Peter Parker. From a fan standpoint, very few opponents can beat Spider-Man. Let me give you three reasons: one is Spidey-Sense which provides him with an advantage against any opponent in a fight, two, he can lift conservatively 25 tons, and three, he is one of the fastest characters in Marvel. Case in point he easily defeated the X-men during the Secret Wars, all of them. Now you give this guy a suit, watch the sparks fly.

Spidey Speculation

Speculation on Spider-Man isn’t true speculation; it is simply put, a darn good investment. Out of all the heroes, all the villains, and everyone in between none hold their value like Spidey comics. I am not just talking keys here, even non-keys, books with good covers or particular artists. Buying Spider-Man is like buying U.S. Treasuries with a much better return. Case in point; ASM #529 was going for $26 eight years ago, today that same grade (9.8) is worth $205 and has increased 64.7% during that time frame (GoCollect). Furthermore, an above average copy of (8.5) has returned a whopper of an ROI at 191.9%!

Let’s not forget the current low entry price. After all, you can buy a raw copy for $39 on eBay currently. The big finale here is that ASM #529 has only 1634 slabs on record with CGC (GoCollect). That is nothing for a modern book. One “fascinating” fact jumps out at me, I could not find a CGC slab copy on eBay for sale. They were only selling raw copies. Everyone is sitting on their CGC’d issues. This is a diamond in the rough. Yes, my Spidey-Sense is tingling. I hope yours is.

Ironclad Conclusion

Iron Spider makes a modern upgrade to a classic hero and brings Peter Parker a whole new level of fun and powers derived from his suit. This tech-laden Spider-Man will keep him fresh and interesting to younger audiences. Besides Holland is a blast as a more youthful Peter Parker and entirely believable as well in the roll. This is a fun and very cheap key to own. Extend your inner “Waldoe” and snatch a copy from your favorite comic shop’s back wall while it is still cheap.