For everyone who admonishes buyers for investing in MCU spec picks, I doubt many people predicted Love and Thunder would be so poorly received. If you jumped on the Thor bandwagon when values were at a premium, chin up; this is all part of the game we call comic speculation.
On that note, let’s take a look at the five comics that suffered the biggest drops across eBay. Keep in mind, this isn’t based on FMVs because the data is strictly built on sales volume. However, we will explore those dollars and cents with these particular issues.
95. THOR #337 (-52)
This wouldn’t be the first assumption for Love and Thunder fallout, but my suspicion is that Beta Ray Bill has taken the brunt of the landing, at least this week.
Famously, this issue featured the debut of a fan-favorite character in the Thor mythos, Bill. The alien horseman was, besides Thor, the first to prove himself worthy of Mjolnir and the power of the Thunder God. Since then, like every other fun idea, the Marvel editorial staff has given the magic hammer to basically all the Marvel Universe. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a massive summer crossover event in which the entire Earth-616 gets a hammer and powers…oh wait, that was called Fear Itself, but it wouldn’t be too far off the mark to imagine an updated version.
If Beta Ray Bill wasn’t in Love and Thunder, how does he get through under the collecting bus? I admit that I was sure we’d see Bill in the fourth Thor movie, at least as a cameo. After all, Thor was having his relationship issues with Stormbreaker, plus director Taika Waititi had wanted to put him in Ragnarok, so it seemed the pieces were fitting together. Just when it seemed like the perfect time for a Beta Ray Bill appearance…nothing. There’s still a chance he could appear in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, but that may be a stretch.
The icing on the cake was Thor’s adopted daughter claiming Stormbreaker as her own in the final scene. For all the Beta Ray Bill fans, myself included, it was a dagger to the heart. Who would you rather see wielding Stormbreaker: an eight-year-old girl with a campy name or Beta Ray Bill? Of course, when does Marvel give fans what they want these days?
In all, the palpable disappointment of Love and Thunder trickled down from the Thunder God all the way to Bill, and his first appearance soaked up those fair market tears. At least all our tears would, collectively, grade at a 9.8, since they’re like new. While we could still see the space-god horseman in the MCU, Love and Thunder has made that a less likely scenario. With that, the sales and values tumble. At the moment, the graded 9.8, which had been nearing a $1k average for the past year, is selling in the $700-$850 range.
72. AVENGERS ANNUAL #10 (-48)
One of just two non-Thor comics on today’s chilly list, here we have another first appearance of a fan-favorite character.
Debuting as a villain, Rogue made her premiere sans X-Men alongside Mystique. Rogue’s claim to fame (well before she started calling everyone “Sugah”) was that she stole Carol Danvers’ Ms. Marvel powers. While Rogue normally loses those newfound abilities from draining the life from someone else, writer Chris Claremont left her with the superstrength, flight, and near invincibility. It made her one of the most popular members of the team by the time Jim Lee took over the artwork, which was transposed onto the small screen for X-Men: The Animated Series.
In the Fox movies, Rogue was missing her flight and super strength, but for good reason. It would have been tough to explain those traits in a universe without Danvers. That’s what made the prospect of The Marvels so intriguing. For a time, the rumor was that Rogue would be part of the film, thus introducing the X-Men while also gaining Captain Marvel’s powers. Then came the news that Kree General Ael-Dan would be the antagonist for the film, leaving Rogue out of the picture. With that, buyers took their dollars elsewhere.
Fear not because this remains a solid addition to your collection. While nothing is certain, it’s likely that she and Gambit will be on the team at some point, and this issue will skyrocket. For the time being, you can get as high as a graded 9.8 for around $1k on average, but you can have a 9.6 for closer to $350.
61. THOR GOD OF THUNDER #2 (-42)
Here is another victim of Love and Thunder, but at least we all expected this one to take a dive. After all, villains don’t last in superhero movies, so their key issues have a much shorter shelf life. As cool as they may look in the trailers and no matter how many scenes they steal in the movie, we all know the hero will defeat the baddie in the end. In rare cases, they get redemption stories that transform them into heroes, as we have seen with Loki and Zemo.
Unfortunately, nothing of the sort was in the cards for Gorr. The God Butcher did, in fact, murder some gods, and he even got a tiny bit of redepemption at the end, but it is highly unlikely to return to the MCU ever again. It’s a shame that he was thrown away in such a lackluster film.
Of course, the best version of Gorr will always be in the comics. That makes this an opportune moment for the God Butcher’s fans to get a piece of the action without paying the inflated movie prices. After selling for as much as $1,100 in the past year, you can easily find a 9.8 somewhere in the $150-$200 range.
43. THOR #1 (-38)
Yet another victim of the Love and Thunder cycle, here is one that could have a rebound in the future.
By this point, the moratorium is over, so if you don’t know the ending of Love and Thunder, I wash my hands of any spoilers. Fulfilling her story arc from the comics, Jane Foster, the Goddess of Thunder, gives her life to save the universe from Gorr and his Necrosword. Just like in the comics, I expect we will see Jane again, most likely as Valkyrie. However, Secret Wars could be the opening to bring the Thunder Goddess back to the MCU.
As part of God-Emperor Doom’s Battleworld in the 2015 SW, his police force was made of several Thors. Complete with their own individual Mjolnirs, they were the remastered version of the Thor Corps. If Marvel Studios goes in this direction for Avengers: Secret Wars, that could be where Jane Foster returns complete with Mjolnir and Thunder powers. It would be a fun moment for the audience and give buyers motivation to pay inflated prices for Thor #1.
Just in case the Thunder Goddess does return to the MCU, now wouldn’t be a bad time to invest. At one point in the past year, the 9.8 sold for a high of $696. The most recent sales have seen it stay in the neighborhood of $150 and lower. In fact, August 29 saw one sell for just $89.
84. THE OMEGA MEN #3 (-35)
Week after week, I can’t get away from the usual suspects. Whether it’s Amazing Spider-Man #363, ASM #252, 1991’s X-Men #1, or a handful of others, at least one of them finds its way onto either the Coldest or Hottest Comics. Apparently, they drew straws, and Omega Men #3 got the short one.
As I point out whenever any of the aforementioned culprits hits the Coldest Comics, there’s nothing to worry about. These issues bounce up and down the Hottest Comics index quicker than any other comics on the market, and Lobo’s first appearance will be back with a vengeance in a matter of days.
Lobo is perfect for the current DCEU, but I can understand trepidation on the part of investors when it comes to basically any DC key. The Warner Bros. Discovery shakeup has left everything uncertain, and we don’t know where the DCEU is headed. It could lean into those James Gunn R-rated action-comedies, which would be great for Lobo, or there could be another plan entirely. For that matter, the DCEU could get reduced to ash. We just don’t know, and that’s the problem.
Willing to roll the dice on DC keys? You can get a 9.8 Omega Men #3 for around $300, but the better option is the 9.6, which has been selling for $120 as of late.
Keep up with all the latest Movers & Shakers!
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COLDEST COMICS: CARNAGE AND GORR FALL HARD
