The Antman and Wasp movie had significant earnings of 300 million worldwide. This film is interesting not for it's earning power; but instead as the first appearance of the cool villain: Ghost. They found the perfect foil for Hope Pym's zippy Wasp superhero; the otherworldly Ghost is one of the best low-level villains to appear on the big screen in a long time for Marvel. Furthermore, this character feels new but is actually from the 1980's. Initially an Iron Man enemy he eventually joins the good guys. The MCU turned the character into a female and an enemy of the Antman and Wasp. The first confrontation scene shows Wasp cutting loose with her impressive full on-screen debut. Ghost, with cool meter into the stratosphere makes the Wasp intro even more thrilling. Is this spectral speculation an investment with tangible results?
Bob Layton's Creation
Ghost is not just another battlesuit; they have her trained as a covert operative and her powers are the result of an accident with her suit only "helping her to focus those powers." The suit provides invisibility, intangibility and stealth tech, which in the movie-plex plays well. Not to mention, that it is a cool design and could comfortably fit on a Star Wars set. The character first appeared in Iron Man #219 (1987) created by David Michelinie and Bob Layton. Layton has done so much work on Marvel Comics; that I constantly stumble into his characters for my blogs as there are so many in Marvel that he built from the ground up. He is no one hit wonder, and his raw talent for creation is stunning. He still attends cons and if you get a chance, go and purchase a signature and talk to him. He was affable and very approachable when I met him late last year at a convention. It was an excellent opportunity to learn about a modern creator of the Marvel Universe.
In many ways, Bob Layton is a ghost from the past as the majority of his work is from the 1980's and 1990's. He created a comic book company in the early 2000's and worked on most of the major titles at Marvel and DC. The DC run was mostly in the 1970's. His character Ghost played well in her recent debut on the big screen. Shockingly, this character is still seen as a nothing burger and can be picked up online for $10 raw and roughly $45 in mid-grade CGC slab (eBay). The entry level for Iron Man #219 (1987) is so low that I might suggest pushing at least into the (9.2) near mint minus grade range. This is top of the Overstreet scale and is still under $100 (GoCollect). Furthermore, the returns on high-grade Ghost first appearance have been nothing short of unearthly with (9.4) grade producing a +21.2% return on investment. The aforementioned (9.2) grade gets some serious ink here for +128.6% return, probably due entirely to this movie.
One Hit Wonder?
With the catalyst out of the bag, it is hard to predict the direction of this comic from here. The Ghost makes a cool villain that could intermingle across the Marvel Universe with ease. Would love to see her tangle with the Avengers and out phase Vision! It could happen. The bottom line is this book has already hit its peak and will depend entirely on the MCU going forward.
Warning: there are two questionable elements to be aware of before purchasing Iron Man #219 (1987). First, these substantial returns are based on only seven recent sales. Second, there is no proven catalyst from here going forward. Yeah, I love the +128.6% return too, but I would not risk more than $20-30 on this book. Maybe this character will continue to appear, or maybe like it's namesake it disappears into the fictional ether replaced by the multitude of Marvel characters yet to come.
