While Hawkeye may not be the most popular Avenger ever, he's been a mainstay of the team, served as the leader of the Avengers, and also founded the West Coast Avengers. In addition, he's played major roles in five MCU films and will star in his own Disney+ series. If you Google "top Avengers," these lists often have Hawkeye in their top 10, if not their five, greatest Avengers.

Considering all of the above, it's surprising how undervalued his keys issues are. I discuss several below, including his first appearance in Tales of Suspense #57.

Tales of Suspense #57: Hawkeye's First Appearance

In my opinion, Tales of Suspense #57 is one of the most undervalued keys of the Silver Age. Let's compare the value of Hawkeye's first appearance here against that of his nearest comparable: Black Widow. Like Hawkeye, Black Widow is a major but not quite first-tier member of the Avengers. Also like Hawkeye, her first appearance occurs during the Silver Age in Tales of Suspense #52, just a few months before Hawkeye's. Even though they are comparable characters, Black Widow's first appearance is deemed far more valuable than Hawkeye's. Specifically, according to GoCollect, a CGC 9.6 copy of Tales of Suspense #52 is worth approximately $105,000. In contrast, a CGC 9.6 copy of Tales of Suspense #57 is worth only $16,500. CGC 9.6 copies of Tales of Suspense #52 are slightly more rare than Tales of Suspense #57 (four in comparison to 11), but not enough, in my opinion, to justify such a dramatic difference in price.

Avengers #16: Hawkeye Joins the Avengers

This under-the-radar book likely served as the inspiration for the conclusion of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Frequent roster changes make up an important part of Avengers team history. Similar to Age of Ultron, in Avengers #16, Thor and Iron Man leave the Avengers (in addition to the Wasp and Giant-Man). Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver take their places. Avengers #16 also has a classic cover where Captain America proclaims "Avengers Assemble" for the very first time. Considering how many key events this Silver Age book contains, it is surprisingly affordable. You can purchase a somewhat high grade (i.e., 7.0) CGC copy of this book for around $200. In addition, Avengers #16 hasn't suffered from price inflation like many other comic books during the pandemic. For example, during the past three years, CGC 9.0 and higher copies of this book have only risen in value by about 4%.

Tales of Suspense #60: Hawkeye's Second Appearance

Another great Silver Age key to consider is Tales of Suspense #60. Tales of Suspense #60, published in 1964, contains Hawkeye's second appearance. During recent auctions on eBay, some bidders have won raw, mid-grade copies of this book for around $30 to $40. Those are steals. In addition, high-grade copies of this book have actually dropped in price in recent years. For example, according to GoCollect, the value of a CGC 9.4  copy of this book has dropped by 22.5% over the past three years. To me, this is a blue chip comic and I would consider buying the dip.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments!

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