NOMAD!  We are going to see Captain America become Nomad in Infinity War….

As the build-up to Infinity War began the feeling was that a downtrodden, rogue version of Captain America would appear.  This alternate identity in the comics was called Nomad. Well, we did see a new type of Captain America during the film, but where is the Nomad we expected?

Captain America has become the poster boy for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and should remain one of the more popular Marvel brands moving forward.  Chris Evans has not only done an admirable job as the titular leader of the Avengers, but he has also pushed the character out of comic culture and deep into pop-culture.  Key Captain America comics, especially those from the Silver and Bronze age, are growing in price due to scarcity. Even if Chris Evans decides to step down from the role, we should expect to see Bucky or Falcon fill the mantle helping to prolong the life and value of the character and brand.  I believe that the entire line of Captain America comics is slightly undervalued on the market due to rarity (especially at 9.8 grades where census numbers for Keys are low). Other comics that should have no business outpacing a Key or First Appearance Captain America often do grow in value while rare Cap comics sit on the market for reasonable prices (my most notable example is a Captain America #134 9.8W that sat on eBay for months at a reasonable $400).

Nomad’s First Appearance:

Nomad made his debut in Captain America #180, a 4-part story arch that has Steve Rogers become disillusioned with the US Government and his role as Captain America.  Being the consummate hero, Steve dons a new costume, as the Nomad, to continue his heroic ways under a fresh identity. After putting the stars, stripes, and shield back on, the Nomad identity was assimilated by multiple people.  The most popular, and identifiable, of the group was Jack Monroe who donned the persona for a miniseries in the early 1990s.

Speculation on this book will have to remain just that.. speculation.  The last logged sale of a 9.8 graded copy of Captain America #180 was in December of 2012.  It makes perfect sense considering the census data currently shows only 7 copies in a 9.8 grade.  A 9.6 recently sold on eBay for nearly $500 and the trend analysis shows copies at this grade climbing nearly double in the past few years (99.1% trend increase).  Every grade 9.0 and above is seeing a trend increase, which should mean great gains for any existing 9.8 copies that will hit the future market. Recent sales of 9.0 (93.4% trend increase) and 9.4 (164.4% trend increase) have proven out the value concept.

The question becomes was this trend due to pre-speculation for the movie and will wane due to the fact that there was no actual callout of “Nomad”?  Or will we continue to see an upward trend with the development of the Captain America character and future MCU offering? My take is the pre-speculation boost was warranted and although a character reveal by title didn’t happen in Avengers Infinity War, maybe things change after the *snap* by Thanos.

Do you feel Chris Evans is due to step down?  Who would you like to see as the next iteration of Cap?  Would Nomad’s first appearance be considered a new character or a new costume debut? Send us your comments and join the conversation!