Are the West Coast Avengers being prepped for a Disney+ landing? Time to play the speculation game.

THE PUZZLE PIECES

While nothing has been uttered about an Avengers expansion team, the pieces are falling into place for the West Coast Avengers. 

At Disney Investors Day, Marvel Studios announced 10 new Marvel projects, many of which are bound for the Disney streaming service along with the WandaVision and the upcoming The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

Look a bit closer, and we can see the potential for the West Coast Avengers within the Disney+ ranks. Among the streaming all-stars, we have classic W.C. Avengers mainstays Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Vision, War Machine, Moon Knight, and US Agent John Walker, not to mention Kate Bishop, who once led a W.C. Avengers revival. The original Ant-Man, Hank Pym, has served as a West Coast Avenger. Scott Lang could fill his role on the team seamlessly. This could even give the oft-rumored Wonder Man a chance to finally shine on the small screen. 

Suffice to say, the MCU is about to be stacked with W.C. Avengers, and it would be no stretch for Marvel to put the team in the MCU. The best part about jumping on the West Coast bandwagon is that the key issues are relatively cheap. 

Take a look.

AVENGERS #243

In the 1980s, the heavy hitters of the Marvel Universe were abducted by the Beyonder and set against each other on Battle World during Secret Wars. Meanwhile, Vision was back at Avengers Mansion putting together a team to protect Earth in their absence. He appointed Hawkeye to recruit a new team, thus creating the West Coast Avengers after the marquee members returned in Avengers #243.

The only graded copy to sell last year was a 9.6, and it brought less than $40 in October. The ungraded “raw” copies tend to sell for $5 or less on eBay, so it is definitely worth the gamble.

WEST COAST AVENGERS #1 (1984)

The West Coast Avengers were initially given a trial run in a four-issue limited series. In its first phase, the team consisted of Hawkeye, War Machine (who was posing as Iron Man in Tony Stark’s absence), Tigra, Wonder Man, and Mockingbird. On a side note, Marvel debuted a new look for Iron Man in this issue, and the silver and red armor was later dubbed “the Silver Centurion.”

With the writing on the wall for the W.C. Avengers, it is no surprise that West Coast Avengers #1 is on the way up. Two years ago, a 9.8 averaged just over $100. Over the past 90 days, the fair market value has risen to $200 after a January 12 sale netted a record-high $300. 

If you are willing to budge on the grade, anything from a 9.6 and below is currently averaging less than $60.

WEST COAST AVENGERS #1 (1985)

A year after the limited series’ successful run, Marvel commissioned an ongoing West Coast Avengers. Overall, there was nothing spectacular about this title, but it is a nostalgic look at 1980s’ Marvel.

On January 22, a 9.8 West Coast Avengers #1 brought a respectable $120, which has been the only near-mint-plus grade sold this year. Last December, a graded 9.6 brought $99 while a 9.4 earned $50. The most recent 9.8 to trade hands was in September when a copy earned $130. 

WEST COAST AVENGERS #1 (2018)

Don’t ignore the 2018 West Coast revival. 

While it is the cheapest of the West Coast Avengers #1s, this one could take a sharp upward turn if the ‘18 team gets featured in the MCU. As far as FMV, it has been slowly moving. After earning $27 in 2020, the standard cover recently sold for $37 earlier this year. That makes this a prime opportunity to get a high-grade copy for very little. 

The more lucrative gamble could be the Terry and Rachel Dodson 1:50 ratio variant, which brought $100 in December.

DISNEY+ AVENGERS?

Instead of W.C. Avengers, maybe this incarnation should be known as the Disney+ Avengers. From its 1984 inception to today, most fans don’t take the team seriously, and they will forever be viewed as the Avengers’ B-team. That could work in their favor for a live-action series and be played for laughs on the streaming platform. Marvel Studios does enjoy its comedy shows. 

In that sense, a West Coast Avengers series would be perfect for the MCU.

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