On Thursday, November 11, the long-awaited Black Panther: Wakanda Forever finally arrived in theaters after COVID and shooting delays pushed it back in the schedule. Excitement has been building at a fevered pace since Marvel released the trailer at San Diego Comic-Con. Now that the film is finally out, let’s take a look at how the market reacted.

Modern Black Panther Keys Lead Volume Increase

Two modern comics – Black Panther #2 and Invincible Iron Man #9 saw the greatest volume increase in terms of number of copies changing hands. Black Panther #2, the first appearance of Shuri, saw 27 graded copies sell since the film’s premiere as opposed to 15 copies selling in the nine days prior, nearly a two-fold increase.

The high was a 9.8, selling for $450 on November 12. That’s close to the one-year average of $463 but down significantly from the all-time high of a slashed $4500 this same grade went for back on March 23.

Shuri will need to become one of the greatest MCU stars ever to see heights like that again. Still, if you purchased a copy a month ago, with the 30-day average at $322, you could see a nice return on your investment. It’s all in the timing.

Riri Williams’ first appearance in Invincible Iron Man #9 saw nearly similar volume gains: 25 graded copies sold since the film’s release; 15 copies sold in the nine days prior. The high price paid was a slashed $430 for a 9.8 on November 11. That’s not far off from the 90-day average of $409 but down quite a bit from the peak of a slashed $1,400 paid in August 2021 for a copy in the same grade.

While Riri’s first appearance hasn’t seen the drops that Shuri’s first appearance has experienced, it also never reached those same heights. The 30-day average for Invincible Iron Man #9 currently sits at $370, so there are some marginal gains to be made if you purchased prior to the film’s release. However, be warned that the window to see some profit is very narrow and may have already passed, as evidenced by a 9.8 selling for $255 on November 18.

Any Hope for Namor Keys?

With Black Panther: Wakanda Forever marking Namor’s debut in the MCU, collectors have been speculating on Namor keys for a while now. Has that speculation paid off; or has the peak already passed? Based on the evidence, it appears only the latter can be answered in the affirmative.

Namor, the Sub-Mariner #1, an accessible Copper Age first issue of Namor’s 1990s series, saw a decent volume increase with eight graded copies selling since November 10 and four selling between November 1 and 10. The high was a 9.8 going for a slashed $190 on November 12. However, that’s down from a slashed $200 this grade sold for as recently as November 2, and down even more from the slashed $300 it went for on July 23 at the apex of San Diego Comic-Con Namor-related selling activity.

The wave has clearly crested on this book. I would expect prices to continue to drop a bit more before settling slightly below the current 30-day average of $101.

The Namor key that has taken the most bruising turn, however, is none other than Sub-Mariner #1. Volume was flat with 18 graded copies selling from the beginning of November until the film's release and 17 selling since. Of the 5,108 copies in the CGC census the most plentiful is the 7.0 grade with 437 copies. A 7.0 sold on November 14 for $614. That’s up a bit from the 90-day average of $538 and the 30-day average of $533.

However, this book has fallen hard, losing 45% of its value since selling for a slashed $1,250 on July 24. Chalk this loss up to unnatural exuberance in 2021. While it may have lost a ton of value since those halcyon days, it’s still up more than 40% from its December 2020 average sales price of $425.

What About Other Silver Age Keys?

Taking a look at additional Silver Age keys potentially affected by the release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, we have Fantastic Four #33 – the first appearance of Attuma, Fantastic Four #52 – the first appearance of Black Panther, and Avengers #62.

Fantastic Four #33 saw a 50% increase in copies sold since the release of the film. A 9.2 graded copy sold for a slashed $3,400 on November 10, likely coming a little shy of the $3,000 paid on July 30 but still very close. Unfortunately, that didn’t translate to the mid-grades, as a 7.0 sold for $392 on November 14, down nearly 22% from a $500 sale on September 13 and a whopping 65% from a December 2021 sale for $1,130. That being said, if you purchased prior to the 2021 run-up, you’re still ahead by roughly 40%.

Sales volume was up a little under 25% for Fantastic Four #52. A 9.0 graded copy sold on November 10 for just $6,878. Why do I say just? The last sale in this grade was a fixed-price eBay sale on March 26 for $15,000. That’s a 54% decline for a major key in a high grade. It’s also falling down close to the 2020 dip for this book.

I don’t think prices can get much lower – we may have already reached the nadir. However, definitely be ready to pounce in an auction if bidding stalls. This could be a serious buying opportunity.

And finally, we come to fan favorite M’Baku, who made his first comic book appearance in Avengers #62. The release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever generated a tidy volume bounce for this book, more than doubling from three copies sold prior to the film’s release to seven copies sold after. Before and after prices are holding steady in the 9.0 grade: slashed $580 before; slashed $575 after. That’s not down very much from the peak price paid in this grade of $625 in September 2021.

Still, in roughly two-thirds of grades, Avengers #62 has seen an appreciable drop in value roughly comparable to other Silver Age keys. I would wait a month or two before purchasing as prices could drop further.

Have you seen Black Panther: Wakanda Forever? Do you expect characters from the film to continue to play major roles in future MCU films? Let us know below.

*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.