The "What if...?" series at Marvel has always been entertaining. They have run the gamut from Spider-Man joining the Fantastic Four, to Conan walking the Earth today, or something zany like "What if Captain America had been elected president?" Many of these seemingly crazy ideas have been actually molded into existing Marvel continuity and even the MCU. Here are two that stand out: "What if the Hulk had the brain of Bruce Banner?" There has been plenty of talk of the Hulk getting a "professor-like" makeover for Endgame, or "What if Jane Foster had found the hammer of Thor?" This is even more titillating, after all in the comics, I believe Foster becomes Thor for a time. Yep, these two and many more happened in the Marvel Universe. Can these "What if..?" comics add up to speculative return worth pursuing?

"What if Spider-Man joined the Fantastic Four?" #1

The best to own is the first "What if...?" the number one appears to be the most expensive. "What if Spider-Man joined the Fantastic Four?" #1 created back in 1977 by Roy Thomas (writing) John Buscema, John Romita, Jim Craig, and Dave Cockrum (art). This comic has both the Spider-Man and Fantastic Four origin stories retold and is the first "What if?" created by Marvel. It has outperformed in a quite substantial way and clearly has room to run. The following stats are long-term results:

Long-Term trend return for  "What if Spider-Man joined the Fantastic Four?" #1

  • Grade 9.8 $250 FMV returns positive +25.1%
  • Grade 9.2 $ 48  FMV returns positive +49.5%
  • Grade 8.0 $ 38  FMV returns positive +75.1%
  • Grade 6.0 $ 28  FMV returns positive +424.7%

These whopping returns in the lower grades are like a Hulk haymaker to the jaw; it is hard to see clearly afterward. Anything that can return +424.7% is righteous in my book. Dare I say it? Yep. "What if you had purchased this book back in the Dark Ages?" Yeah, I went there. "What if Spider-Man joined the Fantastic Four? #1" has seemingly great upside potential from here. After all, the lower grades are performing astonishingly well and that is one of my key indicators of a healthy speculative investment. How does this book fair in the short-term?

Short-Term trend returns "What if Spider-Man joined the Fantastic Four?" #1

  • Grade 9.8 returns negative -0.4%
  • Grade 9.2 returns negative -33.4%
  • Grade 9.0 returns positive +19.8%
  • Grade 7.5 returns negative -40%
  • Grade 6.5 returns positive +376.2%

Not quite so cut and dry now, the short-term aspect is dicey at best. This 6-month time frame shows an upper-grade weakness, with mid-grade participating in the downward spiral. The lower grade 6.5 is encouraging but based on three sales can give you pause. However, this is the perfect price point for a new collector to jump into the market buying up the low-grade copies on the cheap. You risk maybe $50 and the long-term return has been proven, with more Marvel stories and a catalyst, why not invest (yes, there is a catalyst see below).

This begs a bigger question: Why now? Well, for one thing, according to the latest CNN story posted by Brian Lowry "Marvel is going to go big into TV. One of the areas they chose is animation and specifically an animation series based on "What if...?" If they do a series like this as Lowry is suggesting we could see an even further uptick in these books. Furthermore, if the "What if...?" series really catches on, the MCU could turn them into throwaway movies. These one-shot movies could be something truly fun and off the wall, that people have not seen before. It would certainly freshen up the MCU's decade long run that shows no sign of letting up. Don't be left behind when this train leaves the station, muttering to yourself "What if ?"