Donny Cates has a new comic on the way that's fueling speculation that the Fallen One could be coming to the Earth 616 Marvel Universe, and that could mean good things for your copies of Thanos #15 and #17.
Marvel has really put Donny to work. Since his Thanos Wins and Doctor Strange runs that started in late 2017, he has been the go-to writer for Marvel. He's given Venom his best series in, well, ever, brought Carnage back from the dead, and that's not to mention killing the Royal Family in Death of the Inhumans. More recently, he's taken the reigns of a new Guardians of the Galaxy title that saw Silver Surfer among many others dropped into a black hole. That lays the groundwork for Cates' upcoming series, Silver Surfer: Black.
The title has given rise to the idea that the Earth 616 Surfer could come into contact with - or become - the Fallen One from the pages of Thanos Wins. If you don't know, the Fallen One is the alternate-future version of the Surfer who leads the Annihilation Wave and wields Mjolnir. He also has traded his normal chrome shine for a metallic black. Although the combination of the old and young Thanos proved too much for the Fallen One, this is still one of the most powerful versions of Silver Surfer we've seen. He took the full brunt of the Hulk's punches without flinching and destroyed Cosmic Ghost Rider with one shot. Sure, the Fallen One died in the pages of Thanos (the coupe de grace was having Mjolnir dropped on his head), that entire timeline was basically wiped clean at the end of the story arc.
Although nothing has been said about the Fallen One being resurrected and brought into the normal continuity, hints have been dropped. First, there's the cover art featuring the Surfer with his left hand changing from chrome to black, which could be a prelude to him evolving into the alternate-future Surfer. Then there's the blurb that accompanied the announcement for the limited series, stating, "Readers won’t realize it, but Silver Surfer: Black is a culmination of everything Donny has been writing since his Thanos run." Granted the "readers won't realize it" bit contradicts adding the Fallen One into the mix, but it adds up. Personally, I would love to see the Fallen One enter the the 616 continuity; I found him much more interesting than Cosmic Ghost Rider.
How does this affect comic values? Thanos Wins has been such a fan-favorite storyline that anything that comes out of that timeline would be a hit with readers, which would have collectors buying up the higher grades of those characters' debuts.
Thanos #13 is still the big ticket item due to Cosmic Ghost Rider's popularity, but the first appearance of the Fallen One in Thanos #15 could heat up very quickly if he is added to the 616 timeline. Thanos #17, which is his first cover appearance, could experience a boost as well, particularly the J.G. Jones' Silver Surfer #4 homage variant.
The latest sale of Thanos #15 indicates that it could be on the verge of a boom already. While a standard-cover 9.8 has averaged just $83 in the past 90 days, the last sale on April 14 was for $145. The fourth print at a 9.8 did even better, selling for $150 on April 20.
