We are officially going to have more MCU content in 2020 than was first expected. Disney surprised us all at the beginning of the new year by proclaiming their innovative live-action series would hit Disney+ in 2020, and not 2021 which was originally announced. With plenty of debate swirling around the creative and "weird" elements of the show (Paul Bettany's word), rumored to take place in the 1950s or 1960s, it is time to explore the similarly weird relationship of the superhero couple and if any comics are worth investing in before launch.
First Appearances
Both first appearances of these characters need no real introduction. They are top-shelf Silver Age keys and likely will be long after any MCU connections have come and gone.
We first meet Wanda Maximoff in 1964's X-Men #4 as the sister of Quicksilver and a member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Along the way, we know that the Scarlet Witch switches allegiances, but our first introduction to the character is as a nemesis of the X-Men. You already know this book is expensive, but it is interesting to note that every grade of this book that exists except for CGC 4.5 has seen a market price increase in the past calendar year. Scarlet Witch, but more so the X-Men, are such hot speculative commodities, that these early Silver Age issues will remain investment pieces for the foreseeable future.
Vision and his classic cover first appeared in 1968's Avengers #57. As one of the more iconic covers in the history of Marvel comics, it has become a staple of many collections and now almost 2,800 copies exist in the universal CGC census. Perhaps because of the sheer volume, or perhaps because of Vision's death in Avengers: Endgame, this book is starting to see some buyer fatigue and price drop across the board. A CGC 7.0, for example, which sold for $350-$425 over the summer, recently sold for $225 in November and $260 in December. That trend may pivot with this latest news on the show, but if you're looking at prices to hop in, there may not be a better time.
First Time to Appear Together
When do Vision and Scarlet Witch first appear together in a comic? That's an interesting question with almost as many answers as Dr. Strange has multiverses. Do you prefer the issue where they both make appearances, the issue where they are both a part of the storyline or the issue where they meet for the first time? Each has a separate answer.
Both Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver left the Avengers in issue #49, missing Vision's introduction to the team by a few short months. Technically, Vision and Scarlet Witch both appear in Avengers #58, when Scarlet Witch appears in a splash page that serves as a visual representation of a speech Thor is giving about the virtues of past Avengers. Scarlet Witch plays no role in the story, but this does represent the first book you can find that would feature images of both characters. It is the second appearance and origin of Vision, so the top-graded copies will get expensive, but anything CGC 8.0 or below should be available for under $100.
It's not until Avengers #75 that we see the two together again in the same book when the Avengers and Quicksilver reunite and we learn that an other-worldly being named Arkon has taken the Scarlet Witch and plans to marry her in his own world. Quicksilver enlists the Avengers - including Vision - to help save her. We see Scarlet Witch in flashbacks in this issue, as Quicksilver delivers some exposition about Arkon, but the future couple doesn't ever appear in the same place. Aside from it being an early Avengers issue, there is nothing about this book that has moved the needle on the market. Recently several copies at CGC 9.2 have sold for under $100.
In Avengers #76, the team attempts to save Scarlet Witch by traveling to Arkon's planet. When that is unsuccessful, the team follows Arkon back to earth where the stage is set for a battle on the Empire State Building (thus the beautiful cover of this issue), but Iron Man and Thor devise a plan to help Arkon's home planet, thereby allowing them to avoid a fight and convince Arkon to release Scarlet Witch. It's at the very end of this issue that we finally see Vision and his future bride appear in a panel together.
My Spidey-sense tells me that this issue might be one in which to cheaply invest. There are only 180 copies on the universal CGC census, and even 9.8s have recently been sold for only $420. These two characters are going to be a pair within the MCU for some time (presumably), so a book that puts them together for the first time should be a sought-after commodity before too long.
Marriage of Vision and Scarlet Witch
A book that is even scarcer in the universal CGC census is Giant-Size Avengers #4, which features the wedding of Vision and Scarlet Witch. After Vision frees Scarlet Witch from Dormammu's imprisonment, he expresses his feelings for her and asks her to marry him. There's no reason to wait, I guess, when you are a witch and an android in love, so they are married the very same issue by Immortus.
The few issues that do exist above a CGC 9.0 are selling between $75 and $150 in the past year, which are reasonable prices, but all grades between 7.5 and 9.4 have seen prices increase significantly over the past couple years, something that is likely to continue if the MCU decides to put a focus on their growing relationship and marriage. Buy now to avoid a larger bubble.
First Solo Series
Seven years after their wedding issue, we get our first solo series beginning with Vision and Scarlet Witch #1, which reinforces the idea through a famous retcon that Magneto is the father of Scarlet Witch and Quiksilver, something they are not aware of until issue #4. This limited, four-issue run was followed a few years later by Vision and the Scarlet Witch Volume 2.
Two interesting factors are in play with this book as we enter into 2020. First, it is still an incredibly cheap book on the market, with a CGC 9.8 just recently crossing the $100 barrier. Second, and perhaps more alarming, is that this book has been purchased 11 times in a grade 9.8 or 9.6 since November. There are only 99 total universal grades that exist, so to see that percentage changing hands means the speculation is heating up, likely leading to higher prices soon. This looks to be another book to invest in on the upswing before prices get out of hand.
What other pieces of the Wanda/Vision relationship did I leave out? What books do you think are important? Let me know in the comments.
Not yet a GoCollect subscriber? Subscribe today to get access to the comic book price guide!
