With rumors abounding over the past year regarding just who would be appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home, the film is finally out in theaters and we can begin to take a look at the many appearances and cameos to determine how this will affect comic speculation.  WARNING:  No Way Home Spoilers ahead!

What We Already Knew

Here’s what we already knew leading into the release of No Way Home.  One, Doctor Strange would play a pivotal role.  Two, the villains would be ones appearing in previous iterations of Spider-Man on film:  Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Electro, Sandman, and the Lizard.  Three - and likely the worst kept “secret” of the film – Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield would be reprising their roles as Spider-Man from earlier Sony movies.  Price increases have already been baked into key issues for many months based on these knowns.

Let’s take a look at some fulfilled rumors and surprises from the film.

Multiverse of Madness!

Spider-Man: No Way Home, as with Loki, What If?, and, to a certain extent, WandaVision, delves deeply into the multiverse concept.  It’s likely a narrative device that will be necessary for Marvel Studios to usher in the former Fox properties – X-Men and Fantastic Four.  No Way Home is clearly meant to be a precursor of sorts to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.  The film shows not just the fun of poking around in multiverses, but the high stakes as well.  This leads us to our first bit of the film to focus on regarding comic book speculation.

SPOILER ALERT!

We’ll actually start at the end of the film – the post-credit trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.  Other than the villain shown in the trailer, there weren’t any huge surprises.  We got our first looks at America Chavez, what looks like Shuma Gorath, and an evil version of Doctor Strange.  Appearances in trailers often mean a significant increase in value for particular issues, and we will likely see increases in related key comics.  Vengeance #1, the first appearance of America Chavez, has already seen an increase in value this year.  However, there has been a plateau in pricing since June, with 9.8 graded copies selling in the $1,500 to $1,600 range.   Expect this issue to start rising again in the coming weeks.

Also watch for...

Keep an eye on Marvel Now! Point One #1, Young Avengers Vol.2 #1, and America #1.  Shuma Gorath first appears in Marvel Premiere #10.  Collectors have been speculating hard on this book for a few months now.  This used to be a fairly cheap bronze age book.  Not anymore!  Prices have risen sharply over the past six months. While that may cause the spike to be less steep than what we’ll probably see with the America Chavez books, keep in mind that there are fewer copies in high grade due to the age of this issue.

Finally, we come to the evil Doctor Strange.  Two books are already starting to pop concerning the introduction of this character.  First is What If? #18, in which an evil version of Dr. Strange is a disciple of Dormammu.  While out of continuity, keep in mind what’s happened with What If? #10, where Jane Foster first lifts Mjolnir.  The first in-continuity appearance of an evil Doctor Strange, known as the Necromancer, takes place in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #46.  Keep an eye on the latter, as there are only 11 copies in the CGC census.  I would expect many more will be sent in for grading very soon.

The Netflix Characters

While it didn’t surprise too many after Kevin Feige announced that Charlie Cox would be playing Daredevil/Matt Murdock in the MCU, it was still a thrill seeing him in No Way Home.  Coming right on the heels of Vincent D’Onofrio showing up in Hawkeye episode 5, there will no doubt be a great deal of conjecture regarding the Netflix Marvel shows.  We still don’t know if those Netflix shows will be considered in continuity, if those adventures occurred in another part of the multiverse, or if these are soft reboots of the characters.  Nevertheless, it does cause one to consider which other Marvel Netflix characters could eventually show up in the MCU.

To my thinking, this is where collectors should start speculating.  We’re already beginning to see lifts for the Multiverse of Madness titles mentioned above.  Those characters are confirmed and have been seen in a trailer, so no one will be buying in a dip right now.  Better to focus on other key and more important characters who could make the switch from Netflix to the MCU.

Those characters include Luke Cage, first appearing in Hero for Hire #1, Jessica Jones, first appearing in Alias #1, and the Punisher, first appearing in Amazing Spider-Man #129.  Sales have been softening for the first two, with Hero for Hire #1, in particular, seeing 30-day price averages at or below 90-day averages in a majority of grades.  In a market where all key issues are rising regularly, any softening of prices for key characters who have a decent chance of landing in the MCU means it’s likely a good time to buy.

Take a pass

The one to avoid?  The first appearance of Iron Fist in Marvel Premiere #15.  The poor reception of the show combined with Marvel looking to pass the mantle from Danny Rand to another character has this book plummeting, a trend that will likely continue for a character who more and more appears to be one from a bygone era.

Hope you enjoyed reading this coverage of comics on which to focus based on appearances in Spider-Man: No Way Home.  Have any additional comics you think would make for great speculation based on this film?  Let us know below.