Will Namor the Sub-Mariner be the antagonist in Black Panther II? That seems to be most people’s bet right now, (see here). I was early in thinking Namor would be introduced into the MCU with a Black Panther connection (see my post, Earthquakes under the Sea and Other Anomalies).

If Namor does show up, leading to an Atlantis versus Wakanda battle, what comics might see price spikes?

We can start by listing the obvious and already pricey keys: that would be comics like Motion Picture Funnies Weekly #1 (November 1938) - the very first appearance of Namor, which might see a rise; but it’s already a Golden Age classic and worth tens of thousands in even low grade. Films can’t really effect comics in this tier. I would instead keep my eyes on Fantastic Four #4 (February 1962) , which is the first appearance of Sub-Mariner in the Silver Age; and Sub-Mariner #1 (May 1968) , which is the first Silver Age self-titled solo series. Which has been seeing strong and showing rising positive returns on almost all grades over the last two months. This news will only exacerbate those trends.

Regarding T'challa, the obvious keys are Fantastic Four #52 (July 1966). A 9.4 copy of this comic sold for $13, 800.00 on 08/01/2019 (Heritage Auction). And more interestingly, Black Panther #1 (December 1976)– which is the First self-titled Black Panther on-going series. The latter is currently softening in price and showing mixed returns over the last 3 months. Will another 'Black Panther' MCU film strengthen this comic’s prices?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Defenders #84 (May 1980) – First Namor versus T'challa

Whatever happens with the established keys, a more interesting prospect is to look at the Namor/T'challa connection in comics.

Surprisingly, in the comics Namor and T'challa are not natural enemies, but lately they’ve been confronting each other with ever higher stakes resulting from their skirmishes.

In the comics Namor meets T'challa for the first time due to the Kiber Island Incident. Most of this is retroactively recounted since the original appearance of Dr. Frederick Kiber and his teleportation experiments in the Pacific, are described in Black Panther v1 #11-14. However, although the Avengers show up, Namor doesn’t show up in the original Kiber Island story arc. Later, the story was retroactively revised. This happens in the story "Battle Royal!" we see the first conflict originating from the Black Panther’s capture of Atlantean soldiers who were involved in purchasing stolen Wakandan technology from the Kiber Island incident.

This angers Namor initiating his involvement and subsequently leads T'challa to journey to Atlantis where things go from bad to worse as a battle between the royal figures ensues. Defenders #84 has recently seen movement with raw copies going for between $8.00- $30.00 on eBay. In certified 9.8 condition it currently has a FMV of $90.00. There are only 16 copies of this book on the CGC census and the last 9.8 sold for a strong $109.99.

 

Black Panther v3, #21 (December 2006) – Historical Recounting of Namor’s first encounter with Wakandans

Namor’s first trip to Wakanda, and his meeting with the Black Panther of the 1940s (who was present day T'challa’s grandfather) is recounted in this comic. As such it is an Atlantis/Wakanda key. It also happens to be the most affordable comic on this list. Today there are not enough sales to gather data for determining a FMV, but it’s safe to say you can get it for far below $100.00 in graded 9.8 …for now.