Iron Man #118
There are a lot of different significant firsts for Jim Rhodes. His first times wearing the Iron Man armor or going by the codename "War Machine" immediately come to mind. Ultimately, however, I still believe that the safest investment for him (in the context of Armor Wars) is his first appearance in the pages of this book.
Right now, very few details have been released about Armor Wars. We have no idea how much of the runtime will feature Rhodey in any particular armor. Consequently, I am hesitant to recommend any books with a value specifically tied to that. So if we eliminate those books (for now), the best bet we can make is on the character's first appearance.
Graded Analysis: With the odd exception of 8.0, the FMV for CGC copies of this book is up over the last ten years in every single grade. In some cases its up over 100%. Hard to ask for more from an investment.
Iron Patriot Variants
Oh man, are these books great investments for a lot of reasons. First, the plot. The Iron Patriot series is all about Rhodey using Iron Man technology to track down Stark tech that has fallen into the wrong hands. That is basically identical to the plot description Disney gave the film.
Second, rarity. Per Comichron, retailers only ordered 31,773 copies of issue #1, 18,495 copies of issue #2, and 14,840 copies of issue #3. That means there can only be, at the ABSOLUTE most, 635 copies of the issue #1 1:50 incentive variant, 370 copies of the issue #2 1:50 incentive variant, and 297 copies of the issue #3 1:50 incentive variant. So, suffice it to say, these variants are rare.
Graded Analysis: This is the third big reason to invest in these books. According to GoCollect, there are only 6 copies of the issue #1 variant in the entire census. Meanwhile, there are no graded copies for the issue #2 variant or the issue #3 variant, both of which are significantly more rare than the #1 variant.
Iron Man #120
This is a great book with solid short-term and long-term investment potential. In the short term, this book contains the first appearance of Justin Hammer, the Iron Man 2 antagonist who has long been rumored for an MCU return. Given Hammer's blatant jealousy of Tony Stark and Stark Enterprises, it would not be difficult to find a way to incorporate the character into Armor Wars (which is all about Stark tech getting in the wrong hands).
In the long term, this is the first book in the "Demon In a Bottle" story, one of the most acclaimed Iron Man stories of all time. The story is an all-time classic, which helps to ensure that interest in the book will remain long after any MCU hype goes away. This means that Iron Man Vol. 1 #120 is a very low-risk proposition. Even if investors fail to make a profit due to the MCU, the book's inherent collectability gives investors a strong alternate method to profitability.
Graded Analysis: Sales prices for this book have been fairly consistently declining for all grades of 9.0 and above. Meanwhile, prices for grades below 9.0 have been incredibly resilient. Now is a great time to buy this book, while prices are low and before the hype train for Armor Wars has truly begun.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
