We knew this day would come: Marvel has announced that Wonder Man is officially coming to the MCU. That has inspired a new wave of collecting for his key issues.

The big news Thursday has been all about Wonder Man. He will be starring in his own comedy series for Disney+ with Destin Daniel Cretton, the director behind Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. It will likely be more laughs than action as Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Community screenwriter Andrew Guest is handling the script.

This isn’t Wonder Man’s first go-round with Marvel Studios. Nathan Fillion was reportedly cast as superhero-turned-actor Simon Williams for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, though the plan was only to use his face on various fictional movie posters. In the end, the scenes with Fillion’s posters were left on the cutting room floor. That leads to speculation that the actor will officially join the MCU as the star of the upcoming Wonder Man show.

Now that the world is enamored with Wonder Man, it’s time to take a closer look at these four key issues.

AVENGERS #9

Wonder Man may not be a founding Avenger, but he was there from the early days. Of course, he died in his first appearance, but that’s beside the point. The real legacy here is that after Wonder Man’s death, his brain waves were replicated and eventually put into Vision. That creates another set of issues, but it could make for great MCU-style comedy, and that’s what it’s all about on Disney+ - the gags.

As soon as the news broke, buyers took to eBay for Avengers #9. Raw copies of varying quality were selling for anywhere from $150-$240. There was even a coverless copy that sold for $64. Meanwhile, a graded 8.0 sold for $1,900, the highest it's earned since May 2021. There also was a 4.5 that sold for $450.

AVENGERS #131

The next time audiences spotted Wonder Man was in a flashback in 1968’s Avengers #58. This was when Marvel revealed that Vision’s mind was based on Wonder Man’s brainwaves. He wouldn’t make his full return from the dead for another seven years in Avengers #131. Here Simon joined the unlikely Legion of the Unliving, a team that also included such horror characters as the Ghost, Frankenstein’s Monster, Baron Zemo, Midnight, Swordsman, and Human Torch. 

Although Avengers #131 is an early Wonder Man appearance, you can find copies for pennies on the dollar. These typically sell for less than $10 on eBay.

MARVEL PREMIERE #55

Next to Avengers #9, Simon’s first solo story in Marvel Premiere #55 has been the hottest seller among Wonder Man keys. This has become standard operating procedure in comic collecting. When the first appearance gets expensive, buyers aim for a character’s first starring role. In this case, raw copies were earning as much as $50, and a graded 9.4 sold for $177.50.

WONDER MAN #1 (1986)

Another issue that suddenly became popular overnight Thursday is Wonder Man #1 from his first self-titled series in 1986. There’s not too much to say about this comic, but it is worth having if only for the artwork. As always, Bill Sienkiewicz provided stellar covers and interiors in what is basically a retelling of Wonder Man’s origin. Need a copy? You can find ungraded ones for around $10.

COLLISION COURSE

No doubt, Wonder Man and Vision will be connected on the screen. Although the brainwaves story is too late to put into the MCU, that doesn’t mean White Vision won’t be in need of a personality upgrade. That could be where Simon comes into the picture. Even if it’s not, I can’t see Marvel not putting the two characters on the screen together. 

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*Any perceived investment advice is that of the freelance blogger and does not represent advice on behalf of GoCollect.