05 May Deadpool in the MCU: A Cottage Industry of Undervalued Keys?

When Disney acquired the rights to Fox’s Marvel properties, there were legitimate concerns that Deadpool would be tamed from his rowdy roots to fit the House of Mouse’s PG-13 confines. Those worries were put to bed when studio chief Kevin Feige announced that Deadpool 3 was in development as the first R-Rated MCU film. On the heels of that news, Deadpool’s first appearance in New Mutants #98 has continued to climb toward $3K in CGC 9.8, which prices most of us out of the market for that particular key issue. But, are there other, overlooked keys that have been right under our noses all along?

Since shooting doesn’t commence until 2022, it gives us plenty of time to spec and be wrong about what may or may not wind up in the Ryan Reynolds / Molyneux-Loeglin-Sisters’ script. But what we know for sure is that the MCU’s moodiest teen is absolutely going to be returning with a few X-friends. I am speaking of course about Negasonic Teenage Warhead….

New X-Men #115: 1st Appearance of Negasonic Teenage Warhead

Remember the price bumps that accompanied every spec villain that didn’t appear in WandaVision? It’s kinda nuts that the first appearance of a fan-fave veteran of two blockbuster films has yet to crack $100 in CGC 9.8. That practically screams for a market correction, and once it does rise, it will likely continue to take off. And that is why you should be buying New X-Men #115 now.

Since the price disparity between the regular and variant editions is nebulous at this point ($85 vs. $95) the fact that variants tend to garner exponentially more demand when both achieve higher value makes the latter the wiser investment. That said, it’s hard to pass up on a Frank Quitely Wolverine cover. Even if it is the more common of the two.

Deadpool 3 is likely going to be the big screen springboard for Marvel’s Mutantverse.  Since FOX has already done to death the Claremont-Cockrum team, it’s more likely that we’ll see a more contemporary X-team or three. Deadpool 2 introduced X-Force via Cable (New Mutants #87), Domino (New Mutants #98), and Yukio (Wolverine #2), and since the rest of the Liefeld era was (spoiler alert!) wiped out in the second act, it’s possible and maybe even likely that Grant Morrison’s adoption of X-Force characters into his New X-Men line-up may get set-up here.

New X-Men #130: 1st Appearance of The World

For one thing, a small army of consequential characters was introduced in his three-year tenure on New X-Men. Most of their first appearances are undervalued. From villain Cassandra Nova’s debut in issue #114 ($95) to Beak’s in #117 ($125), Angel Salvadore & Stepford Cuckoos’ introduction in #118 ($150), the first Kid Omega in #134 ($130), and perhaps the most likely to be featured in DP3: The World –the facility that produced Weapons XII through XVI in New X-Men #130 ($200), these are all available in 9.8 for $200 or less at peak pricing. And even the comics in Grant’s run that have seemingly blown up, the first appearances of Fantomex in #128 ($350), and Dust in #133 ($550), are nowhere near the pricing of New Mutants #98.

Even New Mutants #87 is still a relative bargain with a 9.0 easily obtainable for about $150 or a gold-cover 2nd printing in 9.8 for about $85. And as all you real Domino fans know, the Domino that appears alongside Deadpool in New Mutants #98 is actually Copycat which makes Domino’s true first appearance in X-Force #8 quite attainable at about $100 in a CGC graded 9.8.

X-Force #2: 2nd Appearance of Deadpool, 1st Appearance of Kane

Until this past week, Deadpool’s 2nd appearance in X-Force #2 (which is also a cover appearance) was selling for less than $100 in 9.8. This is a book you can find raw in very high condition fairly easily for about $12. More than likely, it will press up to a 9.8. If you opt to buy one already graded? Be warned that there has already been a market correction. It may swing back down a bit before taking off again.

The good news is that X-Force #2 is also the first appearance of Garrison Kane and Department K. The series finale of WandaVision somewhat hinted at a “House of M” storyline down the road. This would make the 2nd Deadpool appearance the least of three reasons to own this book.

More of the shows on Disney+ continue to hint at the presence of mutants in the MCU. There was the WandaVision reveal that the Scarlet Witch’s powers were present before her interaction with the tesseract. Not to mention the introduction of Madripoor in Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The next Deadpool film is positioned to be the cinematic gateway for all of your favorite X-Men.

None of the content of this article is intended as investment advise.
This is just the opinion of the columnist – Do your own research!