Greetings comic collectors! The year is rolling the Marvel is flowing and the comic alerts and blaring! Last night we got the next to last episode of WandaVision and while some comic speculators were zigging the show decided to zag leaving some buyers in the air with empty wallets and the wrong book in hand!
I thought about doing a pre-show alert but my instincts told me to hold off. Ebayers were desperately pushing and buying Silver Surfer#3, first appearance of Mephisto as last week’s appearance of Agatha Harkness got the loudest comic hawkers screaming that they were so sure Mephisto would be the next villain introduced. Boy they must’ve been shocked after dropping $400-$2000 on the comic only to find no mention or appearance of Mephisto with only one episode left to tie it all together. Better for worse still the appearance of a new character (kind of) may finally give us insight into the mysterious guest star that Paul Bettany was saying he was so happy to work with.
SPOILERS AHEAD
During the after credits scene it was revealed that behind Wanda and all our backs SWORD had reconstructed Vision’s body and activated it by using Wanda’s now confirmed ‘Chaos magic’ that was still attached to the kill drone. They resurrected the android in an all white form known in the comics as “Anti-Vision” or “White Vision”, an emotionless shell of his former self. Now it seems SWORD has fully transformed him into a living weapon and are hell bent on using it against Wanda.
Many had convinced themselves that the big villain yet to be revealed would be Mephisto as people speculated he was controlling Agatha. But this theory smelled of comic fans who’ve never written before. With two 30 min episodes left how or why would you introduce a major villain like that? The idea felt like a cop out and a pile on as fans are still in ‘Endgame Mode’ (they think every show/movie is going to be like Infinity War/Endgame).
White Vision has been hinted throughout the show as SWORD was working to take him apart, a scene plucked right from the book. With the later reveal that the footage of Wanda attacking SWORD was doctored and major rule that in the MCU secret government organizations can never be trusted, we know the villains are SWORD and Agatha and now White Vision the final boss. That’s three places the viewer has to focus on, to bring in Mephisto now would be overkill.
That’s not to say he still can’t appear in an after credits scene and have some kind of influence on Phase 4 but personally I highly doubt Mephisto will show up and have an active role in the finale. (though this Marvelite admits he’s been plenty wrong about MCU theories).
West Coast Avengers #45 caught fire the instant WV was revealed and comic collectors are scrambling to not get left behind. Back in end of January the comic was going for less than $10. Whoever scooped it then just made a killing 10+x over as the same comic is seeing $130+ prices!
Look I’m gonna get real for a moment, comic collecting is not a game. Just like Gambling, the Stock Market and Cryptocurrency, the Comic Market has slowly and covertly built this monster money making back issue industry that is the true spine of the comic world. The money for shops and collectors is not made in the first initial sale as comics first released are always cover price. But as soon as they gain some form of detail or reason to be collected and leave the shop, it’s a whole other world. Sure you can make the right move and make a nice amount of money for something that you first bought for 4.99 but you can also loose alot of money for something you pay $1000 for thinking it’s gonna jump up to $5k but really it drops to $100 and have to eat it.
That’s what a lot of people are facing with Silver Surfer #3. Heaven help you if you drop $15k on a 9.6 on eBay and then Mephisto doesn’t show up. I’m sure a lot of folks were sweating at the end of the episode after dropping $300-$500+ on a comic that may come crashing back down after next week. All it would take it a quick after credits shot of Mephisto to pump the book back up but man, idk.
Which takes me back to White Vision. It is this marvelite’s and collector’s opinion that you should approach this comic with caution but also interest. Do you think White Vision will survive past the finale? Or is it more likely that he will be defeated or even merged with Wanda’s Vision to bring him back to the MCU? Remember in the comics Vision does come back to the team and he and Wanda separate which would make sense knowing she is set to appear in Doctor Strange. Could the actor Bettany was talking about that was yet to be revealed Benedict Cumberbatch or is it actually Bettany himself that he was tongue in cheek referring to? We know Marvel sticks to the source material but I don’t see how WCA #45 doesn’t become an afterthought a week later when Falcon and the Winter Soldier premeries. Again I could be wrong but always approach your buys with skepticism and a good speculation of what’s to come. Remember to think as far ahead as you can and apply that research. There’s always going to be books we miss out on and of course you don’t want to make that a habit but that’s prolly better than emptying your account to scoop a first appearance that doesn’t even show up in this phase.