Black Widow: Record Auction Prices (Tales of Suspense #52 and Key Issues)

Black Widow was born in the pages of Tales of Suspense #52 (April 1964), with plot by Stan Lee, script/dialogue by Don Rico (under the pseudonym "N. Korok"), and art by Don Heck. Natasha Romanova appears as a KGB agent dispatched to sabotage Tony Stark's operations — an elegant and dangerous antagonist whose potential was immediately recognized by Marvel's editorial team. She was not yet a hero: it would take several years and a notable narrative evolution before she joined the Avengers' ranks. That shift from antagonist to ally is precisely what makes her key issues so varied — and so complementary for the collector.

This guide sticks to the verifiable: records documented by sellmycomicbooks.com, Heritage Auctions, GoCollect, and bleedingcool.com. One important methodological note: our eBay estimator does not cover the Tales of Suspense series — it returns "invalid parameters" for that title. It does, however, cover Amazing Spider-Man and Daredevil, with 30 and 47 active listings respectively. All data on Tales of Suspense #52 and #57 comes exclusively from documented web sources. Where no public record exists, we stay qualitative.

Black Widow key issue ranking (real documented data)

All records below come from public sources. Our eBay estimator does not cover Tales of Suspense; data for that title is sourced from the web. Amazing Spider-Man #86 and Daredevil #81 data comes from the eBay estimator (blended median across all printings and grades).

Sources: sellmycomicbooks.com, Heritage Auctions, bleedingcool.com, eBay estimator mycomicscollection.com. Our estimator does not cover Tales of Suspense.

Tales of Suspense #52 (1964): the Silver Age birth of the Black Widow

Published in April 1964, Tales of Suspense #52 is the definitive Black Widow key. The story — plot by Stan Lee, script/dialogue by Don Rico (under the pseudonym "N. Korok"), art by Don Heck — introduces Natasha Romanova as a KGB operative tasked with eliminating Tony Stark. This is a Silver Age key: Black Widow is a contemporary of Thor (#83, 1962), Doctor Strange (#110, 1963), and the great Marvel Age creations. Our eBay estimator does not cover this title; all data comes from sellmycomicbooks.com. The documented record is a CGC 9.6 Pacific Coast pedigree sold for $15,000 in 2014; a CGC 9.4 trades below this record (no major public 9.4 sale documented). The 2023 data shows a CGC 9.0 at $11,400 and a CGC 8.5 at $6,600. Mid-grade copies remain significant: a CGC 7.5 sold for $3,800 and a CGC 6.0 for $1,980 in 2023. Market liquidity for this issue on the secondary market is genuine.

Tales of Suspense #57 (1964): the first appearance of Hawkeye

Tales of Suspense #57 (September 1964) carries a double significance: it is Black Widow's second appearance, where she recruits Clint Barton — Hawkeye — and enlists him against Iron Man. This makes it the first appearance of Hawkeye, one of the MCU's most popular Avengers. A CGC 9.8 copy (Curator Collection) sold for $210,000 through Metropolis Comics — a record that doubled the previous record of $102,000 set in June 2022. Extreme scarcity in very high grade, combined with the double significance of the issue (Black Widow + Hawkeye), explains these price levels. For collectors with a tighter budget, mid-grade copies remain available — but no mid-grade auction record is documented in the sources consulted.

Amazing Spider-Man #86 (1970): the Bronze Age black costume

Amazing Spider-Man #86 (July 1970) marks a turning point in the character's history: it is the issue in which Black Widow dons her iconic black costume for the first time — the look she would carry through to the MCU. This is a Bronze Age key, distinct by nature from the Silver Age issues that precede it; the editorial context, creators, and valuation tier are different. Our eBay estimator covers this issue with 30 active listings: the blended median across all printings and grades stands at €13, with high-grade copies reaching €93 in June 2026 data. CGC high-grade copies can command materially higher prices, but no high-grade Heritage record for this specific issue is documented in the public sources consulted.

Daredevil #81 (1971) and the co-lead era

From Daredevil #81 (October 1971), Black Widow joined Matt Murdock as co-lead of the series, sharing the title through approximately issue #107. That run — written by Gerry Conway then Steve Gerber, drawn by Gene Colan — is editorially significant: it is the first time Black Widow occupied a regular protagonist role in a Marvel title, years before her first solo series in 1999. Our eBay estimator covers Daredevil with 47 active listings for issue #81: the blended median stands at €9. These issues remain accessible and represent a Bronze Age entry point for tracing the character's evolution before her major solo runs.

Black Widow in the MCU: the effect on key issue values

Scarlett Johansson has portrayed Natasha Romanoff since Iron Man 2 (2010) — a continuous MCU presence through The Avengers (2012), Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Captain America: Civil War (2016), and Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame (2018–2019). The solo film Black Widow (2021) grossed $379.8 million worldwide at the box office, with an additional $60 million-plus in Disney+ Premier Access revenue according to Variety. That MCU profile sustains demand for Silver Age keys, particularly Tales of Suspense #52, whose 2023–2024 price data reflects an active market despite the scarcity of high-grade copies.