Black Widow: sleeper issues worth watching (real 2026 data)

Natasha Romanoff was born in the pages of Tales of Suspense #52 (April 1964), created by Stan Lee (plot), Don Rico (script, under the pen name N. Korok), and Don Heck (art). Dispatched by the Soviet government to eliminate defector Anton Vanko and kill Iron Man, she embodied the classic Cold War threat of the Silver Age. In 1970, she donned her iconic black costume in Amazing Spider-Man #86 — giving the character the visual identity the world recognizes today. By 1971, she co-led Daredevil as an official co-protagonist, an editorial rarity at the time. On screen, Scarlett Johansson portrayed her from Iron Man 2 (2010) through the solo film Black Widow (2021), which grossed $379.8 million worldwide at the box office.

This guide focuses on sleeper issues: historically important keys that remain affordable, whose market price does not yet fully reflect the character's editorial and cultural weight. Methodological note: our eBay estimator covers Amazing Spider-Man (30 listings for #86) and Daredevil (40–47 listings depending on issue) — those figures are reliable. Tales of Suspense is not in the tool (it returns invalid parameters): all ToS values come from documented web sources (sellmycomicbooks.com, Heritage Auctions).

Black Widow sleeper issues: summary table

eBay data (blended median across all grades) as of June 26, 2026; ToS records from sellmycomicbooks.com and Heritage Auctions.

Sources: sellmycomicbooks.com, Metropolis Comics (press release, 2024), Heritage Auctions, eBay (mycomicscollection.com estimator, June 26, 2026).

Tales of Suspense #57 (1964): the real Silver Age sleeper

Tales of Suspense #57 (September 1964) is often discussed as a secondary Black Widow issue, but it is in fact the first appearance of Hawkeye — one of the most recognizable Avengers in mainstream culture. The key is double: it is Natasha who recruits Clint Barton in this issue, making her directly responsible for introducing one of Marvel's most beloved heroes. The story is credited to Stan Lee (plot), Don Rico (script), and Don Heck (art). In high grade, the numbers speak for themselves: Metropolis Comics announced in 2024 the private sale of a CGC 9.8 Curator Pedigree copy for $210,000, more than doubling the previous record. In CGC 6.0, the same issue trades around $450 according to available web data. The gap between a mid-grade copy and the peak illustrates a classic sleeper profile: accessible to most collectors, but with significant upside if Hawkeye demand — driven in part by ongoing MCU appearances — continues to grow.

Amazing Spider-Man #86 (1970): the black costume, an undervalued Bronze Age key

Published in July 1970, Amazing Spider-Man #86 is the issue in which Black Widow first wears her iconic all-black bodysuit — the costume that every film adaptation and generations of cover art have reproduced. The issue is drawn by John Romita Sr. and Jim Mooney. This is not her first appearance, but it is the visual birth of the character as the world knows her. Our eBay estimator, drawing on 30 recent listings, shows a blended median of €13 across all grades — deliberately low because it aggregates everything from reading copies to near-mint. Web sources indicate a CGC 7.5 copy sold for around $135 recently. The ratio of historical importance to entry-level price remains one of the most favorable in Bronze Age Marvel for a character of this stature.

Daredevil #81 (1971): Black Widow as co-star, a forgotten editorial milestone

Daredevil #81 (November 1971) is the issue in which Black Widow officially becomes co-protagonist of the series — her name appears on the cover alongside Daredevil's, and she co-leads the title through issue #124. This is a genuine editorial rarity: few female Marvel characters ever reached co-headliner status on a flagship series during this period. Our eBay estimator records 47 listings for this issue — the highest volume on this list — with a blended median of €9 across all grades. Subsequent issues in this run (Daredevil #82–83, #92) post similar medians (€9, 21–40 listings depending on the issue). Liquidity is real: this is a coherent run to build for collectors who believe in the character's long-term upside.

Tales of Suspense #52 (1964): the grail, for reference

Even if Tales of Suspense #52 is out of reach for most collectors in high grade, understanding its price scale helps place the sleepers above in context. The absolute record — a CGC 9.6 Pacific Coast Pedigree — sold for $15,000 in 2014, a benchmark not yet officially surpassed in a documented public sale. A CGC 9.4 trades below this record (no major public 9.4 sale documented). Sellmycomicbooks.com additionally documents CGC sales at $9,000 (CGC 9.0) and $3,480 (CGC 8.0); an ungraded VF copy sits around $900. Our eBay estimator does not cover this series. By comparison, Tales of Suspense #57 — same title, same era, same creative team — offers a far lower mid-grade entry point with equally spectacular documented upside at the top.