Investing in Black Widow Comics: Which Keys Hold Their Value?

Black Widow is one of the very few Silver Age Marvel creations to have received a dedicated solo MCU film — Black Widow (2021), starring Scarlett Johansson, grossed $379.8 million worldwide according to Box Office Mojo. Natasha Romanoff appears in Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), and through Avengers: Endgame (2019). That sustained decade of MCU presence drove genuine demand for key issues, even as prices went through a boom-and-correction cycle from 2021 to 2022 onward.

This guide is not financial advice. It sticks to the verifiable: records documented by specialist sources (sellmycomicbooks.com, underval.com, GoCollect) and live eBay data from our estimator (30 listings for Amazing Spider-Man #86, 47 for Daredevil #81). The Tales of Suspense series is not covered by our tool — all figures for those issues come exclusively from documented web sources. Where no public record exists, we stay qualitative.

Black Widow key issue ranking (real documented data)

Sources: sellmycomicbooks.com, underval.com, GoCollect, Box Office Mojo. Our eBay estimator does not cover the Tales of Suspense series.

Tales of Suspense #52 (1964): the Silver Age grail

Published in April 1964, Tales of Suspense #52 contains the first appearance of Natasha Romanoff — at that point a Soviet spy dispatched by the Khrushchev government to kill Tony Stark. The story is by Stan Lee (plot), Don Rico (script/dialogue, under the pseudonym "N. Korok"), and Don Heck (art). This is a true Silver Age key, contemporary with The Avengers #1 (Sept. 1963) and the earliest Spider-Man adventures. The all-time documented record stands at $15,000 for a CGC 9.6 Pacific Coast Pedigree copy (2014) — a score so scarce that no CGC 9.8 is known to exist in the census. A CGC 9.4 trades below this record (no major public 9.4 sale documented). In mid-grade, a CGC 8.0 sold for $3,480 and a CGC 5.5 for approximately $720.

The issue's dark cover makes high-grade survival difficult. The CGC census counted roughly 2,000 certified copies as of 2024, a low number for a Silver Age key. That scarcity sustains genuine liquidity in high-grade copies, though the bulk of observed transactions sit between CGC 4.0 and CGC 7.0 — a sign of an active market concentrated in the mid-grade range.

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

Tales of Suspense #57 (October 1964) is a doubly interesting key: it is both a second appearance of Black Widow and the very first appearance of Hawkeye (Clint Barton), who Natasha recruits to oppose Iron Man. The story is by Stan Lee and Don Heck. The all-time documented record is $210,000 for a CGC 9.8 Curator Collection (sold by Metropolis Comics), which doubled the previous record of $102,000 set in June 2022. In more accessible grades, underval.com data shows a CGC 8.0 at $1,625 (June 2026), a CGC 7.5 at $1,250, and a CGC 5.0 at $600. This issue benefits from dual demand — Black Widow collectors and Hawkeye collectors — giving it above-average liquidity for a 1964 book.

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

Amazing Spider-Man #86 (July 1970) is the Bronze Age Black Widow key: it is the first issue in which Natasha Romanoff wears her famous black bodysuit with wrist-shooters — the costume that defines the character in every subsequent adaptation, MCU included. The story is by Stan Lee with art by John Romita Sr. Our eBay estimator covers this series with 30 active listings: blended median at €13, high end at €93 — an accessible issue in ungraded condition. In CGC-slabbed copies, underval.com data shows a CGC 9.2 at $350 (May 2026), a CGC 8.5 at $159, and a CGC 7.0 at $93 (June 2026). This is the most liquid entry point in the Black Widow collecting theme: consistent transaction volume, accessible mid-grade prices, and direct visual relevance for collectors focused on the MCU iteration of the character.

Daredevil #81 (1971): co-lead at Hell's Kitchen

From Daredevil #81 (October 1971) onward, Black Widow joins Matt Murdock as co-lead of the series — the cover and the retitled "Daredevil and the Black Widow" masthead reflect that status. It is one of the earliest instances of a female character sharing top billing on a Marvel series of that era. Our eBay estimator covers this series with 47 listings: median at €9, high end at €19. These price levels mark it as a collecting issue rather than a speculative one. The Daredevil run of this period is followed by many collectors for its Black Widow connections, but values remain modest in ungraded condition.

MCU effect and investor risks

Natasha Romanoff's MCU profile drove significant appreciation in Tales of Suspense #52 between 2019 and 2021, followed by a meaningful correction from 2022 onward — a cycle observed across most first-appearance keys tied to Marvel Studios releases. The Black Widow film (2021, $379.8M worldwide) did not produce a lasting price spike: GoCollect data indicates that 2024 prices for the #52 are near or below their 2021–2022 peak levels. That pattern should caution any buyer: purchasing a key in anticipation of a MCU release is a high-risk strategy, as gains are often priced in before the film opens. High-grade copies of Tales of Suspense #52 and #57 (CGC 8.0 and above) do maintain a genuine recurring buyer market, which is not true of all Silver Age titles. Amazing Spider-Man #86 offers the most predictable liquidity thanks to its eBay volume (30 active listings), but the upside there is structurally narrower. This article does not constitute investment advice.