Malicia's universe: Mystique, Gambit, Carol Danvers

There are few characters whose entourage stems so directly from a single characteristic. Malicia's power is a impediment: any prolonged contact harms the other and imposes memories on them that are not their own.

Every relationship in this universe is therefore, in one way or another, a response to this impossibility. This is what gives it its coherence.

Carol Danvers: the person she carries

This is the most unusual relationship in this entire corpus, and we must take the time to explain it.

In 1981, Malicia absorbed permed the powers and memories of a first-rate heroine. She doesn't leave with a temporary advantage: she leaves with someone.

The device is remarkable because it transforms a victory into charge. The character will spend years living with a consciousness that is not her own, and flying using abilities she took from someone she destroyed.

This corpus signals the collection interest that results from it:Ms. Marvel #1(1977), the series of the heroine concerned, is an indirect key that few Malicia collectors think of aiming for. However, it documents the exact origin of his powers.

Mystique: the mother who trained her to do evil

Mystical is her adoptive mother and the one who sent her to attack in 1981.

The relationship works because it refuses simplification. Mystique is not a misguided mother figure who could be saved: she trained Malicia to be who she is, and the disagreement between them is ideological rather than emotional.

This gives the character something that few heroes have: a past of which she is not a victim but accomplice. She was not manipulated, she obeyed.

Gambit: the most valued relationship on the market

Gambit appears in Uncanny X-Men #266(1990). Their relationship spanned decades and culminated in marriage in 2018.

Here we must separate narrative interest from collection interest, because they diverge.

Narratively, the relationship is consistent with the character's constraint: two individuals whose trust is not self-evident, one of whom cannot be touched. The story takes this difficulty seriously rather than skirting around it.

On the market, however,Uncanny X-Men #266 surpasses the first appearance of Malicia herself. A collector must therefore decide: is he buying for her, or for the couple? They are not the same numbers nor the same budgets.

This corpus judges this discrepancy to be instructive. Demand doesn't always follow a story's central character — it follows what audiences saw the most, and Gambit received considerable exposure in the 1990s.

The X-Men: a team that is wary

The 1983 integration deserves to be noted for what was unusual about it: the team did not not trust, and the story doesn't solve this problem in one issue.

Most of the passages from one camp to another, in this type of catalog, are rushed. Here, distrust lasts, is justified, and provides years of material.

This is what makes Uncanny X-Men #171 a more important number than is said - and yet little researched, for lack of containing a first appearance.

Collection strategy

Three recommendations specific to this universe.

Aim for Ms. Marvel #1 (1977). This is the most interesting indirect key to the file: old, organically linked to the character, and rarely presented as such in Malicia sales announcements.

Decide where you stand on Gambit. If you collect the pair, Uncanny X-Men #266 is a must-have and will make up the bulk of your budget. If you collect Malicia alone, it is optional.

Don't forget the distrust numbers. Uncanny X-Men #171 to #173 document his difficult integration. Three accessible issues which contain what the first appearance does not contain: the character as we like him.

As always, condition and gradation determine value; relying on real recent sales is strongly recommended.

For the complete selection, see ourMalicia key numbersand ourcollection guide.