Tier list Scarlet Witch: key issues 2026

This ranking is that of a major character who controls almost none of his prices. Born in the series of another franchise, married to a character of her own request, author of an event which belongs to another community of collectors.

The exercise therefore mainly consists of identify who owns each request, which completely changes the purchasing arbitrage.

Methodology: four criteria, and the question of owner

1. Real rarity in good condition, distinct from the draw. Decisive on 1964-1965, real on the special format of 1975, zero on 2004-2005.

2. Narrative importance, regardless of what the market says.

3. Structural demand, that is, the number of distinct reasons for wanting a number.

4. The potential for revaluation, linked to identifiable catalysts.

The question specific to this file: Who owns the request? On four of his five most expensive numbers, the answer is “to someone else.” This classification indicates this at each entry.

No price is given here: the condition and grading decide what is essential, and only the consultation of recent real sales allows a copy to be located.

Tier S — the three central pieces

X-Men #4 (1964)

First appearance. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, with his brother, on the opposing side.

⚠️Foreign demand. The issue contains the first appearance of a founding group of antagonists from the X-Men series. It is this much broader demand that sets the price.

It appears there without having any of the features that would make it interesting — the content-price ratio is the most unfavorable in the file.

Early Silver Age segment: fragile paper, vulnerable staples, frequent restorations. Professional grading essential.

Avengers #16 (1965)

The complete renewal of the team's composition. The founders leave; she is coming.

It is le number of this file: the one where she changes sides and becomes the character we know. It appears in Tier S for its importance, and it remains significantly more accessible than the first appearance.

It also benefits from a demand shared but compatible: the team's collectors and those of his brother also want it, for similar reasons.

House of M #1 (2005)

Bendis and Olivier Coipel. It rewrites reality, then revokes part of it.

The most consequential story of his career, and one of the most consequential from his publisher — its effects structured the mutant franchise for a decade.

⚠️Foreign demand, again. This crossover is sought after by collectors of the mutant franchise, whose situation it turned upside down.

Favorable counterpart: very tight period, therefore accessible despite its notoriety. Buy high grade — nothing else retains value here.

Tier A — real importance, mixed demands

Avengers #500 (2004)

Opening of “Avengers Disassembled”: she destroys the team to which she belonged for forty years.

Rare position: the threat comes from within, and the story refuses to present it as possessed or manipulated. Very drawn out, therefore accessible.

Avengers #57 (1968)

First appearance of the Vision, with whom his destiny will be permanently linked.

⚠️ Major indirect key, but carried by a request specific to Vision. You are buying it expensive for a character that is not the one you collect.

The special issue of 1975 (the marriage)

One of the rare issues in this file where the gap between importance and price comes into play in favor of the buyer.

Special format: smaller edition, vulnerable section, separate storage, and above all lower census - the indexes are built around continuous numbering.

Tier B — the only segment it owns

Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1982 and 1985)

This is the best advice this tier list can give.

Sixteen numbers in total, and the only titles where this character is the subject before 2015. No foreign demand is superimposed on it — for once, the price corresponds exactly to what we buy.

They mainly contain the material of the character: domestic life, the neighborhood, the question of children. That is to say precisely what the disasters of 2004-2005 would exploit twenty years later.

Old, little sought after, fully completeable for a modest budget. A collector who owns them owns more of the character than someone who bought X-Men #4.

House of M tie-ins

The event includes a very large number of them, scattered throughout all of the publisher's series. They remain priceless even though they belong to the most important story of his career.

Scarlet Witch #1 (2015)

The first series continues in its name, fifty-one years after its creation. Real editorial milestone, recent and abundant issue.

Tier C — the bets

Scarlet Witch #1 (2015) in high grade

The most defensible bet in this case, and it is based on precise reasoning.

The character was brought to the screen with substantial treatment, which is rare for a supporting cast. If a production gives him a lasting title role, it is the first number of his first solo series who will capture the demand — because it's the only number that doesn't share its value with anyone.

⚠️ High grade only: during a period of abundant supply, an average copy does not benefit from any increase.

Limited series from 1982-1985 in high grade

Same reasoning, with an additional factor: these are old numbers that no one has carefully preserved, due to failure to consider them as keys. Fine examples there are proportionally rarer than the print run suggests.

Tier D — what this tier list recommends against

Buy X-Men #4 as a key to this character. It's an X-Men key. You'll pay full price for a few boxes, and the content-price ratio is the worst on the file. It has its place in a completed collection, not at the start.

Average copies from 2004-2005. Periods of considerable print runs and careful conservation: nothing other than almost mint retains value.

Team numbers without issue. She goes through decades of crossovers without her situation changing. The criterion: does the event place it in a position of cause? Otherwise, it's a regular number.

Tie-ins from the 1990s. Overproduction: excellent at reading, mediocre at placement. The collections are more rational.

The question to ask before each purchase on this file

This classification boils down to a single discipline, and it is more useful here than anywhere else in this corpus.

Before purchasing an issue of this character, ask yourself:Who else wants this number, and why?

On X-Men #4, the answer is "X-Men collectors, for a group of adversaries." On Avengers #57, “The Vision Collectors”. On House of M, “the mutant franchise, for its consequences”.

Whenever the answer points to someone else, two things follow. The number will not depreciate — its value is supported elsewhere, regardless of the character's fate. But it will never become accessible: you will not benefit from any hollowness, since the hollowness of the character does not affect its price.

Conversely, when the answer is “no one else” — the 1982-1985 limited editions — you pay for exactly what you buy. It's rare, and it's precious.

What this file teaches about ancient team characters

A useful generalization, because this case is not isolated.

Characters created in the 1960s like supporting roles or adversaries, then promoted, almost all present this profile: their first appearance belongs to the series where they were born, not to them.

Three consequences come up systematically.

Their first appearance is expensive and unrepresentative. It shows a character who does not yet have his features, in a secondary role.

Their decisive number is elsewhere and cheaper. This is the one where they change status - here, the arrival with the Avengers in 1965.

Their clean series arrive late and remain cheap. When a character finally gets a title after several decades, the period is modern, and therefore abundant.

This corpus therefore recommends, for this entire category, to reverse the usual purchase order: start with the own series, continue with the switch number, and only go back to the first appearance last.

The purchasing schedule that this ranking suggests

Step 1 — the segment that belongs to it. All sixteen issues of the limited series from 1982 and 1985. Modest budget, and you have the real character material.

Stage 2 — disasters. Avengers #500-503 and House of M #1-8, in high grade. Recent, abundant, and containing the modern character.

Stage 3 — tie-ins and the 1975 special edition. The under-recorded numbers, at the price of all comers.

Step 4 — the seesaw. Avengers #16 (1965), the true narrative key and the most accessible of the old ones.

Step 5 — the origin. X-Men #4 (1964), with professional grading and knowing what you're paying for.

Three catalysts to watch

A lasting central role on screen. The character has already received substantial treatment, which is rare for a supporting cast. Extended operation would first benefit his 2015 solo series.

An operation of House of M. The story is spectacular and adaptable; it would capture demand for the 2005 numbers, already identified.

Recognition of limited series. Their reputation is growing slowly among readers, without the market following suit. This is the gap most likely to be corrected on this file.

What this tier list does not cover

Team appearances prior to 2000. Too numerous and too scattered; they are opportunistic research.

Foreign editions. Separate markets, draws and demands unrelated to the original market.

Recent alternative covers. Segment too moving for an annual ranking, to be checked on a case-by-case basis.

How this tier list will evolve

Three movements are plausible by 2030, and their probabilities differ markedly.

Most likely: the rise of limited series. Their reputation is growing among readers without the market following suit. These issues also have a favorable characteristic: old and never considered as keys, they have not been carefully preserved - good examples are therefore rarer than the circulation suggests. This is the gap most likely to correct itself.

Plausible: the stability of Tier S. X-Men #4 and House of M are driven by external, broad and enduring demands. This makes them insensitive to variations in interest in the character - neither surge nor collapse to be expected on this side.

Strong but uncertain: prolonged use on screen. The character has already received substantial treatment, which is rare for a supporting cast. Sustainable exploitation would first benefit his 2015 solo series — the only issue whose value is not shared with anyone.

Three principles to remember from this ranking

Beyond the particular case, this file illustrates three widely applicable rules.

Identify the owner of the request. This is the central discipline of this classification, and it applies to any character born in another's series. When the request belongs to someone else, the number is protected — and inaccessible. When it's yours, you pay for exactly what you buy.

For promoted characters, reverse the purchase order. The first appearance is expensive and unrepresentative; the toggle number is elsewhere and less expensive; clean series arrive late and remain cheap. Start at the end.

A position of “cause” has lasting attachment. In a transversal event, a character can be a participant, an issue or a cause. Only the third position definitively attaches it to the event in the readers' memory — and is translated into value.

A note on the use of tier lists

A classification of this type does not say what is Good , he says what is poorly evaluated.

A Tier S issue is not necessarily a good buy: its price already includes everything we know about it - and on this issue, it also includes the demand from other collectors. A Tier B number often is, because no one else is looking at it.

On this character precisely, reading backwards is almost obligatory. Tier B contains the only segment it is about, and it is the least expensive of the entire list.

Frequently asked questions

The purchasing calendar, in practice

This classification translates into a precise sequence, and it is more counterintuitive than the other files in this corpus.

Step 1 — Tier B first. The sixteen issues of the limited series from 1982-1985. This is the only segment it is the subject of, and the least expensive of the entire list. A collector who stops there already owns more of the character than one who would have purchased his first appearance.

Stage 2 — disasters. Avengers #500-503 and House of M #1-8, high grade only. Recent and abundant, they contain the modern character and most of his importance in the catalog.

Step 3 — the under-recorded. The special issue of 1975 and the tie-ins of consequences. All-comer price, real content.

Step 4 — the seesaw. Avengers #16 (1965). The true narrative key, and the most accessible of the ancients.

Step 5 — the origin. X-Men #4 (1964), last, with professional grading and knowing exactly what you're paying for.

This sequence has a property that this corpus considers decisive:at each stage, the collection stands. You don't build an incomplete whole while waiting for the expensive part - and on this issue, the expensive part is precisely the one that contributes the least.

Three mistakes not to make

Start with X-Men #4. The most costly mistake. It's an X-Men key, bought at the price of the X-Men, for an issue where it does little. It has its place in a completed collection, never at the start.

Wait for a trough. He won't come. The numbers raised by foreign requests do not drop when interest in the character falls - this is their advantage, and it is also what prevents us from hoping for a cheap entry.

Buy disasters in average condition. Periods of considerable print runs and careful conservation from the beginning: in this segment, only the almost new retains a value, and the additional cost to achieve it is low.

Summary of the tier list

• Third party— X-Men #4 (1964, ⚠️ request X-Men), Avengers #16 (1965), House of M #1 (2005, ⚠️ request mutant).
• Tier A— Avengers #500 (2004), Avengers #57 (1968, ⚠️ asks Vision), the 1975 special issue.
• Tier B (the only segment that belongs to it)— Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1982, 1985), House of M tie-ins, Scarlet Witch #1 (2015).
• Tier C (Paris)— Scarlet Witch #1 (2015) and limited series, high grade only.
• Tier D (to be avoided)— X-Men #4 as a first purchase, average copies from 2004-2005, team issues without stakes, tie-ins from the 1990s.

A file that rewards reading more than the budget

One last observation, and it is the most useful to situate this classification.

On most of the files in this corpus, a large budget makes it possible to quickly build a representative collection: we buy the keys, they are expensive, the matter is settled.

Here it doesn't work. A collector who spent his entire budget on X-Men #4 and Avengers #57 would own two considerable issues — and almost nothing about the character. She doesn't do much there, and the traits that define her aren't there yet.

Conversely, a modest budget devoted to the limited series of 1982-1985 and the stories of 2004-2005 produces a collection that actually says something: what she had, then what she destroyed.

This corpus considers that this is the clearest case it has encountered of a file where knowing is better than spending. The difference does not come down to finding opportunities – it comes down to understanding that the most expensive numbers are not the most relevant.

This is a conclusion that should be generalized with caution. It applies each time a character is born in the series of another: the price then measures the notoriety of the number, not the relevance of the content to the one being collected.

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