Black Panther has been in the rumor mil for so long that almost everyone expects a movie to be made. Personally speaking, I don’t think having a Black Panther movie adds a lot to the Marvel movie universe. I think he will be introduced eventually but as part of a current franchise, similar to how Winter Soldier was introduced in Captain America 2. In fact, here is what I predicted about the movie lineup in my Google Plus when Marvel announced its movie dates.

I don’t think I would change anything except the dates now that there is new info. Specifically, the 2017 line up would look like this. Anything after 2017 is a blur to me except for Avengers #3.

• Mar 2017: Thor #3
• July 2017: GOTG #2 (Adam Warlock and Starlord WILL make an appearance)
• Nov 2017: Inhumans #1

Anyway, the point of today’s article is Black Panther and I strongly believe he will be in Cap America #3. As such, is there any key issues we can pick up and speculate? His first appearance is of course in Fantastic Four #52, which I told you guys to load up on in my undervalued Silver age picks one year ago. I am not sure if I will still recommend it based on current Ebay prices.

Let’s see what other picks are there.

Black Panther #1

First #1 series for Black Panther. I first recommended it in my undervalued Bronze Age #1. Its prices have not seen much spike, probably due to the large print run. Remember, this is a Bronze age #1, which means it has been hoarded so don’t expect a big increase. If there is any Black Panther movie confirmation, a VF copy might go for $50-$80.

See Ebay listing here

Jungle Action #5 and #6

These must be one of the worst investments I have made. I bought these last year and prices probably didn’t moved beyond 10% increase. Thankfully, I never recommended them here as I don’t have 100% confidence of doing so. Anyway, this book is Black Panther’s solo story, which doesn’t seems to interest collectors or speculators. I put #5 and #6 here because there has been some argument over which is the real solo story. Jungle Action #5 was a reprint but it had a nice first time cover while #6 is whole new story.

Updated: 29 Nov 2014 – Guess I am too early again. Interest has definitely picked up and these issues are much harder to find compared to Black Panther #1. Listing on Ebay is scare so if you are interested, better buy them early.

See Ebay listing here

Tales of Suspense #98

Given my earlier prediction that Black Panther might appear in Captain America #3, then this issue can potentially pick up steam. It features the first meeting between Black Panther and Captain America, with a very cool cover. I think it should attract both collector and investor interest, especially if the movie really features the two of them.

Black Panther vol. 4 #2 and vol 5 #1

Black Panther doesn’t have a wide supporting cast like Cap does. Storm is one potential but her movie rights is with Fox. The other potential person is her sister Shuri. This is a very speculative pick but they are cheap enough to worth a purchase. Shuri first appearance is in Black Panther Vol 4 #2 and her first costume appearance is in Black Panther vol 5 #1, which incidientally features a Scott Campbell variant.