This week’s Comic Sunday Speculation is focusing on a character rather than a book, who is Killmonger. It is a good time to start thinking about this character when his hype is pretty died down.

The main reason why I am even considering Killmonger is the potential I see in him becoming the next Loki in the MCU. By this, I mean a villain who can become an anti-hero and gather fans, rather than a one dimensional character.

This is especially possible with the passing of Chadwick Boseman, which means an empty vacuum in the male lead category. Even if he does not become the male lead, Shuri still need some star support from him to carry the Black Panther franchise forward.

While Killmonger is technically dead in the MCU, it is not difficult to bring him back. In the comics, Killmonger was resurrected at least 3 times through different methods. If Marvel wants to push him, they can easily bring him back via any of these methods in the comics.

Based on the above reasoning, below are some Killmonger comics to pay attention.

 

Jungle Action #6 is not an unknown book as it had spiked during the Black Panther movie hype. However, it has cooled considerably and is now worth a second book. Unlike other villain books, this one might get a second life given how popular Michael B Jordon has made the character.

Speaking of villains, it is interesting to note that most of the popular Marvel villains were created in the Silver age. Examples include the likes of Doctor Doom, Magneto, Spider-Man Villains, Galatus, Loki, Mephisto etc.

Relative to the above, there is very few bronze age villains who have reached the same level of popularity. The only character I can think of is Thanos.

In this case, benchmarking is quite tricky as there isn’t that many bronze age villains to compare against.

Issue	Character	CCG Census (8.0)	Prices (8.0)	CCG Census (9.0)	Prices (9.0)
Iron Man #55	Thanos	416	USD 800	370	USD 1,100
Jungle Action #6	Eric Killmonger	42	USD 200	51	USD 255

Now, I fully understood comparing Killmonger to Thanos is silly since the latter is probably the top 3 villains in Marvel. However, we can do some discounting to at least have a sense of where Jungle Action #6 can go to.

For example, if we assume that Marvel pushed Killmonger to the limelight with more movies, comics etc, Jungle Action #6 might reach 50% of what Iron Man #55 has achieved. Under this assumption, the book has about 100% growth potential.

However, the supply situation might be in the favor of Jungle Action #6. This book is not as commonly found as Iron Man #55, resulting in less copies across all grades. Of course, if prices of the former increase, the copies the census will increase but probably not reach the level experienced by Iron Man #55.

Hence, even if Killmonger does not reach Thanos’s popularity, the lower supply will help to push the prices higher.

 

Another Killmonger key comic is his first solo series published in Dec 2018. It has a below 30k sales number so supply is not as high as most other modern comics.

This book has 3 variants to consider: 1:10, 1:25 and 1:50. Below is the cover images for the 3 variants.

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Ideally, you will get the 1:50 variant (right image). However, it is not easy to find and prices are already high on Ebay (cheapest copy I saw is $60). For a lottery book, anything beyond $10 is too expensive in my mind.

Hence, I recommend you to take a look at the 2nd print, which is the image I used in the title. This 2nd print has a different cover art which should increase its desirability. Currently, you should be able to buy the 2nd print at cover or below prices.

 

Since this is a Comic Sunday Speculation article, here is one “out there” idea to consider.

What if Killmonger takes over the Black Panther mantle instead of Shuri? While that is a low probability event, it is not completely impossible.

In the comics, Killmonger worn the Black Panther costume for the first time in Deadpool #44. He won the mantle earlier in Black Panther Vol 3, #31 but did not put on the costume until this issue.

Below is the panel

This story is also pretty funny as Killmonger even try to join the Avengers as Black Panther.

Conclusion

There isn’t too many bronze age villains who broke out and become more than just a villain. Eric Killmonger doesn’t seem like a likely candidate until MCU transform the character successfully on screen.

Going by how popular Michael B Jordon’s Killmonger is, I would be surprised if Marvel does not have future plans with the character.