I have started looking into X-Men characters who debuted post 2000. While older X-Men books have been rising in value, there seems to be little to no movement on these modern X-Men characters, some of which have become fan favorites.

I believed buying them now at current prices might yield rich returns down the road, especially once MCU moves into mutants proper. I believed some of these modern X-Men characters will be featured, which will put them in collectors and speculators spotlight.

The problem though, is that there are many modern X-Men characters to choose from. This is why using a framework like PSM model is important to let us pick the best of the bunch.

PSM Model applied to modern X-Men comics

The first step is to list out as as many noticeable X-Men characters and classify them using the PSM model.

I also like to take this chance to address a reader comment by Leon asking about Miranda. She will be part of the analysis below.

” Have you heard of a non character called Miranda. She appeared in Worst X Man Ever 3. She is supposed to be very powerful and very underused. Maybe a bit of research into the character?”

Issues	Appearance Ratio	Supply	Prices in NM	Price in 9.8
Gems
Nyx #3 (X-23)	29	40,040	USD 350	USD 900
X-Men Vol 2 #205 (Hope Summers)	19	99,051	USD 20	USD 180
New Mutants Vol 2 #3 (Rockslide)	19	43,434	USD 8	No data
New X-men Vol 2 #12 (Pixie)	17	35,733	USD 5	No data
Slow Burner
Wolverine Origins #10 (Akihiro)	16	97,870	USD 30	USD 200
Astonishing X-Men Vol 3 #4 (Armor)	13	145,546	USD 3	No data
New X-Men #118 (Stepford Cuckoos)	13	127,670	USD 10	No data
New X-Men #134 (Quentin Quire)	12	103,775	USD 10	USD 90
New Mutants Vol 2 #2 (Hellion)	12	45,649	USD 5	No data
New X-Men #133 (Dust)	8	104,932	USD 5	No data
Lottery
New Mutants Vol 2 #8 (Surge)	10	38,762	USD 8	No data
New Mutants Vol 2 #4 (Prodigy)	8	41,687	USD 10	No data
New Mutants Vol 2 #5 (Elixir)	7	41,304	USD 15	USD 70
Dog
New X-Men #128 (Fantomex)	8	106,190	USD 30	USD 130
Uncanny X-men #399 (Stacy X)	2	118,917	USD 2	No data

Picks from Gem list

In total, I have listed 15 characters in the table above.

Only 4 managed to make into the Gem list due to their high appearance ratio. However, there are some borderline cases like Daken who can either be a Gem or a Slow Burner.

Unfortunately, none of the Gem characters (except X-23) have their own series or are currently part of any X-books. That might be change when more Dawn of X books are published

Out of the Gem books, my pick will be Pixie. Not only did she have a high appearance ratio but her first appearance book also has a low print run. In addition, Pixie has a very strong fan support.

Below is a poll conducted on CBR.com on who is the readers’ favorite New X-Men. The winner is Hellion followed by Pixie.

Best Slow Burners?

From the poll, it seems a lot of the fan favorite characters are in the Slow Burner group. This is the due to the high print run of over 100k that most X titles have.

I wanted to pick a few from this list but after looking through the statistics in detail, all of them are worth investing at current prices

Not only do they have fan support, but most are currently being used by Marvel comics. With continuous development and a potential media hype, all of them have potential to go higher.

However, because of their high print run, their price run up will probably be slow and steady.

 

If a gun is pointed to my head, my pick will be New X-Men #134 as it is the most well balance book in terms of price, print run and character prominence. Quentin Quire is now being used in more than one X title and is also featured in other titles such as West Coast Avengers.

I know he used to be as annoying as hell but somehow the writers have made his annoyance more likeable. I think that is a sign of a character becoming mature and easier for writers to work with.

The other candidate would be Daken but his first appearance is already a $30 book so the upside will be more limited.

Lottery Picks

You would think that with so many modern X-Men characters, there would be more Lottery books. Unfortunately, that is not the case as most X titles are heavily printed.

Only spinoffs titles such as New Mutants have low enough print run to be considered lottery books.

 

Among the 3 candidates, I picked this book as Elixir has been featured very heavily in the Dawn of X books. He is also now considered an Omega level mutant which must have implications down the road.

In terms of popularity, Elixir is currently at the middle of the road according to the poll result that I posted earlier.

Betting on Dogs

 

The character that Leon asked me to take a look unfortunately is a Dog book. Stacy X only averages 2 appearances per year while her first appearance has more than 100k in print run.

These 2 factors make it very unlikely for Uncanny X-men #399 to become a major key.

Of course, if you like the character, feel free to purchase it for your collection. However, pound for pound, there are better X-Men characters to invest in.

 

It is kinda of sad to see one my favorite X-men to be considered a Dog book but facts are facts.

Ever since Fantomex had his Uncanny X-Force run, he has been rather quiet on the publishing front. With no constant publication, it is not surprising to see his appearance ratio drop to 8.

Having said that, 8 is a borderline case between a Dog and Slow Burner. All Fantomex needs is a regular comic to appear in and he might well jump category easily.

The first copy I bought was in 2013 and it was for USD 25. 7 years later, the book is still at the same price lol. Now you can see why this is either a Dog or Slow Burner book.

Conclusion

It is interesting to note that with the modern market as hot as it is, these modern x-men comics are not moving much. While I understand that most popular mutants come from older books, I believe some of these will eventually will break out.

If you do not believe in this, just remember that 27 years ago, nobody cared about Deadpool when he was first published. It took a full 10 to 15 years before the character developed and became the fan favorite that he is today.