Women's History Month - Invisible Woman

In celebration of Women’s History month, we’re going to profile a few of the most vital heroes in comics. Let’s check out Invisible Woman.

Invisible Woman’s First Appearance

She’s not the most well-liked of Marvel’s feminine superheroes, however she is the primary amongst many. Originally conceived because the weak member of the workforce, Susan Storm would, over time, develop better superpowers and finally turn into essentially the most highly effective member of the workforce.

In many respects, her evolution as a personality over the a long time mirrored altering attitudes in America, albeit oftentimes a lot later than these adjustments have been occurring in actual life.

The Invisible Woman, in fact, made her first look in Fantastic Four #1. One of the holy grails of the Silver Age, if not all comics, within the excessive grades it is a seven-determine comedian. Even within the mid-grades, you’re prone to solely discover a copy on the market by means of the large public sale homes.

For instance, the newest sale of a 6.0 graded copy occurred in December 2022 and offered in a Heritage public sale for $31,200. That’s down significantly from the $63,000 paid for this grade in a November 2021 Heritage public sale. Yet that sale itself is an outlier. What we discover now’s a trajectory that’s pretty constant – if down a little bit – if the 2021 outlier is eliminated.

Invisible Woman Gains New Powers

In 1964, a little bit over two years after the Fantastic Four first exploded on the scene, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby made a giant change to the then Invisible Girl. They augmented the character by including a brand new superpower: invisible power fields.

Initially used primarily as a defensive weapon, using her power fields expanded over time to the purpose the place she may even knock out the Hulk. Those power fields first appeared in Fantastic Four #22.

For an early FF subject, it’s an typically missed one. Other than the second look of the Mole Man, there’s nothing to mark it as a key. However, that makes it a reasonably inexpensive early Lee/Kirby subject. The newest sale of a 9.4 graded copy within the February 20 Heritage public sale for $1,800 is roughly the place the worth has been for a couple of years now.

Even the 2021 peak value of $2,100 isn’t that far above the present worth. If you’re an FF fan, and particularly when you’re an Invisible Woman fan, it’s value including to your assortment. Just know that, whilst you seemingly received’t discover a steal, as long as you stick in that $1,800 vary for a 9.4, you received’t overpay.

Marriage and Children

The Invisible Woman lastly married her lengthy-time fiancé, Mr. Fantastic, aka Reed Richards, in Fantastic Four Annual #3. It was the primary of many Marvel weddings and the occasion actually cemented the workforce as Marvel’s first household.

This is a fairly undervalued comedian, particularly when you think about that almost each Marvel character from that point makes an look. The most up-to-date sale was an 8.5 graded copy going for simply $365 in a March 5 eBay public sale.

Susan Richards would additionally turn into the primary Marvel superhero to provide start to a toddler, Franklin Richards in Fantastic Four Annual #6. Due to the primary appearances of each Franklin and the Negative Zone villain Annihilus, this has turn into a key subject for Marvel Silver Age collectors.

While costs have dropped over the previous yr, you’re nonetheless taking a look at costs of $1,000 and better for copies graded 8.5 and above.

Becoming the Invisible Woman

Being a personality written primarily by males, the Invisible Woman’s progress got here in matches and begins as the parents at Marvel struggled over time with what to do with a superhero who can be a spouse and mom.

While the Seventies noticed a separation between Sue and Reed, they finally reunited and the character continued as earlier than, typically showcasing originality in using her powers, however, as a rule, being portrayed nearly solely as a spouse and mom with little regard to her worth outdoors of these two roles. It wasn’t till John Byrne’s run on Fantastic Four that Sue Richards lastly started to blossom.

Byrne was the primary to really present the extent of Sue’s powers and creativeness within the ever-widening use of her power fields. While additional solidifying her because the glue of the workforce, he additionally allowed her management qualities to shine. It would nonetheless be a while till she would turn into a pacesetter of the workforce, however the seeds had been sown. Most importantly, Byrne lastly modified Sue’s superhero moniker from the dated Invisible Girl to the lengthy-overdue Invisible Woman.

This occurred in Fantastic Four #284. Being extra of a run filler than a key, 9.8 graded copies could be discovered for lower than $60 whereas uncooked copies can simply be discovered for $5 or much less. It’s an vital subject within the evolution of the Invisible Woman, so it’s value choosing up a replica.

First Solo Adventure

Despite the significance of the Invisible Woman to the Marvel Universe, it wouldn’t be till 2019 that she would obtain her first mini-sequence, starting with Invisible Woman #1. The sequence advised a narrative of Sue as a spy working for Nick Fury, which, duh, she’s invisible; why didn’t they consider this earlier?

Anyway, it is a comedian higher sought out as a uncooked copy – excessive grade copies needs to be comparatively plentiful – and despatched in for grading.

The Future for the Invisible Woman

Unfortunately, portrayals of the Invisible Woman in movie have been lackluster at greatest, in step with the Fantastic Four’s cinematic historical past. The hope stays, nonetheless, that maybe lastly Kevin Feige and workforce will give followers a very nice Fantastic Four movie, and, most significantly, one which shines a shiny mild on the workforce’s strongest member, the Invisible Woman.