Inside the Guide: X-Men #4

In 1963, Jack Kirby and Stan Lee created the X-Men, a group of heroes who would become one of the greatest teams in comic books. With that, they introduced the concept of mutants: normal people who would mutate, gaining some kind of extraordinary ability and/or physical transformation. Three issues after creating the foundation for this team, Lee and Kirby gave them a team of villains who were just as formidable as the heroes.

Magneto debuted in the first issue of X-Men, then his team of Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Toad were introduced in X-Men #4. The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants shared the X-Men’s mutant powers, but while the X-Men sought to use their abilities to help people, Magneto originally wanted his team to gain more and more power. The two teams have fought epic battles, have occasionally joined forces against other foes, and have been popular stars on film and TV.

When the Brotherhood of Mutants were introduced in X-Men #4 in March 1964, the issue carried a cover price of 12¢. Six years later when Robert M. Overstreet published The Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide #1 in 1970, a Near Mint copy was valued at $2. Ten years later it had jumped to $27 in the Guide #10, then it rose to six times that amount in 1990’s Guide #20, reaching $160.

After another decade, X-Men #4 grew to $600 in the Guide #30, then nearly quadrupled to $2,350 in Guide #40 in 2010. When the Guide reached its 50th edition milestone the X-Men key rose to $6,200. Just two years later in the Guide #52, a Near Mint copy of the Brotherhood of Mutants’ debut is valued at $10,000.