100 Silver Keys

๐Ÿ— The Top 100 Key Issues from The Silver Age Comic Books published from 1956 - 1970

DC Sep 1956

Showcase #4

Low
$8.5K
Mid
$21K
High
$85K
View on eBay
1st appearance and origin of the second Flash, Barry Allen
1st appearance of Iris West, the wife of Barry Allen
This issue is credited for ushering in the Silver Age of comics
DC Apr 1958

Adventure Comics #247

Low
$1.3K
Mid
$3.8K
High
$19K
View on eBay
1st team appearance and origin of the Legion of Super-Heroes: Cosmic Boy, Lightning Boy, Saturn Girl
1st appearance of Cosmic Boy
1st appearance of Lightning Boy, later becomes Lightning Lad
1st appearance of Saturn Girl
DC Jul 1958

Action Comics #242

Low
$1K
Mid
$3K
High
$10K
View on eBay
1st appearance and origin of Brainiac
1st appearance of the Bottle City of Kandor, the capital city of Krypton
[December 2025 - James Gunn posted an Instagram confirming Lars Edinger will portray Brainiac]
DC Nov 1958

Showcase #17

Low
$600
Mid
$1.8K
High
$8K
View on eBay
1st appearance and origin of Adam Strange
1st appearance of Alanna, daughter of Sardath
1st appearance of Sardath, a scientist from Rann who created Zeta-Beams
DC Feb 1959

Batman #121

Low
$1.1K
Mid
$3.1K
High
$11.7K
View on eBay
1st appearance and origin of Mr. Freeze, initially named Mr. Zero, later renamed Mr. Freeze in Detective Comics #373
[May 2026 - An image shared by director Matt Reeevs shows a car racing through snow-covered Gotham City streets which will likely prompt early speculation that Mr. Freeze will be a villain in the film]
Low
$290
Mid
$650
High
$4.5K
View on eBay
1st team appearance of the Suicide Squad: Rick Flag, Jess Bright, Karin Grace, Hugh Evans
The first iteration of the Suicide Squad preceded the formation of the Justice League of America by three issues
DC Sep 1959

Showcase #22

Low
$2.2K
Mid
$7K
High
$35K
View on eBay
1st appearance and origin of Hal Jordan as Green Lantern
1st appearance Carol Ferris, later becomes the second Star Sapphire
1st appearance and death of Abin Sur, an alien who gave Hal his ring as he died
First mention of the Green Lantern Corps
[January 2023 - Hal Jordan and John Stewart will lead a new Green Lantern TV series inspired by True Detective]
DC Jul 1960 Vol 2

Green Lantern #1

Low
$500
Mid
$1.8K
High
$9.3K
View on eBay
1st appearance of Oa, the planetary headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps
1st appearance of Puppet Master
1st team appearance of the Guardians of the Universe
DC Jul 1961 Vol 2

Green Lantern #7

Low
$340
Mid
$1.5K
High
$3.7K
View on eBay
1st appearance and origin of Sinestro, known as the greatest of all Green Lanterns until it was discovered he used the power ring to enslave the sector he was charged to protect
DC Sep 1961

Flash #123

Low
$210
Mid
$815
High
$2.1K
View on eBay
1st appearance of the Golden Age Flash in the Silver Age
Key issue of the Mutliverse concept
2nd appearance of The Shade
First mention of Earth-2, home of the Golden Age superheroes
DC Sep 1961

Showcase #34

Low
$160
Mid
$850
High
$3.9K
View on eBay
1st appearance and origin of The Atom aka Ray Palmer, in the Silver Age
1st appearance of Jean Loring, girlfriend of Ray Palmer
Marvel Oct 1961

Strange Tales #89

Low
$610
Mid
$1.8K
High
$6.3K
View on eBay
1st appearance of Fin Fang Foom, translated his name means 'he whose limbs shatter mountains and whose back scrapes the sun'
1st appearance of Dr. Chan Liuchow, a member of the Legion of Night
Marvel Nov 1961

Fantastic Four #1

Low
$12K
Mid
$49.5K
High
$240K
View on eBay
1st team appearance and origin of the Fantastic Four: Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, The Thing
1st appearance of Mole Man
1st appearance of Giganto, a Deviant Mutate from Monster Isle
1st appearance of Tricephalous
Landmark issue that launched the Marvel Age of comics
๐Ÿ’ฐ In April 2022, a 9.2 sold for $1.5 million
๐Ÿ’ฐ In September 2024, a 9.6 sold for $2,040,000
DC Feb 1962

Aquaman #1

Low
$220
Mid
$680
High
$2.7K
View on eBay
Premiere issue of the first Aquaman title series
1st appearance of Qwsp, a creature from the 5th dimension and ally of Aquaman
Marvel Mar 1962

Fantastic Four #3

Low
$815
Mid
$3.3K
High
$9.8K
View on eBay
1st team appearance of the Fantastic Four in costume
1st appearance of the Miracle Man
1st appearance of the Baxter Building, Fantastic-car and Fantastic-copter
Marvel Aug 1962

Journey Into Mystery #83

Low
$4.2K
Mid
$20K
High
$81K
View on eBay
1st appearance and origin of Thor
Introduction of Thor's hammer, Mjolnir
1st team appearance of the Kronans, a race of rock-like aliens
1st appearance of Donald Blake, the human host of Thor
Marvel Sep 1962

Amazing Fantasy #15

Low
$30K
Mid
$115K
High
$695K
View on eBay
1st appearance and origin of Spider-Man
1st appearance and death of Uncle Ben
1st appearance of Aunt May
1st appearance of Flash Thompson
1st appearance of Liz Allan, later marries Harry Osborn
๐Ÿ’ฐ In Sept. 2021, a 9.6 sale of $3.6 million surpassed the previous record in this grade of $1.1 million from 2011
Marvel Oct 1962

Journey Into Mystery #85

Low
$950
Mid
$4.7K
High
$14K
View on eBay
1st appearance of Loki, the Norse god of mischief
1st appearance of Balder, half-brother of Thor
1st appearance of Heimdall, guardian of Bifrost
1st appearance of Tyr, the Norse god of war
1st cameo appearance of Odin, the All-Father, seen from behind
3rd appearance of Thor
Marvel Mar 1963

Amazing Spider-Man #1

Low
$4.5K
Mid
$14.5K
High
$82K
View on eBay
2nd appearance of Spider-Man
1st appearance of J. Jonah Jameson
First meeting of Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four
1st appearance of Chameleon, Dmitri Smerdyakov, half-brother of Kraven the Hunter
Low
$640
Mid
$1.8K
High
$6.4K
View on eBay
1st appearance of Sgt. Nick Fury
1st team appearance of the Howling Commandos: Happy Sam Sawyer, Dino Manelli, Dum Dum Dugan, Junior Juniper, Rebel Ralston and Gabe Jones, the first ongoing black character in the mainstream Marvel Universe (post Fantastic Four #1)
In the book, Stan Lee's Amazing Marvel Universe, Stan explains Gabe Jones was intended to be black but due to a printing error, he was the same color as the other soldiers. Gabe's skin tone is noticeably different in the next issue though it doesn't appear to be a natural skin color
Marvel May 1963

Amazing Spider-Man #2

Low
$1.6K
Mid
$4.7K
High
$16K
View on eBay
3rd appearance of Spider-Man
1st appearance of Vulture
1st appearance of the Terrible Tinkerer
1st cameo appearance of Mysterio, disguised as the assistant of the Terrible Tinkerer
Spider-Man first references his ability to sense danger as his Spider-Sense tingling
Marvel Jul 1963

Strange Tales #110

Low
$1.7K
Mid
$8.6K
High
$27K
View on eBay
1st appearance of Doctor Strange
1st appearance of the Ancient One, former Sorcerer Supreme
1st appearance of Wong, Doctor Strange's assistant
1st cameo appearance of Nightmare, multiple panels, named but obscured by shadows
Marvel Jul 1963

Amazing Spider-Man #3

Low
$1.2K
Mid
$4K
High
$12K
View on eBay
1st appearance, cover and origin of Dr. Octopus
Debut of the 'Spider's Web' fan letters section
An editing error has Doctor Octopus mistakenly refer to Spider-Man as Super-Man
Marvel Sep 1963

Amazing Spider-Man #4

Low
$500
Mid
$1.5K
High
$5K
View on eBay
1st appearance and origin of Sandman
1st appearance of Betty Brant, a secretary at the Daily Bugle
Spider-Man refers to himself as 'The Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man' for the first time
1st cameo appearance of Jessica Jones, a spectator of the Sandman versus Spider-Man fight - this appearance is retconned as revealed in The Amazing Spider-Man #601
Marvel Sep 1963

Uncanny X-Men #1

Low
$6.2K
Mid
$14K
High
$85K
View on eBay
1st team appearance of the X-Men: Cyclops, Jean Grey aka Marvel Girl, Iceman, Angel, Beast, Professor X
1st appearance of Magneto
Homo Superior concept, coined by Magneto to describe humans born with special abilities introduced in this issue
Marvel Mar 1964

Avengers, The #4

Low
$500
Mid
$1.5K
High
$5K
View on eBay
Captain America joins the Avengers
1st cover appearance of Captain America on an official Marvel Comics cover, previously Timely, then Atlas
1st appearance of Captain America in the Silver Age
1st cameo appearance of Baron Heinrich Zemo
Death of Bucky, in a flashback
Marvel Mar 1964

Uncanny X-Men #4

Low
$400
Mid
$1.3K
High
$4.5K
View on eBay
1st team appearance of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants led by Magneto
1st appearance of Scarlet Witch
1st appearance of Quicksilver
1st appearance Mastermind, later becomes Jason Wyngarde
1st appearance of Toad
2nd appearance of Magneto
Although the Scarlet Witch's costume is colored green on the cover, it is red in the story
First interaction between Charles Xavier and Magneto, though their origins have since been retconned to have them meet earlier in their lives
Marvel Apr 1964

Daredevil #1

Low
$1.7K
Mid
$6.8K
High
$21K
View on eBay
1st appearance and origin ofย Daredevil, Matt Murdock
1st appearance of Foggy Nelson, a lawyer
1st appearance of Karen Page, the love interest of Matt Murdock
Low
$130
Mid
$445
High
$1.4K
View on eBay
1st team appearance of the Teen Titans: Aqualad, Kid Flash, Robin
The team name Teen Titans isn't coined until Brave and the Bold #60
1st appearance of Mr. Twister, possesses a stick that controls the weather
Marvel Nov 1964

Strange Tales #126

Low
$60
Mid
$120
High
$600
View on eBay
1st appearance of Dormammu, ruler of the Dark Dimension
1st appearance of Clea, future wife of Doctor Strange, unnamed
Doctor Strange first uses the phrase 'By The Hoary Hosts of Hoggoth
[March 2025 - Charlize Theron rumored to reprise the role of Clea in Avengers: Doomsday]
Marvel Nov 1964

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1

Low
$410
Mid
$1.6K
High
$6.3K
View on eBay
1st team appearance of the Sinister Six: Doctor Octopus, Kraven, Vulture, Electro, Mysterio, Sandman
3rd appearance of Kraven, Vulture, Electro, Mysterio and Sandman
Reprinted in Marvel Tales #150
Character profiles of Dr. Doom, the Lizard and others
Additional pages explain how Spider-Man's powers and gadgetry work
DC May 1965

Batman #171

Low
$240
Mid
$830
High
$2.4K
View on eBay
1st appearance of the Riddler in the Silver Age
Prior to the publication of this issue, the Riddler hadn't appeared in comics for 17 years
Marvel Jul 1965

Journey Into Mystery Annual #1

Low
$50
Mid
$150
High
$500
View on eBay
1st appearance of Hercules
1st appearance of Zeus
Versions of the Olympians have appeared previously in different Timely and Marvel comics but the versions of the characters introduced here consistently maintain an ongoing continuity
First battle of Thor vs Hercules
[August 2022 - rumored solo project in the works titled Hercules: Rise of the Gods]
Marvel Jul 1965

Uncanny X-Men #12

Low
$240
Mid
$900
High
$3.3K
View on eBay
1st appearance and origin of the Juggernaut
Origin of Professor X
1st cameo appearance of Cyttorak, as a statue, the demonic elder god whose Crimson Bands and ruby gemstone gave Juggernaut great powers
Marvel Dec 1965

Amazing Spider-Man #31

Low
$150
Mid
$650
High
$1.9K
View on eBay
1st appearance of Gwen Stacy
1st appearance of Harry Osborn
1st appearance of Miles Warren, later becomes the Jackal
First time Doctor Octopus is referred to as the Master Planner
First use of the word 'Thwip' when activating Spider-Man's web-shooters
DC Feb 1967

Batman #189

Low
$180
Mid
$560
High
$1.7K
View on eBay
1st appearance of the Scarecrow in the Silver Age and 3rd appearance overall
Introduction of Scarecrow chemicals to elicit fear
[October 2023 - a Scarecrow project is rumored to be in development]
Western Jul 1967

Star Trek #1

Low
$120
Mid
$400
High
$1.2K
View on eBay
Science-fiction series adapted from the popular TV series
[July 2024 - a live-action comedy series is in development at Paramount+ with the creative team of Justin Simien, Tawny Newsome and Alex Kurtzman ]
Marvel Jul 1967

Amazing Spider-Man #50

Low
$220
Mid
$715
High
$2.2K
View on eBay
1st appearance of the Kingpin, Wilson Fisk
Story includes the iconic interior panel of Peter Parker walking away from his Spider-Man suit that is discarded in a garbage can
DC Oct 1967

Strange Adventures #205

Low
$120
Mid
$400
High
$1.2K
View on eBay
1st appearance and origin of Deadman, a ghost with the ability to possess the living
1st cameo appearance of Rama Kushna, voice only

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