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First appearance

In comic books, first appearance refers to the date or issue of a character's first appearance.

Table of contents

Ambiguity of first appearance

While seemingly a simple concept, in reality, determining first appearance may be actually more complex. For instance, the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man and related characters illustrate some of the problems that complicate the determination of first appearance:

  • Spider-Man's principal book is The Amazing Spider-Man. However, the first issue of this book, Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963), does not feature the first appearance of Spider-Man. The superhero had already appeared earlier in Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962). This illustrates the common fact that the first issue of a character's main book does not feature the first appearance of a title. This is because a character often has to become sufficiently popular with readers first in another book that the publisher is motivated to create a book solely for that character.
  • The Green Goblin, the archenemy of Spider-Man, made his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #14 (July 1964), but his secret identity was unrevealed. The Green Goblin's alter ego, Norman Osborn, made his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #37 (June 1966). However, that the two were the same person was not revealed until Amazing Spider-Man #39 (August 1966). Thus, when a comic book fan speaks of the "first appearance of Norman Osborn," he or she could be referring to either Amazing Spider-Man #14 or Amazing Spider-Man #37.
  • The first appearance of Mary Jane Watson is usually given as Amazing Spider-Man #42 (November 1966), the issue in which her face is shown clearly for the first time. However, Mary Jane actually makes her first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #25 (June 1965), just with her face obscured. And furthermore, her name is mentioned as early as Amazing Spider-Man #16 (September 1964).
  • Liz Allan is first mentioned by name in Amazing Spider-Man #4 (September 1963). However, an unnamed character in Amazing Spider-Man #1 (March 1963) is, based on her appearance and dialogue, unquestionably Liz Allan. Further complicating the matter, in the earlier Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962), in one panel, there is an unnamed female character who looks very much like Liz Allan. Was she Liz Allan, or was this unnamed character just another blonde female high school student at Peter Parker's school? There is no way to know for certain, and thus Liz Allan's first appearance is ambiguous and can be given as either Amazing Fantasy #15, Amazing Spider-Man #1, or Amazing Spider-Man #4.
  • A character may appear in multiple continuities. Thus, Spider-Man's first appearance in Earth-616 is Amazing Fantasy #15 (August 1962), while his first appearance in Ultimate Marvel is Ultimate Spider-Man #1 (November 2000).
Another common problem is when a character first appears in the last panel of an issue as foreshadowing of the character's greater role in the next issue. Arguments can ensue over whether the character's first appearance is the issue in which the character had a final-page or final-panel cameo appearance or the subsequent issue, in which the identity, agenda, abilities, history, etc., of a character is made clear. A good example of this is the Marvel Comics mutant Wolverine. His first appearance is usually given as The Incredible Hulk #181 (November 1974); however, he actually makes a cameo appearance on the last panel of Incredible Hulk #180 (October 1974).

Retconning can also complicate first appearance. Initially, the Marvel Comics character Cable was intended to be mercenary from the future, and as such, he made his first appearance, a cameo, in New Mutants #86 (February 1990). However, writers at Marvel later decided to change his background, rewriting his history so that he was actually the son of Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor, and as such, his first appearance, as an infant, actually came in Uncanny X-Men #201 (January 1986).

First cover appearance refers to the first time a character appears on the cover of a comic book. It is not always the same as first appearance.

Value of first appearance issues

First appearance issues of famous characters are among the most valuable comic books. This is because by the time a character is truly legendary, it has probably already been many years since the character's first appearance, and thus only a few copies remain in the entire world of the first appearance issues. These comic books may be worth thousands of U.S. dollars; for example, in 2004, a copy of Flash Comics #1 (January 1940), featuring the first appearance of the Flash, was auctioned for US$42,000 [1].

The first appearance issue of a famous character is often more valuable than the first issue of a book; for example, Detective Comics #27 is much more valuable than Detective Comics #1 because #27 features the first appearance of Batman; similarly, Amazing Fantasy #15 is worth far more than Amazing Fantasy #1 because #15 features the first appearance of Spider-Man.

The most valuable comic book in the world is probably Action Comics #1 (June 1938), featuring the first appearance of Superman. This issue essentially ushered in the Golden Age of Comic Books and began the superhero comic book industry. Less than 100 copies of Action Comics #1 are known to exist in the entire world, and in 2003, US$1 million was offered for a near-mint copy [2].

Famous first appearances

Here are some famous first appearances:

See also

External links







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