What had once been a struggling title on the brink of cancellation suddenly became the centerpiece of Marvel’s future. In Giant-Size X-Men #1, Len Wein and Dave Cockrum assembled a team unlike anything readers had seen before: heroes from Germany, Kenya, Russia, Japan, Canada, and the American Southwest. This wasn’t just a new roster — it was a global statement, a recognition that the world was larger, more complex, and more diverse than the old Silver Age archetypes could contain.
Just months later, Chris Claremont took the reins, bringing deeper emotional stakes, serialized storytelling, and a modern sense of drama. The dominance of the X-Men in 1975 — with four entries in the top ten — reflects not only their financial value but their cultural impact. These weren’t just superheroes; they were outsiders, misfits, and international voices woven into a single narrative that would define the next decade of Marvel storytelling. Readers identified with them even though they had powers beyond imagination.
At the same time, America was being swept up in a full-scale martial arts craze. Bruce Lee films dominated the box office, kung fu shows filled television screens, and martial arts schools were opening in every major city. Comics followed suit, embracing the wave with both sincerity and enthusiasm. Marvel’s black-and-white magazines — Deadly Hands of Kung Fu, Marvel Premiere, Marvel Preview — delivered gritty, street-level fight stories and featured characters like White Tiger and Iron Fist who embodied the era’s fascination with eastern combat styles. Even Neal Adams got in on the trend with an iconic Bruce Lee cover in Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #14. The martial arts boom didn’t merely influence comic books — it reshaped them, adding new genres, aesthetics, and epic fighting styles.
1975 was the year when two revolutions collided: the rise of the All-New X-Men and the explosion of martial arts fiction. The Giant-Size experiment by Marvel would soon disappear, but there was one last ace up Marvel’s sleeve, Giant-Size X-Men #1.
1. Giant-Size X-Men #1 — $11,000–13,500
The rebirth of the X-Men.
If one book defines 1975, it’s this one — the moment Marvel reinvented the X-Men for a new era. Instead of suburban teenagers in matching uniforms, Len Wein and Dave Cockrum assembled an international team: a German acrobat, a Kenyan weather goddess, a Russian farm boy, a Japanese hothead, a Native American warrior, and a feral Canadian with claws. This wasn’t just a new lineup — it was a complete reimagining of what a superhero team could look like. Giant-Size X-Men #1 didn’t just revive a cancelled series; it helped reshape the Bronze Age moving forward.
2. X-Men #94 — $5,000–6,500
The beginning of the modern X-Men saga.
If Giant-Size X-Men #1 was the spark, X-Men #94 was the engine that kept the franchise running. This issue marks the first regular-series appearance of the new team and the start of Chris Claremont’s legendary run. The tone shifts immediately — more character-driven, more emotionally intense, and more serialized than anything Marvel had attempted before. In many ways, X-Men #94 is the true start of the “All-New, All-Different” era, and its soaring value reflects the enormous influence this single issue had on everything that followed.
3. Werewolf by Night #32 — Raw 9.4: $1,150
1st appearance of Moon Knight.
This explosive debut introduces Marc Spector, the mysterious “Fist of Khonshu,” hired to hunt down Jack Russell, the Werewolf by Night. Some fans call Moon Knight “Marvel’s Batman,” but the comparison falls apart quickly — Marc Spector suffers from dissociative identity disorder, shifting between multiple personas, and is bound to an Egyptian moon god who resurrected him. His greatest battles are often internal, not just on the streets.
This issue remains one of the most important Bronze Age first appearances, combining horror, martial arts, and supernatural detective noir into a character who only grows stranger and more compelling over time.
4. FOOM #10 — Raw 9.4: $750
A Fanzine glimpse into the new X-Men.
Released just one month before Giant-Size X-Men #1, FOOM #10 is a fascinating artifact from the relaunch period. It captures the creative energy at Marvel right before the X-Men exploded into a new era. Printed in very small numbers compared to regular comics, high-grade copies are scarce, making this a coveted preview of the most important team overhaul of the 1970s. CGC has graded 347 total copies and 12 were a 9.8, which makes it one of the lowest census totals for such an important book.
5. Secrets of Haunted House #5 — Raw 9.4: $400+
Bernie Wrightson cover.
There’s currently a strong Bernie Wrightson multiplier happening in the comic market. Regular issues of Secrets of Haunted House aren’t expensive or heavily collected, but this black cover by Wrightson is special.
CGC has graded only 136 copies total, of which just 3 are 9.8 and 7 are 9.6 — astonishingly low supply for a 1970s DC issue.
6. Werewolf by Night #33 — Raw 9.4: $250–325
2nd full appearance of Moon Knight.
The follow-up to Moon Knight’s debut deepens both his mythos and the intensity of his rivalry with the Werewolf. In this issue, we see the earliest hints of the fractured identity structure that defines him today — the tension between Marc Spector’s personas and the unsettling influence of Khonshu, the moon god who brought him back to life.
As a second appearance, this issue continues the shockwave started in #32 and stands as an essential companion to one of 1975’s most influential new characters.
7. Joker #1 — Raw 9.4: $250–300
1st Joker solo title.
After Neal Adams and Danny O’Neil redefined the Joker in the early 1970s as a homicidal, calculating, frightening villain (“The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge!” in Batman #251 is the benchmark), DC almost immediately rewound to a cheesier Joker. The menaical Joker was downgraded to a trickster who would prank Batman and ultimately fail miserably. The CCA wouldn’t allow a villain to win or be a murderer without conscequences so DC was forced to make him an antic, gimmicky shell of his dark past.
8. Amazing Spider-Man #149 — Raw 9.4: $225–300
1st Spider-Clone (Ben Reilly prototype).
This issue concludes the Jackal storyline and delivers one of the most controversial — and ultimately influential — twists in Spider-Man history. Amazing Spider-Man #149 introduces the first Spider-Clone, a genetic duplicate of Peter Parker created by the Jackal. This will become a long-term storyline and the source of collector arguments for years to come.
9. Marvel Preview #2 — Raw 9.4: $210–250
1st origin story of the Punisher.
Because the Punisher’s origin is so brutal, this magazine garners well-deserved attention. It features the fourth full appearance of the Punisher and his first leading role. This marks a critical moment in his evolution — he is no longer just a Spider-Man villain. Here, he becomes a leading man with a skull shirt and a bad attitude.
10. X-Men #95 — Raw 9.4: $210–250
The Death of Thunderbird.
Only one issue after the relaunch, the new X-Men face a loss that defines the emotional tone of the decade. X-Men #95 delivers the shocking death of Thunderbird, proving that this team — diverse, global, and intensely human — wasn’t protected by plot armor. This issue told readers that the X-Men’s world was dangerous, unpredictable, and willing to take risks the Silver Age never dared. The willingness to embrace consequence so early is a key reason the X-Men resonated with 1970s readers.
11. Hong Kong Phooey #1 — Raw 9.4: $200
1st appearance of Hong Kong Phooey.
Saturday morning cartoons meet Bronze Age comics in this quirky Hanna-Barbera adaptation. Although humorous animal books rarely make a Top 25 list, Hong Kong Phooey #1 has become a sleeper due to its blend of nostalgia, low print numbers, and crossover appeal among animation collectors. The price spike in high grade is real — this book is far scarcer in 9.4+ than most superhero issues from the same year, and its pop-culture charm keeps it in demand.
12. Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #19 — Raw 9.4: $170
1st appearance of White Tiger (Hector Ayala).
Hector Ayala debuts as Marvel’s first mainstream Latino superhero, brought to life by George Pérez (Puerto Rican) and Bill Mantlo (Puerto Rican heritage). His gritty street-level stories pulled directly from the turmoil of 1970s New York — a city battling bankruptcy, rising crime, and intense social pressure. White Tiger isn’t just another martial-arts hero; he represents a major shift in representation and the growing urban realism of the Bronze Age.
13. Strange Tales #180 — Raw 9.4: $150–160
1st appearance of Gamora.
Gamora appears on a single page but has five panels and several lines of dialogue, making this notably more than a cameo. Over time, her backstory as the sole survivor of a genocided race and her traumatic upbringing under Thanos became central to the cosmic Marvel landscape. This issue marks the first step in the evolution of a character who would grow into one of Marvel’s most complex anti-heroines.
14. Deadly Hands of Kung Fu #14 — Raw 9.4: $150
Iconic Neal Adams Bruce Lee cover.
Among the most recognizable martial-arts covers of the Bronze Age, Neal Adams delivers a striking homage to Bruce Lee that leaps off the page. Though the story is solid, the true value lies in the cover — a perfect fusion of the 1970s kung-fu craze and Adams’ peak-era dynamism. A gorgeous cover that begs to be displayed in your comic book room.
15. Giant-Size Spider-Man #4 — Raw 9.4: $150
3rd full appearance of the Punisher.
This issue pairs Spider-Man and the Punisher in one of Frank Castle’s earliest extended stories, published at a time when Marvel was still deciding what kind of character he would become. His edge, brutality, and intensity are already present, helping bridge the gap between his debut in Amazing Spider-Man and his breakout solo stories in Marvel’s black-and-white magazines.
16. Iron Fist #1 — Raw 9.4: $150
1st appearance of Iron Fist in his own title.
Following his debut in Marvel Premiere, Iron Fist graduates into his own solo series. The character embodies the 1970s fascination with martial arts while incorporating mystical elements from K’un-Lun. This issue helps solidify Danny Rand as one of Marvel’s core street-level heroes and an eventual half of “Power Man and Iron Fist,” one of Marvel’s most enduring Bronze Age partnerships.
17. Giant-Size Defenders #3 — Raw 9.4: $130
1st appearance of Korvac.
What begins here as a cosmic curiosity eventually becomes one of Marvel’s most powerful villains. Korvac’s storyline wouldn’t reach its full potential until the classic Avengers saga in the late 1970s, but this issue marks his essential debut. As a Bronze Age villain introduction, the long-term importance of Korvac lifts this book higher than its price alone might suggest.
18. FOOM #9 — Raw 9.4: $100
A scarce Marvel fan magazine with a striking Jim Starlin three-color cosmic cover. The back-cover homage to Special Marvel Edition #15 with all female characters gives it added collector appeal, especially among Bronze Age cosmic fans. Most of the Foom magazines have been overlooked for years but they are loaded with early appearances and information.
19. Giant-Size Man-Thing #4 — Raw 9.4: $94
3rd appearance of Howard the Duck.
Not as iconic as his earliest appearances, but still an important Bronze Age chapter for the character who would become Marvel’s strangest cult-favorite satirist.
20. House of Secrets #135 — Raw 9.4: $90
Bernie Wrightson cover.
Another standout piece from Wrightson, whose Bronze Age covers have skyrocketed thanks to low census numbers and renewed interest in classic horror illustration.
21. Marvel Premiere #21 — Raw 9.4: $75
1st appearance of Misty Knight.
One of the most important female street-level characters Marvel introduced in the 1970s, and a future partner to Iron Fist and Luke Cage.
22. Strange Tales #181 — Raw 9.4: $75
2nd appearance of Gamora.
Gamora’s second appearance, continuing her early involvement in Jim Starlin’s cosmic saga. A companion piece to #180 for collectors completing her early arc.
23. Warlock #9 — Raw 9.4: $70
Full appearance of Gamora.
Often labeled the 1st full appearance of Gamora due to her expanded presence compared to Strange Tales #180–181. A key chapter in her Bronze Age development.
24. Invaders #1 — Raw 9.4: $70
1st issue in new series
The launch of a World War II–era superhero team featuring Captain America, Namor, and the Human Torch. A nostalgic revival of Golden Age concepts for Bronze Age readers.
25. Champions #1 — Raw 9.4: $60
1st issue in new series
The oddball team of the Bronze Age — Hercules, Black Widow, Ghost Rider, Iceman, and Angel. A quirky lineup that has gained a cult following despite its short lifespan.
Looking back at 1975, it becomes clear why this year stands apart. The All-New, All-Different X-Men weren’t just a successful relaunch — they became the most important superhero team of the next forty years. Their prominence in this list reflects their real-world impact: they revitalized a dormant franchise, redefined team dynamics, and launched Chris Claremont’s unparalleled 16-year run.
But the Bronze Age wasn’t shaped by mutants alone. The martial arts movement that gripped film and television found a powerful home in comics, producing some of the decade’s most iconic covers, most dynamic fight sequences, and most culturally resonant characters. White Tiger’s debut — the first mainstream Latino superhero at Marvel — came through martial arts storytelling. Iron Fist moved into his own title. Bruce Lee tributes appeared on magazine racks. Even the Punisher, whose origins were explored in Marvel Preview #2, carried the gritty, hard-edged tone of the era’s street-level films.
Together, these two forces — the global reinvention of the X-Men and the kinetic surge of martial arts storytelling — defined 1975 as a turning point. The comics of 1975 weren’t just popular; they were transformative. And their influence is still felt today in every mutant saga, every street-level vigilante book, and every corner of the Marvel Universe shaped by the legacy of this remarkable year. Few years have had such an enduring impact on the comic book community.
by Ron Cloer
For all the years, see the Bronze Age Comic Book Archive