Nicolas Cage’s Legendary Superman Comic Fetches £12 Million
A rare Superman comic once stolen from Nicolas Cage has changed hands for a record sum. The identity of the new owner remains a mystery, but the story behind this iconic issue is as fascinating as ever.
Once spirited away from Nicolas Cage’s collection, a particularly elusive copy of Action Comics No.1—the very publication that first brought Superman to the public—has now been sold for an eye-watering £12 million at a discreet auction. The transaction, handled by a specialist auction house, saw the buyer opt for anonymity, adding another layer of intrigue to the comic’s already colourful history.
Cage, a well-known devotee of the Man of Steel, originally acquired the comic in the mid-90s for a not-insignificant sum of $150,000. His ownership, however, was cut short when the prized issue vanished from his home, only to resurface years later in a storage unit. The comic’s notoriety, fuelled by its theft and recovery, only served to inflate its value among collectors, with Cage eventually parting ways with it for a then-record $2.2 million after briefly reclaiming it.
From Ten Cents to Millions: The Comic’s Journey
Back in 1938, the original price tag for Action Comics No.1 was a mere ten cents—about £1.80 in today’s money. Fast forward several decades, and the same issue has become the stuff of legend, with only around a hundred believed to still exist. The comic’s journey from humble beginnings to a multi-million-pound artefact is a testament to its enduring appeal and the cultural weight Superman carries.
According to the auction house’s CEO, the comic’s infamy following its theft only heightened its desirability. As the president of the company put it,
This is among the Holy Grail of comic books. Without Superman and his popularity, there would be no Batman or other superhero comic book legends. Its importance in the comic book community shows with his deal, as it obliterates the previous record.
The comic’s influence on the superhero genre is difficult to overstate; it laid the groundwork for countless caped crusaders who followed.
Cage’s Brush with Superman on Screen
Cage’s fascination with Superman extended beyond collecting. He was, at one point, set to don the cape himself in a Tim Burton-directed film, Superman Lives. The project, which promised a darker, more introspective take on the Kryptonian, was ultimately shelved after a protracted and costly development process. Millions were poured into pre-production, with elaborate effects and rewrites, but the film never saw the light of day.
The script drew inspiration from the celebrated Death of Superman storyline, and would have seen Cage’s Clark Kent grappling with his alien origins. Despite the project’s collapse, the idea of Cage as Superman has lingered in popular imagination, not least because of his brief, digitally-altered cameo in a recent superhero film. Reflecting on the experience, Cage remarked,
When I went to the picture, it was me fighting a giant spider. I did not do that. That was not what I did. I don’t think it was created by an AI companion. I know Tim is upset about AI, as I am. It was CGI, OK, so that they could de-age me, and I’m fighting a spider. I didn’t do any of that, so I don’t know what happened there.
The Enduring Allure of Superman
Despite the twists and turns—both on the page and behind the scenes—Superman’s legacy remains as robust as ever. The sale of this storied comic, coupled with Cage’s own near-miss as the character, only adds to the mythos. For collectors and fans alike, the tale of this particular issue is a reminder of how fiction and reality can intertwine in the most unexpected ways.
Whether or not Cage’s brief on-screen appearance or the comic’s record-breaking sale brings any real closure is up for debate. Still, the story continues to capture imaginations, and the question lingers: who now holds the most famous comic in the world?