Nicolas Cage’s Legendary Superman Comic Fetches $15 Million

Nicolas Cage’s prized copy of Action Comics No.1, the original issue that first brought Superman to the world, has just been sold for a staggering $15 million at a private auction. The sale, handled by Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect, set a new benchmark for comic book auctions, with the buyer choosing to stay out of the spotlight.

Cage, a well-known fan of the Man of Steel, originally bought the comic back in 1996 for $150,000. He held onto it for four years before it was pinched from his home. The comic’s disappearance only added to its legend, and when it resurfaced years later, its value soared even higher.

From Theft to Record Sale

The 1938 issue, which originally cost just 10 cents (about $2.25 in today’s money), was eventually found in a storage unit in the San Fernando Valley. A comic collector confirmed it was the same one that had belonged to Cage. After getting it back, Cage kept the comic for only six months before selling it for a then-record $2.2 million.

Stephen Fishler, CEO of Metropolis Collectibles/Comic Connect, reckons the theft only made the comic more notorious, boosting its appeal to collectors. Vincent Zurzolo, the company’s president, described it as:

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.

Only about 100 copies of Action Comics No.1 are thought to exist worldwide. Superman’s debut in this issue laid the foundation for the entire superhero genre, inspiring countless characters and stories that followed. Even Marvel tried to capture the same magic that Superman brought to punters, both in print and on screen.

Cage’s Brush with Superman on Screen

Cage’s connection to Superman goes beyond collecting. He was once set to don the cape himself in a Tim Burton-directed film, Superman Lives, during the late ’90s. The project, however, never made it to cinemas, despite millions spent in pre-production and a planned 1998 release. Cage would have played a young Clark Kent grappling with his alien origins, in a story inspired by The Death of Superman.

After several rewrites and elaborate special effects work, Warner Bros. pulled the plug, reportedly losing around $30 million in the process. Years later, Cage did get a brief cameo as Superman in The Flash, but he wasn’t too chuffed with how it turned out. As he put it:

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.

Tim Burton’s take on Superman could have offered a darker, more gothic spin on the character, but it wasn’t to be. At least Cage managed to cash in on his rare comic and make a cameo, even if things didn’t go exactly to plan.