Set Description:
Synopsis: This is a complete set of 60 books with a minimum grade of 9.0, which has topped the registry for six years. Highlights of the set are 46 highest graded examples with 12 single highest graded books, including Showcase #37. LOL.
Background: The Metal Men are liquid metal robots made from various elements each with almost limitless shape shifting abilities. They were created by the brilliant robotics expert and Elementical genius Dr. William Magus. The Metal Men consist of six robots: Gold, Platinum, Mercury, Iron, Tin and Lead.
Doc Magnus was a student of super-villain T.O. Morrow and became the world's foremost authority on the new science of Elementics, a synthesis of chemistry and robotics. Doc Magnus developed the Responsometer, a small microcomputer capable of animating pure metals into humanoid robots capable of independent thought, initiative, and emotions.
Together, the Metal Men embarked on a variety of adventures, their specialty fighting monsters spawned from weird science. Perhaps their most unusual and deadliest for is Chemo a walking stew of chemical waste in gigantic humanoid form. Among their other foes are the Missile Men, the Gas Gang, B.O.L.T.S., Doctor Yes and the Plastic Perils.
Eventually, the Metal Men travelled to Gotham City to be part of a worldwide robot convention, but they were framed for the uprising in criminal robots. They were locked away by the local vigilante, Batman, but their names were soon cleared and they helped Batman fight the hordes of crazed robots and capture the criminal responsible for the evil plot. After this, the Metal Men worked with Batman on several occasions and they were even summoned to replace the Dark Knight as Gotham City's protectors, although they failed. Over the years, the Metal Men have been destroyed many times, but Magnus has always been able to salvage their Responsometers and rebuild them. Due to their shape shifting ability the robot can combine into a giant robotic form known as Alloy. Alloy has the combined might of all the robots along with their thoughts and skills, making him a formidable opponent.
Tin later created a robot himself an unofficial member of the team dubbed "Nameless". Shy and withdrawn, Nameless was Tin's "girlfriend" until her destruction in battle.
Our Collection: I was always fascinated by this title as a kid, yes I know I am dating myself with that comment, and have long owned a #1 9.6. But otherwise, it was not a title we focused on when I first returned to collecting in the early 2000s. We first started picking up a few Metal Men after completing our Flash and GL sets and quickly discovered that building a Metal Men set really takes the patience of Job, as for the most part the books aren’t expensive, just impossible to find. We probably would not have finished the set at all a couple of years ago except for my buddy, WxMan Slaw, telling me the whereabouts of a copy of an Issue #47 we needed. Thanks Steve!
Many of the later issues are scarce because so few issues are graded. Again, it’s the problem with extended sets where the later books are sometimes not worth submitting because the CGC fees are actually higher than the value of the books. Also, there have long been two completed sets in the registry, and those books are out of circulation. Finally, there are many people who own the Metal Men Showcases as part of Showcase collections and those books also never come on the market.
2026 Update: It has been awhile since I have studied the census here and, while this is still a complete set with almost 80% of the books highest graded examples, it is far from our best, as we lack highest graded examples of two of the four Showcases and Issues #1 and #2. Moreover, there are also two 9.2s, in our set, which I would characterize as slot fillers. Some day maybe we will get a shot at upgrading some of those six issues, but quite frankly, I look pretty frequently and have not seen a meaningful upgrade on any of those books on the market for years. Consequently, I contemplated not even making this set public this year, as it needs a lot of work to compare to our better DC sets like Flash, Green Lantern, JLA, Atom and Aquaman, among others. But since it is still tops the registry by a wide margin and does contain a number of very nice examples, I went ahead and updated our very dated set description along with some of our book descriptions. So for anyone who is interested in Metal Men, here it is.
Current Stats:
60/60 Books
33 9.8s-All Highest Graded
16 9.6s-9 Highest Graded
9 9.4s-4 Highest Graded
2 9.2s
1 9.0
36 WP
18 OW/W
5 OW
1 Cr/OW
12 Single Highest Graded
46 Highest Graded
12 Second Highest Graded
2 Third Highest Graded
1 Fourth Highest Graded
22 Pedigrees
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| The gallery tab shows only items with images. Click the thumbnails to enlarge. |
| Slot: |
Showcase 37 |
| Item: |
Showcase 37 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0302668006
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Owner Comments
To me, this inaugural Metal Men try-out issue in Showcase #37 has the prettiest cover of any book in the run. It naturally features the first appearance of Doctor Will Magnus and his six Metal Men: Platinum, Gold, Lead, Mercury, Tin and Iron. This issue also features the first appearance of the "Flaming Doom", which is basically a giant prehistoric Manta Ray with heat vision, that attacks the Chrysler Building in Manhattan.
I believe that there are more graded copies of Showcase #37 and Metal Men #1 than any other issues in the set. However, Showcase #37 is far rarer in high grade than Metal Men #1. As of May 2022 there are just six copies of Showcase #37 ever graded above 9.0 in the census, as opposed to 31 for Metal Men #1. So this book is far rarer in high grade and finding a nice copy is both more challenging and considerably more expensive. Our WP 9.4 is the single highest graded example ever certified by CGC. We acquired the book along with the Pacific Coast copy of Aquaman #33 in April 2022 in a private transaction from another collector. It’s obviously the gem of this set (referencing our Metal Men set).
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| Slot: |
Showcase 38 |
| Item: |
Showcase 38 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
2087165016
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Owner Comments
Showcase #38 features the second appearance of the Metal Men as they battle the Nightmare Menace. Our WP 9.8 is one of two highest graded copies in the Census. While this book is the most valuable book of our four Showcases in terms of registry points, it costs us a fraction of what we paid for our Showcase #37 9.4. Sometimes the registry points assigned make little sense. We acquired the book off an E-Bay listing on 9/6/2018.*
2016 Update: There are now three 9.8s topping the census.
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| Slot: |
Showcase 39 |
| Item: |
Showcase 39 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0919494007
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Owner Comments
Showcase #39 marks the 3rd appearance of the Metal Men and the first appearance of Chemo. The last two Metal Men Showcases are exceptionally hard to find in high grade. Grade-wise, this is the worst book in this set and only a third highest graded example, but it does hail from the prestigious Don & Maggie Thompson Pedigree Collection. The Thompsons were responsible for several publications and writings during the '60s that helped bring together comic book fandom as we know it today. Already adults when Fantastic Four #1 was released in 1961, the Thompsons carefully stored away copies of most Marvel and DC comics throughout the '60s and '70s. Don passed away in 1994, and in 2013 Maggie decided to sell the collection through Heritage, resulting in nearly $1 million in sales, thanks to the pristine condition of their comics, which included an Avengers #1 and Tales of Suspense #39 in 9.4, a Journey into Mystery #83 in 9.2 and a Hulk #1 in 8.5.
We acquired the book from Sam I Am in a private transaction in January 2026.
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| Slot: |
Showcase 40 |
| Item: |
Showcase 40 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
2132721017
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Owner Comments
Issue #40 marks the last Metal Men appearance in Showcase before starting their own mag in Metal Men #1. Our 9.4 is the second best copy in existence trailing a single 9.6. We acquired the book in the 1/16/2021 Heritage Auction.
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| Slot: |
Metal Men 1 |
| Item: |
Metal Men 1 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0959142002
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Owner Comments
This is obvioulsy the first Metal Men issue in its own title after four Showcase try-out issues. This copy of Metal Men #1 is the second highest graded trailing a lone 9.8. We acquired the book in the 11/1/2011 CL Auction.
2025 Update: There are now two 9.8s in the census so we may be seeing one of them on the market sometime in the future.
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| Slot: |
Metal Men 2 |
| Item: |
Metal Men 2 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
2087165015
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Owner Comments
This book is the only 9.6 in the census trailing a single 9.8. We acquired the book in a private transaction with another collector(Ga Flash) in 2017.
2014 Update: There are now two 9.6s trailing a single 9.8.
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| Slot: |
Metal Men 3 |
| Item: |
Metal Men 3 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
2011299001
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Owner Comments
Our 9.8 is the single highest graded copy in the Census as of June 2020.*
2023 Update: Another one bites the dust, as there are now two 9.8s in the Census.
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| Slot: |
Metal Men 4 |
| Item: |
Metal Men 4 |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0208177003
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Owner Comments
Our WP 9.6 copy of this 1963 book comes from the Pacific Coast Collection and is one of three highest graded examples topping the census. The Pacific Coast Collection is generally considered to be the greatest Silver Age collection to ever surface. It was brought to market by Robert Roter after he discovered portions of it for sale on eBay in 1999. The books were marketed through PCE over the next several years and contained over 7,000 comics and magazines that included Marvel, DC, and Gold Key among others, covering a time span between 1961 and 1977. Many of the highest graded Marvel and DC issues from the early '60s hail from this collection with exceptional page quality. The books do not exhibit any distinguishing markings.
We acquired the book from a CL auction on 7/28/2018.
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| Slot: |
Metal Men 5 |
| Item: |
Metal Men 5 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0910551005
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Owner Comments
Our copy is the sole 9.4 trailing a single 9.6 in the census. We acquired it in the August 2020 CC auction.
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| Slot: |
Metal Men 6 |
| Item: |
Metal Men 6 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0994441010
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Owner Comments
Our 9.4 comes from the Pacific Coast Collection and is tied with one other copy for highest graded. Considered the greatest Silver Age collection to ever surface, the Pacific Coast collection was brought to market by Robert Roter after he discovered portions of it for sale on eBay in 1999. The books were marketed through PCE over the next several years and contained over 7,000 comics and magazines that included Marvel, DC, and Gold Key among others, covering a time span between 1961 and 1977. Many of the highest graded Marvel and DC issues from the early '60s hail from this collection with exceptional page quality. The books do not exhibit any distinguishing markings.
We acquired the book from a friend and private collector in July 2023.
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| Slot: |
Metal Men 7 |
| Item: |
Metal Men 7 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1042158024
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Owner Comments
Our 9.6 is tied with one other copy for highest graded in the census. We acquired the book in a private transaction with a friend and fellow collector in July 2023.
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| Slot: |
Metal Men 8 |
| Item: |
Metal Men 8 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0994441011
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Owner Comments
Our copy comes from the Pacific Coast Collection and is the single highest graded copy in the census. Considered the greatest Silver Age collection to ever surface, the Pacific Coast collection was brought to market by Robert Roter after he discovered portions of it for sale on eBay in 1999. The books were marketed through PCE over the next several years and contained over 7,000 comics and magazines that included Marvel, DC, and Gold Key among others, covering a time span between 1961 and 1977. Many of the highest graded Marvel and DC issues from the early '60s hail from this collection with exceptional page quality. The books do not exhibit any distinguishing markings.
We acquired the book from a friend and fellow collector in August 2024.
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| Slot: |
Metal Men 9 |
| Item: |
Metal Men 9 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
0994441012
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Owner Comments
Our copy comes from the Pacific Coast Collection and is tied with three other 9.6s for the highest graded copy. Considered the greatest Silver Age collection to ever surface, the Pacific Coast collection was brought to market by Robert Roter after he discovered portions of it for sale on eBay in 1999. The books were marketed through PCE over the next several years and contained over 7,000 comics and magazines that included Marvel, DC, and Gold Key among others, covering a time span between 1961 and 1977. Many of the highest graded Marvel and DC issues from the early '60s hail from this collection with exceptional page quality. The books do not exhibit any distinguishing markings.
We acquired the book from the August 2020 CC auction.*
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| Slot: |
Metal Men 10 |
| Item: |
Metal Men 10 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
3761542003
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Owner Comments
Our 9.8 emanates from the Northland Pedigree Collection and is the single highest graded of this issue. Considered one of the best Silver Age pedigree collections to ever surface, it included runs of primarily Marvel and DC, as well as Gold Key, Dell, ACG, and Charlton, among others. Michael Goldman purchased the collection in 1996, where it debuted for sale at the Chicago convention that same year. He continued to sell copies through his catalog over the next several years. The Northland collection is known for its exceptional paper quality and particularly high grades during the scarcer period of Marvel between 1961 and 1964. Although the books do not have any identifying marks, a certificate was included with each copy.
We acquired the book in the 6/2/2020 CL auction.*
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| Slot: |
Metal Men 11 |
| Item: |
Metal Men 11 Universal |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
4242420016
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Owner Comments
Our 9.8 comes from the Northland Collection and is tied for highest graded in the census. Considered one of the best Silver Age pedigree collections to ever surface, it included runs of primarily Marvel and DC, as well as Gold Key, Dell, ACG, and Charlton, among others. Michael Goldman purchased the collection in 1996, where it debuted for sale at the Chicago convention that same year. He continued to sell copies through his catalog over the next several years. The Northland collection is known for its exceptional paper quality and particularly high grades during the scarcer period of Marvel between 1961 and 1964. Although the books do not have any identifying marks, a certificate was included with each copy.
We acquired the book from the 6/1/2020 CL Auction.**
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