WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Wolverine #9 by Benjamin Percy, Adam Kubert, Frank Martin & VC's Cory Petit, on sale now
One of the most unexpected corners of the Marvel Universe is the black market that has erupted across the globe over superhero and supervillain memorabilia. The Legacy House is holding an entire auction about such items in the heart of Madripoor, and they're looking to rake in a fortune in the process.
What classic Marvel relics are up for sale at the Legacy House auction -- and which unlikely items end up on sale that completely throws Wolverine for a loop?
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After the mutant mercenary Maverick dragged Krakoa into a potential international incident by carrying out a mission on American soil, Wolverine has been forced to go undercover in Madripoor as Patch. Visiting the Legacy House -- an underground auction house in the heart of the crime-riddled city -- Logan quickly finds himself involved in a highly valuable auction and surrounded by powerful criminals from around the Marvel Universe. A wealth of items on sale could prove to be priceless to the right buyers and cover the history of the Marvel Universe, with numerous villains and enemies of the X-Men showing an interest in the items.
Some of the items up for auction used to belong to heroic figures (including a fake tooth containing cyanide from Black Widow and the cowl Captain America was wearing when he was frozen and then subsequently found by the Avengers in the modern-day), while others include mementos from villains (such as a prison painting by Punisher villain Jigsaw and the custom Spider-Man gravestone Kraven the Hunter used in Kraven's Last Hunt. There's also a handful of useable equipment from former villains, such as a presumably still-operational Goblin Glider and Magnetic Man's gloves -- which the auctioneer proves are still effective by using them against Wolverine.
One of the most potentially expensive and rare items up for sale is a severed hand of Wolverine, with the claws extended. Given the rarity of adamantium, this could elevate the price of the hand to a much larger level. But the single most valuable piece on sale is the mutant Maverick himself. Revealed to have been captured and mindwiped again, the Legacy House offers his services for the right price. On top of being a skilled soldier in his own right, this would also give the potential buyer the chance to send an agent into Krakoa, as Maverick's mutant DNA allows him to pass through the Krakoa Gates. A present-Kingpin describes it as having "the keys to the kingdom," which isn't much of an understatement.
Being able to access Krakoa-- especially for the likes of other anti-mutant parties at the auction such as Xeno -- could create a major advantage for whichever villain could gain control of Maverick. Luckily, Wolverine has no intention of letting his old friend be just a tool again, with their pair quickly setting up their potential escape from the Legacy House. But Logan may have left an even greater prize behind in the process -- with Xeon implied to have collected a blood sample from Logan, setting up the villains to walk away from the auction with perhaps the greatest item available to him: Wolverine's DNA, and the healing factor that it could provide to his genetically-modified soldiers. Considering their recent team-up with Mikhail Rasputin, the Legacy House auction could end up having major ramifications.