THE WEST COAST AVENGERS #46

Cover shown in a protective sleeve appears glossy with strong, vibrant colors and sharp corners; no visible creases, tears, or color breaks on the spine in this photo. Slight sheen/glare from the sleeve makes fine surface assessment difficult, and a small mark is visible near the bottom of the yellow costume area that may be a printing artifact or minor spine stress. Back cover and interior pages were not assessed, so grade is based solely on this front cover image.

The West Coast Avengers #46 (July 1988) closes out the "Vision Quest" arc written and drawn by John Byrne, in which the Vision is captured, forcibly disassembled, and rebuilt by a government task force stripped of the emotional programming that had defined him since his creation. The storyline, which unfolds across issues #42 through #46, marks a pivotal turning point in the character's relationship with the Scarlet Witch and reshaped Vision's status quo for years afterward, making this final chapter a notable entry in Byrne's celebrated late-1980s run on the West Coast Avengers title.

Market data shows a book that trades as a solid mid-run Copper Age Marvel rather than a speculative key: certified prices stay essentially flat from grade 8.0 through 9.4, only beginning to climb meaningfully at 9.6 and spiking at the 9.8 tier. This pattern reflects steady collector interest tied to the Vision/Scarlet Witch storyline and Byrne's authorship rather than any single first-appearance or death moment, with demand concentrated among Avengers-team completists and Byrne collectors rather than broad speculative buyers.

Expect this issue to move briskly in high grade among West Coast Avengers run-builders and Vision/Scarlet Witch specialists, while raw copies in lower grades remain inexpensive reading or filler-grade purchases typical of late-1980s direct-market comics. The wide gap between the 9.6 and 9.8 price points suggests premium buyers are chasing top-census condition rather than the storyline content alone, so 9.8 copies should be positioned as the scarcity play while mid- and low-grade copies are marketed on narrative significance to series and character collectors.