I lived through the 1990s and I don't see a whole lot of similarity. The flippers, definitely. But the collectors, no. At least not the ones who trickle down to vintage or higher dollar stuff. There are the variant cover/sig series folks that I just don't know from Adam since that's not my wheelhouse. Those who jump on every new "key" that is made by a movie/TV announcement may not last either, but I would guess they (or a good portion of them -- enough to become longer-term collectors) migrate toward more traditional stuff eventually. I mean if you're spending 4 figures on some unknown hero who has no prior history, why not buy a FF 48 in HG also? That TV/movie industry has a vested interest in keeping these people happy also, we can't discount that.
But I'm just a crotchety old GA/AA guy who still prefers raw books. I may have no clue what I'm talking about.