So I just went back and reread my Giant size X-Men 1 as well as my X-Men 94 to make sure what I'm saying is accurate. As multiple boardies have mentioned and probably already know, It is definitely more nuanced why X-men 94 is such a huge key and it's place in the historical context. Yes, GSX1 has the first appearances but X-Men 94 was the actual establishment and insertion of the NEW X-men team and their adventures into the X men series. Sunfire leaves. In fact, the old team literally packs up and leaves the mansion in X-men 94 as Professor X finalizes the next X men group to take over in the mansion... there was no official team in GSX1. Also, you have to take in context of what is going on in real life with the series. While Stan Lee did a superb job with Spiderman, the X-men franchise was not faring nearly as well and playing second fiddle to the flagships....It was not as popular and if you reread some of the first 66 issues, you will see how terrible and hokey it was. Some issues are unreadable... trust me, I tried. It got to a point where Marvel was resigned to reprinting the old stories for almost 30 issues for 4 years until X-men 94! Boom! The series is rebooted with a vengeance! New team, new writer, new stories.... X-men 94 began Chris Claremont's 16 year legendary run until 1991. Gradually, this new team of X-men with Wolverine became insanely popular.... evolving it into the intellectual property juggernaut that it is today. The creation of the new (and much more popular) team made Xmen 94 the bronze age X- men 1 (or maybe Avenger 1?) For kids growing up in the 70s. Back then, people who read the series off the newsstand understood the book's importance as well as the difficulty obtaining a copy. It was the milestone issue in the run.... and commanded that premium. But it's definitely harder in a stabbed world where people don't read inside of the comic and just stare at the cover. The book is undoubtedly undervalued and the market is starting to correct which is why prices seemed to be shooting up. Historically, Xmen 94 was on a level playing field with GSX1 and Hulk 181. The NM copies have reached similar prices but what will happen with the lower and mid grades.... we'll see.