Box Break and Review - 2015 Marvel Fleer Retro

Box:

Company: Upper Deck
Release: 2015
Name: Marvel Fleer Retro
Number of Packs: 10 per mini box
Number of Cards per Pack: 5

Insert/ Chase Cards:

1960 Fleer Set
1982 Fleer Set
1990 Impel Marvel Universe
1992 Impel X-Men
1993 Skybox Marvel Universe
1994 Flair Power Blast
1994 Fleer Suspended Animation
1995 Flair Holoblast
1995 Flair Origins
1995 Marvel Metal Blaster
Precious Metal Gems Red/Blue/Green/Gold
1997-98 Fleer Ultra Star Power Supreme
1999 Skybox EX Century
2000 Fleer Focus Star Studded
Jambalaya
Printing Plate Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Black
Autographed Cards - Base/1990 Impel/1992 Impel X-Men/1993 Skybox
Sketch Cards

The days of running home from school as fast as I could to play Legos or to flip through my newest Marvel cards are long gone...very long gone.  Yes, I can still “run home from work” and play with Legos (assuming I have any) or admire my card collection (which is very disorganized) but it’s hard to do that peacefully in a house overrun by a moody threenager and a screaming toddler.  

But on extremely rare occasions when the kids are in bed on time and a semblance of “normalcy” appears, I would take out the cardboard boxes that house my card collection and try to make sense of its organized chaos.  And every time I thumb through those cards and catch glimpses of Spider-Man, Wolverine, or any other superhero, I am undoubtedly brought back to my childhood days and its accompanying sentiments.  

That’s why companies use nostalgia against poor saps like me.  Their goal is to whisk me back to the good 'ole days of ignorance and bliss when a grueling 10-12 hour work day was a foreign concept and the term "familial responsibility" was too hard to pronounce.

One company that has unfortunately cracked my ordinarily tight wallet is Upper Deck with its Fleer Retro brand of cards.  They first launched this innovative product for their basketball hobbyists in the 2011-2012 NBA season.  Due to its popularity, Upper Deck branched off into football, hockey, and eventually Marvel in 2013.  In the beginning of July 2015, Upper Deck released its second installment of Marvel Fleer Retro trading cards, bringing back the Jambalaya inserts and the Precious Metal Gems, and included new inserts such as the ultra-rare Precious Metal Gem Gold 1/1 cards.

Card Design (10/10)

Upper Deck really outdid themselves with these beautiful cards.  Each one is printed on thick cardboard stock overlaid with ultra-high gloss.  The base cards were inspired by the 1991 Impel Marvel Universe designs, with a few noticeable improvements in color and foiling.  On the back, a power meter measures the character's intelligence, strength, speed, durability, energy, and fighting. Customary facts are also included - real name, group affiliation, height, weight, and first appearance, as well as a famous quote, ranging from Spider-Man's iconic, "With great power comes great responsibility" to Rocket Raccoon's lighthearted, "Never doubt a raccoon."

The 1990 Impel Marvel Universe inserts made a return in 2015, as did the Precious Metal Gems and Jambalayas.  However, Upper Deck introduced a slew of "new" insert designs, including the popular 1992 Impel Uncanny X-Men cards.  It certainly took me on an exciting trip down memory lane.

Character List (9.5/10)

I personally prefer a smaller number of characters in the base set as oppose to one with over 150. But to offset the lack of characters in a 60 card base set, Upper Deck included a wide range heroes/heroines/villains/villainesses in the insert cards.  Fing Fang Foom, Attuma, Balder, and Hood were some that could be found in the varied chase sets.

Box Break

Each box contains 2 mini-boxes for a total of 20 packs:

I was hoping for a Precious Metal Gem Green or Jambalaya but as you can tell below, that did not happen.  This was definitely not one of my better box breaks.  Oh well, you win some, you lose some...

1982 Fleer Set - Daredevil

1990 Impel Marvel Universe - Black Widow, Black Panter

1992 Impel X-Men - Cyclops, Mister Sinister

1993 Skybox Marvel Universe - She-Hulk, Sentry, Hood

1994 Flair Power Blast - Blade

1994 Fleer Suspended Animation - Thor, A-Bomb, Sandman, Scorpion

1995 Flair Origins - Gambit, Jean Grey, Spider-Man, Star-Lord, Thor

1995 Marvel Metal Blaster - Black Widow, Elektra, Hulk, Loki, Nova, Red Skull, Ultron

Precious Metal Gems Red - Elektra xxx/100

1999 Skybox EX Century - Nick Fury

Autographed Base - Bullseye (Rachelle Rosenberg), Iron Fist (Kaare Andrews), Sabretooth (Renato Guedes), Thor (Lee Garbett)

Autographed 1993 Skybox - Thor (Michael Zeck)

Sketch Cards - Agent Venom by Matt Santorelli

Samples of the base cards:

Now on to the inserts:

Entertainment Value (10/10)

This truly was an exciting box break, partly due to the sheer volume of chase cards Upper Deck included. I believe the ratio was close to one insert card per pack!

Price/Value (7.5/10)

I did not want my experience of a dud box to skew this rating. But with a price of $179.95 (down from a retail price of $239.95), this was not a cheap buy, especially when individual inserts cards can be bought on EBay with very little dinero. But...high risk...high reward. Maybe the next box would include a Spider-Man or Wolverine Precious Metal Gem Gold 1/1! I can dream...can't I?

Final Thoughts:

When the Marvel Retro brand first came out in 2013, it was a surefire hit.  Sports and non-sports card collectors both ripped tons of this product, hoping to score Jambalayas and Precious Metal Greens. I'm not sure if some of that excitement has waned or if the majority of sports card collectors have exited the market but demand for these 2015 cards have not been as strong.  Bottom line is if you want to build sets or obtain certain character cards, you're better off buying individual cards off the secondary market.  But if you want to score a 1/1, then cross your fingers, find your rabbit's foot/horseshoe/four-leaf clover or whatever lucky stuff you have around and get a box!

Overall Score:

9.25 out of 10

1994 Fleer Ultra X-Men Silver X-Overs X-Tinction Agenda - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 1994 Fleer Ultra X-Men
Company: Fleer
Type: Insert/Chase - Silver X-Overs (Walmart Exclusive)
Character: X-Tinction Agenda
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: Personal Collection

Thank goodness for Wikipedia.  I would have killed it in high school if this popular "research" website was around.  So without adieu, for your reading pleasure (since I'm too lazy to write my own):

Taking place immediately after the events of the 1990 crossover "Days of Future Present", a group of Genoshan Magistrates (soldiers of the country of Genosha), backed by the cyborg Cameron Hodge, and including an amnesiac Havok (a member of the X-Men), attack the X-Mansion and kidnap Storm and the New Mutants Warlock, Boom Boom, Rictor, and Wolfsbane. They are taken to Genosha naked and weak. Warlock is killed and Storm and Wolfsbane are brainwashed, turned into mindless mutate slaves, which form the backbone of the Genoshan economy and lifestyle. Cable, the New Mutants, Gambit, Forge, and Banshee recruit X-Factor and head to Genosha to save their teammates. They are soon joined by Wolverine, Psylocke, and Jubilee, who independently head to Genosha to rescue their friends.

In the end, the X-Men defeat the forces of Genosha and Cameron Hodge's severed head is buried alive by Rictor, who uses his earthquake-inducing powers to topple the Genoshan capitol building "The Citadel" onto Hodge. Storm, whose body had been physically regressed into that of a child in an earlier story, albeit with her adult memories and personality intact, is freed of the brainwashing, and regained her adult form. Wolfsbane is also freed from her brainwashing, but is trapped in a lupine form permanently. Havok (having gotten his memories back) elects to stay in Genosha along with Wolfsbane to help rebuild the country (now without a government) and prevent civil war between its human and mutant populations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-Tinction_Agenda

1996 Marvel Masterpieces Double Impact Wolverine/Venom - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 1996 Marvel Masterpieces

Company: Fleer/Skybox
Type: Insert/Chase - Double Impact
Character: Wolverine/Venom
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: Personal Collection

I've been eyeing this card for a while but it was owned by a private collector who had no intent on selling.  So I did my best to buy the card raw and have it graded by Beckett...to no avail.  I had three different cards graded BGS 9.0 and each one either had slight corner wear or chipping issues on the edges.  Besides the three that were sent to Beckett, there were countless more that didn't make the cut.

The Wolverine/Venom Double Impact card is one of the most common of the insert set, with the other being Storm/Spider-Man.  About two years ago, it was easy to find one for under $30, sometimes even under $25.  However, prices have jumped in the last 6 months.  Even in the last 4 months, Wolverine/Venom Double Impact cards have regularly sold between $50-$70, even as high as $80!

So because of the price increase, I had to rethink my strategy.   In addition, sellers on EBay have been less likely to provide me with close-up pictures of their cards.  I even had to return two cards that were described as Mint/Near-Mint but had creases and other major flaws.  It was very disappointing.

Luckily, I didn't have to think very hard (or at all).  The same private collector ended up having to sell his collection due to personal reasons.  I missed out on some other graded cards I had been coveting but snagged his Wolverine/Venom card for a price reasonable to the both of us.  Three down...three more to go!

1995 Marvel Masterpieces Holoflash Dr. Doom - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 1995 Marvel Masterpieces
Company: Fleer
Type: Insert/Chase - Holoflash
Character: Dr. Doom
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: Personal Collection

I haven't seen the new Fantastic Four movie but from the "fantastic" reviews it received, I'm sure I can wait a little bit longer.  You know it's a box office bomb when critics are saying that the previous two Fantastic Four iterations were better than this most recent one.  Scary...

Well, I thought I'd at least honor Dr. Victor Von Doom with this post.  This card came from Fleer's Marvel Masterpieces set, issued in 1995.  All eight holoflash cards featured certain Marvel villains, including Apocalypse, The Mandarin, and Mr. Sinister.  

Box Break and Review - 1994 The Amazing Spider-Man, 1st Edition

Box:

Company: Fleer
Release: 1994
Name: The Amazing Spider-Man, 1st Edition - Hobby
Number of Packs: 36
Number of Cards per Pack: 8

Insert/ Chase Cards:

Suspended Animation - 1:4
Gold Web Foils (1-6) - Jumbo packs
Gold Web Foils (1-6) - Walmart packs
Hologram - 1:18

Spider-Man, Spider-Man

Trading cards, I'm a fan!

Made by Fleer, and it rocks;

Lots of chase cards in the box.

BOOYAH!

I pulled a hologram!

Card Design (9.0/10)

Spider-Man trading card sets were produced in numerous iterations starting with Todd McFarlane’s Trading Card Set, distributed in 1989 by Comic Images.  But it wasn’t until 1994 when Fleer’s Amazing Spider-Man – 1st Edition ushered in a “renaissance age” of Spidey cards with beautiful artwork, unique designs, and a diverse range of inserts.  

The artwork was done solely by the popular Mark Bagley, who is well known for his work on The Amazing Spider-Man and Ultimate Spider-Man.  Fleer printed each base card on full glossy stock and the borderless design gave Mark the maximum amount of real estate to create remarkable drawings.  In addition, Fleer borrowed the concept of having 9 card “puzzle” sets from Skybox’s Marvel Universe Series 4 and implemented that design for cards 1-81.  These cards were subsets of a bigger 9 card picture so when placed in a standard 9 card sheet protector, they formed one large, contiguous image.

When including jumbo and Walmart exclusive packs in addition to the regular hobby packs, chase cards were quite abundant in this set.  In hobby packs, one may find Suspended Animation cards, which were printed on clear plastic acetate. While the transparent cards looked unusual given they were a relatively new idea, the cards were pretty popular among collectors.

Another insert set that was included were Gold Web Foil cards.  The first six cards (Spider-Man, Mary Jane, Chameleon, Venom, Carnage, Hob-Goblin) were found in jumbo packs while the last six Gold Web Foil cards (Spider-Man, Vulture, Doctor Octopus, Spider-Man, Black Cat, Lizard) were found in Walmart packs and also numbered 1-6.  Fleer used the same character image as the Suspended Animation cards but instead of acetate, they printed them on gold foil card stock.

Lastly, the popular holograms made an appearance with four different 3D holograms - two of Spider-Man, one of Venom, and one of Carnage.

Character List (10/10)

I have nothing but good things to say about the checklist.  It was noticeable that Fleer put a lot of thought into it.  Some might think what checklist can be done with a character set for Spider-Man?How many cards of Spider-Man can you include in a set?  Well, apparently 150 different ones when done correctly.

There were 10 different categories: Spidey's Powers, Venom, Spidey's Strange Transformation (my favorite), Spidey's Enemies, Spidey's Allies, Spidey's Greatest Team-ups, Spidey's Greatest Battles, Spidey's Friends, Spidey's Origins, and Events.  Whew!  

Box Break

First of all, the cards were sealed in 4 different pack designs:

Here's a sample of the base cards:

 

Suspended Animation cards (remember that these are clear acetate cards):

I couldn't believe I pulled all different Suspended Animation cards.  I haven't opened too many boxes so maybe it was inserted this way but I was glad there were no doubles.

And lastly the popular 3D holograms (they look much, much better in real life):

Entertainment Value (9.0/10)

Excellent and fun pack-ripping experience!  The excitement of opening a pack that contained the 3D hologram never goes away...trust me...

Price/Value (8.0/10)

Prices on these boxes, for some reason, has risen in the last six to twelve months.  About a year ago, I was able find boxes at about $20-$25 a box on EBay.  But now, sealed boxes go for $50-$60 a box.  

Honestly, if your goal is to add the holograms and suspended animation cards to your Spidey collection, it may be better to purchase the individual cards on EBay.  Individual holograms sell anywhere from $5 to $10 so getting the whole set should run you a maximum of $40.  Even then, a lot of times you would be able to find a set at a lot less.  

Bottom line is if you want to complete your set, buy the cards on the secondary market.  If you want to bust some packs, then by all means, do it!

Final Thoughts

If you were a non-comic book reader growing up, whether it was due to a lack of nearby comic book store or it was because your parents thought they were too inappropriate and it was better to focus on homework anyways, these cards gave collectors a way to get to know the characters.  

In an age before Wikipedia, comic cards were a way we learned about the origin of Spider-Man, how he got turned into Captain Universe, and the heart-wrenching death of Gwen Stacy.  Marvel cards got us caught up with everything that happened in the comics, without needing to read them, either due to inaccessibility or strict parents.  And for that, I am grateful.

Overall Score

9.0 out of 10

2012 Marvel Beginnings Holo F/X Ant-Man - Graded GMA Gem Mint 10

Set: 2012 Marvel Beginnings Series 3
Company: Upper Deck
Type: Insert/Chase - Holo F/X
Character: Ant-Man
Grading Company: GMA (GMA Grading)
Grade: Gem Mint 10
Status: For Sale

In anticipation of the soon-to-be released Ant-Man movie, here is an Ant-Man hologram card issued by Upper Deck's Marvel Beginning Series.  There were a total of 3 series, with the first one produced in 2011. 

Ant-Man is not a widely known comic hero by the general population although he's been around since the early 60's.  Hopefully this movie will bring some well-deserved recognition and "fame" to the versatile character.

Now for some fun, who would win in a fight - Marvel's Ant-Man or DC's Atom?

1991 Impel Marvel Universe Cello Pack Promo Magneto - Graded BGS 9.5 Gem Mint

Set: 1991 Marvel Universe Series 2
Company: Impel
Type: Promo
Character: Magneto
Grading Company: BGS (Beckett Grading Services)
Grade: 9.5 Gem Mint
Status: Personal Collection

When Impel released their Marvel Universe Series 2 cards, they also issued a five card cello pack.  These cards where almost exactly the same as the normal base cards except for some minor differences.  On the regular base Magneto card, the "1991" on the top left hand corner is in bold print but is in normal print on the cello promo card.  In addition, the regular base card shows "5" for Durability and "3" for Intelligence while the promo card upgraded his stats to "6" and "5" respectively.  Although not as difficult to obtain in BGS Gem Mint compared to other condition sensitive Marvel cards, it will still take some searching to find one with 50/50 or 55/45 centering, especially since BGS puts more weight on centering than PSA or GMA.