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:
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:
