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.

Box Break and Review - 2012 Marvel Greatest Heroes

Box:

Company: Rittenhouse Archives
Release: 2012
Name: Marvel Greatest Heroes
Number of Packs: 24
Number of Cards per Pack: 5

Insert/ Chase Cards:

Holofoil Lettering Parallel Base - 1:3
Villains - 1:6
I am an Avenger - 1:12
Ultimate Heroes - 1:36
Icons Shadowbox - 1:72
Sketch Card - 1:24

For collectors who root for the good guys, have I got a box for you!  Rittenhouse issued Marvel Greatest Heroes in 2012, highlighting heroes and anti-heroes in the Marvel comic world.  So if, as a kid, you would only play as a cop in "Cops and Robbers" or as a Joe in "G.I. Joe vs. Cobra", then this box will not disappoint.  All the popular heroes and heroines are found in this set, including Spider-Man, Captain America, Storm, and Thor.  Anti-heroes such as Deadpool and Moon Knight were also added, providing a diverse checklist to this 81 card set.

Card Design (8.5/10)

The base cards were designed extremely well - simple yet very attractive.  On the bottom of each borderless card, the word "Marvel" and the character's name are foil-stamped in red.  Parallel base cards are found in every three packs and each one has a nice holofoil lettering instead of the red foil.

However, the insert designs left me wanting more.  Rittenhouse managed to sneak in a “Villains” insert set (every hero requires a villain, right?) and although the artists’ rendition was impressive, the schematics could have been “jazzed up” a tiny bit.  Same could be said about the “I am an Avenger” inserts.  Found at a ratio of 2 per box, I thought they could have used an upgrade.  The holoflash design was nice but I preferred to see something a bit more innovative.  At the same time, I understand there are costs involved in developing and printing special-effect cards so to keep the price affordable, concessions have to be met.

Character List (7.5/10)

The gross exclusion of Punisher was a huge disappointment.  The reasoning behind the omission could have been Rittenhouse's release of Marvel Bronze Age cards, which also took place in 2012, but it does not justify leaving out one of the most popular anti-heroes in the Marvel Universe.

On a positive note, the checklist was well thought out and a wide array of characters like Blade, Sentry, and Ka-Zar made the list.  I appreciated that the set wasn't only made up of only do-gooders like Captain America and Spider-Man but consisted of heroes and heroines that may, at times, cross the line.  Heroes with an edge, as I like to call them.

Box Break

In addition to the obligatory full base card set, I found the following inserts:

Holofoil Lettering Parallel - 8
Villains - Green Goblin, Loki, Nightmare, Thanos
I am an Avenger - Spider-Woman, War Machine
Ultimate Heroes - Scarlet Witch
Artist Sketch - Luke Cage by Michael Rooth

Here are samples of the base cards:

The base card parallels with holofoil lettering:

The four "Villains" cards I received:

 



 

The "I am an Avenger" inserts:

 

 

Ultimate Scarlet Witch:

 

 

And lastly, this very clean sketch card of Luke Cage by Michael Rooth:

 

 

Entertainment Value (9.5/10)

This was a fun box to break into.  Even though I didn't get an Icons Shadowbox, it was still very entertaining and a good way to pass the time.

Price/Value (8.0/10)

Since only 8000 boxes were made, prices are now in the range of $65 to $85 a box.  Inserts can be found for just a few dollars a card so it's harder to rationalize buying a box at that price.  However, the thrill of pulling an amazing sketch card still exists.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this was a good product from Rittenhouse.  If you bought these boxes when they first came out in the $50 range, kudos to you.  If you're wanting to buy them now, you may be able to find a better deal by bidding on two boxes at a time. 

Overall Score

8.5 out of 10