In 1990, Impel, a trading card company, published the first in what would be several lines of Marvel Comics trading cards, and now 30 years later, this first series is commanding top dollar on the secondary market, with prices on complete sets going into the hundreds of dollars while unopened boxes can fetch two thousand easily. What has led to this uptick in interest in these cards, particularly the first series?

Licensed tie-in products for comic book characters were nothing new at the time, but trading cards represented an untapped market in the late 1980’s-early 1990s. Trading cards based on comic book characters already existed, but they were either based around a movie (such as 1989’s Batman) or existed in limited run sets; some were cheaply made as well. At that time, both the comic book and trading card industries were experiencing record sales and interest, so a marriage of the two seemed natural.

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The first series, published by Impel (later rebranded as Skybox) consisted of 162 cards and would lay the foundation all future sets would build upon. The cards featured art by a number of prominent Marvel artists such as Mark Bagley and Ron Frenz with back copy by Tom Brevoort, Dwayne McDuffie, and others. The backs of the cards featured statistics for the characters, including battles won and lost – which the copywriters admitted later they completely made up. The cards proved to be a massive hit for Marvel and Impel, and it inspired subsequent series, including the famous Marvel Masterpieces line. Now the cards are commanding a top dollar on the secondary market and on online auction sites. A quick scan of eBay shows that complete sets of the first series are fetching four to five hundred dollars in some cases. What is truly astounding are the prices on unopened, factory-sealed boxes, which contain 36 packs—the cheapest on eBay is going for 700 dollars, with many more going for over a thousand; some are approaching two thousand!

What has led to this surge of interest in these cards? While some of it can be attributed to market trends, nostalgia and scarcity are two big factors as well. The cards were a melding of two popular types of collectibles, something that had rarely been done. Then, Marvel put their top creators on the cards, giving them an air of authenticity; in a pre-Wikipedia age, these cards, and the wealth of information on them, were a gold mine of information for fans clamoring to learn more about their favorite characters. The cards are also over 30 years old, making scarcity a contributor as well. With Pokemon and other collectible cards reaching exorbitant prices online, speculators are looking to cash in on the next boom – hence, these prices have skyrocketed. Will the short-term investment be wise? That remains to be seen. But right now, people are throwing crazy money at them. Collectors are scooping up literally anything that they think will gain value.

For Marvel fans of a certain age, the first series Marvel Universe trading cards were something new and exciting, and the renewed interest in them shows how they continue to resonate to the present day.

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About The Author


Shaun Corley
(1377 Articles Published)

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Shaun Corley is a pop culture enthusiast living in the Pacific Northwest. After stints in both customer service and academia, he’s turned his attention to writing about comic books–his lifelong passion. He is a graduate of Radford University, with a degree in English. When not reading comics, he enjoys spending time with his fiance and their dog.

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