1990 Impel Marvel Universe is one of the most popular sets of comic trading cards ever. It’s also one of the most influential, helping to lay the groundwork for the Marvel card evolution that soon followed. The deep 1990 Impel Marvel Universe checklist delves into more than just characters. It also adds a new element for Marvel trading cards — chase inserts.
1990 Impel Marvel Universe Checklist Details
With a whopping 162 cards, the sheer size of the checklist immediately sets 1990 Impel Marvel Universe apart from previous sets of trading cards to delve into the comic empire.
The first half profiles heroes and villains. These take the approach of traditional sports cards with a standalone image on the front and lots of details on the back. Wolverine and Captain America might not have touchdowns or home runs to account for, but there are other vitals like their actual names, first appearances and group affiliations. Cards even list historical win-loss records in battle. After that is an extensive write-up plus some additional trivia in a separate “Did You Know?” section.
Subsets Galore
A Rookies subset further connects 1990 Impel Marvel Universe to sports cards. These highlight recently introduced characters and fresh versions of some existing ones like Ghost Rider and the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Famous Battles is exactly as it sounds, offering a look at some of the most epic clashes from Marvel’s first five decades. From one-on-one fights to epic arcs with big ramifications, they’re all covered.
Teams is just that, highlighting various groups from the vast comic universe.
It’s not just stories that are included. The 1990 Impel Marvel Universe checklist reflects on the actual comics with a 13-card Most Valuable Comics subset. These are fun to look at now, listing the 1990 Overstreet Price Guide’s value. Keeping with the historical theme of the set as a whole, these also highlight the importance of the issues as well as the creators.
The 1990 Impel Marvel Universe checklist even has some comics towards the end. A dozen Spider-Man Presents cards have the wall crawler chatting it up with various characters. These are done across multiple panels on both sides. These get to the personality of both Spider-Man and those he’s chatting with. Each sets up a joke, showing a little trading card humor.
1990 Impel Marvel Universe Stan Lee
Perhaps the most famous card in the entire product is card #161, the final one before the checklist. It’s a tribute to Marvel legend, Stan Lee.
A portrait of sorts, it’s also a collage of characters that Lee helped create and promote over the decades.
It’s also a rookie card of sorts as his first trading card in a mainstream product.
In recent years, the 1990 Impel Marvel Universe Stan Lee has grown tremendously in popularity and value. A big reason why is its broad appeal. Collectors may not be avid comics reasons but they know of Stan Lee. And it’s often for more than his multitude of movie cameos. When it comes to modern pop culture, Lee was not only a creator but cheerleader. He’s an icon whose impact is still felt, perhaps more so than ever.
1990 Impel Marvel Universe Holograms
In 1990, inserts were still in their infancy as far as making regular appearances in trading card products. Within even a couple of years, they’d become the driving force for a lot of products. Here, there’s just one insert set — Holograms.
The checklist consists of just five cards with approximately one landing in every box. These are basic holograms and don’t really showcase the technology to its fullest extent. Still, they include some of Marvel’s most popular characters. More than that today, they bring the nostalgia on a couple of levels. Locally, there’s the fondness many have for 1990 Impel Marvel Universe as a whole. On another level, they’re a reminder of a largely bygone era for both trading cards and comics. At the time, it seemed like everywhere you looked, holograms were a sales gimmick.
The 1990 Impel Marvel Universe Holograms are not hard to find today. That said, for those looking for top condition copies it can be a challenge. Even fresh from the pack, centering is an issue. The surfaces were also easily scratched.
1990 Impel Marvel Universe Factory Tin Sets and Binder
In addition to regular packs and boxes, 1990 Impel Marvel Universe has a prepackaged factory set. Individually numbered to 4,000 set, these came packaged in custom tins. The numbering is on the bottom.
Today, these are pretty tough to find, especially sealed. Four thousand is large by today’s standards, but it wasn’t much for the time.
A binder is also available. These could be purchased through a mail-away offer found on packs. Each cost $19.99. The black album has a Spider-Man hologram on the front and a color image on the back. The follow-up set’s album is similar. The easiest way to tell them apart is the fact that this one is labelled with “Premier Edition” under the hologram. It also has a 1990 copyright on the back. The 1991 binder says “Series II.”
The Lasting Significance of 1990 Marvel Universe Trading Cards
1990 Impel Marvel Universe is one of the most important set of comic trading cards ever produced. As far as recognition goes, it’s probably the most important. With trading cards a phenomenon at the time of its release, the audience for this set was huge. Comic and card fans came together and created a massive base.
Now, decades later, that iconography has come full circle. Many are revisiting the product of their youth giving it renewed popularity.
Make no mistake about it, 1990 Impel Marvel Universe is not a rare set. Lots of it is still out there, including unopened boxes and packs. At this point, it doesn’t matter much because the product is so popular. It has become a cornerstone for Marvel trading cards as a whole. Other sets came before it, but the genre hasn’t been the same since.
1990 Impel Marvel Universe Checklist
Cards per pack: 12
Packs per box: 36
Shop for 1990 Impel Marvel Universe boxes on eBay.
Base Set Checklist
162 cards.
Super Heroes
1 Captain America
2 Spider-Man
3 The Hulk
4 Daredevil
5 Nick Fury
6 The Thing
7 Professor X
8 Cyclops
9 Marvel Girl
10 Wolverine
11 Phoenix
12 Power Man
13 Dazzler
14 Dagger
15 Quasar
16 Sub-Mariner
17 Hulk (gray)
18 Thor
19 Mister Fantastic
20 Black Panther
21 Archangel
22 Iceman
23 Wolverine
24 Storm
25 Shadowcat
26 Moon Knight
27 Lockheed
28 Aunt May Parker
29 Spider-Man
30 Cosmic Spider-Man
31 Captain America
32 Silver Surfer
33 Human Torch
34 Doctor Strange
35 Havok
36 Colossus
37 Wolverine
38 Nightcrawler
39 She-Hulk
40 Captain Britian
41 Rogue
42 Iron Man
43 Invisible Woman
44 Punisher’s Battle Van
45 Longshot
46 The Beast
47 Punisher
48 Storm
49 Elektra
50 Cloak
51 Wasp
Super Villains
52 Kingpin
53 Baron Zemo
54 Loki
55 Juggernaut
56 Nightmare
57 Sabretooth
58 Electro
59 Doctor Octopus
60 Doctor Doom
61 Ultron
62 Enchantress
63 Magneto
64 Bullseye
65 Mr. Sinister
66 Sandman
67 Lizard
68 Mole Man
69 Dormammu
70 The Leader
71 The Blob
72 Black Cat
73 Venom
74 Green Goblin
75 Galactus
76 Mandarin
77 High Evolutionary
78 Mephisto
79 Thanos
80 Apocalypse
81 Red Skull
Rookies
82 Ghost Rider
83 Deathlok
84 Guardians of the Galaxy
85 New Warriors
86 Nomad
87 Foolkiller
Famous Battles
88 Thing vs. Hulk
89 Fantastic Four vs. Galactus
90 Fantastic Four vs. Doctor Doom
91 Thor vs. Surtur
92 Spider-Man vs. Kraven
93 Spider-Man vs. Dr. Octopus
94 Daredevil vs. Bullseye
95 Daredevil vs. Kingpin
96 Silver Surfer vs. Mephisto
97 Captain America vs. The Red Skull
98 Dark Phoenix Saga
99 X-Men vs. The Avengers
100 X-Men vs. Magneto
101 Fantastic Four vs. X-Men
102 Fall of the Mutants
103 The Evolutionary War
104 Atlantis Attacks
105 Acts of Vengeance
106 Spider-Man vs. Venom
107 Nick Fury vs. Hydra
108 Armor Wars I
109 Daredevil vs. Wolverine
110 Daredevil vs. Punisher
111 Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin
112 Spider-Man vs. Hobgoblin
113 The Hulk vs. Wolverine
114 The Hulk vs. Spider-Man
115 Captain America vs. Wolverine
116 Silver Surfer vs. Thanos
117 X-Factor vs. Apocalypse
118 X-Men vs. Freedom Force
119 Wolverine vs. Sabretooth
120 X-Men in the Savage Land
121 Iron Man vs. Titanium Man
122 Thor vs. Loki
123 The Kree-Skrull War
M.V.C. – Most Valuable Comics
124 Fantastic Four #1
125 X-Men #1
126 Amazing Fantasy #15
127 Punisher Series II #1
128 Journey into Mystery #83
129 Amazing Spider-Man #129
130 Avengers #1
131 Amazing Spider-Man #1
132 Giant-Size X-Men #1
133 Wolverine Mini-Series #1
134 Incredible Hulk #181
135 Tales of Suspense #39
136 Avengers #4
Team Pictures
137 Fantastic Four
138 Avengers
139 X-Men
140 X-Men
141 Cloak and Dagger
142 New Mutants
143 X-Factor
144 Excalibur
145 Brotherhood of Evil Mutants
146 Sinister Six
147 Hellfire Club
148 Alpha Flight
Spider-Man Presents
149 Spider-Man
150 Doctor Doom
151 Doctor Octopus
152 The Hulk
153 Silver Surfer
154 Thor
155 Punisher
156 Magneto
157 Captain America
158 Doctor Strange
159 Iron Man
160 Wolverine
161 Stan Lee
162 Checklist
Holograms Checklist
5 cards, 1:36 packs.
MH1 Cosmic Spider-Man
MH2 Magneto
MH3 Silver Surfer
MH4 Wolverine
MH5 Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin
Also Available in 1990 Impel Marvel Universe:
- Binder
- Tin Factory Set – /4000
