1983 Donruss Zero Heroes trading cards, a joint project with General Mills, spoof both the super hero genre and the trends of the early part of the decade. It’s a largely forgotten release but one that’s certainly worthy of a second look.
Spanning 66 stickers, Zero Heroes are a bunch of intentionally lame comic creations. The idea is to poke fun at heroes in general, although there are plenty that tie directly into what was “cool” at the time. There’s The Z Team, which looks like an intentionally bootleg version of The A-Team.
Valley Girl looks like she’s ready to give a lesson in Fer-sure-onomics.
Even punk music makes the cut.
B.K. Taylor is the man responsible for the artwork. Taylor is no stranger to the hobby. Before Zero Heroes, he did Odd Rods for Donruss. A few years after Zero Heroes, Taylor did Awesome All-Stars and Baseball’s Greatest Gross Outs.
As far as the set construction goes, while there are definitely 66 total stickers, a handful are not numbered. These leaves a few gaps in the checklist from a numeric standpoint.
Out a couple of years before Garbage Pail Kids, Zero Heroes don’t have nearly the same level of grossness. But it’s that edge that made Garbage Pail Kids both taboo and all the more popular. While with it as far as the times go, Zero Heroes doesn’t have that controversy to make it infamous.
Perhaps, the distance from release and nostalgia for the ’80s is what gives 1983 Donruss Zero Heroes its charm today. It really is fun as far as gags go. And Taylor’s art has a very Mad Magazine vibe to it. It’s certainly not very expensive in either box or set forms.
1983 Donruss Zero Heroes Trading Cards Checklist
Click on links to shop for cards or check current market values on eBay.
Cards per pack: 6
Packs per box: 36
Shop for 1983 Donruss Zero Heroes boxes on eBay.
Base Set
66 cards.
If you’re looking for single cards, here’s what’s currently listed on eBay.
1 The Fantastic Fast Guy
3 Muscle Man
4 Put-Down Man
5 Brand X Man
6 Power Baby
7 Rat Man
8 Milk Man
10 Lard Lady
11 Ape Man
12 The Silver Screamer
13 Hen Boy
14 Video Boy
16 Great Gobbler
17 Egbert the Barbarian
19 Commander Big Foot
20 Wonder Rich Guy
21 Colossal Cockroach
22 Commander Clown
23 Captain Cement
24 Silver Skunk
25 Yellow Belly
26 Captain Ugly
27 Amazing Fantastic Colossal Power Zapper Wonder Man
28 Power Punk
29 Super Sneezer
30 Space Slug
32 Super Surfer
33 Flash Light
34 Super Swine
35 Captain Clod
36 Caped Cucumber
37 Toad Man
38 Captain Longdistance
39 The Power Pinhead
40 Dazzling Dog
41 Valley Girl
42 Fantastic Flea
44 The Z Team
45 Captain Forgetful
46 Thunder Thighs
48 Garlic Girl
49 Mean Man
50 The Fall Person
51 Lead Head
52 Bullet Boy
54 Commander Cheese
55 Fancy Man
56 Wonder Weakling
57 Steel Putty Man
58 Beetle Man
59 Cream-Puff Man
60 Caped Computer
61 Greased Lightning
62 Jet Boy
63 The Caped Rock Head
64 Bird Boy
65 Electric Man
66 The Incredible Bulk
Award – Zero Hero Crime Fighter
Do Not Enter – Protected by Zero Heroes
Secret Society of Zero Heroes
Super Turkey
Warning! This Vehicle Protected by Zero Heroes
Z Team
Zero Hero
Zero Hero Official I.D. Card
