2025 Skybox Metal Universe DC Batman

[Eleanor Rigby]

Hi Guys,

Any news on this set ? Any possible release date ?

This set is going to be huge IMO. I can't wait the receive my preorder box !

[Scifi Cards]

Originally Posted by Eleanor Rigby

Hi Guys,

Any news on this set ? Any possible release date ?

This set is going to be huge IMO. I can't wait the receive my preorder box !

Hobby release is October 1st.

Retail Blasters release 2 weeks later, October 15

[kyle1707]

It was March

Then

April
May
June
July
August
September
Now October

UD being UD

[finfangfan]

I think this set will do well. Hopefully UD can rush it to ePack as I don’t think the Superman set (which is still sitting on GameStop shelves) will light ePack up when it inevitably drops there. UD is bungling the DC license. They should have led with this one. Meanwhile everything Topps releases with its Marvel AND Disney licenses generates a ton of hobby interest while ePack collapses.

[CicadaMound]

Fleer Brilliants Superman is a retail exclusive, it isn't going to ePack.

[ThatGuyPal]

It’s coming! Pause

PDF Checklist: https://gogts.net/wp-content/uploads...-Checklist.pdf

Excel Checklist: https://gogts.net/wp-content/uploads...-Checklist.xls


Easy to read formatted checklist (hope it’s correct): https://www.checklistinsider.com/202.../amp#pa_015919

[finfangfan]

Huge checklist that gets pretty obscure. I kind of wish they would have limited the PMG checklist to top 40ish characters. Will be interesting to see price of this and if there is much secondary interest in C and Dlist PMG characters. I think the last Spider-man Metal set hit at like $35 or $40 a pack on ePack but that was pretty close to the peak of COVID.

[YayNJ]

an 82 page check-list

[ThatGuyPal]

People that know this stuff…..any autos or sketches that will be much larger than others or?

[Sickleclaw]

Originally Posted by ThatGuyPal

People that know this stuff…..any autos or sketches that will be much larger than others or?

I do think that Batman sketches and any of the Batfam or major part of his rogues gallery will go for a lot. Sketches of lesser known characters probably less so.

The checklist does look like it gets pretty obscure. Glad to see Misfit remembered as a character for the set.

[kyle1707]

I have hard time thinking this will touch the popularity of marvel

Thought they would do a DC metal and not just Batman to start

Hopefully Superman will be next.

Unless this is all of dc product with Batman name

I have not looked at checklist

[orion9578]

Originally Posted by kyle1707

I have hard time thinking this will touch the popularity of marvel

Thought they would do a DC metal and not just Batman to start

Hopefully Superman will be next.

Unless this is all of dc product with Batman name

I have not looked at checklist

You're 100% right, it won't touch the popularity of Marvel.

I also 100% agree...making it Batman only was a massive mistake, IMO.

You're not missing much by not looking through the checklist. It's Batman/Batman related Heroes & Villains.

If Upper Deck wants to make a breakthrough DC product, they NEED to do a Masterpieces set by a highly thought of artist and included all of the big hitters, or at least the few that MOST people know of...Superman/Batman/Wonder woman/Various Villains(Joker etc.)

With all that said, there are a few cards I might grab if the images are nice. PMG's mostly.

[CicadaMound]

Upper Deck isn't as ruthless as Fanatics and is chained to ePack. You don't get the free publicity of people posting their cool pulls or big hits coming from breakers if half or more of the content is passively collected in a walled garden ecosystem of internal ePack forums and Facebook groups. ePack lets you persist indefinitely by catering to current collectors, but it doesn't do a lot to expand the collector base.

Marvel card collecting is more established too, since the comics were better for years, but if you poured Fanatics-level marketing into the scene by catering to normies you could definitely build up the collector base.

[orion9578]

Originally Posted by CicadaMound

Upper Deck isn't as ruthless as Fanatics and is chained to ePack. You don't get the free publicity of people posting their cool pulls or big hits coming from breakers if half or more of the content is passively collected in a walled garden ecosystem of internal ePack forums and Facebook groups. ePack lets you persist indefinitely by catering to current collectors, but it doesn't do a lot to expand the collector base.

Marvel card collecting is more established too, since the comics were better for years, but if you poured Fanatics-level marketing into the scene by catering to normies you could definitely build up the collector base.

It has almost nothing to do with UD's ability to sell a product out via ePack and almost everything to do with DC cards just not selling like Marvel cards do. I've been doing the whole "high end" non-sport card stuff for quite some time now, and I've been asked 0 times about DC cards, 0. I've had a few high end DC cards...and they just sit there, collecting dust. High end sketches of the "best" female characters by the "best" sketch artists...sitting for 1/3rd the price of their Marvel stuff...for years.

They'll have to reinvent a reason for people to care. IMO, the ONLY reason people would care at this point is a MASSIVE OA set by a HIGHLY KNOWN artist. Anything else will fall flat, again, IMO.

[finfangfan]

It’s definitely an uphill climb for UD to sell DC while Topps sells Marvel (and even SpongeBob) effortlessly in large quantities. Also, it doesn’t appear that UD has an exclusive DC license as CSX put out the Hush set this year. Topps has a global Marvel license and can even put out NHL sticker “cards” so it looks like Fanatics is making the most of the situation.

Maybe UD could get the Marvel sticker “cards” license to revive ePack a bit? Marvel pogs?

[orion9578]

Originally Posted by finfangfan

It’s definitely an uphill climb for UD to sell DC while Topps sells Marvel (and even SpongeBob) effortlessly in large quantities. Also, it doesn’t appear that UD has an exclusive DC license as CSX put out the Hush set this year. Topps has a global Marvel license and can even put out NHL sticker “cards” so it looks like Fanatics is making the most of the situation.

Maybe UD could get the Marvel sticker “cards” license to revive ePack a bit? Marvel pogs?

CZX won't really matter, IMO. I know some of those cards sell(The sketch/actor autos, in particular), but all in all...people will buy UD > CZX. I guess it does take a small part of the market share though.

And almost 0 people would care about anything UD did Marvel wise, unless it was the brands everyone already cares about. MM, FUSM etc. They couldn't even sell sets that were NICE without massive sales on a lot of them, even when they had the full license. Part of that might boil down to doing to much at once and then trying to get rid of it all at once as well, because of losing the license... But still, it wasn't a great last year for them.

I really think the only thing that'll get people excited is something along the lines of a DC Masterpieces by...a "Famous" DC related artist with a following.

Will PMG's of Batman do well? Yup. Along with several others. The other whatever, 85-90% of the set...just look at any Marvel Metal set. Spider-Man, Wolverine etc. all sell for a ton and even middle of the road characters...who've been in movies and have their own shows just don't move that well. Now imagine the 85-90% of the Batman Metal set that only hardcore comic fans have heard of...they will not sell well.

So yes, tough/long road for UD with the DC license.

[fabiani12333]

I don't know what you guys are talking about -- Metal Universal Batman should be a popular release. You'll get the first PMGs of Batman, Joker, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Robin, Bane, etc.

Batman is arguably the most popular comic book character ever -- at least tied with Spider-Man. And his villains are definitely the most popular and iconic.

This release should do well, and it was a smart move by DC to release it before a full DC Universe release -- Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Lex Luther and Darkseid take a back seat to Batman.

[orion9578]

Originally Posted by fabiani12333

I don't know what you guys are talking about -- Metal Universal Batman should be a popular release. You'll get the first PMGs of Batman, Joker, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Robin, Bane, etc.

Batman is arguably the most popular comic book character ever -- at least tied with Spider-Man. And his villains are definitely the most popular and iconic.

This release should do well, and it was a smart move by DC to release it before a full DC Universe release -- Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Lex Luther and Darkseid take a back seat to Batman.

Did you click on the checklist? Or just typing to see yourself type?

82 pages full of garbage characters that no one has ever heard of.

It has already been said that Batman will move. Joker will move. Quinn, Catwoman will do well on the lower numbered stuff. The rest? I don't buy it. There are almost 0 middle ground characters that people will spend money on. Again, look at the Marvel Metal releases to see how few characters actually sell...even people who are VERY popular and in the biggest movies made... Thor, Cap, Black Panther etc. etc. Those guys do not sell for all that much and literally everyone knows who they are.

Go look through those 82 pages and tell me who's rushing out to buy almost any of those characters cards. Unless UD prices it extremely low, it'll just sit. I'd take bets on that, if you're the type to do that sort of thing

PS. If you add in the fact that a lot of NEWER Marvel buyers have moved on to Topps Marvel and a lot of older(smarter) Marvel COLLECTORS have moved to back collecting stuff that's actually worth collecting(most older UD and/or 90s Marvel sets)... it just compounds UD's DC problem. UD put out a full character list set in DC Annual with all of DC's big guns on ePack and out to the world and....crickets. Did some degens open a ton of it? Yup, they did...but they'll open anything.

UD has a massive hill to climb with almost any DC release they put out...and it makes 0 sense to shoot themselves in the foot and not put Superman and Wonder Woman in basically everything...it'd help, not hurt. When you're trying to build up a brand, it makes the opposite of sense to leave out your 1st or 2nd best character(Superman) and your 3rd best character in Wonder Woman... Spider-Man Metal had Wolverine for a reason...it helped it sell.

[Eleanor Rigby]

Pretty Classic UD Metal checklist. Yes, there's a lot of garbage name on it. But all the big name are there.

I'm not sure why you guys are down on this set.

- 1st DC Metal Release
- Red/Blue/Green + Gold PMG
- Star Rubies

This set will do well IMO. The question is how many case they made.

Huge print run like the 2021 Metal Universe Spider-Man or low print run like the 2024 Metal Universe Avengers ?

I notice that there's a lot of Batman card in the low series. 7 Batman card is a LOT ... Only one in the High Series tho ( probably the PMG to chase).

The Joker and the Penguin only have 1 card ( high series). They will sell very well, no doubt about it.

[finfangfan]

Originally Posted by Eleanor Rigby

Pretty Classic UD Metal checklist. Yes, there's a lot of garbage name on it. But all the big name are there.

I'm not sure why you guys are down on this set.

- 1st DC Metal Release
- Red/Blue/Green + Gold PMG
- Star Rubies

This set will do well IMO. The question is how many case they made.

Huge print run like the 2021 Metal Universe Spider-Man or low print run like the 2024 Metal Universe Avengers ?

I notice that there's a lot of Batman card in the low series. 7 Batman card is a LOT ... Only one in the High Series tho ( probably the PMG to chase).

The Joker and the Penguin only have 1 card ( high series). They will sell very well, no doubt about it.

Refresh my memory. I think both MUSM and MUA both had 200 card base sets (high/low)… what made MUA have a smaller print run? Was it missing a numbered parallel that MUSM had?

[orion9578]

Originally Posted by Eleanor Rigby

Pretty Classic UD Metal checklist. Yes, there's a lot of garbage name on it. But all the big name are there.

I'm not sure why you guys are down on this set.

- 1st DC Metal Release
- Red/Blue/Green + Gold PMG
- Star Rubies

This set will do well IMO. The question is how many case they made.

Huge print run like the 2021 Metal Universe Spider-Man or low print run like the 2024 Metal Universe Avengers ?

I notice that there's a lot of Batman card in the low series. 7 Batman card is a LOT ... Only one in the High Series tho ( probably the PMG to chase).

The Joker and the Penguin only have 1 card ( high series). They will sell very well, no doubt about it.

It's the 3,426 card checklist that's the problem.

No one is saying the top tier cards won't sell well. No one is arguing that the set doesn't have its positives. Batman Jambalaya? Awesome. But... 95% of people will open a few EXPENSIVE packs and hit a Metamorpho the Element Man Justice Parallel /250. I'd love to hear the defense of UD putting a character like that(and numbering it that high) in an expensive set. Why not just add the whole, top tier, DC lineup... Just like they did in most Marvel Metal sets.

If they wanted to start DC off with a bang, you know...to get people on board, they sure went about it wrong. Out of the gate they go with a mediocre(at best) Annual set? Then they go with what will probably be an expensive Metal set with a ridiculous checklist? I'd love to be fly on the wall at one of those strategy meetings

DC was going to have a hard enough time to begin with. Marvel has always had a stranglehold on the cards portion of non-sports(between the two). I get that comic wise, Superman and Batman are up there/surpass Spider-Man, but we're talking about cards...not comics. I'd also argue that Spider-Man far surpasses both of them, if you're just talking about the last decade or two, in popularity.

DC is the lesser of the two properties and UD seems to be doing their best to NOT get the Marvel customers they had to get on board.

[PurplesaurusRex]

I hope they release it on epack soon. Should breathe some life into that site! Spider-man metal was only a month between hobby and epack right?

[YayNJ]

Originally Posted by orion9578

Did you click on the checklist? Or just typing to see yourself type?

82 pages full of garbage characters that no one has ever heard of.

It has already been said that Batman will move. Joker will move. Quinn, Catwoman will do well on the lower numbered stuff. The rest? I don't buy it. There are almost 0 middle ground characters that people will spend money on.

A rather rude post, and sorry to say, garbage.

No middle ground?

Bane. Two-Face. Riddler. Sandman. The Flash. Robin. Scarecrow.

They will all do okay.

The rest is just like marvel to be honest, full of filler and enough cartoon babes with boobs to appeal to the thirsty doroto fingered portion of the hobby.

[orion9578]

Originally Posted by YayNJ

A rather rude post, and sorry to say, garbage.

No middle ground?

Bane. Two-Face. Riddler. Sandman. The Flash. Robin. Scarecrow.

They will all do okay.

The rest is just like marvel to be honest, full of filler and enough cartoon babes with boobs to appeal to the thirsty doroto fingered portion of the hobby.

Rude? You must have skipped over looking at the checklist as well. It's a realistic take on what is a ridiculously bad checklist. When you put together a Metal checklist with an overabundance of mediocre and/or horrible characters, you really have to make it top heavy...not leave out 2/3rds of the 3 best characters in the DC property...and then water it down even more by doing "FX" cards numbered as high as /250 as "hits". For reference, the highest #"ed Spider-Man Metal "FX" cards were /75... Spider-Man Metal also included the other top character in the Marvel universe(Wolverine)...even though he has less to do with Spider-Man than Superman has to do with Batman. Why you ask? Because it helps it move, gives it value. They purposefully took out value, and I am pointing that out to people looking to spend their hard-earned money on an incredibly weak checklist/set.

Bane, Two-Face, Riddler, Sandman, The Flash, Robin and Scarecrow will NOT sell for what Thor, Captain America and Black Panther do, at least not in the long term...and I think I could go on and on with more middle ground characters that they will not sell as well as...

The last Red PMG auctions from Metal for those three goes something like Captain America $44 dollars... Thor $72 dollars... Black Panther $34 dollars...

What do you suspect that means for the DC set? I'll yield the point that out of the gate, they will likely sell for more than that. New stuff always sells for way more than it should and in 4-6~ months, most prices are cut in half or worse. I think it's also fair to mention that this will be their first PMG's, while it's the whatever...8th or more on some of those guys...PMG's of Cap/Thor/BP etc.

The positives are obvious...Batman/Joker/Quinn/Catwoman PMG's, Jambalayas, Platinum Portraits and a decent lineup of sketch artists(though it has a lackluster comic cut checklist, from what I can tell)... but the negatives, IMO, outweigh the positives...and not by a little bit, but a lot.

PS. UD could "save" the ePack release if the achievements are great. That has been the case before, but it is definitely not always the case. Comic Cut covers of important Batman comics, that'd do the trick. Anything to do with plates and/or sketches and it does nothing to add a ton of value, again...IMO.

[kyle1707]

Originally Posted by orion9578

You're 100% right, it won't touch the popularity of Marvel.

I also 100% agree...making it Batman only was a massive mistake, IMO.

You're not missing much by not looking through the checklist. It's Batman/Batman related Heroes & Villains.

If Upper Deck wants to make a breakthrough DC product, they NEED to do a Masterpieces set by a highly thought of artist and included all of the big hitters, or at least the few that MOST people know of...Superman/Batman/Wonder woman/Various Villains(Joker etc.)

With all that said, there are a few cards I might grab if the images are nice. PMG's mostly.

Masterpieces would be great

Dos santos 2022 masterpieces. Is my favorite non sports product of all time