Marvel Masterpieces 1992-2020

[DynaEtch]

In anticipation leading up to the upcoming 2022 Marvel Masterpieces set- which I have no idea when will be released, probably 2023 sometime- and also as we approach the 30th anniversary of Marvel Masterpieces (debut set released Oct, 1992), I thought it might be fun to have an all-encompassing Marvel Masterpieces thread with an in-depth look at every Masterpieces set released. There have been exactly 11 MM sets released to date.

The brand of Marvel Masterpieces has been synonymous with art, specifically painted art. It has become the fine art of the Marvel trading card world. This is one reason, in various Masterpieces ads, you see things like brushes, paint tubes, etc- the focus is the art. 8 of the 11 sets have all original art. Unfortunately the 3 2007-2008 MM sets used existing art UD owned, such as images used in their VS System gaming cards- but we'll get to that.

The two most important releases in 90s Marvel cards were 1990 Impel Marvel Universe and 1992 Skybox Marvel Masterpieces. 1990 Universe brought the hobby out of sporadic sets- sticker releases, Comic Images trading card sets with rehashed images, etc, and into a new era of original art commissioned just for that set- in many people's views it was the inaugural Marvel set. 1992 Masterpieces introduced the idea of luxury painted trading cards on a whole different level- it was a new standard. If I had to pick a 3rd most important set, I'd probably go with 1994 Fleer Ultra X-men, which was a monster hit and introduced the idea of retail/jumbo variant packs, including ones found at Walmart, with exclusive inserts in those packs (a concept that is huge in sports cards today and almost second-nature).

The plan is to start with 1992 MM, and slowly update this thread with subsequent MM sets over time. I will try to follow a very rough template for every set, for consistency, something along the lines of:

Set facts (release date, print run info, basic set composition)

My fav 4 base cards in the set

My fav insert (for some sets)

Extended look into various ads, promos, etc associated with the set

Commentary of what I like/dont like about the set

Minutia: random things that come to mind about the set

Error rating, and some examples of errors. I will give a rating of 1-5 for this error rating. What I mean by this, is how often you are likely to come across errors in packs, imo: 5=errors are decently often (although with respect to total print run, still quite uncommon), and 1=barely ever come across an error.

Brick rating. This will also be a scale 1-5, of how likely packs are to be bricked when opening (stuck cards), just from my very anecdotal experience. 5=most likely to be bricked, 1=almost certainly not bricked.

Over the years I have collected Masterpieces, and a lot of this will be shown below. It is by no means comprehensive. There are Masterpieces collections out there that Im aware of that are way more comprehensive. There are rarities out there, rarest of the rare, which I dont have or have even sniffed. One such example was posted in one of promoking's threads recently of a 1995 MM Canvas Iceman promo. Another area of my collection that is lacking is uncut sheets, I havent put much effort into acquiring them. But I hope the rest can help other collectors who are also interested in these sets and collecting them. In nonsports, there are sets, then there are master sets (base and all the inserts), then there are ultra master sets (all the previous with promos, wrappers, etc), then there are ultra ultra master sets (all the previous with ads, magazines, other random stuff), then ultra ultra ultra master sets (all the before with uncut sheets, unique stuff like plates that came from the company), etc etc, it goes on and on. I have realized in my MM journey there is basically no such thing as a 'true' 100% complete master set, so it's pointless to even use this term- there is always something else.

As a disclaimer, I may be wrong about some things, Im not perfect by any means, and welcome any corrections. I welcome everyone's thoughts....agree/disagree with my top 4 cards? Have anything from any of these sets not shown? What do you like/not like about the set? What do you remember as a kid about them? Maybe at the end will do a poll to see which is everyone's fav MM set (I think 3 in particular would be in the running for top spot, but opinion sharply divided on those).

Sorry for the long intro post, I will update this thread with 1992 set eventually. I feel lucky that we have had 11 whole sets of MM to enjoy over the years (and counting!), who would have thought, back in 1992 this brand would be going strong in 2022.