Presents the Marvel Universe·1961–1993
Inaugural Edition
The premium painted set that raised the bar: thick glossy card stock, full-bleed art, and gold-foil stamping. Click any card to mark it as yours. Your progress saves automatically in this browser.
Presents the Marvel Universe·1961–1993
Inaugural Edition
Flip it over: a Flairprint back carries the UPC, while a binder insert back is completely blank. On the front, both reuse Powerblast art, but a Flairprint keeps the Flair '94 logo and character name while a binder insert has neither and drops the metallic finish.
Oversized Flairprint-style promos sent out through comic distributors ahead of the release.
Double-sided 5″ × 7″ panels. Released versions: front has the Flair logo, Bone Claws, Phoenix, Maximum Carnage. Back has Bodyslide, Spider-Man 2099, Thunderstrike, New Ghost Rider. They came bundled with comic magazines (see Ads & Magazines). The gold-foil etched version is reported as the Wizard #35 insert. The other magazine and variant pairings are unknown.
These came in Fleer's 1994 media press kit: a Wolverine folder holding the uncut sheets, a couple of single cards (Blade and Terrax), and press documents on Marvel letterhead with a history of Marvel and a character timeline. They were preview material, never sold in packs. Which sheets came in which kit isn't documented.
Comic ad appears in Fantastic Four #388. Glossy magazine ad also shows up in Tuff Stuff's Collect! (May).
Comic ad in Fantastic Four Unlimited #6, Amazing Spider-Man #390, and The Punisher #91.
A 4-card sheet comes with Tuff Stuff's Collect!. Two sheet versions are marked "Ships June 1994".
Diamond's Omega Red vs. Wolverine Flairprint is handed out at the Annual Retailer Seminar in Baltimore.
Heroes World's Deadpool Flairprint is handed out at Heroes World Con (nslists). 6½″ × 10″, blank back except for a barcode.
Glossy Inaugural Edition ad and the FlairPrints ad run in Tuff Stuff's Collect!; FlairPrints also in Hero Illustrated #13. Magazine ad also in Cards Illustrated #7.
4-card sheets bundled with Wizard #35, Advance Comics #67, and Marvel Age #138.
Comic ad continues in titles like Spectacular Spider-Man #214, X-Men #33, X-Factor #103, Blackwulf #2, Northstar #3, and Excalibur #78.
Glossy Inaugural Edition ad in Collector's Sportslook and Tuff Stuff's Collect! Star Trek.
The ad pages themselves, for collectors who keep the page or the whole issue. Fleer ran a newsprint version in Marvel comics, a glossy magazine version with Powerblast art, and a separate ad for the Flairprints.
Each came with a 4-card uncut promo sheet, which is on the checklist under Promos. Look for copies still sealed with the sheet inside.
Issues confirmed from the Grand Comics Database and from period copies with the newsprint "Inaugural Edition" comic ad. Fleer ran it in Marvel's ad pages next to its other 1994 card lines, so more titles from the same months likely carried it too.
Hobby and comics magazines confirmed to run the glossy "Inaugural Edition" magazine ad and/or the "Introducing FlairPrints" ad. These did not necessarily include a 4-card sheet.
Missing #6: numbering error — no card #6 exists. Two #8s instead: Iron Man (the real #6) and Vulture vs. Spider-Man.
Two known variants: "Ships June 1994" in white letters etched in gold foil, and the same text in black on a gold paste-on sticker. Bundled with Wizard #35, Advance Comics #67, Marvel Age #138 (all Jul 1994), and Tuff Stuff's Collect! (Jun 1994).
An unreleased sheet (Gambit & Rogue, Infinity Crusade, Maximum Carnage, Bone Claws) turned up on eBay — no front text; back fourth bullet says "presents" instead of "present," headed "The Ultimate Collectable."
Diamond's Omega Red vs. Wolverine Flairprint: Annual Retailer Seminar, Baltimore, June 11–14, 1994. Deadpool Flairprint: Heroes World Con 1994 (nslists; no published day range).
Binder inserts are oversized like Flairprints: Powerblast art without metallic finish, no Flair '94 logo/title, blank backs. Spider-Man binder verified in sealed '95 Fleer Ultra X-Men binders (2–3 per binder); some may also have been issued promotionally. Exact release timing isn't locked down.
Each hobby box held 24 packs of 10 cards. Packs shipped as thick cardboard mini-boxes with character foil art on the front — four cover variants (Venom, Magneto, Cyclops, Wolverine), shrink-wrapped, not a conventional wax wrapper. Powerblast chase landed about 1:2 packs; Flairprints were a case bonus, not in the packs.
Most Flair cards reuse existing comic art, repainted for the set. Each card lists its front title, source, and artist. Blank credits aren't identified yet. Research by @exotechktx. Advanced research by d3n4c3.
Likely unused in print: #10 Xavier, #42 Elektra, #44 Hobgoblin, #85 Bishop, Powerblast #5 Phoenix. #124 Bloodhawk source unconfirmed.