2003 • Inkworks Justice League Premium Trading Cards
Front and back sides of the Justice League sketch cards. Redeemed if you submitted the SR-1 card. Also shown: the Bruce Timm autograph redemption card.
81 standard
18 foil cards
9 World's Greatest Heroes
7 Lenticular
1
Autograph Card
7 cards per pack ($1.99), 36 packs per case
Friends and
Foes Foil Cards (1-per-pack)
I own: Whole set and full set of sketch cards (at least one from each artist)
Five types of Sketch cards (SK-1 thru SK-5, each ) were produced, each drawn by one five different Korean animation artists (and each artist sketched about 500 cards). You could get a Sketch card only if your pack contained a Redemption Card (SR-1, 1:100 packs); you could select the artist whose sketch you wanted.
These are really fun and feature characters from the Justice League animated
series. One could also buy a 3-ring Justice League collector album and a limited, numbered
uncut mini-press sheet of "World's
Greatest Heroes." Only
199 sequentially numbered uncut mini-press sheets made.
2004 • Postopia Justice League (KF Holdings/Post Cereal)
Set of 7
Distributed in plastic wrappers, inside Post
cereal boxes
I own: Whole set
Very similar to the Inkworks cards above, but a bit smaller and featuring different signature art for each of the seven members.
Set of 7 Postopia promo cards.
2005 • Upper
Deck Entertainment DC Vs System: JLA Trading Cards Game
These fantasy game cards are made to work with other sets of the "Vs.
System."
The JLA set was sold alongside collector’s edition Deck Tins, featuring
four different designs by Alex Ross. I couldn't care less about the game,
I love the cards. Complete sets are rarely sold since the game is currently
being played. From one booster box, I got 42% of the rare cards and nearly
100% of the rest.
Legendary DC characters as they have appeared in comic books from the 1930s
to the present. Limited product run of 10,000 boxes. ($84.00 each). Sort
of fun. Not as rotten as the next set...
This set is only for suckers like me...
Some production people + licencing fees + Photoshop skills = very pricey,
not very special cards. There is no real value-added text on these cards,
just reproduced artowrk. An historical retrospective on the JLA, this
set covers the team's history from 1960–69.
3: Legion of Super-Heroes (2015) • 28 cards (22 game cards + 6 oversized)
4: Watchmen (2015) • 37 cards
5: The Rogues (2017) • 37 cards
6: Birds of Prey (2017) • 37 cards
7: New Gods (2018) • 39 cards
8: Batman Ninja (2019) • 33 cards
Expansion Packs
Crisis Expansion Pack 1 (2014) • 74 cards
Crisis Expansion Pack 2 (2015) • 75 cards
Crisis Expansion Pack 3 (2016) • 70 cards
Crisis Expansion Pack 4 (2018) • 72 cards
Standalone Games
These are sold and play as standalone games, but are also compatible with all others in the Deck-building game.
Confrontations (2017) • 204 cards
Dark Nights: Metal (2020) • 213 cards
Forever Evil (2014) • 213 cards
Heroes Unite (2014) • 211 cards
Rebirth (2019) • 256 cards
Rivals — Batman vs The Joker (2014) • 104 cards
Rivals 2 Green Lantern Vs. Sinestro (2018) • 104 cards
Teen Titans (2015) • 219 cards
2015 • Cryptozoic DC Comics Super Villains Trading Cards
Featuring new and classic art, the base set features the greatest villains from the DC Universe. The base and insert sets were also issued in silver and gold parallel variants. This set is considered harder to find than other Cryptozoic sets (lower print runs?).
Injustice arcade game card: the same carrd is updated in each series.
These cards are an integral part of the Injustice Arcade™ game made by Raw Thrills found at arcades such as Dave and Busters. A free collectible card is dispensed at the end of every game play, or they can be purchased at the site. Scanning the card(s) (there is a barcode at the top) at the machine activates that character(s) in the game.
The first cards were a limited subset Beta Release from late 2017. They were tested at select locations of Dave and Busters. These cards are thinner, which caused some barcode scanning issues at the arcade machines.
The "First Edition" cards are a few millimeters wider and work better with the machines. Series 2 and 3 are not all-new, but rereleases of the original set, with design updates and new cards. The key character art is the same. Each set was also printed with foil and holofoil versions. Series 2 and 3 are printed with labels identifying them as such. (Thanks to HoneyBabyCardShop for the details.)
Series 1 (2017) • Set of 100: Consists of all the characters in the game. "Bronze" cards are one-star fighers; "Silver" are two-star; "Gold" are three-star.
Series 2 (2017) • Set of 110: A re-release of Series 1 with an updated design, plus 10 new Team cards — four-star "Platinum" tier.
Series 3 (2019) • Set of 120: A re-release that adds 10 "Boss" tier cards.
Series 4 (2022) • Set of 130: Adds 10 "Gear" tier cards.
2017 • DC Superheroes Coin-Pusher: Arcade Game Cards
The original promotional poster from Andamiro. The coin pusher game dispenses cards that are both valuable and (you hope) help push everything forward.
Card Details
These plastic cards come from an arcade game made by Andamiro and marketed exclusively by Bandai Namco. Each series of 16 has the same composition: 7 Hero cards and 7 Villain cards plus Hero Bonus and Villain Bonus (team) cards.
The art and backside design was updated for each new series. The numbering and characters remained the same across all. The cards do not bear copyright dates but each series has a ‘code number.’ The hero cards have yellow borders, the villains are red. The Aquaman and Darkseid cards are rarer. Some cards have no barcode on the bottom
Game Play
Players win thes cards by knocking them off of a moving tray. One redeems the cards for tickets at the arcade; tickets are then typically used to "purchase" other items.
At one arcade, for example, each card was redeemable for 500 tickets, the Hero and Villain Bonus cards for 1000 tickets. The hero card set was worth 15,000 tickets and the set 20,000 tickets. Both card sets together had a value of 50,000 tickets. (Values from October 2021).
To win cards, players press a button to control the release of tokens onto the "playfield," where a pushing mechanism slowly pushes tokens and cards toward the slot.
Series 1 (2017) featuring vintage 1980s artwork. Once this series ran out from the machines, they were gone.
Series 2 (2018) with New 52 artwork. All 2-player units will shipped with Series 2 cards.
Series 3 (2020) with DC Rebirth artwork.
Series 4 (2023) with cartoon-style artwork.
Cards are numbered the same in all series include:
Batman
Superman
Flash
Wonder Woman
Aquaman (rare)
Cyborg
Green Lantern
Hero Bonus (Justice League images)
Lex Luthor
Joker
Captain Cold
Cheetah
Harley Quinn
Penguin
Darkseid (rare)
Villain Bonus (compositions of various villains)
2017–2019
• DC Bombshells (Cryptozoic)
In Bombshells, DC's female characters appear in the retro, 1940s pinup-style set. The card sets feature art from the comics and variant covers.
I'm not a fan of these and contemporary sets. They represent Cryptozoic's overreliance on sketch art to bolster the collector's hunger for "chase cards." The art is of varying (too often low) quality.
Hand-drawn sketch cards from comic and sketch card artists, inserted 1:24 packs
Each hobby box contains a rare, randomly inserted "Golden Goddess" variant oif a DC Comics Lil Bombshells vinyl figure (either Harley Quinn, Wonder Woman, or Supergirl)
These promo cards are mix of professional and sketch illustrations.
Base and Chase Sets feature comic art and original sketches
Hand-drawn sketch cards inserted 1:24 packs
Each hobby box contains a rare, randomly inserted "Golden Goddess / God" variant of a DC Comics Lil Bombshells vinyl figure (either Harley Quinn, Raven, Starfire, Superman, or The Joker)
These promo cards are all sketch illustrations.
P1: Wonder Woman — from San Diego Comic-Con
P2: Supergirl— from San Diego Comic-Con
P3: Harley Quinn— from San Diego Comic-Con
P4: Poison Ivy — from The National Sports Collectors Convention
A card from each tier of rarity: Common (gray), Uncommon (green), Superior (blue), Epic (purple holofoil), Legendary and Mythic (gold holofoil), Hro (special).Comparing card designs for Chapters 1–3 (top) with Chapter 4 (bottom).DC Unlock the Multiverse: Mythic tier cards are highly valued (only 1,000–1,500 copies minted/printed).
About
This series by Hro (pronounced "hero") issued physical cards which have a "digital twin." One could scan the QR code on the back to redeem a corresponding digital NFT (non-fungible token) version of the card.
The Hro app
Hro ceased operations in October 2024 and the Hro app was decomissioned in January 2025. Collectors had to request to transfer their digital collections to the Kolex platform (which produces mostly sports cards).
One could sometimes "craft" their existing cards to redeem new digital cards, sell and trade, and purchase standard cards and custom packs directly.
Mint Numbers
A unique feature of the NFT cards is the "mint number" which actually indicates which individual card it is. That is, lower mint numbers were (ostensibly) printed first. Low mints are prized online because they win more points. The Mythic example here had 1,000 cards minted.
A major motivating factor in collecting these cards was the "mint number" — a serial number printed on every card. The lowest mint numbers were worth more points in the app, so those cards became very highly valued. Higher point totals caused one to rise on the app's Leaderboard. Also worth more points were high tier cards.
The highest ranking collectors on the Leaderboard were eligible for special reward cards, both digital and physical. Most rewards were digital, but there were a handful of print reward cards and uncut sheets.
Mint numbers in the digital/NFT realm: Sellers continue to hype the value of low mint numbers. These can still give you more points, but with the project now inactive, there are no rewards other than bragging rights. Kolex confirmed this in their shutdown FAQ:
"Will there still be a leaderboard for my collection of Hro Cards? 👉 Kolex will still rank the collections as they were on Hro; however, there will no longer be airdrops or rewards for holding/maintaining a certain rank."
This also means that "unscanned" cards (whose QR code has not been scanned for NFT redemption) also nave no inherent value—except for those who value NFT cards generally. One can still buy and trade NFT cards in Kolex.
Mint numbers in the physical realm: What about a low mint number on a printed card? There is no evidence that low mint cards actually came off the press "first." You can see on uncut sheets that the numbers are randomized.
From 2022–2024 they produced five larger sets (called "Chapters," or "Seasons" in the app) of "DC Unlock the Multiverse." The first four sets included subsets from DC films. They also produced five smaller, supplemental sets of about 20 cards each, mostly distributed at conventions.
Most of the art was repurposed from existing DC comics but Hro created many special graphical compositions too, especially for the film subsets and some digital exclusive cards.
Tiers
Sets contained cards in different "tiers" of rarity:
Common (gray)
Uncommon (green)
Superior (blue)
Epic (purple holofoil). Epic, Legendary and Mythic cards were described as "holofoil" ("shiny" to some collectors).
Legendary (gold holofoil)
Mythic (gold holofoil). In most sets, Mythic cards are rare. In the supplemental sets, Mythic cards are proportionally less rare.
Hro (later sets only, super rare)
Cards were sold in a variety of retail display units. "Premium packs" could also be purchased in 8-packs, plus 4-pack and 2-pack hanging boxes. These boxes were guaranteed to contain some rarer cards.
Physical cards were printed by Cartamundi Group (known for card games such as Magic: The Gathering and Pokémon). The NFTs are minted on Immutable X, a carbon-neutral Ethereum-based Layer 2 blockchain.
DC Unlock the Multiverse: Chapter 1 — display unit, 8-pack, 4-pack, 2-packs and single packCards from the film subsets bear a slightly different design. From Chapters 1-4, The Batman, Black Adam, Shazam: Fury of the Gods and The Flash.
Because of the excitement around the inaugural release and the smaller production run (about half the size of next chapters), Chapter 1 cards are more scarce and sell for higher prices. Especially at the time of launch, the resale market was selling boxes and packs for several times retail value.
Set notes:
Set of 156 cards comprised of ...
123 card base set; Common tier @51,546 mints; Legendary cards were exclusive to premium packs; 3 Mythics @1,000 mints
30 card subset from The Batman film (Limited Edition Collection)
2 premium cards from The Batman
1 Genesis card issued in the "Hro Genesis" release, a distinct release of 3,368 packs containing the last remaining Chapter 1 cards
Early cards had misprints which prevented the proper scanning of cards.
Batman 85 Years was the last set produced by Hro (effectively "chapter 5"). After it was released, Hro announced that it would cease operations.
Only 3000 commercial display units were produced for this series — and 1400 of them were destroyed. This was declared by Hro on Discord prior to the company's folding, and makes the Batman 85 Years set the rarest set.
As they only sold them for a period of time and then were no longer available Because almost half of the cards were destroyed, one can assume that only half as many mints are in circulation.
Set notes:
Set of 103 cards comprised of:
96 card base set; Common tier @14,864 mints; Uncommon @11,422; Superior @9500; Epic @4300; Legendary @2108;
4 Mythics, 1:63 rarity, 500 mints of each card (about 370 of each in circulation)
1 bonus Mythic (Robin), shipped in case pre-orders bonus; 290 mints
2 Hro tier, 1:1269 rarity; 100 minted for Bluebird; 15 mints for Batman Beyond
+1 physical Jumbo Reward card (actually a poster) to 10 highest leaderboard collectors.
Retail $119.99 with 24 packs, 7 cards per pack
Special Collections
Limited edition collection packs: Events, DC Selfie Moments, DC vs. Vampires and Dawn of DC.Limited edition Vintage DC Comic Covers
Five smaller, limited-edition release sets had 18–21 hybrid cards, mostly sold at conventions.
Events Collection (2023). Set of 18 (1 mythic). 5 cards per pack
Dawn of DC (San Diego Comic Con 2023). The first set to include oversized "Mega" cards (Mega 3.46 x 4.96 in.), which were either of Legendary or Mythic level.
DC "Selfie Moments" (New York Comic Con, October 2023). Set of 20 (1 mythic • 1 Mega).
DC vs. Vampires (San Diego Comic Con July 2024). Set of 18 (1 Mythic) + 3 Mega. Originally released at SDCC, later on the Hro website $35 for 2 packs (9 cards + Mega card). Mythics were 1:23 rarity.
Vintage DC Comic Covers (July 2024). Set of 18 + 3 Mega. A pack contained 9 cards + 1 Mega card. "Limited quantities" were available exclusively on Hro's website for $35. Four different package variants. Allegedly, when they shut down the company said it would destroy any unsold packs; potentially rare because of this. Indeed they do not come up at auction very frequently.
2023 • Wendy's Kid's Meal DC Heroes Mini Figures Mini Cards
Set of 18 • Issued in six sets of three
Three cards were inserted (in a sleeve) inside a box of three plastic mini-toys. The toys varied randomly in colors: red, blue, purple and green (there was no variation in color on the cards).
Set 1:
Superman
Supergirl
Lex Luthor
Set 2:
Batman
Nightwing
Catwoman
Set 3:
Wonder Woman
Cyborg
The Cheetah
Set 4:
Flash
Batgirl
Gorilla Grodd
Set 5:
Green Lantern (Jessica Cruz)
Nubia
Sinestro
Set 6:
Aquaman
Mera
Black Manta
In 2025, I made the decision to cease collecting any new sets of trading cards. Instead, I'd like to focus on
completing the ones in this section—which will provide plenty of challenge!
