Spider-Man: Brand New Day (NO SPOILERS)

 My son, grandsons and I saw Spider-Man: Brand New Day on Thursday and we enjoyed.  It is probably not the Spider-Man movie we're used to.  It feels more grounded and story driven.  The youngest son said it needed more action and for a 9-year-old I get it.  There is action though.  Again, how it plays into the story might make it different from what we've seen before.  Good movie and one of our favorites in the Tom Holland era.

Random Wax: Kayou Hero Series Battle Series 1 Legend Booster – 3 Packs

Kayou Hero Battle S1:  Happy 4th of July!  Captain America is a great way to start of the day, right?  He was a character I liked but wasn't a big fan of when reading comics, but I really enjoy what Marvel did with him in the movies.

I really like this set which is a game.  It's licensed by Marvel and made in China. The writing is in Chinese so it's tough to say what is written on them.  Checklists for Kayou Marvel cards can be found here.

Purchased my boxes off AliExpress in 2023.  The cards are very thin like actual playing cards.

In order of the tiers of cards you can pull they go R, SR, SSR, HR, SGR, LR, UR, MR, and CR in that order from most common to the rarest.  Finding information on these cards isn't the easiest to find, but a decent overview can be found here.

These are always fun.  I enjoy this era of Marvel movies, and these cards help you relive the characters in the movies.

BREAKDOWN:

18 – Total Cards (3 Packs)

6 – SR

3 – SSR

Random Wax: Kayou Hero Series Battle Series 1 Legend Booster– 3 Packs

Kayou Series 1:   I've always been a fan of Black Panther, and I remember buying a Black Panther hat in a mall back in the mid-nineties.  I think it was a Kansas City mall.  Wish I still had it.  I really liked the first movie as well.  The last one was didn't do a whole lot for me.

These China made game cards are thin in the mode of playing cards.  I like the design.  No clue about playing the game.  All about the cards themselves to me.  At a time when it's tough to find affordable Marvel cards these are a good option.

In order the tiers of cards you can pull they go R, SR, SSR, HR, SGR, LR, UR, MR, and CR in that order from most common to the rarest.  It's not easy to find info on these cards.

These are licensed and based off the Marvel movie universe during the height of its popularity.  I'm a fan of most of those movies so that works for me.  Purchased my boxes off AliExpress.

I love Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow.  She was so much fun while kicking butt and taking names.  I think the Black Widow movie is underrated.  Florence Pugh is doing a great job picking up the Black Widow mantle as Yelena Belova.

BREAKDOWN:

18 – Total Cards (3 Packs)

5 – SR

2 – SSR

 

Random Wax: Kayou Hero Series Battle Series 1 Legend Booster– 3 Packs

Kayou Hero Battle Series 1:  Scarlett Witch has been very prominent in the Marvel movie universe and one I've liked.  I'm still now sure how much I liked WandaVision but she really shined in the movies.

These licensed cards come from a trading card game.  I really like the look, and they focus on the early Marvel cinematic universe which is something I'm a fan of.  These sets are really hard to find information on outside of a checklist.

Some cards are rarer than others and are easily denoted by the letters just below the photo on the left.  In order they go R, SR, SSR, HR, SGR, LR, UR, MR, and CR in that order from most common to the rarest.  The checklist gives a pretty good breakdown of what you should find in each box, and it was exact with mine.  I really do appreciate these being easily labeled.  I still don't know why some cards have red backgrounds behind the lettering and some of the border as opposed to others.

Purchased this off AliExpress.  Prices aren't pretty good compared to other comic card offerings.  That Iron Man card may be my favorite from this post. 

Some of the other packs had more variety but these are really fun.  I still have more packs to show off over time.  I really like the Iron Man and Captain Marvell cards in these packs.

BREAKDOWN:

18 – Total Cards (3 Packs)

7 – SR

1 - UR

1 – SSR

2022 Upper Deck Marvel Beginnings Vol. 2 Series 1 Blaster

UD Beginnings 2022:   I've always liked Thor and his look.  I liked the first Thor movie or two as well but the franchise fell into nothing but a laugh fest which didn't do his character justice.  It's a shame as they had really set it up for success in my opinion.

The base design isn't bad.  I like the Beginnings logo.  The headshot.  But something seems to be lacking.  Doesn't mean I don't like them.  Just feels lacking.  The art is fine.  Not sure if it's directly out of the comics but I'm good.  That Carnage is a Red Supernova Parallel.

The backs are fairly simple with some milestones laid out.  I wish there was more color to balance all the white we get on the fronts of the base cards.

Deep Lore inserts give us some deep background cuts for characters.  I do like them as a concept and the design.

Plenty to like on these cards.  Many cool characters.  Don't remember seeing Wendigo on cards before.

Feels like there is art of the team together they could have used here.  The individual art laid out isn't bad but feels disconnected.

Dazzler looking like she's part of Captain Marvel's team.  I've had these for almost two years but I'm finally getting around to posting them.

I don't remember what Cosmic Alpha inserts are meant to represent.  A Point in Time cards highlight a specific key moment in a character's past.

These are fun.  I haven't picked any of these up since buying this box in 2023.  I'll pick up singles as I see them but I doubt I'll go back for boxes or packs.

BREAKDOWN:
45 – Total Cards
3 – Deep Lore
3 – Red Supernova
1 – Flipped FX
1 – Red Parallel
1 – Cosmic Alpha
1 – Marvel Knights
1 – A Point in Time
1 – Team Formations

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier

I did watch The Falcon and the Winter Soldier some time ago, but it looks like I didn't post anything here.  It was good.  The series is set six months after Sam Wilson became Captain America at the end of Avengers: Endgame.  Pretty good character development, plot and we get to see some familiar characters from the Marvel universe.  Sam and Bucky team up.  Fight a global threat.  All the while we see the government's involvement in overseeing heroes and Captain America, specifically.  I'm a huge Falcon fan and while I liked this series, I don't think it wowed folks and I get that.  Baron Zemo, played by Daniel Bruhl, really stood out to me.  I like that character.  I think it's a good watch.  There are six episodes.  I do think the pacing may not be what some would hope for, but it is a good story with good characters.      

Thunderbolts* (NO SPOILERS)

 

Thunderbolts*:  I really enjoyed this movie.  So did my son and grandsons.  Lots of action and fun.  The characters are likable.  It felt like a Marvel movie to me.  The characters have ties to past movies and aren't going away.  I liked many of these characters going in and like them even more now.  I definitely think it's worth watching and worth watching in theaters.

Kraven the Hunter

Kraven the Hunter:  Like many, this one didn't excite me when it came out, but I did want to watch it.  I did that and I'm still not excited about it.  It's fine for what it is but it doesn't feel connected to the Marvel Universe nor something we should get excited about as a standalone movie.  The basic plot is fine, but it's drawn out and again, not much to make this something I'm invested in.  If you're not a Kraven fan, why watch it?  It's a shame as I'd like to see more comic movies succeed.  It just didn't work here, and I do question Marvel's choice of character most are not that familiar with.  Maybe we see Kraven somewhere else down the line, so watching this movie may help you in the future.  

2024 Upper Deck Marvel Studios Series 2: Cinematic Blaster

Studios Cinematic 2024: Chris Hemsworth does a great Thor.  I've always been a fan of his character though I do believe his character went too far with the over-the-top humor.  Still, Hemsworth does a great job.

I really like this shot with all the chaos in the background.  Thor: Love and Thunder is not a movie I care for.  I thought it had a lot going for it, but it went with too much comedy which overshadowed what good it did have.

The base set here continues numbering from Series 1.  Like Series 1, the designs are the same which are fine.  I like the middle design here the most.  The other is design is okay and reminds me of a Fleer Ultra look.

These are pretty simple, but I really like the card and concept.  As a kid I had a Marvel lunch box so this takes me back.  I like the Lunch Box Legends cards.

Here are two UD Debut inserts.  The one on the right is an Outburst Parallel.  I like the UD inserts. 

UD Canvas are nice cards and something we see across Upper Deck sets.

This is the Jumbo Parallel I pulled.  They are okay but I have no idea what to do with oversized cards.

The backs are fine.  I like how the set's focus on the actors as well as the characters from the movies.  I like the appearances listing as well for some reason.

Specifically, this set showcases cards from the Marvel movies Black Widow, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Eternals, Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.  

These inserts aren't bad.  We have UD Portraits, Dazzlers Green and 1995 Collectors Choice SE Retros.  The Collector's Choice is my favorite though I wish they had gone with white borders.

I always liked the Lady Sif character and thought they could have done more with her and the Warriors Three.  I like this set but I'm more excited about Series 1 and the television shows covered there.  

Fun box of cards.  I'll pick off singles, but I won't be doing full blasters.  We'll end it with Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff/Scarlett Johansson who is always fun and a favorite of mine.

BREAKDOWN:

35 – Total Cards

3 – UD Debut

1 – Jumbo

1 – UD Canvas

1 – Dazzlers Green

1 – Outburst Parallel

1 – UD Portraits Gold

1 – Lunch Box Legends

1 – 1995 Collectors Choice SE Retros

2024 Upper Deck Spider-Man (3 Packs)

 2024 Spider-Man: We'll kick this post off with a good-looking Captain America card.  The art has a classic feel to it which I like.

I wasn't familiar with this set when I saw the packs but knew I wanted them.  I like the basic design.  The dark red borders, logo and art are all good.  Not all the art is a hit with me.  The Wolverine art seems a bit odd but overall, I feel these are classic looks for the characters which I enjoy.

I pulled four Battle Time cards.  These are good cards too.  I do think the bottom border can be a bit smaller but it's not overly egregious.  

Some love for the ladies of Marvel.  I like all three of these with Arachne being my favorite.  Mockingbird's look feels a little off for me but I'm no expert on all her looks.

I'm a big fan of the Rhino who all in all is a minor Spider-Man character so I enjoy his inclusion.

Lots of characters from the Spidey-Verse we see a lot of as well as characters like Captain Britain who we might not think of when we think of Spider-Man.

Here we have the backs of the base card, Monumental Covers insert and Battle Time cards.  All are fine though I wish Monumental Covers hadn't gone all bright on us.

I will definitely go back and look for more of this set though probably singles for the most part.  I paid ~$6 per pack which means these are a dollar a card right off the bat.  I should be used to hero cards being expensive but the price points on Marvel and DC cards still surprises me.  Another reason I tend to go back to the Kayou Marvel and DC offerings.

These are fun cards.  I really like the look of that Iron Fist.  I read the Power Man and Iron Fist comics when I was young.  This Monumental Covers is a great looking card as well.  I really like the design and seeing the covers while feeling retro.

TRADING CARDS:
18 – Total Cards
4 – Battle Time
1 – Monumental Covers