2011 Upper Deck Marvel Beginnings is the first of a three-part anthology series that covers broad ground. That said, the key theme of the line is origins, taking a deep dive into the starts of both Marvel superheroes and villains. Besides a large base set, the inserts delve deeper into Marvel Comics lore including creator autographs, sketch cards and the early ’90s staple — holograms.
2011 Upper Deck Marvel Beginnings Checklist Overview
The base set is a big 180 cards. It’s entirely character-driven, covering all corners of the Marvel Universe. That said, it fits into the greater whole of the two sets that follow so not every big name character is in it, and that’s by design.
Fronts have a large modern piece of character artwork that dominates the front. However, sticking with the origins theme, there’s a second small inset drawing showing their earlier incarnations as well.
Backs give a brief bio as well as highlight the character’s first appearance including an image of the comic cover and credits for the creators.
Premium Inserts
Inserts begin with Breakthrough Issues. Landing one per pack, there are 45 in the set. A variety of big comics and major moments are highlighted. This is where the product’s autographs come in as well. Signed versions combine to fall 1:72 packs. Single-, dual- and triple-signed versions are all part of the checklist. Anthony Michael Bendis, Larry Hama, Peter David and Adam Kubert are among the many creators signing for the set. Stan Lee has several different autograph cards in the product as well.
Sketch Cards are also 1:72 packs. These have original art with 70 artists contributing to the set.
Ultimate Panel Focus Comic Cuts mark the first time that Upper Deck broke into the realm of converting original comics into memorabilia cards. Classic issues — copies that were in rough condition — were cut up and embedded into trading cards. The approach is similar to jersey and memorabilia cards found on the sports side of the hobby. At 1:288 packs, these are tough pulls and don’t surface often today.
Additional Inserts
Taking it back a couple of decades, Villains Holograms bring back one of the hobby’s cornerstone chase cards from the peak of the ’90s trading card boom. They’re different this time around with the hologram part being a generic patterned background and a traditional character image printed over top. But the cards do have holograms. And with a 42-card checklist and tough 1:72 odds, tracking down specific singles can be an exercise in patience.
Marvel Prime Micromotion Foil cards have risen in popularity, likely in large part to the surge in Marvel Metal and Precious Metal Gems prices. These aren’t nearly as expensive but some may fetch higher prices than their 1:2 odds suggest.
Each Marvel Beginnings release has a different die-cut set. Here, there’s an X-Men theme. The full set has 45 cards with one in every other pack.
2011 Upper Deck Marvel Beginnings Checklist
Set size: 180 cards
Cards per pack: 7
Packs per box: 24
Boxes per case: 12
Release date: May 11, 2011
Shop for 2011 Upper Deck Marvel Beginnings boxes on eBay.
Base Set
180 cards.
Buy on eBay:
1 Thor
2 Doctor Doom
3 Hawkeye
4 Super Skrull
5 Moondragon
6 Mastermind
7 Shatterstar
8 Hulkling
9 Black Bolt
10 Fabian Cortez
11 Phoenix
12 Madame Masque
13 Spider-Girl
14 Radioactive Man
15 Devil Dinosaur and Moon Boy
16 Maelstrom
17 Domino
18 Snarks
19 Warstar
20 Mimic
21 Spider-Man 2099
22 Nighthawk
23 Jamie Braddock
24 Starbolt
25 Korvac
26 Scarlet Spider
27 Queen
28 Zarathos
29 Destiny
30 Beyonder
31 Invisible Woman
32 Loki
33 Box
34 Red Hulk
35 Hellcat
36 Attuma
37 Dusk
38 Ego the Living Planet
39 Hank Pym
40 Kurse
41 Jessica Jones
42 Chameleon
43 Changeling
44 Polaris
45 Morlun
46 Synch
47 Baron Blood
48 Thunderbird
49 Feral
50 Bushwacker
51 Doctor Strange
52 Carnage
53 Iceman
54 Shatterax
55 Doc Samson
56 Sebastian Shaw
57 Cannonball
58 Swarm
59 Electro
60 Wiz Kid
61 Nick Fury
62 Sabretooth
63 Magma
64 Spider-Slayers
65 Legion
66 Gwen Stacey
67 Belasco
68 Stilt-Man
69 Crimson Dynamo
70 Wolfsbane
71 Daredevil Noir
72 Blackheart
73 Quake
74 Brood
75 Lockheed
76 Red Guardian
77 Lilith
78 D’Spayre
79 Arsenic and Old Lace
80 Sharon Carter
81 Quicksilver
82 Tarantula
83 Titania
84 Whizzer
85 Madelyne Pryor
86 Firebird
87 Pyro
88 J. Jonah Jameson
89 Prodigy
90 Phoenix Force
91 Colossus
92 Galactus
93 Guardian
94 Crystal
95 Dragon Man
96 Absorbing Man
97 Shuma-Gorath
98 Namorita
99 Prowler
100 Adversary
101 Ghost Rider
102 Firestar
103 Winter Soldier
104 Doppelganger
105 Gorgon
106 Justin Hammer
107 Sister Grimm
108 Stature
109 Harry Osborn
110 Alistair Smythe
111 War Machine
112 Blink
113 Tiger Shark
114 Jack Frost
115 Mr. Fear
116 Bucky Barnes
117 Krang
118 Ravage
119 Shocker
120 Amadeus Cho
121 She-Hulk
122 Elektra
123 Turbo
124 Morbius
125 Clea
126 Baron Mordo
127 Machine Man
128 Trevor Fitzroy
129 Black Cat
130 Graviton
131 Gambit
132 Bullseye
133 Butterfly
134 Hercules
135 Hammerhead
136 American Eagle
137 Beetle
138 Moonstar
139 Venom
140 Pip the Troll
141 Ultimate Wolverine
142 Jigsaw
143 Strong Guy
144 Spiral
145 Yukio
146 Deathbird
147 Multiple Man
148 Leader
149 Night Thrasher
150 Cameron Hodge
151 Storm
152 Kingpin
153 Impossible Man
154 Arcade
155 Speedball
156 Wonder Man
157 Steel Serpent
158 Joseph
159 Vulture
160 Wiccan
161 Archangel
162 N’astirh
163 Eternity
164 Obadiah Stane
165 Cloak and Dagger
166 William Stryker
167 Stryfe
168 Phantom Rider
169 Supreme Intelligence
170 Arachne
171 Iron Man Noir
172 Sunspot
173 Onslaught
174 Typhoid Mary
175 Forgotten One
176 Awesome Android
177 Arnim Zola
178 Karnak
179 Avalanche
180 Frankenstein’s Monster
Printing Plates Parallels
180 cards.
Each is a 1/1.
Cards have Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow plates.
Breakthrough Issues Autographs Checklist
56 cards.
1:72 packs for all autographs combined.
B-1 Stan Lee
B-2 Len Wein
B-3 Stan Lee
B-4 Dan Green
B-4 Larry Hama
B-4 Adam Kubert
B-5 Stan Lee
B-6 Fabian Nicieza
B-6 Matthew Ryan
B-7 Gerry Conway
B-9 Terry Austin
B-10 Stan Lee
B-10 Joe Sinnott
B-11 Stan Lee
B-11 Larry Lieber
B-11 Joe Sinnott
B-12 Stan Lee
B-12 Joe Sinnott
B-13 Tom Orzechowski
B-15 Stan Lee
B-16 Kurt Busiek
B-16 George Perez
B-16 Tom Smith
B-17 Bob Wiacek
B-17 Ron Zalme
B-18 Stan Lee
B-19 Mark D. Bright
B-19 David Michelinie
B-20 Stan Lee
B-20 Joe Sinnott
B-22 Tom Orzechowski
B-23 Stan Lee
B-24 Stan Lee
B-25 Joe Sinnott
B-26 Fabian Nicieza
B-27 Stan Lee
B-28 Stan Lee
B-29 Roger Stern
B-30 Dan Green
B-31 Terry Austin
B-32 Stan Lee
B-33 Peter David
B-33 Joe Quesada
B-35 Mark Waid
B-36 Bryan Hitch
B-38 Steve McNiven
B-39 Mark Waid
B-40 Gabriele Dell’otto
B-41 Stan Lee
B-42 Tomm Coker
B-42 Alex Irvine
B-43 Dennis Calero
B-43 Fred Van Lente
B-44 Salvador Larroca
B-45 Brian Michael Bendis
B-45 Alex Maleev
Dual Autographs
15 cards.
1:72 packs for all autographs combined.
B-4 Adam Kubert, Larry Hama
B-6 Matthew Ryan, Fabian Nicieza
B-9 Terry Austin, Tom Orzechowski
B-10 Joe Sinnott, Stan Lee
B-11 Stan Lee, Larry Lieber
B-12 Joe Sinnott, Stan Lee
B-16 George Perez, Tom Smith
B-17 Tom Orzechowski, Ron Zalme, Bob Wiacek
B-19 Mark D. Bright, David Michelinie
B-20 Joe Sinnott, Stan Lee
B-30 Tom Orzechowski, Dan Green
B-33 Peter David, Joe Quesada
B-42 Tomm Coker, Alex Irvine
B-43 Fred Van Lente, Dennis Calero
B-45 Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev
Triple Autographs Checklist
4 cards.
1:72 packs for all autographs combined.
B-4 Larry Hama, Adam Kubert, Dan Green
B-11 Stan Lee, Joe Sinnott, Larry Lieber
B-16 Kurt Busiek, George Perez, Tom Smith
B-17 Tom Orzechowski, Ron Zalme, Bob Wiacek
Sketch Cards Checklist
70 artists.
1:72 packs.
Number of cards done by each artist is noted.
Aaron Sowd – 36
Andy MacDonald – 56
Arvin “John ACE” Evangelista – 45
Ben Herrera – 41
Ben Young – 30
Bill Pulkovski – 42
Billy Martin – 21
Brandon Singleton – 21
Brian Kong – 45
Bruce Gerlach – 45
Bryan Turner – 10
Cal Slayton – 45
Cat Staggs – 26
Charles Hall – 39
Chris Forman – 28
Dan Gorman – 78
Dan Panosian – 28
Dave Ryan – 49
David Mack – 52
Eric Ninaltowski – 45
Frank Kadar – 47
Frankie B. Washington – 99
George “GEO” Davis – 29
George Calloway – 45
Gilbert Monsanto – 101
George Deep – 50
Hamilton Cline – 88
Hanie Mohd – 99
Irma Ahmed – 96
Jake Minor – 43
Jason Adams – 41
Jason Keith Phillips – 101
Jerry Fleming – 27
Jerry Gaylord – 16
Jim Cheung – 27
Joe Pekar – 55
Joel Carroll – 72
Johnboy Meyers – 27
Jon Hughes – 42
Jose Jaro – 11
Joyce Chin – 29
Kate Bradley – 13
Katie Cook – 27
Ken Steacy – 29
Kevin Gentilcore – 101
Kevin Graham – 27
Lak Lim – 45
Lawrence Reynolds – 93
Lord Mesa – 103
Mark de Castro – 53
Mark Henry – 20
Matt Grigsby – 17
Mark McKenna – 36
Matthew Minor – 101
Michael Duran – 83
Mike Miller – 56
Remi Dousset – 27
Remy “Eisu” Mokhtar – 82
Renato “Butch” Mapa – 31
Richard Molinelli – 85
Richard Pace – 28
Rose Lumibao – 18
Roy Cover – 44
Rusty Gilligan – 15
Ryan Kincaid – 45
Ryan Orosco – 17
Sarah Wilkinson – 54
Sebastian Mazuera – 49
Travis Walton – 99
Wendy Chew – 12
Ultimate Panel Focus Comic Cuts
13 cards.
1:288 packs.
UM-1 The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1, #2 /66
UM-2 The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1, #4 /53
UM-3 The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1, #6 /61
UM-4 The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1, #9 /68
UM-5 The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1, #14 /66
UM-6 The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1, #18 /51
UM-7 The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1, #25 /45
UM-8 The Amazing Spider-Man Volume 1, #50 /39
UM-12 The Avengers Volume 1, #57 /50
UM-13 Daredevil Volume 1, #181 /55
Breakthrough Issues Checklist
45 cards.
1 per pack.
B-1 Spider-Man
B-2 Deadly Genesis!
B-3 Captain America Joins… The Avengers!
B-4 Nightmare Persist
B-5 The Hulk
B-6 Dreams Fade (Fatal Attractions, Pt. 4)
B-7 The Goblin’s Last Stand
B-8 Last Hand
B-9 Days of Future Past
B-10 Prisoners of Doctor Doom!
B-11 The Power of Thor
B-12 Origin of the Silver Surfer!
B-13 Honor
B-14 On the Edge of Darkness
B-15 Face-to-Face with the Lizard!
B-16 Once an Avenger…
B-17 Rogue
B-18 Duel to the Death with the Vulture: The U
B-19 Stark Wars, Chapter I
B-20 The Long Journ ey Home!
B-21 Greater Love Hath No X-Man
B-22 The Key That Breaks the Locke
B-23 The Menace of… Mysterio!
B-24 Among Us Stalk… The Sentinels
B-25 Beware the… Blood Brothers!
B-26 A Force To Be Reckoned With
B-27 Hawkeye, The Marksman!
B-28 And Death Shall Come!
B-29 Shadow of Evils Past!
B-30 The Cradle Will Fall
B-31 Shoot-Out at the Stampede!
B-32 A Skrull Walks Among Us!
B-33 X-Aminations
B-34 Third Genesis
B-35 Inside Out
B-36 Super-Human
B-37 Out of Time (Part I of VI)
B-38 Civil War: Part Two
B-39 Platonic
B-40 Blood and Thunder
B-41 The Origin of Daredevil
B-42 Liar’s Poker
B-43 X Men Noir, Part 1
B-44 The Five Nightmares (Part I of IV) – Arma
B-45 Spider-Woman: Agent of S.W.O.R.D. Part One
Marvel Prime Micromotion Foil Checklist
60 cards.
1:2 packs.
M-1 Adam Warlock
M-2 Angel
M-3 Apocalypse
M-4 Beast
M-5 Black Panther
M-6 Black Widow
M-7 Captain America
M-8 Colossus
M-9 Cyclops
M-10 Daredevil
M-11 Deadpool
M-12 Doctor Doom
M-13 Doctor Octopus
M-14 Doctor Strange
M-15 Elektra
M-16 Emma Frost
M-17 Galactus
M-18 Gambit
M-19 Ghost Rider
M-20 Green Goblin
M-21 Hawkeye
M-22 Hulk
M-23 Human Torch
M-24 Iceman
M-25 Invisible Woman
M-26 Iron Fist
M-27 Iron Man
M-28 Jean Grey
M-29 Juggernaut
M-30 Kitty Pryde
M-31 Kraven
M-32 Loki
M-33 Luke Cage
M-34 Magneto
M-35 Marvel Girl
M-36 Mister Sinister
M-37 Mr. Fantastic
M-38 Ms. Marvel
M-39 Mystique
M-40 Nightcrawler
M-41 Professor X
M-42 Psylocke
M-43 Punisher
M-44 Red Skull
M-45 Rogue
M-46 Sabretooth
M-47 Scarlet Witch
M-48 She-Hulk
M-49 Silver Surfer
M-50 Spider-Man
M-51 Spider-Woman
M-52 Storm
M-53 Thanos
M-54 Thing
M-55 Thor
M-56 Venom
M-57 Vision
M-58 War Machine
M-59 Wasp
M-60 Wolverine
Villains Holograms Checklist
42 cards.
1:72 packs.
Check out a gallery of the entire set.
H-1 Apocalypse
H-2 Baron Zemo
H-3 Bullseye
H-4 Carnage
H-5 Dark Phoenix
H-6 Deadpool
H-7 Doctor Doom
H-8 Doctor Octopus
H-9 Dormammu
H-10 Dracula
H-11 Electro
H-12 Elektra
H-13 Enchantress
H-14 Fin Fang Foom
H-15 Galactus
H-16 Green Goblin
H-17 Hobgoblin
H-18 Hood
H-19 Juggernaut
H-20 Kang the Conqueror
H-21 Kingpin
H-22 Kraven the Hunter
H-23 Lady Deathstrike
H-24 Lizard
H-25 Loki
H-26 Magneto
H-27 Mephisto
H-28 Mister Sinister
H-29 Modok
H-30 Mysterio
H-31 Mystique
H-32 Red Skull
H-33 Sabretooth
H-34 Sandman
H-35 Satana
H-36 Scorpion
H-37 Sentinels
H-38 Stryfe
H-39 Super Skrull
H-40 Thanos
H-41 Ultron
H-42 Venom
X-Men Die-Cut Checklist
45 cards.
1:2 packs.
Check out a gallery of the entire set.
X-1 Angel
X-2 Armor
X-3 Banshee
X-4 Beast
X-5 Bishop
X-6 Boom Boom
X-7 Cable
X-8 Cannonball
X-9 Chamber
X-10 Cloak
X-11 Colossus
X-12 Cyclops
X-13 Dagger
X-14 Darwin
X-15 Dazzler
X-16 Domino
X-17 Emma Frost
X-18 Forge
X-19 Gambit
X-20 Havok
X-21 Hepzibah
X-22 Husk
X-23 Iceman
X-24 Jean Grey
X-25 Jubilee
X-26 Karma
X-27 Kitty Pryde
X-28 Longshot
X-29 Marrow
X-30 Rachel Summers
X-31 Namor
X-32 Nightcrawler
X-33 Northstar
X-34 Pixie
X-35 Polaris
X-36 Professor X
X-37 Psylocke
X-38 Rogue
X-39 Storm
X-40 Sunfire
X-41 Thunderbird
X-42 Warpath
X-43 Wolverine
X-44 X-23
X-45 Xorn
