Yesterday I posted pics of the first Superman cards, so today I thought I'd share the rookie cards of my superhero "core four".

To me these four cover many of the major themes in comics: Superman as the hopeful idealist and the moral center, Batman as the controlled storm by being the disciplined avenger, Spiderman (my fav) the everyman and relatable struggler, and Wolverine as the haunted warrior anti-hero.

As for the cards themselves, each mark a unique moment in hobby history: the 1940 Gum Inc. Superman card is the first mass-produced superhero card ever made and the origin point of comic trading cards (much like his comic); the 1966 Topps Batman set became the first major Batman release and a pop-culture phenomenon with its hand-painted artwork during peak “Batmania”; the 1966 Donruss Spider-Man card introduced Spidey to trading cards using early Ditko-era art straight from the Silver Age; and the 1980 Terrabusi Wolverine card, issued only in Spain as a fragile candy insert, is one of the rarer Marvel first appearances on cardboard.