Marvel Pepsi (Mexico)

Manufacturer: Marvel Entertainment Group 1994

Basic Set: 1-100

Chase:

• Prism (2 variants)
  • 1 Hulk
  • 2 Punisher
  • 3 Carnage
  • 4 Gambit
  • 5 Hombre Araña (Spider-Man)
  • 6 Ghost Rider
  • 7 La Mole (The Thing)
  • 8 Cíclope (Cyclops)
  • 9 Hombre de Acero (Iron Man)
• Holograms
  • 1 Quicksilver (card #13 from '94 Flair)
  • 2 Spider-Man (card #5 from '94 Flair)
  • 3 El Poder Cósmico (card #21 from '94 Flair)
  • 4 Mr. Fix-It (card #63 from '94 Flair)

Promos:

• 4-card sheet
  • Wolverine Derrotado, Bloodhawk, El Increíble Hulk, Jean Grey (card #s 74, 78, 2, 92)

Miscellaneous:

• Error Checklist card #100

Comments: There are a lot of unanswered questions regarding this hard-to-find set. The regular set is taken from the 1994 Flair Marvel (Inaugural Edition) [American] set. Two big differences between this set and the 1994 Flair Marvel set is that the card stock in the Mexican set is thinner and the " '94 Flair" logo is missing on the upper corner of the card fronts. The prism chase set contains the same artwork as in the regular Powerblast chase cards from the 1994 Marvel Universe set, but with a "prism" finish and different numbering. All text on card backs are written in Spanish and this is called the "Pepsi" set because of the Pepsi logo on all card backs.

What leads to some confusion is that there are two known variants to the prism chase set. I suspect there are also two variations to the basic set and all chase subsets due to different print runs and regional distribution. The variations are as follows:

• 1994 copyright date; the Pepsi logo contains the words "Choice of a New Generation" in Spanish next to the Pepsi logo on the card backs. Also, there appears to be two different prism finishes to these chase cards. Some contain a "triangular" prism finish and some contain a "circular" prism finish.
• 1994 copyright date; the Pepsi logo is different with a red, yellow, and blue logo on the card backs, along with different text.

There is also another set dated 1995 that is identical to the Mexican Pepsi set, except for a different Pepsi logo and 1995 copyright date. These were distributed only in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic and is composed of the 100-card basic set and the 9-card prism chase set, but does not contain the 4-card hologram chase set. Look here for an image of all 3. While it is certain that the Puerto Rican set did not contain hologram chase cards, a recent find (Aug. 2003) of the four-hologram chase set with a 1995 copyright date and the same Pepsi logo as found on the Puerto Rican Pepsi set, has led me to believe there is also another identical set distributed in Peru as the chase cards were advertised as being from Peru - this set consisting of the same cards (basic and all chase) as in the Mexican Pepsi set, but with the Pepsi logo identical to that found on the Puerto Rican cards.

Card #s 86-100 are unnumbered in this set and correspond to both the Maximum Carnage and Mutant Genesis subsets from the [American] '94 Flair Marvel set.

The hologram chase cards are similar in artwork to the corresponding card #s from the American set.

The error checklist card #100 appears to have been from early printings. The date text on the card should read "1969-1993", however, the date text on the error card reads "1969-1963". The error was corrected in later printings. The 4-card promo sheet appears to have been distributed as an insert in a comic or magazine due to it's center staple and folded crease. Thanks Carlos!