In 1989, there was one film that was on everyone’s mind – and that film was Batman. The live-action blockbuster, about the classic comic book character, was a smash hit and easily one of the most discussed movies on the planet.
With the film playing to packed out cinemas, many (many) companies wanted to get in on the action, creating a stream of tie-in products to entice Bat-fans to part with their cash. One of these tie-ins was a collection of trading cards from Topps – and they were superb.
The collection included 154 cards, all featuring images taken from, or connected to, the smash hit movie. The cards were sold in packs (available from all good newsagents) and included a stick of gum.
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Batman 1989 Topps trading cards
The Batman 1989 trading cards were divided into three sections. The first section was for the base cards, and covered the majority of the collection, while the next two sections were sticker cards.
The base cards covered the first 132 cards of the collection. These cards featured screen grabs from the movie on the front, with a small story description on the reverse.
Once collectors had all 132 cards in their possession, they effectively had the movie’s story in the palm of their hands. This was very appealing to Bat-fans in 1989, who didn’t have access to the internet and who might not have been able to watch the film at the cinema.
It’s at this point that I must remind you, when Batman hit UK cinemas it was a certificate 12 and on VHS it was a certificate 15. The trading cards carried no such age restrictions, so they offered younger fans a way to engage with Batman, if they were a little too young to watch the film.
As for the remaining two subcategories in this trading card collection, these were reserved for picture/sticker cards. These cards featured a sticker on the front, and part of a picture on the reverse.
The picture/sticker cards were divided into collection A and collection B. Collection A featured a picture of Batman, while collection B featured the Joker.
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Batman 1989 movie trading cards stats
To recap, here are the vital stats for the Batman 1989 trading cards.
- Produced by: Topps
- Released: 1989
- Box of cards contains: 48 packs
- Cost per pack: 15p
- Total number of base cards: 132
- Picture cards A (Batman): 11
- Picture cards B (Joker): 11
- Total number of cards in set: 154
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Revisiting the Batman 1989 trading cards collection
A few years ago, I bought a sealed box of the Batman 1989 movie trading cards from a toy fair, and was able to recapture my younger years by opening up each pack, just like I did when I was a kid. It was such fun!
There is something truly wonderful, and exciting about opening up a set of trading cards. And one such as this – featuring a movie I adore – felt like a real treat to dive into.
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4 Responses to Remembering the Batman 1989 movie trading cards by Topps
These Batman cards were great. There was so much hype and so much merchandise around for the first Tim Burton Batman film. Great you got hold of a whole box. Think I’ve still got a few of the cards somewhere 🙂
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They were! And as you say, the hype was crazy. The good thing is that for once, the film lived up to the hype and is still fondly looked upon today. 🙂
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I have a complete set any idea how much they are worth?
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Your best bet is to take a look on eBay and filter through the ‘sold’ category. Having had a look myself, if it is a sealed box, maybe around £30. A little less if it’s a complete set, taken out of the box etc. But it’s worth keeping an eye on the market to see if the price fluctuates.
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