Buzz Break: 1992 Topps Batman Returns trading cards

From time to time, Buzz will break a box of something and post the results here. Like this and want to see more? Or maybe there's a box you'd want to see busted? Send Buzz an email at BlowoutBuzz@blowoutcards.com.

The packs: 1992 Topps Batman Returns (two)
Where to buy: Will take some looking ... BlowoutCards.com for other Retro Rips

Keep reading for a full breakdown and gallery of what was in this one.

Cards per pack: 9
Set completion: 16 of 88 (18 percent)
Duplicates: 0

Notables on base cards – See all cards in gallery.

Rookie Cards –  N/A

Insert/short-print cards: 2
Stadium Club Preview (2) – Batmobile, penguin army

Autographs/Memorabilia: None

Cellophane wrapper ink transferred off onto the Club insert cards in these packs.

What's Buzz-worthy: See those weird yellow blotches on the cellophane wrapper up top? That's where, all these years later, the ink from the wrapper has now stuck to the surface of the only insert card in each pack here, effectively ruining the Stadium Club Preview cards in these (or at least this pair of packs) unless you like extra hints of yellow on your cardboard. The 10 Preview cards have letters instead of numbers to differentiate them from the later Stadium Club release for this movie. Why did Topps do a full set after this? Stadium Club was hot -- and so was the merch for this sequel for a time. (They made a ton.) This set is more colorful than the Club but the surfaces and centering here can be funky at times so that can make for a little bit of a challenge when grading -- and chasing high-grade copies might be the only challenge here for a collector set if you do the math of set size vs. pack size. About the only other quirks here are that there's a Canadian O-Pee-Chee version with an added checklist in the base set, different-color backs and the Club cards are on standard stock and have black borders ... those might be tougher finds these days vs. these packs, which I found for under $1 among some older pack options. (For that price, I bit ... just for the heck of it.) This movie might not have aged well as subsequent movies have upped the ante, but there are some good visuals here making for good cards ... and a good price is why I ripped into these for a Flashback Friday kind of break. This one is best-appreciated in the gallery below.

Product Grade: B (tiny set)
Lot Grade: B+ (some good character cards here but the ruined inserts are a bummer)
Fun Grade: B- (under $1 a pack was a win here)

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