Friday June 26, 2009
The Upper Deck Company and Marvel Entertainment today announced an agreement granting Upper Deck the rights to produce a variety of products based on the Marvel Universe. The multi-year agreement covers trading-card games, miniatures games, and trading cards, with the first products scheduled to arrive in stores in January 2010.

“We are extremely excited about the possibilities that this newest partnership opens up for us,” said Upper Deck Director of New Business Development Scott Gaeta. “Gamers and trading-card enthusiasts alike will benefit greatly as a result of the collaborative efforts by both companies.”
The long-term deal includes the rights to create products based on Marvel’s comic-book titles, as well as Marvel Studios’ upcoming films, including Iron Man 2, Thor, The First Avenger: Captain America, and The Avengers.

The agreement comes less than five months after Upper Deck announced it would be discontinuing its Marvel and DC-based Vs. Trading Card Game; any new trading-card game would likely use different mechanics.

As the agreement covers miniatures games, the likelihood of a revival of the Marvel incarnation of HeroClix, dormant since the shuttering of WizKids in November, and rumored several times since then seems unlikely, with the unreleased Hammer of Thor set a possible casualty.

The collapse of the previous HeroClix deal, in April may have been a precursor to new talks between Marvel and Upper Deck which resulted in today’s agreement.