The following is a guide to carded Mego "World's Greatets Superheroes" it is by no means definitive, changes will be made to it constantly.

Mego Kresge Cards

Produced mainly for the SS Kresge and Co. These early card ran from approximately 1973 until 1975 when they were discountinued. True Kresge cards feature the Kresge Logo, ones with the Mego Logo were sold at other department stores. Many variants abound in the card style as new characters were introduced. Several characters such as Batman can easily have a half dozen or more variations as the both the figure and the card changed.

A Quick Checklist of who was released on Kresge cards (this does not include the variants)
Mego DC Kresges: Superman, Batman (Both Rc and Regular), Aquaman, Robin (both RM and regular) Shazam, Tarzan, Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Mr Myx, Supergirl, Batgirl, Catwoman, Wonder Woman, Green Arrow
Mego Marvel Kresges: Captain America, Spiderman

US Cards Wave One

The first batch of US cards contain mixed copyright info, the Marvel cards read '75 while the DC cards read '76. It is now believed that the cards were likely released in 1977 when Mego discontinued their WGSH boxes (thus making them wave five of WGSH).

The cards have a rough scratchy sort of art work to them, the heroes have grim looks and are often referred to as "Scowl cards"

A Quick Checklist of who was released on cards in "Wave Five of WGSH" (info taken from the 1977 order form)
Mego DC 1976 Cards: Superman, Batman, Aquaman, Robin, Shazam, Joker, Penguin, Riddler, Mr Myx, Supergirl, Batgirl, Catwoman, Wonder Woman (WW was perhaps only released overseas as she was removed from the US assortment, only one carded example is known to exist), Green Arrow
Mego Marvel 1975 Cards: Green Goblin, Spiderman,The Hulk, Thor, Conan, Capt. America, The Lizard, Iron Man, The Thing, Torch, Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Girl.
To see the 1977 case assortments of Mego carded WGSH click on our 1977 Order Form Page.

US Cards Wave 2

The big difference on the cards is the loss of Official on the WGSH logos on the DC cards. The 1978 Marvel card artwork is the same, the 1977 DC Heroes artwork has changed but their moods haven't improved.

US Cards Wave 3

The "Smile Cards" were the last to be produced by Mego. The artwork is now cleaner and the Heroes have a gentler look.

Foreign Cards

Pin Pin Toys (France)

Often mistaken for Canadian Cards the Pin Pin cards flooded the US due to an overstock issue overseas. The most commonly found are the Fantastic Four and Spiderman. The Pin Pin Card is based on the Smiling cards of Wave Three.

ParkDale Novelty (Canada)

Mego's premier distributor of the 8" lines during the heyday..

Grand Toys (Canada)

Grand Toys took over distributing the WGSH in Canada during the mid to late seventies. Grand Cards are similiar to the 79 Smile Card but contain the Grand Logo and are bilingual.

Palitoy (UK)

As the UK Distributor of the WGSH, Palitoy went all out and gave each character their own attractive card. Palitoy didn't carry the entire run of WGSH leaving out characters such as Shazam, Iron Man, Falcon, Mr and Mrs Fantastic, all Supergals, Riddler and more.

Harbert (Italy)

Harbert took over distribution of the WGSH from Baravelli. Unlike Baravelli who simply placed large yellow stickers over US cards, Harbert produced their own series of Mego cards based on the '79 series.