Tarocchi
MarvelTarocchi
MarvelManufacturer: 1995 Marvel Entertainment Group, Torino
Basic Set: 1-21, header card, checklist card
| 0 Wolverine (il matto - "The Fool") |
| I Dr. Strange (il mago - "The Magician") |
| II Tempesta Storm (la papessa - "High Priestess") |
| III La Donna Invisibile (l'imperatrice - "Empress") |
| IV Mr. Fantastic (l'imperatore - "Emperor") |
| V Prof. X (il Papa - "The Pope or The Heirophant") |
| VI L'Uomo Ragno e Mary Jane (gli amanti - "The Lovers") |
| VII Ghost Rider (il carro - "Chariot") |
| VIII [Dare]Devil (la giustizia - "Justice") |
| IX Silver Surfer (l'eremita - "The Hermit") |
| X Longshot (la ruota o la fortuna - "Wheel of Fortune") |
| XI Hulk (la forza - "Strength") |
| XII Nightcrawler (l'appeso - "Hanged Man") |
| XIII Thanos (la morte - "Death") |
| XIV Scarlet Witch (la temperanza - "Temperance") |
| XV Mephisto (il diavolo - "Devil") |
| XVI Baxter Building (la torre - "Tower") |
| XVII Dazzler (la stella - "Star") |
| XVIII Moon Knight (la luna - "Moon") |
| XIX Thor (il sole - "Sun") |
| XX Il Punitore [The Punisher] (il guidizio - "Judgement") |
| XXI Capt. America (il mondo - "World") |
Comments: Cards are oversized, measuring roughly 5 3/8" x 2 7/8". This is not a regular trading card set but actually a set of Tarot cards with Marvel characters. All cards have the same back, which is shown above (Dr. Strange). I've decided to go ahead and list this set as it has some of the nicest Marvel artwork I've seen on cards. All art is by Claudio Villa.
Tarot Cards 101: Being new to the tarot card world, I'll give just a (very) basic level of understanding regarding tarot cards, hopefully enough to at least stimulate your interest to visit the sites linked below (which offer better and more detailed explanations than what I can give here). A typical tarot deck consists of 78 cards: 56 cards (minor arcana) consisting of 4 suits of 14 cards each, and 22 separate cards called major arcana. Modern day playing-card decks no doubt originated from minor arcana cards, but the focus here is on the major arcana. The major cards are numbered from 0 to 21 and contain the same idea/description from deck to deck (i.e., card #4 is always "Emperor" regardless which tarot deck you use). There are some exceptions to this rule (aren't there always?) - some decks interchange card #8 and card #11. Be that as it may, this tarot deck offers an interesting choice of Marvel characters to "fit the bill". If you know a little about the definitions of major arcana cards, you'll agree that Thanos for card #13 ("Death") was a poor choice. A perfect choice would have been Phoenix. Also, the Baxter building for card #16 ("The Tower") would be better replaced by Galactus's ship or something similar. For those Wolverine fans out there (I'm one of them, too!) don't be offended by his being chosen the "Fool" (card #0). His character fits pretty well for the description of this card.
