In 1998, the Metal Universe design took an approach that paid tribute to the set’s roots as Fleer Metal. Using silver foil, the new design was a significant deviation from the Marvel-themed 1997 checklist and the cityscape-based 1997 Championship Edition sets that collectors still love today. In 1998, Fleer/SkyBox gave its Metal Universe cards an actual metal appearance by printing embossed foil nameplates that appear to be forged from steel and riveted into the card. Fleer/SkyBox covered the 123 player cards with a refractive golden finish and a limited production to only /50 for the PMG parallel.
Collectors widely rank PMGs among the most iconic parallels ever produced. The set was conceived from Fleer/SkyBox’s desire to design cards differently from other manufacturers.
“If you could take a design and make it pop by doing physical applications to the cardboard, that’s what really drove a set, from a design quality standpoint,” recalled Jeff Massien, who served as Fleer’s President and COO in the early 1990s and coined the company’s internal “Different by Design” slogan. “You couldn’t overdesign a card, as long as the player remained in the foreground. You can’t overglitz it. So, that’s what we did.”
Every year, the Metal Universe checklist was filled with condition-sensitive cards because of the full-bleed designs, so any time collectors find any example of a PMG, especially one featuring an icon like Shaquille O'Neal, there is reason for excitement.
The certification number on this card has been checked against the third-party grader's online database and is active as of 07/02/2026.
