Mystery of the mangled Marvel cards

I have some badly mangled Marvel cards that I've had so long, I don't remember how or where I got them. I have a couple of theories that I will posit.

 Thor has 8 creases, including several that overlap, several surface scratches, and all 4 corners are shot.

The Leader has 6 creases, three of them in identical places with the Thor card, similar surface impairment to Thor on the front, but worse on the back.

The three cards from Wolverine : From Then 'Til Now 2 all feature over a dozen creases and bends, including at least three that break the surface of each card. So many that it's not really possible to determine how many, or where each one ends and the next begins. The corners are gone, all as rounded off as a playing card, and the surfaces all feature significant wear, including color loss, as well as indentations front and back. They are some of the worst conditioned cards in my entire collection.
Although the two cards from the Marvel Universe shape are in better condition than the Wolverine cards, I know that I got them all together. They are just so intertwined in my mind that I just know it, even if I no longer know where that was.


These cards are a mystery to me. You would think, by 1992, I would remember where I got them, but I don't. One thing I know with absolute certainty is that I was not the cause of the damage on the cards. I have only ever known them like this. Here are the theories about how they entered my collection:

#1: I traded for them at school. Cards were popular in my school, I was not the only collector, nor was I the only comic collector. While several of my classmates collected, most of them did not treat their cards with the same deference that I do, and did. I can tell, at just a glance, which cards I traded from my classmates based on condition alone. (All these years later, I still have not replaced them all yet). I generally remember the trades I made with my friends, but the one thing that makes me think that may not be the case is that cards were not that big a deal when I was in 2nd grade, they didn't become big until 4th grade, and it was mostly sports cards that we collected. And the cards I traded for are rarely ever creased- they are covered by surface scratches and have bad corners, but I can't think of any other cards I traded for that are creased this badly.

#2. They were given to me by a dealer. 1992 was the year I began to attend comic shows with my brother, who had been attending for several years. I was 7 years old for most of 1992, it's possible a dealer at one of the shows gave them to me in lieu of throwing them out. I also would have been known to my local comic shop due to weekly visits and one of them may have given them to me as well.

#3. Found/Dumpster dove. I've found cards on the ground before. I've also pulled cards out of the garbage on more than one occasion. I don't think these were found on the ground, though, because while they are in bad shape they do not show any signs of being run over or being wet.

#4. My dad brought them home. I honestly think this is the most likely source. My dad's normal job was working on USPS trucks, but on the weekends he worked at a tour bus company. Part of his weekend job description was to clean the bus and throw out anything that was left on the bus...but a lot of the time he brought things home instead. (my hoarding and dumpster diving tendencies are inherited) Sometimes hilariously, like food or scuzzy hats he intended to give to us until mom stopped him. But sometimes really cool stuff...including some cards. I know for a fact that he brought home some baseball cards, and even my very first hockey cards came from him bringing them home. Most of the cards are in rather poor condition, which also lends credence to the theory.

With them being in my possession for nearly 30 years now, there's little to no chance I'll ever find out where they came from...I've been wondering for literally decades now.