Sticker #1 in Topps' 1990 Simpsons set gives Bart a purple cowl, a purple cape and a three-word job description: "AVENGER OF EVIL." The character on it had not yet been in an episode. Bartman's first on-screen appearance came in "Three Men and a Comic Book," which aired on Fox on May 9, 1991.

Bartmania

In 1990, Bart was the reason things like this got printed. He was the breakout character of the show's first two seasons, and the craze around him had a name: "Bartmania." Millions of Bart T-shirts were sold in the early 1990s, and some public schools banned the ones with slogans such as "Underachiever (and proud of it, man!)." Entertainment Weekly named Bart its Entertainer of the Year for 1990, and he was on the cover of Time's Dec. 31, 1990, issue.

The name reached most people that winter through a dance, not a superhero. "Do the Bartman," performed by Bart's voice actor Nancy Cartwright, came out as a single on Nov. 20, 1990, and later spent three weeks at No. 1 in the United Kingdom.

The caped version got his episode the following spring. In the season two episode written by Jeff Martin, Bart goes to a comic book convention dressed as his superhero alter ego. Bongo Comics later gave Bartman his own title, which ran six issues from 1993 to 1995.

The Sticker

Bartman stands on a gray background scattered with stars and swirls, arms crossed, cape trailing behind him. His name runs across the top in red capitals, with "AVENGER OF EVIL" beneath it on the left and a speech bubble that reads "WATCH IT, DUDE." A small "PEEL" sits in the top-left corner and the number 1 in the top right. Matt Groening's signature is printed at the lower left, above a line crediting Twentieth Century Fox with the 1990 copyright.

Stickers came one to a pack, and this one is the first number on the sticker checklist.

PSA Population Report

PSA GradePopulation
PSA 108
PSA 962
PSA 858
Total Graded (All Grades)193

* Population data as of October 16, 2026. PSA population counts are dynamic and increase as more cards are submitted for grading.

What the Population Says

PSA has graded 193 copies of the sticker. 128 of them, about two in three, came back PSA 8 or better.

The most common grade in the table is PSA 9, with 62 copies, just ahead of the 58 PSA 8s. Most of the stickers sent in have come back sharp.

The top is where it narrows. Eight copies are PSA 10, about 4% of everything graded, and the PSA 9s outnumber them nearly eight to one.

Why It Matters

Bartman went on to an episode and a comic book series of his own. This sticker shows him in 1990, at the height of Bartmania, months before the show put him on screen.

Verdict: Sticker #1 is the Avenger of Evil before his first episode. 193 graded, 62 PSA 9s, and eight Gem Mints.