I just now realized the 1996 Tim Burton Mars Attacks! movie was based on a set of trading cards originally from 1962.

They were made by Topps and there were 55 cards in the original set. It's been reissued a few times now over the years since then, in 1994, and later.

This is the original wrapper art for the card packs:

This product was somewhat controversial at the time for its violent and somewhat suggestive imagery.

More info: https://www.oldsportscards.com/mars-attacks-cards/

So cool!

From the story on the first card, explaining why they attacked us:

"A mammoth [natural disaster] was weeks away, perhaps only days. The explosion would destroy all life on Mars, turning the planet into a barren wasteland."

So that's it. Wonder why NASA has always insisted on lying to us about this.

Hehe, can't we all just get along?