“Techno tried to defile the metal, but techno was proven wrong. Metal, it comes from hell.”
–Tenacious D
The DC Designer Series Greg Capullo Batman statue from DC Collectibles is as metal as polyresin gets. There’s just nothing else out there quite like it. In fact, it’s the only statue ever made to truly capture Batman’s obsession with vengeance because, as you can see, The Dark Knight doesn’t just have an axe to gring, he has two.
Based on Capullo’s cover to the Dark Knights: Metal #1 midnight variant, Jonathan Matthews’ sculpture has everything you saw in print except for the rising flames. And I’m not quite sure how the effect was achieved but if an admirer takes even the smallest of glances at the statue, a distinctive guitar riff can always be heard… Incredible.
This striking example of pure badassery measures 11.25 inches tall and weighs in at 17 pounds. It can be bought for a cool $150 or two monthly payments of $67.50, which is not a bad price for such an impressive work of art that only 5,000 fans can call their own. That’s right, it’s a limited edition. Let’s take a closer look with some photo galleries and a couple more paragraphs of high praise.
Review
The limited edition statue comes packaged in dense Styrofoam to protect the figure during shipment so Batman only shows as much damage as DC Collectibles intended. Yes, Batman is beat all to hell in this statue and yet somehow he still looks undeterred and more intimidating than ever. The cape is tattered and caked with mud, and the axes and boots are splattered with blood that clearly doesn’t belong to the Dark Knight. Simply put: this isn’t your typical “sittin’ pretty on a gargoyle” Batman statue. This is Batman at work, not Batman taking five on a quiet night’s patrol. For cryin’ out loud, the statue is even too busy to bother standing fully on its base!
The figure arrives in two pieces: the Batman and a heavy foundation that features a hole for securing the metal peg protruding from Batman’s left sole, a clever design for keeping the collectible stable. The rounded base in matte black showcases the “METAL” logo and an engraved DC Rebirth bat symbol for a presentation that keeps things simple and contrasts nicely against a polyresin sculpture that flaunts an eye-popping amount of detail. I like how the minimalist approach to the base because it keeps onlookers from being distracted from all the artistry above, but I must say that not embossing the word “METAL” with actual metal material seems like a missed opportunity. The underside of the base displays a handwritten number of which figure you purchased from the batch of 5,000 statues made.
The Batman you get is 100% Capullo’s Rebirth design (first seen prior to Rebirth in the New 52’s Batman #50), and no detail is half-assed. Every groove of the gauntlet is carved into its proper place, every edge of the armor layered beneath the grey uniform is outlined, every well-defined muscle is…well, it’s well-defined. And no matter your stance on the purple-lined cape of the modern era, you have to agree that even a hot pink batcape would look awesome in this fashion: swept by the wind of a nearby explosion and stained with the blood of fallen enemies. It looks just like the cover it’s based on and the folds, wrinkles, and fraying of the cape were sculpted so carefully that you have to touch it to truly believe that it’s hard resin.
The only risk that the consumer takes with purchasing this statue is that, with the distressing (blood and mud) being hand-applied, you’ll find that some Dark Knights look as if they’ve cut their way through more bad guys and stomped across far rougher terrain than others. Blood, from what I can surmise, is added with the thumbing of a red-dipped brush. Some statues might have larger blots of crimson or brown than others, but from my perspective that’s okay. That’s what makes every collectible sold from this series a one-of-a-kind.
And so, there you have it. I don’t really have a negative thing to say about this collectible. It’s everything it should be. Of course, I hope DC doesn’t see this part of the review and take it to heart, but truthfully the highest praise I have for the statue is that it looks and feels like it should cost more. I’ve reviewed quite a few statues and action figures for Batman News over the years and have developed a half-decent barometer for the value of these things. This Capullo Batman statue could’ve been $250 and I still would’ve recommended it to anyone who is a fan of the Caped Crusader or Capullo’s pencils.
Overall
I love this thing. The pose is so dynamic that it really gives the impression that Batman is on the war path and coming right for you. And his scars, the shredded cape, the axes painted with blood– it’s a collectible that’s rich with details that not only make it more lifelike, but these are details tell a story. It’s a piece that stirs people, gets a reaction out of them, and makes them not only ask questions about where and how you acquired such a stellar piece, but makes them curious and hopefully a little excited about the comics. The quality is superb and the price is fair, so I highly recommend picking this statue up. You can buy it and other DC Collectibles at Sideshow (they’re the one offering the payment plan). And if you want to learn more about Greg Capullo and Scott Snyder’s Dark Knights: Metal you can check out the reviews of the six-part saga and all of its tie-ins right here at Batman News.
