The Merciless arrives in a box to match that of The Dawnbreaker, featuring vivid, high-quality images of the statue on all sides, plus preview photographs of other statues available from the Dark Nights: Metal line. The Merciless is comprised of three pieces: the villain himself, a painted metal blade, and a black, octagonal base with a red bat-pentagram pattern etched into its surface. These pieces are wrapped in plastic and fitted into a two-piece Styrofoam shell for safe shipping.
The metal sword sports ornate detailing carved into both sides of the blade, and it is coated in a golden finish that stands out well against the character’s shiny blue armor. You’ll want to fit the sword into place beneath Merciless’s palms when you insert the foot pin into the octagonal base, not that it’s impossible to position the sword afterward, it’s just easier to do it this way since the hilt must be placed so tightly against the hands. There’s even a subtle notch at the head of the base that the point of the sword falls into for added peace of mind. You’ll not have to worry about heavy footsteps in your home jostling this accessory loose from its proper place!
I love the layers of armor, it has so many fabulous elements to admire. The thick black lines between the plates add depth and match the heavy inks we saw in the comic, but it’s the faux dimples that lend the “metal” a hand-hammered texture that really takes this statue to the next level of believability. DC Collectibles throwing on a pair of genuine metal chains to make this a mixed-media work of art was smart, and it was probably a heck of a lot easier than molding polyresin chains onto the body. However, it’s the overall paint that really catches the eye here. Matte gray was employed for the tattered skirt, but nothing so dull is brushed on the armor. No, the armor is a metallic teal that glimmers under minimal light to give The Merciless and ethereal quality.
Truthfully, I struggle to find things I don’t like. I suppose the WW (for Wonder Woman) bat symbol on the chest is rather silly, but that’s true to the design we saw in the source material. The lower half of The Merciless’s face was often hidden in shadow (and it was a different helmet in his one-shot origin comic) so some artistic liberties had to be taken with the mouth guard, but the extra-deep grooves and heavy black shading create the illusion of the same shrouded appearance we saw in Capullo’s art and I’m cool with it. If I had to nitpick anything (and I do) I’d say the collar/neck guard could have been taller, more exaggerated. Otherwise, the pose is intimidating, the paint is phenomenal, build-quality of the polyresin is solid, and it’s about as close to the (surprisingly few) images we saw in Dark Nights: Metal as you can get, to my eyes.
Overall
You don’t even need to know about or care what Dark Nights: Metal is to appreciate how cool this statue looks. The shimmering blue armor, the real metal chains, the golden blade with decorative etching… It’s a spectacular, eye-catching piece that’s sure to grab everyone’s attention whether you display it with the rest of the evil Batmen (sold separately) or all by itself. I was hesitant to tell readers to pick up the creepy and grotesque Dawnbreaker, but Merciless is a statue you should run out and buy ASAP if you’re interested, because I bet its limited run of 5,000 will sell out fast.
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