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DC Collectibles Batman Black & White Statue by Marc Silvestri review

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Batman is famously known for his stealth and ability to go unseen. He must be quiet and subtle to succeed. However, the latest statue in the BATMAN: BLACK & WHITE line is anything but reserved. Sculpted from art by Marc Silvestri, this Batman is imposing and bold as he rests in a chair in the Batcave that feels almost thronelike. The polyresin statue captures the sinister detail of Silvestri’s cape, which was drawn with an organic texture, providing an ethereal aura to this already striking piece.

Limited Edition of 5,000

Measures Approximately 5.9″ Tall

Based on art by Marc Silvestri

Sculpted by Neobauhaus

Each $80.00 US • On Sale September 2019 from DC Collectibles
I’ll approach this review two different ways. To start, you’ll get “First Impression,” a quick overview with anecdotes from my own experience showing off the statue in my home. Then there’s the “Scrutinized” section, which goes into more detail about the paint, sculpt, assembly, packaging, etc. etc. That portion of the review is going to be overly critical because it’s geared toward anyone who is on the fence about dropping $80 dollars on this collectible. The idea is: if you can make it through all the nitpicky commentary from the Scrutinized section with your desire for the item still intact, well, you should go out and buy this item with confidence.

First Impression

When this statue was announced, I received quite a few texts from the other writers on the Batman News team. We all wanted it.
There are a lot of statues of Batman out there, right? And we’ve seen him so many times in polyresin form standing on a gargoyle or firing a grapple or throwing a Batarang that even the most impressive sculptures depicting such iconic acts kind of vanish into a sea of sameness after a while. But Batman sitting in a chair? That’s something we don’t see in polyresin too often, and whenever we have, it has never looked this intimidating and undeniably cool. There’s some serious man-spreading on display here, but I gotta say it makes the Dark Knight look more authoritative than most sculptures of him throwing punches or jumping off rooftops. Few statue’s of the Caped Crusader have quite the commanding presence that Silvestri’s statue showcases. I . Love. This. Thing! And it’s garnered nothing but praise from friends and family ever since I put it on my shelf. Everybody digs the quiet confidence of this statue and how it contrasts with the more typically iconic yet tried and true poses of my other bat-figures.

Scrutinized

You know the drill. These Black & White figures come in the same classy box with the same two-piece Styrofoam innards that keep the fragile polyresin safe through the rigors of shipping. It’s a handsome box, but nobody should keep their statue imprisoned in cardboard. Batman deserves to breathe. Especially Silvestri’s Batman, who looks so prepared for some much-deserved rest and relaxation.

Marc Silvestri and sculptor Neobauhaus’s Batman statue stands (well, sits, actually) on the classic oval-shaped Black & White Series’ base that you’ve come to expect, but it’s mostly hidden by the throne-like chair and shrouded by the many folds of our hero’s beautifully flowing cape. And there is no two-piece assembly like what you’ve seen from the past few Black & White statues we’ve reviewed here at Batman News. This is one single piece, and since it’s so bottom-heavy and wide there’s virtually no chance of it toppling. Additionally, if you’re concerned about the cape’s pointy tendrils scratching your coffee table or the glass shelving in your display case, don’t be. Like all the other Black & White pieces from DC Collectibles, this Batman is supported by pads that will prevent any scuff marks.

Now, as impressive as I find this statue to be, I still cannot describe it as flawless. My Batman featured two unpainted spots, a weird fold that doesn’t seem to flow into the rest of the Dark Knight’s rather organic-looking cape, and there are a few oddly-shaped fingers on his left hand. If you didn’t notice them on your first cruise through the photo galleries above, it’s safe to say that you won’t notice or be bothered by similar defects that appear on your own statue. There are, after all, 4,999 others still out there that could be absolutely perfect.

Truthfully though, it took some extra-close examination in order to spot these minuscule problems. The first sliver of missing paint is at the base of the cape and is almost completely obscured by Batman’s right foot. The second absent brushstroke is a very slight line just beneath the Batman’s bat-crotch… so as long as nobody shines a flashlight on my statue’s codpiece and gets right up in there, I highly doubt anyone will ever notice. The somewhat flattened fingers on the left hand are hardly noticeable as well. And since the possibly questionable cape fold I mentioned earlier is actually found at the backside of Batman’s left arm? Well, nobody is going to see it but me, and even if they did, they wouldn’t care. It would be absurd to be bothered by such minor imperfections! It would be like dumping your lover because you’ve discovered that their second toe is a millimeter longer than their big toe.

The only other potential problem I could see some collectors having with Marc Silvestri’s Batman Black & White Statue is that it isn’t all that black and white. It is perhaps one of the grayest figures in the Black and White line that I’ve come across. The paint is great, besides the two missing slivers I mentioned in the last paragraph. Every finely detailed muscle and inch of that organic-looking cape is coated nicely with no obvious bleed. There’s some minor bubbling on the back of the Batchair, but it’s the unseen part of the statue and the Bat symbol (an unnecessary but much appreciated extra detail) at the center of the chair’s back is surprisingly well done.

So there you have it. Even after two fairly lengthy paragraphs of me cataloging the various imperfections I spotted during an excruciating attempt at finding anything wrong with this statue, I still came away loving it. Quite frankly, I can’t wrap my head around the idea that anyone who loves collecting Batman statues would want to skip this one. I think it’s one of the best statues that the line has to offer, and that’s saying something. Who knew I wanted a statue of The Caped Crusader chillin’ this bad…

Overall

Seriously, this thing is gorgeous. It has SO much detail and the uniquely confident pose is guaranteed to stand out in any collection. It’s about damn time we got a quality statue of Batman brooding from the comfort of his Batchair. Now, the statue I received does feature some very minor flaws that can be spotted upon extra-close inspection, but nobody who has walked into my home has noticed. And if I wasn’t reviewing the statue and inspecting everything so closely, I wouldn’t have recognized these imperfections either! This statue is cool. He’ll look incredible shown off on his own and he’d look even more impressive displayed within a detailed Batcave diorama– plant him in front of the Bat Computer, why don’t you! Anyway, you can find this statue for around $80 bucks, and there are only 5,000 in existence. I highly recommend getting it.
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DISCLAIMER: Batman News received this collectible from the manufacturer for the purpose of review.


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