Sculpted by Alejandro Pereira
First Impression
Some folks keep a vase of fresh flowers, a bowl of fruit, or maybe a few decorative candles at the center of their dinner table, but not me. I have Deathstroke driving Batman off a Gotham rooftop, and it never fails to get a more enthusiastic response than a bouquet or wax pears would have. So far, the only reaction that hasn’t been some incarnation of giddy excitement has been one of curiosity, as in “Are we moving the statue before we eat or does it stay there?” to which I say, “There is no meal, I just wanted to show off my statue, you can leave now.”
Of course, after looking the dynamic display piece over carefully, guests typically comment on how incredible it is that DC Collectibles was able to engineer something so large and with such aggressive flourishes without the structure losing balance. They start asking questions about what the statue is made from (polystone) and with Batman appearing to kick off from the head of the stone gargoyle, does the statue ever wobble (it doesn’t).
Much like the Devastator statue from Dark Nights: Metal, this piece has made a strong enough impression that I’ve already had two friends ask if they could buy it from me, claiming themselves (rightly) to be far bigger Deathstroke fans than me. I refused. It looks too damn cool to part with.
Scrutinized
Inside the box are the four parts making up the full statue, each housed in dense Styrofoam packaging. There’s the gargoyle foundation, Batman, Deathstroke, and a blade. While the base and adversaries are all crafted of polystone and click together with metal inserts, the pointy end of Slade’s weapon of choice is entirely plastic. It’s easy enough to assemble everything together, but I was disappointed that the blade was not brushed with metallic paint (even the batarangs have a metallic sheen) or, better yet, that it was actually metal. I mean, why not? The statue is over $300 dollars and nobody who owns it is going to let anyone touch it anyway, so safety shouldn’t be an issue. Give us a real knife. It doesn’t even need to be sharp, just convincing. Heck, nearly every household already has a letter-opener that’s more threatening than this sword would be. We all know adults are going to buy this, not children, so treat us like adults and give us an itty-bitty metal sword, DC!
DC Collectible’s latest Battle Statue is expertly crafted and gorgeous to look at. Other than my disappointment in the material chosen for the sword and my own personal preference for blue armor on Slade, I felt no other misgivings about the statue after a casual once-over.
The costume designs they used for Batman and Deathstroke are incredibly smart picks. I mean, it’s a Hush-inspired Batman facing off with an Arkham games-inspired Deathstroke. Those are iconic outfits that fans absolutely love. However, I doubt I’ll be alone in my longing for a blueish hue to at least SOME of Deathstroke’s armor. Is it because the classic color scheme they used for Batman had so much blue on it that they wanted to contrast the two figures by featuring no blue at all on Slade? That argument doesn’t make much sense considering both figures are now wearing so much gray… They could have easily mixed up the texturing or went with a different shade for Slade’s blue. After all, they did a superb job with what’s here. There’s a soft gloss to the plates of armor Slade wears and Batman’s tights have a slight grain to them, making it evident that these enemies fashioned their attire from different materials. They just look excellent, I just wish that I could stop nitpicking over how much I wish there was some blue!
The paint application itself is quite nice. You have to look at the figures under intense light and really squint to pick up on any flaws, and even then the occasional bleed looks more like natural distressing such as scorches, scratches, or grime on the armor. It adds character. The only instances in which it didn’t on my sample of the statue were a nigh-microscopic flesh-tone droplet on the back of the cowl and the butt of the trunks, each located on the back of the statue which will not be noticeable.
Coloring of the (rather heavy) base is quite good, too. Under intense lighting, I was able to appreciate the use of green highlights used along the crevices to give the faux stone an aged appearance with mold thriving in the deepest engravings of a face that looks remarkably similar to a monster from 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula (played by Gary Oldman, no less). The steep incline of the ancient gargoyle is fantastic as well. Seeing something so drastic like that really conjures up an image of a Burton-era skyscraper with grotesque beasts jutting out from every corner of every tier.
Enough about the paint though, let me talk more in-depth about the poses. Like my house guests, I’m equally impressed with how precarious Batman looks atop this gargoyle. The figure comes with a thick metal bar protruding from his boot, which slides into a deep notch in the gargoyle’s skull. You have to applaud the engineering required to pull off a pose like this. I mean, wow! The’s so much mass placed so far away from the foundation of the statue, and you just know that if this piece ever fell over (from even the most modest of heights) Batman’s long, swooped cape (I love the cape) would break in half. At least half. He might even lose an arm or a leg, too.
Alejandro Pereira did a terrific job of sculpting Batman’s face, with just the right number of wrinkles on the brow, and I like the gritted teeth as well! Batman’s body features an excellent balance of practical armor, stitched seams outlining extra padding, and there are visible muscles, too. And I’ve said before that I love the dynamic pose of Batman here, and that to my eyes it looks like he’s being driven off the roof by Slade. However, I’ve had more than a couple of friends tell me that they view the statue more like Batman is jumping onto the gargoyle to confront Deathstroke. So it would seem that Pereira struck just the right note of ambiguity here so that if you’re rooting for Batman, you’ll see him as being in control of the situation, and if you’re cheering for Deathstroke then he’s the one clearly winning this fight. That said, I did think of another nitpick I had with this statue… and it’s a minor one. I do think that the artists involved might have overdone it on the batarangs. Three batarangs in one hand is bad ass. But three batarangs in each hand looks like our hero is coming dangerously close to stealing Wolverine’s shtick. I mean SNIKT.
As for Deathstroke’s positioning here, I think he looks powerful, aggressive, and completely determined. Totally in character for Slade Wilson. And while I compared his costume to that of Arkham Origins, I must clarify that it is a slightly toned-down version of that, and I believe it looks better as a result. He’s certainly armored up, but we can still believe that he would be incredibly agile. It’s not bulky at all. I think it’s the lack of thigh guards and the absence of one or two belts that improved things, in my eyes. Often times we see Deathstroke wearing belts the same way Johnny Depp wears scarves.
Overall
The Battle Statue line from DC Collectibles has always caught my eye. I love it when a statue looks like a dramatic moment frozen in time, and Batman vs Deathstroke definitely gives you a glimpse at what is clearly a harrowing tale. You look at it and your imagination runs wild thinking about what brought these characters to this point and what will happen next. Sure, I personally wish that Deathstroke was clad in blue armor instead of shades of gray, but otherwise I am supremely pleased with this statue. I believe that the bigger the Deathstroke fan you are, the more you’re going to love this piece. It’s more than deserving of its own well-lit display case in your home.
Disclaimer: DC Collectibles provided Batman News with a sample of this statue for the purpose of this review.
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