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ADVANCE LOOK: DC Collectibles Batman: Arkham Knight - Arkham Knight Statue
Elusive New Villain With A Stunning Look...
If you’re a gamer or just a fan of Batman you’re sure to be familiar with the Batman: Arkham series of video games. The latest, Batman: Arkham Knight, was released this summer and quickly became a hit with console players, and of course DC Collectibles hasn’t been far behind with cool figures and statues of the characters in it. And while the newest incarnation of Dark Knight is updated and unique, it’s another character in the game that has really grabbed the attention of both players and collectors. Of course, we’re talking about the Arkham Knight, a mysterious villain that was an instant hit with his incredible character design. Everything about the mystery man (?) screams cool and tough, and early information on the game made it clear that he was going to be a worthy adversary for the Caped Crusader. There are several collectibles of the new villain on the market already, but today we’re going to take a look at the premiere version, the DC Collectibles Batman: Arkham Knight Arkham Knight Statue! Just be careful when scrolling down as there’s a special feature to this statue that spoils the ending of the game; you’ll see a warning and then you’re on your own...
When it comes to packaging for their action figures and statues DC Collectibles has a great theme going. The Arkham Knight statue comes in a slick white box with a minimum of graphics and nothing gaudy. Basically, it’s a package that looks good enough to display if you’re one of those people who don’t actually open their toys... but with a statue that looks this good why would you do that? Anyway, the front panel of the box features the now standard DC “peel” effect with a gray overlay on the right-hand side that’s being pulled over to reveal a close up photo of the statue behind it. At the top left corner is a small DC Collectibles logo and at the bottom right the name of the character. One side panel has another close up photo with a note about its hand-sculpted, cold cast porcelain construction while the other has a full body shot with the height of the figure (10.5 inches) and the sculptor (David Giraud). The top of the box has the logo of the game and the back panel shows off two other statues from DC Collectibles and Arkham Knight, Batman and Red Hood. Again, the minimalist, uncluttered approach is really nice and gives it a sophisticated look.
While little was known by players about the Arkham Knight going into the game, the tantalizing details revealed by Rocksteady combined with promotional artwork gave him instant popularity. He’s someone who has a strong hatred for Batman and wishes to see him brought low before killing him. He seems to be almost a mirror image of the Dark Knight too with obvious martial arts and weapons training plus high tech gear. From the beginning people wondered at the exact connection between the Knight and Batman as the former’s uniform even resembles that of the latter. The Arkham Knight wears a reinforced and armored costume highly reminiscent of the Batsuit with a thick chestplate, low profile armor panels on the arms and lower legs, and a heavy duty tactical belt carrying all sorts of gadgets and weapons. Of course, the mysterious villain is instantly identifiable by his camouflage pattern as well as his awesome Batman-like helmet that completely covers his head and face.
The DC Collectibles statue is a near-perfect representation of the video game character with all of the intricacies down to the smallest armor and weapon details. The statue stands approximately 10.5 inches tall and plugs into a Batman symbol base via pegs in both feet. There is a very small amount of “assembly” as all you need to do is attach the magnetic chestplate, shoulder pads, head, and right hand holding the Knight’s rifle. All of the parts fit perfectly and look great fully assembled. The Arkham Knight is posed with a slight twist and at an angle on his display base that give the figure a sense of motion and make it so that he looks cool from a variety of vantage points. There’s a slight step forward happening with the left foot and the figure twists further in that direction as he holds his rifle at the ready and tilts his head up to look for signs of the enemy.
I’ve been a fan of the Arkham Knight character design since I first saw it, and while I’ve collected a couple of the smaller scale figures I’ve been looking forward to seeing something in a larger presentation like this to capture all of the details, and it does not disappoint. The sculpt on this statue is frankly amazing, and every time I take a close look I see something that I hadn’t yet noticed. In this era of hyper-realistic video game characters with ultra high levels of detail it’s great to get a 3D representation that can match it and the Arkham Knight does. There’s a fantastic mixture of hard edges and symmetrical armor with clothing elements like folds, creases, zippers, and bunching. The Knight is detailed head to toe with his military gear including heavy boots, a jumpsuit covered in straps and buckles, stealth fighter-inspired armor pieces with multiple, broken up planes, weaponized gauntlets, and of course that iconic faceless helmet with the slightest bat ears. The villain’s weapon is a cool rifle that looks futuristic to me but may be based on a real-life weapon; it appears to have multiple weapon systems built into it along with a scope, extended barrel, secondary handle and trigger, and more. Take a look at the photos because words really don’t do justice to the fine work by sculptor David Giraud and the team.
Paired with the exemplary sculpt is a solid paint job that once again is a great representation of the character from the game. The general coloring of the mysterious villain’s uniform is striking with black, gray, and navy blue at the armored extremities and black and red camouflage where his jumpsuit is exposed on his torso and upper legs. As with the shapes of the armor being inspired by stealth technology, there is a lot of color break up with layers and panels in different dark colors with bright details like silver buckles, fasteners, and zippers. Arkham Knight’s jumpsuit’s camouflage is not quite “digital,” but comprised of hard lines and lots of triangular shapes to break up the pattern. There’s also the eye-catching elements of the white Arkham Asylum logos on the chestplate and shoulders designed (like Batman’s bat-symbol) to distract and draw fire to the most armored areas. The chestplate and helmet also feature a slight pearlescent effect for a bit of sparkle/shine. Arkham Knight’s weapon is a bluish gray with darker grays, black, and silver notes.
As noted above the Arkham Knight stands on a Batman symbol base, a low profile solid piece that has a lot of texturing and black/gray street-like paint scheme. It’s nicely detailed but doesn’t take away from the figure above it, just adding another cool element to the presentation. The bottom of the base is studded with soft nubs to protect the surface of your display case.
The Batman: Arkham Knight Arkham Knight Statue from DC Collectibles will have an MSRP of $125 when it comes out later this month/early December, and you’ll be able to find it everywhere you get your comics and specialty items. With its striking “militaristic Batman” look, cool helmet and rifle, and top notch sculpt and paint job this is definitely a collectible you’ll want to consider adding to your display. But, as cool as the statue is, there’s even more to it. DC Collectibles added a special feature that brings a whole new dimension to the piece, but it spoils a key plot twist and the end of the game so if you haven’t played through it (or plan to) then stop here and don’t scroll down!
While players went into Arkham Knight with mere guesses as to the secret identity of the titular character, during the investigation Batman discovers that the Knight is actually Jason Todd, former Robin and the Red Hood! After the reveal Jason retakes his Hood identity and swaps out parts of his costume, and that’s exactly what you can do with this statue. Packed in is an alternate head, chestplate, and shoulder pads that are swappable with the standard parts via magnets and turn the Arkham Knight into Red Hood. The shoulder parts resemble padded leather and blend in seamlessly with the statue’s jacket, giving him a less armored appearance but looking to be more flexible. And while the Knight’s chestplate is bulky, multi-layered, and protruding the Hood’s is much more streamlined. With its muscular shape it looks even more like a Batsuit and is decorated with the bright red Red Hood emblem. Last but not least is the Red Hood helmet, a sleek, faceless dome with a prominent chin, sunken cheeks, and lots of small techie details. Like the chest emblem this helmet is bright red with a pearlescent shine and the addition of silver and gold accents. These four little parts really make a huge difference and give you two very different looks for this statue.
As a big fan of Jason Todd’s Red Hood from the comics and the look of the Arkham Knight I’m genuinely conflicted about how I’ll be displaying this statue since both versions are so cool. Thankfully the magnetized parts are super easy and quick to replace so I’ll probably just switch them up periodically!
Which version do you prefer, the Arkham Knight or Red Hood? Let us know in the comments below!
Review and Photos by Scott Rubin
Review Sample Courtesy of DC Collectibles
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Re: ADVANCE LOOK: DC Collectibles Batman: Arkham Knight - Arkham Knight Statue
Awesome review. This and the Red Hood statue are the best statues I've ever bought or seen.
Re: ADVANCE LOOK: DC Collectibles Batman: Arkham Knight - Arkham Knight Statue
Re: ADVANCE LOOK: DC Collectibles Batman: Arkham Knight - Arkham Knight Statue
Thanks for this post! I have always been a batman fan since I was a kid. So too is my bathroom renovation client, he had his bathroom renovated with new batman designs and it looks very cool! https://www.emmbathroomrenovationsbrisbane.com
Re: ADVANCE LOOK: DC Collectibles Batman: Arkham Knight - Arkham Knight Statue
Wow! He looks cool. I am a big fan of batman
Re: ADVANCE LOOK: DC Collectibles Batman: Arkham Knight - Arkham Knight Statue
The enigmatic antagonist may be easily recognized thanks to his amazing Batman-like helmet, which totally conceals his head and face, and his camouflage pattern. best rv warranty coverage
Re: ADVANCE LOOK: DC Collectibles Batman: Arkham Knight - Arkham Knight Statue
curb can't wait to see the Arkham Knight statue up close.
