You’ll Either Die a Hero, or Live Long Enough to Go Broke Paying Off Sideshow’s Latest Batman Statue

People love Batman. People love Batman movies. People love Batman toys and statues, and underpants and t-shirts, but mostly the toys and statues. Sideshow Collectibles knows this, and has managed to combine those core loves into one convenient package.

Based on Christian Bale's appearance as Batman in The Dark Knight, the company's latest premium format figure finds the hero of Gotham rendered in a ready-to-battle pose facing off against an unseen opponent. Now, we do know that there will be a Joker statue in the same vein, thanks to its appearance at SDCC this year, and the fact that it's in the promotional images for this Batman piece, too.

Being a premium format figure, the Batman makes use of mixed media, and features a cloth cape to go along with the more solid body. At 20" tall, there's plenty of room for detail, which this figure has in spades. There's tremendous texturing in the Kevlar portions of the suit, with the more armored sections standing out due to the great paint job giving them that brushed metal vibe.

The base, a broken part of a street with some mechanical undertones, is okay. Don't get me wrong, it's well rendered; it's just boring. Arguably, the biggest confrontation between Batman and the Joker did happen on a Gotham city street, but the asphalt just doesn't serve the hero, or villain, well enough for such a dramatic piece. For this instance, it may have been better to potentially come up with something not quite so movie accurate.

The Sideshow-exclusive version will come with a swappable head that has light-up eyes to allude to the Bat-sonar used to locate the Joker during the climax of the film. It's a nice touch, but one that makes the statue as a whole look a bit strange when in use. The Christopher Nolan version of Batman's suit is better served by being able to see Bale's eyes, and the presence of the character is lost a bit with the alternate head.

The Batman - The Dark Knight Premium Format Figure is available for pre-order now for $469.99, and is expected to arrive between August and October 2016.

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