Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo wowed the comics world when they dropped their DC epic Dark Nights Metal. They duo recently announced their return to this story and the final chapter to their DC saga. So what better time than now to take a look at one of the coolers characters to grace the pages of Dark Nights Metal with Diamond Select’s The Drowned Statue. Enraged by all the loss she has suffered in her life Bryce Wayne, Batwoman of Earth-11 killed all the superheros until only one remained, Aquaman. In a world devoured by war with Atlantis Bryce Wayne does what every Batman does and adapts. Through Biochemical augmentations and unspeakable procedures, Bryce became the ultimate weapon to stop the Altanteans and rule the now drowned city of Gotham. Heightened by the trident of a now defeated Aquaman, Bryce becomes The Drowned as sh joins Barbatos and the other Dark Knights in their battle against the light.
Standing 10 inches tall and surfing in on a wave of tentacles Bryce Wayne is a striker figure of fear and a haunting realization of Batman’s need to do all it takes to win. Bryce has been drowned by her insanity and this designer by Caesar with a sculpt by Alterton suffocates you with its gripping pose, paint and stand. As a fan of the comic Bryce was by far my favorite character and design in the series and I’ll be honest I’m absolutely delighted with the statue. It offers us a fantastic look at the character, highlights the designs most beautiful attributes and ads just the right amount of flair to make it look out of this world and still reasonably affordable. Greg Capullo’s original design from the comic is a perfectly fitting as it incorporates steam punk, with a bit of pirate and zombie Apocalypse. Cesar really brings Cupullo’s design to realization as we watch The Drowned reach towards us with gritted teeth and a Kraken guiding her. The sculpt further enhances this experience as we see her hair flow behind her, her dress and coat parading in the force of her movement, every wrinkle in crease making you feel like she is inching that much closer to finally taking you as one of her own.
Diving deep into the details of the statues we see from cowl to coat everything is designed to show movement or immediately capture the eye. Bryce’s cowl and hair notably do both, the cowl a bright glowing gold with ruby red brings to mind not only pirates, but a Victorian era masquerade. A unique and notable feature that only help deeps how badass this character is. While her mask is cool, Bryce’s cloths are a spectacle onto them selves. Again messing steampunk and pirate aesthetics we get a very tattered and wet look as her dress is now a torn and ripped skit while a leather overcoat acts as her flowing cape. The colors are wild and incorporate not only Aquaman lineage but Batman as well.
The Greens and golds make up the core elements of her suit while the black coat, choker and ears pull inspiration from Batman’s deepest depths. To add even more detailed to the muted colors of past heroes, there is an extra layer of grime or dirt covering every inch of her cloths, again giving the piece a wet and dirty feel. And finally the stand, oh the stand, its maybe just as intriguing as the statue itself. Highlighting her powers of water manipulation and mastery of the deaths of the ocean, it appears as if Bryce is willing the water beneath her feet and encouraging the creature that follows. The light blues, and greens of the water mixed with the purple of the tentacles really bring together the piece as a whole and sell this Dark Knight as the most deadly and scary of them all. It’s really a breathtaking piece. My only really complaints are with the Batsymbol and Trident, mainly I am just not as keen on their designs as I would have like each to be more menacing, but that’s purely personal and nothing I with think twice about. The Drowned is a perfect statue and at $25 weather your a Batman, Aquaman or even just a DC fan overall, you owe it to yourself to find and buy this statue.
