Created by Prime 1 Studio, the Batman Dark Detective Tactical Coat statue, designed by illustrator Dan Mora and taken from the 2021 Future State story, is the latest pre order release from Sideshow Collectibles.
After the Dark Knight: Death Metal (2020) DCU event turned the multiverse on its head, DC launched Future State, which dumped us ten years into a possible future and allowed the writers to gleefully play havoc with our beloved characters. For Bruce Wayne it meant an assassination down a dark alleyway, creepily reminiscent of the death of his parents and his childhood innocence. The gunman was a Peacekeeper-01, an agent working for The Magistrate who were on a campaign to impose their own brand of law on Gotham City.
While Bruce Wayne and Batman were declared dead, Tim Fox, brother of former Batwing Luke Fox, took up the mantle of the Dark Knight. But what no-one knew is that Bruce had survived. Over the four-issue miniseries Future State: Dark Detective (2021), writer Mariko Tamaki took Bruce from a wounded mess in Gotham City harbor to a rented basement apartment where he began to piece together the clues to find out how his secret identity had been discovered and what was behind the Magistrate’s plans.
Piecing his Batman persona together so that he could take up the fight meant putting together a makeshift outfit for battle. In practical terms that meant heavy boots, a chest plate and mask that looked more like a modified helmet. Then there was the trench coat. Remember how cool Batman looked in Zack Snyder’s Batman Vs Superman: Dawn of Justice (2026) movie when he appeared briefly in a long coat? The look works so well in Future State: Dark Detective because it fits the iconic reference to the old gumshoe detective look of a Raymond Chandler. Plus, when he’s stood on a building looking down on Gotham, it still gives the billowing effect of a cape.
The Batman Dark Detective Tactical Coat statue makes good use of this effect with the coat, adding pauldrons to protect the shoulders and add to the makeshift look of the armor. For a story based on the dangers of pervasive hi-tech, Batman is shown battling the robot cybers and innumerable drones that are plaguing the city. In the story, Bruce observes that the Magistrate is using the shadows to hide his machinations – this statue shows Batman in a battle to reclaim his place and take back those shadows.
Made from Polystone, it’s a dramatically tense and charismatic statue, and this deluxe bonus edition includes different swappable versions of the head featuring growing intensity in the expression and the goggles that help him spot the Magistrates tech. Created by Prime 1 Studio it involves effectively replicating a mix of affects, from clothing, metal, skin and smoke.
The designer of the statue was Dan Mora, who was also the illustrator for the Future State: Dark Detective mini-series. He’s an artist who has gone from strength to strength over the last couple of years. Remarkably consistent, with great storytelling skills, he has an uncanny ability to capture a classic heroic look to any character thrown at him, which has seen him as the go-to artist to create publicity images for this year’s Dawn of DC banner launch. He’s helped to make Batman/Superman: World’s Finest one of DC’s top titles as the regular artist and recently been working on the Shazam! (2023) relaunch. Batman: Brave and the Bold (2023) even included a short story that he both wrote and illustrated – a phenomenal output for a creator producing such high-quality work.
If superhero costumes suddenly went out of fashion, this is the look Batman would take – in fact it’s not too dissimilar to the way Bruce has dressed in Chip Zdarksy’s recent alternate dimension story in Batman when Bruce once again found himself without his usual resources. The Batman Dark Detective Tactical Coat statue features the Dark Knight as the Dark Detective, stripped down to the basics and taking on the future.
The Batman Dark Detective Tactical Coat statue is available to preorder from Sideshow Collectibles.
Product details:
Prime 1 Studio is absolutely excited to finally bring one of the most intriguing takes on the Dark Knight designs – the 1:4 Scale Batman Dark Detective Tactical Coat (Deluxe Bonus Version) Concept Design By Dan Mora from DC FUTURE STATE!
Batman is dead. Bruce Wayne is dead. And in one of the possible futures of the DC Universe, a Future State has risen in Gotham City! In place of the Bat-Family brand of Justice, the Magistrate and his Peacekeepers have taken control of Bruce Wayne’s beloved city. To combat this authoritarian threat to freedom, Bruce has adopted a new and different persona: the Dark Detective!
Dan Mora has designed a no-nonsense, combat-ready DC Comics Batman! Instead of the single-piece costume, this 23-inch-tall Dark Detective gears up with a more tactical suit featuring ballistic weave undergarments punctuated by conspicuous plated armor all over his body. Still rocking the utility belt, Batman has equipped it with a heavier, thicker Bat rope, multiple pouches that no doubt contain effective countermeasures, and countless other tactical devices. In place of a necessarily absent cape, the Dark Detective wears a tough-looking coat equipped with armored pauldrons.
Prime 1 Studio’s amazing artists not only cleverly sculpted each inch of this captivating scene, but they also portrayed how well the different textures and materials are presented for your enjoyment. And because the Dark Detective is a force to be reckoned with, the master painters have painstakingly recreated fictional realism with weathered, battle-damaged, and carefully applied paint with multiple layers of shading.
For this exceptional Deluxe Bonus Version, the Dark Detective comes with three (3) different and unique swappable heads, two of them featuring his tactical goggles either up off his face or down! But that’s not all! The Deluxe Bonus Version also includes a Bonus Part: an extra swappable head that features Batman in his classic cowl!
The futuristic, action-packed diorama base is equally enthralling! In Dan Mora’s concept, The Dark Detective stands poised in a complete environment themed for thrilling dynamism. It’s a futuristic Gotham City street, littered with technological detritus, flanked by persistent attack drones, and features a downed, robotic combatant.
Product Size
Height: 23.22″ (59 cm)
Width: 22.04″ (56 cm)
Depth: 19.68″ (50 cm)
Weight: 55 lbs (24.9 kg) *
Images and Press Release Courtesy of Sideshow Collectibles