For years, we have witnessed Sideshow Collectibles bring to life the iconic characters of the Marvel Universe. DC Direct, on the other hand, has had the exclusive rights to make all the statue recreations of DC Universe characters – until now. With an agreement for the next few years, Sideshow will be allowed to recreate our favorite heroes and villains of the DC Universe. When this was announced the public thought it would be one of the Trinity (Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman), however, the public would be wrong. To everyone’s surprise, Sideshow Collectibles announced The Joker as the first statue in the lineup. And, my lord, they did NOT disappoint.
Packaging:
The outer box is a dark black with a purple hue and includes art work wrapped around the package to show the artist renderings used for the 3D molding. The art work on the exterior is so fine that I want to display the box as well. I almost did not want to take it out, but I am glad I did. Wait until you see these pictures! Interior packing is standard Styrofoam, where the statue is placed in slots. Certain parts are disconnected (the head, hands, and base) and can be connected to the statue via small magnets. Don’t worry your statue did not arrive broken as most Sideshow Statues come in pieces. This helps make the statue less likely to be damaged in the box, and it keeps the boxes at a normal size.
The statue itself is beyond words, but I will do my best to describe how amazing this item really is. The artist and sculptors have captured the true, menacing essence of the “Clown Prince of Crime.” The Joker’s stare alone will creep you out, with his slightly tilted head and glaring eyes that seem to pass through you. He has a fully sewn cloth suit and comes with his trademark cane that has a retractable knife/sword. There was an exclusive (available only via Sideshow’s website) to this statue that came with another head that had a hat on it. Sideshow offers a Premium Exclusive to all of its items limited to a few hundred. The base is also extremely detailed as it has a different clown faces sculpted around the base. Paint application on this statue is flawless. There is not a single blemish on it, and you can tell the quality that went into this work of art.
Online preorders had this at $300-$350 ($375-$400 for the exclusive). This item was a hot ticket and presold out in many only outlets including Sideshow’s main website. Secondary Outlets (Amazon, eBay) have this statue with an asking price of $450-$1,000. While Sideshow’s statues have a much higher price, if you look at the attention to detail, you’ll see it’s very much worth it – and then some.
Overall, this item was well worth the wait and a fine addition to a collector of the DC Universe. The next two Sideshow based DC statues are Poison Ivy and Batman. This being the very first DC Interpretation made by Sideshow, and limited to 2,500 pieces, I have to say – YES – this has become my all-time favorite statue. I am looking forward to seeing what they have in store for us for the duration of the contract. As all statues have this attention to detail that are uncanny and unmatched by action figures, Sideshow out does themselves at every opportunity they get. I am extremely happy that this statue is in my personal collection!
