Statues 'R Us: Update #2

XM STUDIOS

Perhaps the biggest update, at least to me it was, came from XM Studios in a very creative (and slightly frustrating) way. To tease a slew of upcoming DC and Marvel projects, the Singapore-based statue company released two sets of random word searches (two for DC and two for Marvel) that contained the names of characters/themes that the company is planing to produce. Some of the future productions were already known/teased in the past, but of the 34 identified plans, many were surprises for collectors.

Future Marvel Statue Projects

Across XM Studios' social media platforms, the following Word searches were shared pertaining to their Marvel license. Out of the 20 items that could be found in the searches, only 18 have been identified as of this writing. As you can imagine, it is difficult to find something when you do not know you are looking for it.

Marvel Vol. 1

1. Apocalypse

This is on my tentative pre-order list. A statue that has already been teased and earlier this year it was known that the prototype was being printed. A much needed piece, as the last 1:4 Apocalypse came from Sideshow Collectibles back in 2013.

2. Cable with Hope

Another piece that was already teased, this is a bit of a redo for one of XM's more popular statues. In this next version, the time-traveling mercenary will have baby in tow as he protects his adopted daughter Hope Summers. With Sideshow having just released a pretty well-received comic-accurate Cable statue, it is hard to feel excited by this upcoming reveal.

3. Ghost Rider

One of the statues that put XM on the map and is still considered one of their best pieces was their Ghost Rider on Motorcycle. Now, it seems XM is ready to release a new statue of the popular character, but this time, they will be taking inspiration from the original Ghost Rider (Carter Slade). That is right, the next Ghost Rider statue will have the character riding his noble stallion, Banshee, and with the recent success of XM's Batman Shogun on horse, I have no doubt they can capture the hell hound-like appearance of the animal.

4. Old Man Logan

Look at that, another Wolverine statue. Sure, it's a version of Logan that has not been tackled in 1:4 scale, but still. Can't get excited about this one.

5. Super Skrull

Now THIS is more of what I expect from XM Studios, producing some of the characters that no one else is. As we await for the Fantastic Four and the many characters associated with them to show up in the MCU, it seems regaining the movie rights has opened the door for Marvel to approve more collectibles based on the franchise. One of the Fantastic Four's more popular villains, I hope collectors cheer with their wallets for this one.

6. Archangel

Not only has this been a highly anticipated statue for X-Men collectors, I got a bit closer to it when I did a color render for the concept art as collectors fought to make sure Archangel was produced with his classic colors and not his X-Force colors. Recently learning that there will be two versions of the statue released, one with each color scheme, it is much more likely to find its way into my collection. While I would MUCH prefer a regular 1:4 Angel statue, I may feel ok with settling for his more nefarious evolution.

7. War Machine

There has been talk that this War Machine statue will include a HulkBuster-like component. I believe this would be an original concept, as I do not believe Rhodey ever got such a suit in the comics. Surely trying to latch onto the success of their HulkBuster/Iron Man statue,

8. Wolverine (X-Force)

See "Old Man Logan" above.

9. Lady Deadpool

There are two characters that I have come to hate, simply out of how much they have become overexposed in the collectible world, from the high-end to the low-end and Deadpool is one of them. Here is another variant of the character, which truth be told only has two licensed versions out there, but is there not a more deserving character for this release spot?

10. (Zombie?) Deadpool

See above. It is not confirmed that this is a zombie-version of Deadpool, but XM JUST released a Deadpool statue. This has led many collectors to believe there is an error in the word search where the "C" at the end of "ZOMBIC" was meant to be an "E".

Marvel Vol. 2

1. The Thing

The drought of 1:4 Fantastic Four statues has been real. There are no 1:4 scale licensed Fantastic Four statues that I know of, leading to XM's genius for being the first to announce a member of the F4. I expect this will not be the only one, and that XM will not be the only one producing F4 statues, now that Disney is planning a F4 movie for the MCU.

2. Miles Morales

This was just a matter of time, though I would have expected it a bit sooner. The Academy Award winning "Into the Spider-verse" brought this version of Spider-Man to the general audience and, man, was he popular. This will continue the ever-expansive Spider-Man line that XM has been putting together over the years and is, hopefully, an improvement over what I thought was an unimpressive Peter Parker Spider-Man.

3. Absolute Carnage

So Absolute Carnage is not a character, but a recent storyline involving the symbiote god that sees Cletus Kasady/Carnage resurrected. With that comes a new character design, which sees Carnage a bit more skeleton-like and carries himself much more like a monster than in his original form. This tease could mean that XM is producing a statue of this version of Carnage alone, or it could indicate a line of statues based on this story (maybe a Knull and Venom to accompany it).

4. Maestro

Collectors sure do love their Hulks and this alternate future, tyrant version of the character is no exception. With no company releasing a Maestro statue since Bowen Designs in 2009, I would be surprised if this was not a quick sell-out whenever in the future that pre-order opens.

5. Venom Hulk

A wise man once said "Collectors sure do love their Hulks". Well that is not the only thing that people seem to like, because companies (looking at you Funko) have no resistance to Venomizing any character. XM is jumping on that boat with this Venomized version of the Hulk, which I am sure will look cool, but not exactly the type of obscure character I would like to see get the statue treatment.

6. Magneto

As popular as he is, this is a character that has only seen three 1:4 scale versions (XM on Throne, XM White, SS Maquette). I, for one, am very much looking forward to potentially adding this to my collection. Unsure as to what costume will inspire this statue, but considering the White costume was the most recent release a couple of years ago I am assuming this will be a red/purple version.

7. Nightcrawler

You want to talk about popular, there is not a single X-Men character that collectors have been more vocal about getting the statue treatment than Nightcrawler. Regardless of which of the theories about why he has not been produced are true, the winds of change are blowing. I am absolutely planning on grabbing this one and am probably most excited for this one.

8. Jean Grey

It was only a matter of time before XM tackled t traditional Jean Grey character after already releasing their Phoenix and Dark Phoenix version, with the latter being in their top tier of statues. No matter how long until it comes out, this will have the inevitable comparison to the recent SS Jean Grey, which has one of the best female portraits. While XM has struggled to match high level female portraits, I am sure it will pack in a lot more detail than other Jean statues from the past few years.

Future DC Statue Projects

Having taken the same approach for their DC license, XM hid 16 items across the two puzzles to tease future projects, all of which were discovered.

DC Vol. 1

1. Batman Medieval

When all else fails, just release new Batmen. For all the crap other studios have gotten for flooding the market with multiple versions of a single character, especially Batman-themed statues, XM has fallen into the same category. Comic Batmen, Samurai Batmen, 1:6 Batmen, 1:4 Batmen, now Medieval Batmen. Just because something is an original design does not make it a good one.

2. Dark Knight Metal

Oh look, a chance for a new Batman. Well, many Batmen actually. As will come across below, many of the Batman hybrids from the Dark Multiverse will receive their own statues. With this identifier, I expect the DKM versions of the trinity: Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.

3. Death Metal

Ayyyy, another chance for a new Batman!! Again, the same statement from above applies here. I do not expect much outside of the Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman. I understand that this and Dark Knight Metal are hot storylines in the DC comic world, but it still all feels repetitive since it is all virtually the same characters with different costumes.

4. Red Hood Samurai

I am not a big fan of the Batman Samurai line but it sure has proven popular among collectors. I do think the Robin Samurai and the Nightwing (after the color change) were really well done, so I do have hopes of this one being cool as well. I am thinking they will take go the assasin route with his design, considering the nature of the character.

5. The Merciless

A Batman/Doomsday hybrid. Well, he will be big. I was not impressed with XM's Doomsday so I expect a similar reaction to this piece.

6. Murder Machine

A Batman/Cyborg hybrid. A slick costume and with either light ups or a really neon blue could really have this piece pop in any lineup.

7. The Drowned

A Batman/Aquaman hybrid. A weak character with a Pirates of the Caribbean design. No thanks.

8. Batwoman Samurai

I guess the plus here is that XM is committed to running through a slew of characters for this Samurai line. They appear to be ok scraping the bottom of the barrel of bat characters too, I mean, Batwoman? A Samurai Alfred would have been more exciting.

DC Vol. 2

1. Cheetah

This was teased a while back and while it is sure to get sales, it seems a year too late. Without grabbing onto the WW84 hype and releasing is after, Cheetah is most recently a poorly represented character in a shit movie. Luckily, the odds of this piece having any movie influences are low, but it is hard to picture a Cheetah statue being that much better then previous versions.

2. Zatanna

Now this is n exciting statue to talk about, since the representation for this character is relegated to a large 1:3 scale from Prime 1 Studios and a 1:4 scale from Sideshow that came was revealed in 2017. Based on a previous tease for this statue, it seems XM will be diving into the darker side of Zatanna's magical abilities in aspects of the base. I really like when 1. statues represent the personality/abilities of the character and 2. when it explores aspects that other statues do not.

3. White Knight

Having picked up a lot of steam with a recent teaser photo, it appears this statue will include the Bat-cycle from this universe. I am not as familiar with this storyline, other than Joker being a good guy (I think), and the Batman design is a bit Frank Miller-ish. At least it will have a bat vehicle to set it apart more from the 53 other XM Batmen coming out.

4. Red Death

A Batman/Flash hybrid. It is a sharp-looking character and it was a going to get a 1:4 version from somebody, but being such a new character limits the originality between this and other versions.

5. Frank Miller

Another representation tease I would assume is likely to do Miller's Batman and Superman, both of which have gotten multiple treatments at Prime 1 Studios. I am not familiar with other DC Miller work, but it would be nice to see something other than the usual, but I assume those would not sell as well.

6. Green Arrow Rebirth

I think Sideshow's recent Green Arrow Premium Format is one of the best DC statues they have released in the past few years and that's where premium statues of this character ends. This is a great choice to help fill the Oliver Queen-sized holes in collections, especially for a character that is primed for dynamic representations. I think the only disappointment is choosing to go with one of his blander looking costumes. New 52 would have been a stronger choice, but in the end, I am not getting it anyway.

7. Scarecrow Samurai

Ok, all the shit I said earlier about the Batman Samurai line does not count here. I love Scarecrow and any variation of him can be made to look horrifically badass. My only hope is that they lean into the horror aspect of the character, which is always my stance for this character.

8. Kyle Rayner

This is a win I think, a Lantern that is not Hal or John (yes, I remember they are doing Jessica Cruz). While I do think it will be cool to have a bunch of different Green Lanterns, I think XM is missing a huge opportunity in not making Rayner in his White Lantern costume. Who else is doing that?

Having made a bit of a name for itself with characters that were not being made by other studios, it seems XM has made a big shift shift that was likely inevitable. Capitalizing on EVERYTHING that is popular at the moment, such as making every version of Batman imaginable, as well as other versions of characters they have already been released.

XM Darth Malak and Darth Revan

XM's contribution to the Star Wars week celebration was the best offering from all the companies. While I am as knowledgeable about Star Wars as I am about quantum physics (not much), I believe these are both Sith Lords who debuted in the Knights of the Old Republic video game. Regardless of that statement's accuracy, neither of these have seen much, if any, love from licensed companies. It is nice to see a focus on someone other than Darth Vader, Maul, or Sidious. Malak's character design is a little bland, especially when standing next to Darth Revan. Revan has a lot of layers to his costume that will look great win a fully sculpted medium and two lightsabers always looks cooler than one. Very nice additions for Star Wars collectors.

XM Swamp Thing

XM just can not catch a break. Following the design criticisms after the release of its 1:4 Psylocke statue, their new Swamp Thing is traveling a similar road. All the controversy surrounds the pose, of which there are two arguments: 1) it is the same/mirror image to other statues and 2) it does not fit the nature of the character. I am not too familiar with Swamp Thing, but it seems he traditionally is more of a brooding character and less of a victory pose-like character. Skimming through some character panels of the character, there are definitely a multitude of other poses that would have better fit the character, but had one of those been chosen, I'm sure there would still be groups that complained. In regards to the similarities between his pose and those of XM Hulk Transformation and SS 1:5 Thanos (and a few others), yeah, it is definitely very similar. However, there was no outcry that Hulk Transformation and SS Thanos looked like each other, so it almost feels like a mute point. I think it more is a reflection of concern that XM Studios is becoming a bit lazy in its creative design. While this is another conversation for another time, I think many of the things people praised XM Studios about early on were a bit unsustainable and we are experiencing a transition in the company that more closely aligns with the practices of other statue companies.

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SIDESHOW COLLECTIBLES

Sideshow came into Star Wars week hot, having 4 new(ish) statues revealed:

Ahsoka Tano Premium Format Figure, Anakin Mythos Statue, a smaller re-release of its Rancor Statue, Darth Vader Premium Format Figure

I knew Ahsoka was highly anticipated and it seems like it did not disappoint those awaiting a release. Taking inspiration from coveted appearance in the Star Wars animated universe, she has a battle engaged pose wielding both of her lightsabers, while also signifying using her force powers with her forward hand. Someone shared an image of her from the animated series that showed a near identical pose of her using her force powers, so good job by Sideshow for sticking to an accurate design. She even comes with her own Hogwarts owl!!! I think Anakin came with a bit less enthusiasm, as it seemed a more dark Anakin was preferred, where this is still the good Anakin and is meant to pair with Sideshow's newest Obi-Wan Mythos Statue. It does some with an alternate head that is supposed to more represent his turning to the dark side, but the pictures on the website have horrible angles and you can not really make out the qualities in the face that signify his turning (such as the yellow eyes).

For as many people as were happy about a smaller re-release of Sideshow's very recent Rancor Deluxe statue, there was just as much disappointment. The Deluxe version is big (29.5" tall) and pricey ($1300) and collectors bought it because that was the only option that they knew of. This newer release is both easier to display (16" tall) and less than half the price ($600). I am of the min d that if you are going to release more than one version of a collectible, it should all be done at one time so collector's can make a more informed decision. Considered by many to be the best 1:4 representation of the character, the Iron Studios Darth Vader was released back in 2017. I do not think the new Sideshow Premium Format is going to change people's minds. I actually prefer Sideshow's last version (based on his "Rogue One" appearance) that came out in 2019 compared to this new one as well. But for those who like the newest, shiniest things, this will be coming soon for pre-order. It has a strong pose, with both lightsaber and force powers being represented, but what is not seen in the picture is the base, which is representative of Vader's fortress on Mustafar. It is what I call a perspective base (I don't know if there is a technical term for it), but it is when the base for a statue is in a smaller scale than the character. It always make the character look like a giant and I am not a fan of the style.

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Queen Studios

1:2 Scale Iron Man - Mark 85

Queen Studios Collectibles is a newer company that started in 2018 and really made a name for itself with its hyper-realistic 1:1 (life-size) busts. I saw a couple of their busts and their 1:2 Aquaman statue at NYCC 2019 and I can't express how impressive they looked. Of course, 1:1 busts and 1:2 DC are a bit of a limited market, so Queen Studios has also began diving into 1:2 and 1:4 Marvel collectibles. Hence, the reveal of this 45+" tall Iron Man statue, complete with light up components. There will be 520 pieces of this particular statue released, retailing for just under $2400 and scheduled to be released Quarter 3-2022. If you haven't I encourage you to go to Queen Studios website and check out some of their collectibles and search on Youtube to see how realistic they look in video.

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Prime 1 Studios

Kong Bust Update

Just a quick update following the reveal of this Kong bust from the last update. I discussed how much of the impressiveness of this statue is in the individually punched hair and how it is unlikely that the factory would replicate such a quality. Well, it seems like Prime 1 Studios is expecting that level of quality, considering that it will cost $3500!!! The Godzilla bust, for comparison, comes in at $1600. So for those wanting to collect this set....Kong may have put it out of reach.

Dark Nights Metal: Superman 1:3

The various dark multiverse characters and costume variations that make up DC's Dark Nights: Metal and Death Metal lineup are ripe for statues. Just take a look at this evil Superman standing above the remains of his victims. Much more armored than the traditional red and blue tights, Prime 1 brings the spikes, skulls, and chromed features of this character to life. This statue is 35" tall and will retail for $1199 Standard / $1299 Exclusive. The Exclusive will come with an additional arm and head, with that Exclusive head being the selling point for me.

Uncharted 4 License

Not too much to see here, just that Prime 1 continues to be a main player in the high end video game collectibles market.

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IRON STUDIOS

1:10 General Grievous

Again, it was Star Wars week. But this release brings a much bigger discussion than just the details of the statue. Iron Studios revealed this 1:10 General Grievous to its already impressive high quality collection of 1:10 collectibles. Again, just a reminder, I have been far past impressed with Iron Studios 1:10 statues and I still think these are the best options for small scale collectibles. But as has been seen over the years, the average price for their 1:10 single character pieces have increased from $115 to around $170, with a handful pieces blowing past $200. Iron Studios may slowly be pricing themselves out of their own market, as these are getting a bit ridiculous, but this General Grievous takes the cake. This 13" tall statue comes in at a whopping $365!!! Nope. Just no.

Thanks to XM Studios and Star Wars Week, this was a much longer update that I anticipated. What do you find to be some of the more exciting news from this update?