O2, London

Take the opportunity to get up close with 200 original DC comic book pages, 300 sketches and concept artworks, and 45 original screen-used costumes, model and props from the DC movies.

I imagine you could ask 100 different people attending the DC Exhibition at London’s O2 as to what their personal highlight was, and you’d likely get 100 different answers, such is the breadth of the display. Whether it’s Christopher Reeve’s spandex Superman costume, Christian Bale’s Batpod, Gal Gadot’s armour or original comic artwork by Bob Kane, Frank Miller or Brian Bolland, there’s a lot here to see and photograph.

Armed with a hand-held guide that provides commentary on each artefact, you navigate each of the galleries to the underscore of DC movie and TV show themes. It’s all very nicely done, laid out chronologically for each of the big three – Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. And so you start with costumes from the Richard Donner movies before progressing to the Henry Cavill variant outfits. In between the movie ephemera and production designs are mounted artwork pages, allowing you to scrutinise the artist’s amends, the light pencil lines under the ink, and the yellowing speech bubbles glued on top.

The Batman gallery begins with the impressive over-sized Batman statue from The Dark Knight Rises and includes such treats as Michael Keaton’s Batsuit, Danny DeVito’s Penguin costume (and a penguin!), Michelle Pfeiffer’s raggedy, latex Catsuit and even a Frank Gorshin Riddler costume from the 60s Batman TV show. The Kilmer and Clooney costumes are also here (the latter with gleaming Batnipples) and the bulk of the Mr Freeze costume is a sight to behold – “You are not sending me to the cooler!”

The Christopher Nolan Dark Knight trilogy gets its own sub-gallery with scaled model of the Tumbler, the different Batman armour, Heath Ledger’s Joker coat and some stunning miniature models used to map out key action scenes. Ben Affleck’s Batman Vs Superman costume is also on display, though there’s no actual props from Justice League.

Wonder Woman’s gallery includes the original Lynda Carter hero costume as well as her wetsuit. Donald Lee Feld’s original designs, complete with swatches, adorn the walls, the models sporting unfeasibly long legs. And finally there’s Gal Gadot’s costume, looking spectacular even close up.

Not quite an afterthought, though comprised purely of artwork and movie designs, there’s a final room for the Justice League where Green Arrow, The Flash and Hawkman panels are proudly shown off, and a cinema showing a short film on rotation about the story behind the exhibits.

Verdict: A DC aficionado’s paradise – whether your interest is more in legacy artwork or movie costumes. What a great way to spend a good ninety minutes to two hours in the UK’s Metropolis – it’s super, man. 9/10

 

 

The DC Exhibition runs from 23rd February to 9 September 2018. To book tickets, visit www.DCExhibition.co.uk