The Darkness and Fathom

When the superhero wave of comic books flooded the market in the 1990s various small toy companies saw an opportunity to cash in by producing toy likenesses of popular characters.

One such company: Moore Action Collectibles, contracted with Marc Silvestri’s Top Cow Studio and produced a number of figures based on its roster of characters:  The Darkness and Fathom being two of them.

Silvestri both drew and wrote The Darkness.  The story involved a mobster who obtains the power of The Darkness, which enables him to summon and command demons and manifest supernatural armor.  There is a catch: read the comic book to find out what.

Artist and writer Michael Turner (who unfortunately passed away a few years ago) created Fathom.

Fathom is a young girl who can both live in and control water.  The title was applauded for Turner’s art, which was both elegant and dynamic.  Fans still clamor for his work.

The Darkness figure stands approximately 6-inches tall and is articulated at the shoulders, elbows, neck, hips and knees.

Articulation seams are practically invisible because of the complexity of the costume.

The figure’s head has long black hair and The Darkness mask in silver obscures the face.

The upper torso is a deep gray with sinew revealed yellow, as are the shoulders, parts of the arms, upper legs and behind the knees.

Silver clawed gloves cover the hands; the feet by solid gray the knees with silver knee guards.  

Sculpting is very detailed especially considering the size of the figure.

Color separation is precise with clear definitions between textures and pigment.

The figure is held snug in place in a clear plastic cocoon and can be seen fully through the bubble pack’s clear plastic outer shell.

The Darkness logo takes up about one-third of the front of the packaging and a sculpted stand sits vertically behind the figure.  It is decorated in bones and skulls.  A The Darkness illustration backs up both the stand and figure.

On the back of the packaging is a short explanation about The Darkness and several illustrations.

The Fathom figure is a diminutive 5-inchs tall, delicately sculpted and detailed.  Clayburn Moore’s mastery of the female figure is second to known and it shows with this beautifully rendered figure.

Flesh tones are natural, facial features are fine and defined with an emphasis on the eyes and red lips.  Her long dark hair appears wet flowing done her back.

She comes dressed in her skimpy coral bikini with multi-layer colorful coral high heel boots.  The figure is partially articulated at the hips, shoulders and neck.

Included with the figure are her coral weapon that fits over one arm and has three coral spikes, a hammerhead shark and base that the figure attached to.

The Aspen Matthews Fathom figure is gorgeous from all sides including her back.  Her clingy costume accentuates her voluptuous figure and sculptor Clayburn Moore’s choice of a pose for the figure accents her beauty.

It is a delicate and demure figure excellently crafted, nicely colored and a wonderful 3D rendering of the comic book character.

Packaging is similar to The Darkness figure.