DST's Original Femme Fatale Medusa Gets A Make-Over

In Greek mythology, Medusa was usually portrayed as being pretty gruesome: Half-snake, snakes for hair, and a face that could turn anyone to stone if they looked directly at her. That was reason enough to shield your eyes, but even seeing her reflection would give you the dry heaves. On the other hand, the Femme Fatales version of Medusa, from Diamond Select's 9-inch PVC statue line, is just begging to get looked at. Art Asylum's Uriel Caton came up with his eye-popping new Medusa design by starting as far away from the famous Medusa as possible.

"At the time, I was asked to do a few drawing of girls in pirate outfits, and I got the notion to suggest something that was part of pirate lore, the water nymph, or undine," reveals Caton. "I didn't want to stray too far from the pirate theme, so the original even had a tattered Jolly Roger flag as a skirt. In another version, she was a woman who was possessed by an enchanted sword found in some treasure."

But it was in finding a name for the character that inspiration struck, since "Medusa" is also the term used to describe various types of jellyfish. "Finally it was decided to make her a bit different from the other girls by making her a gorgon, Medusa being the most famous," Caton says. "This made her a lot more interesting, because suddenly there was a bigger story to her."

"I like the broader, more original take on Medusa, as opposed to the usual depiction with the head of snakes," says Medusa sculptor Jean St. Jean of the new look. "In my mind, I saw her as a heroic Medusa vanquishing the Titans, and the cyclopean eye theme on her armor representing her ability to turn foes to stone with her gaze. In this version, her beauty is the lure, which entraps her enemies much like the mythical sirens."

Visually, Caton's inspirations for Medusa come from all over the map. "Various sources contributed here," he says. "I think the new 'Clash of the Titans' movie was definitely an inspiration. Also, we were playing a lot of 'Soul Calibur IV,' and, believe it or not, a bit of Michael Turner's Fathom and a hint of George Perez."

St. Jean then brought his own impressive skills to the table, adding crucial detail to the design and tying it into the line's previous releases. "My main contribution was to bring my style to the design," he says. "I interpreted the proportions a little more realistically, while injecting a bit of an animation feel into the portrait. I also spent some time studying seashell textures and seaweed to make those elements distinctive rather than reading as generic textures. I also had just finished the Femme Fatale pirate that Uriel had designed, Anne Bonny, and I wanted to maintain a consistency between the two figures, so they would feel like companion pieces in the line. You can almost view them as foes within the same hypothetical universe."

Medusa and Anne Bonny will appear in the Femme Fatales 9-inch PVC statue line from Diamond Select Toys and will be available in shops this September ($40 msrp). The pair will also show up in Minimate form a month later, as part of DST's Femme Fatales Minimates Series 2 available in October (Listed in the July PREVIEWS catalog; pre-order now with your local comic shop).

Get regular DST updates on Facebook, Twitter and see more Femme Fatales at the Diamond Select Store!