Clayface
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Clayface is a fictional character in the DC Comics universe, best known as an enemy of Batman. He was first introduced in 1940; since then, a number of characters have taken up the name "Clayface" as a criminal moniker.
The first character to use the name Clayface was former horror film actor Basil Karlo, who during the Golden Age got involved in a life of crime.
Later, as the Golden Age DC characters were said to exist on a parallel-universe version of Earth known as Earth-Two, an Earth-One (main continuity) version of the villain was created in the 1960s during the Silver Age. As with many new enemies of Batman created around that time, such as Firefly or Mr. Freeze, Matt Hagen, the new Clayface, had superpowers to honor his name and with which to face Batman.
In the 1970s, a more tragic figure was created using the same name. Preston Payne, condemned to living hidden and melting down people in a vampire-esque way in order to survive, was the third Clayface and the second on Earth-One.
Later, yet another character came to use the same name. Shondra Fuller, with similar powers to Hagen, became the supervillain also known as Lady Clay.
In a story following the revamp of DC Comics' multi-universed continuity that took place in the maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths (1985), the four became a team known as the Mud Pack.
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[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Basil Karlo
The original Clayface, Basil Karlo, appeared in Detective Comics #40. He was an actor who was driven mad when he heard of a remake of the classic horror film he had starred in, The Terror, even though he was to be one of the advising staff. Donning the mask of the film's villain, Clayface, he embarked on a murder spree among the cast and crew of the remake. He was foiled by Batman and Robin.
Much later, Karlo languished in a prison hospital, when Sondra Fuller visited him out of curiosity. Karlo proposed an alliance between all living Clayfaces to kill Batman. Even though the Mud Pack, as the group called itself, was defeated, Karlo was imbued with abilities similar to those of Preston Payne and Shondra Fuller. Additionally, his body sported crystals similar to quartz that endowed him with greater powers.
During the "No Man's Land" storyline, Basil Karlo held Poison Ivy, who was in charge of producing fresh vegetables for the remaining people in the city, prisoner in Robinson Park. Poison Ivy eventually battled and defeated Karlo, sinking him deep into the ground. It appeared the Ultimate Clayface was destroyed in this battle, but has resurfaced as a member of the Secret Society of Super Villains.
[edit] Matt Hagen
The second Clayface, Matt Hagen, first appeared in Detective Comics #298. A treasure hunter, Hagen found a mysterious radioactive pool of protoplasm in a cave. Immersing himself in it, he was transformed into a malleable clay-like form which could be shaped into almost anything he desired, though this was only a temporary effect, requiring him to return to the pool periodically in order to maintain use of his powers.
He eventually copied the pool's protoplasmic jelly by chemistry studies, although the artificial proptoplasm only allowed him five hours of Clayface powers compared to the full two days of the pool's.
Hagen was ultimately killed during the 12-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths. During the "Mud Pack" storyline, the other villains that used the name Clayface gathered Hagen's remains and made him a post-mortem member of their gang.
[edit] Preston Payne
The third Clayface, Preston Payne, first appeared in Detective Comics #478. Suffering from hyperpituitarism, Payne worked at S.T.A.R. Labs searching for a cure. He obtained a sample of the then-living Matt Hagen's blood, and isolated an enzyme which he introduced into his own bloodstream. Although he was briefly able to shape his own appearance, this effect was short-lived: while on a date, his flesh began to melt, and when he touched his horrified girlfriend, she completely melted. Payne built an exoskeleton anti-melting suit to prevent himself from touching anyone, but he learned that he needed to spread his melting contagion onto others to survive (he feels pain if he doesn't melt anyone). During this time his mental health started to slip as he fell in love with a wax mannequin he named "Helena", thinking she was the only woman immune to his touch. After another breakdown, he thought Helena enjoyed watching men "fighting over her" when he battled Batman yet again in front of the wax doll. Although he didn't give her up, he kept her in Arkham Asylum, saying "we're both too polite to admit divorce, but she can't live forever". He then met Sondra Fuller. While with the Mud Pack, he brought the remains of Matt Hagen. He then fell in love with Sondra, producing a child named Cassius Payne, the fifth Clayface.
Recently, Preston acquired medicine to control his pain and now feels the "hunger" only in his mind. It was also revealed that he was abused by his parents.
[edit] Arkham Asylum
A stunted, emaciated Preston Payne appears in the graphic novel Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison and Dave McKean. He is used to metaphorically represent sexually transmitted diseases.
[edit] Sondra Fuller
The fourth Clayface, Sondra Fuller, also known as Lady Clay, first appeared in Outsiders (volume 1) #21. She was a member of Strike Force Kobra who was transformed into a shape-changer by her employer Kobra's technologies, a process she agreed to become a subject of because she hated her own face, which she found extremely disgusting.
She possesses identical abilities to those of Matt Hagen, only with the advantage/disadvantage of having them permanently, without the requirement for a source of protoplasm. She could additionally copy any special powers of the being she was mimicking. She was defeated by the Outsiders.
Later, after the Mud Pack formed and battled Batman, Fuller fell in love with Preston Payne and they had a child named Cassius. After Abbatoir kidnapped the child, the couple got into a fight involving Azrael/Batman.
[edit] Mud Pack
Before the appearance of the fifth and sixth Clayfaces, the third and fourth Clayfaces teamed up, breaking the original Clayface out of prison and forming the "Mud Pack." Karlo later copied the others' powers by injecting himself with extracts of samples of the other two Clayfaces, becoming the "Ultimate Clayface". The three battled and were defeated by Batman.
[edit] Cassius "Clay" Payne
After the Mud Pack, Payne and Fuller fell in love and eventually became withdrawn and had a child together named Cassius "Clay" Payne, who became the fifth Clayface. The boy is separated from his parents and held in a government laboratory. The full extent of his powers are unknown. The name "Cassius" is a pun on "Cassius Clay", the birthname of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali.
Currently, the bio status of Cassius shows that if a piece of him is separated from his body, it can grow a mind of its own, but it mostly thinks in a retarded form of what Cassius wants. If bonded with another human (i.e. Claything), the piece can give that human clayface-like abilities, such as become like clay, being able to withstand bullets and other harm, and could also manifest Payne's ability to melt objects, but all this person would have to do is just think it. It is unknown if a person can gain different abilities when bonded with a piece of Cassius.
In Batman: Gotham Knights recently, Cassius has now taken on the clay-like appearance of his mother and father, but he looks more like Basil Karlo than either of his parents. He can only stay in Clayface mode while awake, similar to the Teen Titans villain Plasmus in the animated show.
[edit] Claything
The sixth Clayface, also known as Claything, was created when a skin sample from Cassius Payne came to life and merged with a DEO (Department of Extranormal Operations) scientist, Dr. Malley. He had the ability to melt objects simply by looking at them. Claything was destroyed and his remains are stored at the DEO HQ. These events took place in Batman #550: "Chasing Clay".
[edit] Other media
[edit] Animated versions
[edit] The New Adventures of Batman
Clayface's first appearance outside the comics was in several episodes of Filmation's The New Adventures of Batman in the late 1970s. This show featured the Matt Hagen version of Clayface, and according to his first appearance he must drink his special potion daily to keep his Clayface powers. In this show he often uses his powers to take on the forms of animals.
In Clayface's first episode, Clayface was shown to be able to survive in water without dissolving (unlike later animated incarnations) by turning into a dolphin, but as Matt Hagen he did not know how to swim. His second episode paired him up with Catwoman in a plot to steal oil.
He was also one of the four villains featured in the show's only two-part episode, in which the alien Zarbor conned him, The Joker, Catwoman and The Penguin into teaming up against Batman and Robin, as a diversion while Zarbor stole Earth's nuclear plants. The four villains later tried to get revenge on Zarbor in vain. In this series Clayface was voiced by Lou Scheimer.
[edit] Batman: The Animated Series
In Batman: The Animated Series (The WB), several episodes featured a more tragic Clayface character, voiced by Ron Perlman, that combined aspects of several of the comic-book Clayfaces.
In the episode "Feat of Clay" he was introduced as Matt Hagen, a past-his-prime actor who had been disfigured in a horrible car accident. While recovering in a burn clinic, he was approached by corrupt businessman Roland Daggett, who made him a test subject for a compound called "Renuyu" that he promised would immediately restore his youthful good looks. In exchange, Hagen would commit crimes for Daggett, which he greatly resented. When Daggett had Hagen impersonate Bruce Wayne in order to obtain documents from Lucius Fox, a chain of events was started that resulted in Fox being wounded and Bruce Wayne arrested for assault. Hagen, attempting to steal a large quantity of Renuyu from Daggett's compund, was seized by Daggett's henchmen; they then tried to kill Hagen by forcing him to ingest an entire canister of the compound. Rather than kill him, however, the overdose saturated every cell in his body, turning him into a bulky and misshapen claylike form who could, for short periods of time, shapeshift into anything or anybody he wished. After trying to get revenge on Daggett, he was stopped by Batman and, upon being caught, faked his death.
He reappeared in the episode "Mudslide," having been restored to a semblance of health by a former medical advisor on his films, Dr. Stella Bates, who had fallen in love with Hagen and sold her motel to raise funds for a laboratory in which to treat him. Batman tracked him down there and battled him to an apparent death, Hagen's now-unstable clay form having absorbed too much rainwater to hold its cohesion, falling into and dissolving in the ocean.
[edit] The New Batman Adventures
In The New Batman Adventures, Hagen's character re-forms again in "Growing Pains," in which Robin II (Tim Drake) befriends a lost, amnesiac little girl (whom he named "Annie." The child turns out to be a portion of Clayface that has gained sentience and identity on its own, and in the end is re-absorbed into the main body of the villain, effectively "killing" the girl as a separate person. Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) was also shown battling Clayface in one segment of a Christmas-themed episode, "Holiday Knights," in which Clayface further expanded his separative ability by posing as four separate children at once to shoplift from Gotham department stores at the height of the Christmas Eve rush.
[edit] Justice League
Clayface made his return to action in the Justice League series, where it was revealed that at some point, he had been captured, separated and sealed into several biohazard canisters by Morgan Edge. Gorilla Grodd and his newly-formed Secret Society attacked his mansion, freeing Clayface and offering him a position in their group. Grodd promised Clayface that he'll find a way to revert Clayface back to Matt Hagen. Clayface was defeated when the Flash planted fireworks in his clay body and Hawkgirl ignited them, blowing Clayface apart. For a long time, it was unknown whether he survived or not, but recently, he resurfaced in an issue of the JLU comic.
[edit] The Batman
There are two versions of Clayface in The Batman:
[edit] Ethan Bennett
The first Clayface was Ethan Bennett, a detective in the police force, and Bruce Wayne's basketball buddy from high school.
Clayface originated in the two-part episodes "The Rubber Face of Comedy/The Clay Face of Tragedy." After he inhaled a dose of Joker's Joker Putty, Bennett was rescued by Batman and his partner, Detective Ellen Yin. He was suspended by Chief Rojas after publicly denouncing the chief's claims about the Batman. At his apartment, Bennett mutated into a featureless gray-clay like figure, and tried to look for help, scaring away the locals. After many battles with Batman, it has become clear that he still holds a grudge against the Joker. His most recent crime so far was impersonating the legendary Solomon Grundy in order to loot the city on Halloween.
Clayface returned in the fourth season episode "Clayfaces", Bennett seems to have finally reformed. He tracked down and captured the Joker, disguising himself as the Joker's henchmen, Punch and Judy, for Batman without using any excessive force, and turned himself in to the Batman afterwards. However, Bennett had not completely regained Batman's (and Bruce Wayne's) trust. He was eager to leave Arkham and continue working as a police officer, although Batman refused to consider this request until Bennett was cured of Clayface.
When Basil Karlo began wreaking havoc as the second Clayface, Bennett felt he was the only one who could defeat Karlo. Bennett once again requested a second chance, but after he was refused again, he resorted to escaping from Arkham. Bennett tracked down and battled Karlo with the aid of Batman and Robin. Bennett held Karlo down while Batman administered the antidote. Bennett seems to have been completely cured by the antidote, and it seems he will soon be released from Arkham Asylum for good. He is now eager to regain Bruce's trust and play another game of basketball with him.
- This version of Clayface was voiced by Steve Harris.
[edit] Basil Karlo
The episode "Clayfaces" introduced Basil Karlo (in his first actual appearance outside the comics) as The Batman's second Clayface.[1] His first appearance is in the fourth season episode Clayfaces, where he is shown to be an ugly, untalented actor. He has been repeatedly turned down in auditions for a dog food commercial when he hears about Clayface.
Thinking Clayface's powers will enhance his acting skills, Basil Karlo breaks into Wayne Industries and steals and drinks a refined, purified sample of the Clayface mutagen Bennett was exposed to. This successfully turns him into Clayface. After being rejected once again for a dog food commercial, he snaps and uses his Clayface powers to attack the city. At first he believes this incident would be the death of his career, but he then sees that being a supervillain has made him a celebrity, covered on nearly every channel.
After a battle with Batman, Robin and Ethan Bennett, Basil Karlo is injected with the Clayface antidote, seemingly restoring him to normal. However, the episode's final scene shows that Karlo has retained his powers and could return.
Also, it must be noted that Karlo's Clayface powers are vastly superior to Bennett's, allowing him to master them in a much shorter time, greater strength, mass and the ability to create more powerful weapons, such as rotating drills, a giant hook he was seen tearing a bank vault with, and to generate more weapons at the same time than Bennett. Also, his mass regeneration powers are extended to the point he can grow to become a lumbering monstrosity easily dwarfing medium-sized buildings. Shamefully, Karlo's greatest problem, acting, tends to give him away. He is also less strategic and agile than Bennett, as a result of his lack of intelligence and training in crime.
- This version of Clayface is voiced by Wallace Langham.
[edit] Live action television
[edit] Birds of Prey
Clayface also made an appearance in the 12th episode of the short-lived Birds of Prey television series portrayed by Kirk Baltz. In this series he was hired by the Joker to kill Catwoman. He had a son named Chris Cassius who was turning people into clay.
[edit] Video Games
Clayface has made several appearances in video games featuring Batman. He appeared as a boss in The Adventures of Batman & Robin for the Super NES, The Adventures of Batman & Robin for the Sega CD and Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu. Ron Perlman reprised his role as Clayface from the animated series for the latter two games. The Sega CD game featured Clayface as the final boss. In it, he impersonated crime lord Rupert Thorne while the real Thorne was on vacation. He then used Thorne's wealth to hire some of Batman's greatest villains (Poison Ivy, the Riddler and the Joker) to kill him, so then Gotham City would be his for the taking. In the end Clayface tried escaping in a helicopter, but it crashed into the side of a bridge, causing him to fall into the harbor and dissolve in an ending somewhat reminiscient of the episode "Mudslide".
[edit] Other versions
Batman Beyond villain Inque shared similarities in ability and storyline to Clayface, particularly Lady Clay. There was also another character that was similar to Clayface called "Earthmover" who could form dirt into rudimentary human forms, all while his actual 'body' was nearby skeletal remains, buried after an industrial accident involving some mutagenetic chemicals.
| Batman | |
|---|---|
| Creators: | Bob Kane • Bill Finger • Other writers and artists |
| Supporting Characters: | Robin (Tim Drake) • Nightwing (Dick Grayson) • Batgirl • Batwoman • Alfred Pennyworth • Lucius Fox • Barbara Gordon • Commissioner Gordon • Harvey Bullock |
| Villains: | Bane • Catwoman • Clayface • Harley Quinn • Joker • Killer Croc • Mr. Freeze • Penguin • Poison Ivy • Ra's al Ghul • Red Hood (Jason Todd) • Riddler • Scarecrow • Two-Face • Other villains |
| Locations: | Arkham Asylum • Batcave • Gotham City • Wayne Enterprises • Wayne Manor |
| Miscellanea: | Batarang • Batmobile • Batsuit • Popular media • Publications • Storylines • Alternate versions of Batman |
