Clayface
Clayface is an alias used by several characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Most incarnations of the character possess clay-like bodies and shapeshifting abilities, and all of them are adversaries of the superhero Batman. In 2009, Clayface was ranked as IGN's 73rd-greatest comic book villain of all time.
Both a prominent enemy and ally of Batman, Clayface has appeared in various forms of non-comics media; he has been voiced by Ron Perlman in the DC Animated Universe and Alan Tudyk in both Harley Quinn and the DC Universe animated series Creature Commandos, among others, with live-action versions of the character appearing on the television series Gotham, portrayed by Brian McManamon, and Pennyworth, portrayed by Lorraine Burroughs.
The character will headline a self-titled film written by Mike Flanagan and will be portrayed by Tom Rhys Harries, also set in the DCU.
Publication history
Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, the original Clayface, Basil Karlo, appeared in Detective Comics #40 as a B-list actor who began a life of crime using the identity of a villain that he had portrayed in a horror film. Kane stated that the character was partially inspired by the 1925 Lon Chaney version of Erik from The Phantom of the Opera and that his name was derived from Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone. The character only appeared twice in the Golden Age, but was the inspiration for the shape-shifting Silver Age version.In the late 1950s, Batman began facing a series of science fiction-inspired foes, including Matthew Hagen, a treasure hunter who was given vast shapeshifting powers and resiliency by exposure to a pool of radioactive protoplasm and became the second Clayface. He retained the title for the next several decades of comic book history.
In the late 1970s, Preston Payne became the third Clayface. A scientist suffering from hyperpituitarism, Preston Payne used the second Clayface's blood to create a cure for his condition. While the shapeshifting was brief tenure, he then became a clay-like creature that needed to pass his new condition on to others to survive with his melting touch.
Sondra Fuller of Strike Force Kobra used the terrorist group's technology to become the fourth Clayface, also known as Lady Clay. She formed the Mud Pack with the original and third Clayfaces. During this era, the original Clayface used the DNA of Payne and Fuller to become the Ultimate Clayface.
Sometime after the Mud Pack event, Payne and Fuller had a son named Cassius "Clay" Payne, who, as the fifth Clayface, also had metahuman shapeshifting powers.
In a 1998 storyline, Dr. Peter Malley later uses a sample of Cassius Payne's skin to become Clay-Thing.
The Todd Russell version of Clayface was introduced in Catwoman #4, and the Johnny Williams version of Clayface was introduced in Batman: Gotham Knights #60.
Fictional character biography
Basil Karlo
Golden Age
The original version of Clayface, Basil Karlo, first appeared in Detective Comics #40. He is a B-list actor who is driven insane when he hears that a remake of the classic horror film he had starred in, Dread Castle, would be shot without him acting in the film, even though he is to be one of the advising staff. Donning the costume of Clayface, a villain he once played in a different movie, he begins killing the actors playing characters he killed in the order and way they die in the film, along with someone who knew his identity. Last, he plans to murder the actor playing the Clayface killer. He is foiled by Batman and Robin.He reappears after the prison ambulance he is riding in plunges off a cliff. He once again dons the mask of Clayface and targets Bruce Wayne's fiancée, Julie Madison. Once again, the Dynamic Duo foil his plans.
Silver Age
While Earth-One's version of Clayface has a similar history, he was only seen in a flashback as Alice Chilton reminiscences about Bruce Wayne's growth from when her son Joe Chill shot Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne to his path to becoming Batman.Clayface was later killed by John Carlinger during his attack on Carlinger's yacht.
Post-Crisis
In the Post-Crisis continuity, Karlo languishes in a prison hospital, when the current Clayface visits him out of curiosity. Karlo proposes an alliance between all living Clayfaces to kill Batman and did an attempt to resurrect Matt Hagen. He even arranges for a small piece of the remains of Matt Hagen to be gathered to make him a post-mortem member of the "Mud Pack" as the group called itself. Even though the "Mud Pack" is defeated, Karlo injects himself with blood samples from Preston Payne and Sondra Fuller, gaining the abilities to shapeshift and melt with a touch; he becomes the self-declared "Ultimate Clayface". He is defeated by the combined efforts of Batman and Looker of the Outsiders by overloading his abilities, making him melt into the ground. He literally sinks into the Earth's crust when he loses control of his powers; he survives, however, and now his body sports crystals similar to quartz that endow him with greater power. Karlo escapes his underground prison when Gotham City is struck by a great cataclysm. He captures Batman and is about to kill him, but he gets into a feud with Mr. Freeze about who has a right to kill Batman. Using that distraction, Batman soundly defeats both of them.In Batman: No Man's Land, Karlo holds Poison Ivy prisoner in Robinson Park. After she is freed from her prison by Batman, Ivy battles and defeats Karlo, sinking him deep into the ground. Clayface is apparently destroyed in this battle.
In Infinite Crisis, Clayface resurfaces as a member of Alexander Luthor Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains.
Later, he seeks to increase his already formidable powers by absorbing Wonder Woman, giving him an amount of powers that border on invulnerability. While he is successful in absorbing some of the heroine's powers, causing her to regress to a teenage appearance resembling Donna Troy, he is ultimately returned to normal when Wonder Woman and Donna trick Clayface into entering a train carriage with Wonder Woman while she was disguised as Donna, Donna subsequently using the Lasso of Truth to swing the carriage around and turn it into a mystical centrifuge, causing the clay Clayface had taken from Wonder Woman to split away from him and re-merge with Wonder Woman due to the differences between the two types of clay.
Basil Karlo is among the members of the Injustice League and is among the villains seen in Salvation Run.
In Final Crisis, Clayface joins Libra's Secret Society of Super Villains. He triggers an explosion at the Daily Planet under Libra's orders when Lex Luthor orders Libra to do something that will draw Superman to them.
Black Mask attempts to control Karlo by implanting a device in his body. He escapes Black Mask, but is captured and imprisoned by the Outsiders.
The New 52
In 2011, "The New 52" rebooted the DC universe. His origin is given in the Batman: The Dark Knight storyline “Clay”. As a child, Basil Karlo came from a poor family. Still, they were able to afford the necessities. Karlo, desperate to become noticed, decided to join his school’s acting program, but was repeatedly turned down. As Karlo grew up, he joined more and more acting programs, and kept getting denied. One day, Karlo heard from a fellow actor Penguin had access to a chemical formula that would make anyone a great actor. Karlo sought out Penguin, and, finding him, used the formula excitedly. Penguin handed over the formula as he had no use for it. Karlo learned he could become malleable. Soon, he was a successful actor, appearing in horror and romance films frequently. But, soon, Penguin was losing money due to a gang war, and called upon Karlo to give it to him. Turning to crime, Karlo became a killer, and slowly lost his sanity. When he decided to become an actor again, he lashed out at a cast member and was fired. He then realized he had swapped DNA too much to hold his general form together, and became a massive clay creature, able to imitate any and all features except his own. As a part of the "Death of the Family" storyline, Poison Ivy breaks Basil Karlo out of Arkham Asylum, claiming she wants to marry him. This turns out to be a ruse, however; Ivy is using him as part of a larger scheme. Upon realizing this, he seeks revenge. Karlo later returns with a new plan: to use his DNA-duplication abilities to impersonate Bruce Wayne and take control of Wayne Enterprises. He even guesses that Wayne is Batman's true identity. However, Batman plants false evidence to suggest that he anticipated Karlo's attempt to take his DNA and tricked him into taking a fake sample. Batman eventually stops Karlo by trapping him in a security system that can only be deactivated with Karlo's original DNA, reasoning that he has changed too much for his original DNA to be present in his system.DC Rebirth
In 2016, DC Comics implemented a relaunch of its books called "DC Rebirth", which restored its continuity to a form much as it was prior to "The New 52". Basil Karlo is re-imaged as a handsome young actor who was disfigured in a car accident. In a desperate bid to salvage his career, he began abusing an industrial make-up chemical known as "Re-Nu" which, when combined with clay and putty, warps flesh into new shapes and forms; a secret he discovered from his father Vincent Karlo, a former special effects artist. However, the chemical is long out of production, and Karlo resorts to theft when he can no longer purchase it legally. Batman apprehends him during one such robbery, which reveals his secret to the world. Karlo's career is ruined, and his girlfriend Glory Griffin dumps him. Batman attempts to get Karlo to testify against the creator of Re-Nu, Roland Daggett, but he refuses. Instead, he attempts to break into the warehouse where the police are holding his stolen stash of Re-Nu. He is exposed to a massive dose of the chemical in the process and is transformed into a clay-like metahuman. Driven mad, he rampages on the set of the film he was fired from. Batman attempts to evacuate the set, but Clayface flings him off into the distance and begins massacring everyone in sight. As an added bit of revenge, Clayface disfigures Glory, who is working on the film as a production assistant, before Batman apprehends him. This incident leads Glory to become Mudface of the Victim Syndicate.In the 2016 Batman story arc "Night of the Monster Men", the villainous Professor Hugo Strange uses a serum to transform living and dead human beings into monsters. Batman initially suspects Karlo, who has broken out of Arkham Asylum. Realizing Karlo needs treatment more than imprisonment, Batman asks him to join his team. Karlo agrees, and working with Batman, Nightwing, Batwoman, Orphan, and Spoiler helps to defeat Strange's monsters. The government agency A.R.G.U.S. creates a quarantine zone encompassing the neighborhood where the creature died, nicknaming it "Monstertown". A.R.G.U.S. consultant Victoria October, takes charge of "Monstertown", the area of Gotham City affected by Strange's serum. Clayface patrols the sewers beneath Monstertown, retrieving monsters who were created by leaking serum.
October offers to work on a means of returning Clayface to human form permanently. She asks him to stay in his monstrous form for as long as possible so she can chart the mental degradation he undergoes the longer he remains nonhuman. She also acts as his counselor when he despairs of a cure. October calls the Clayface persona a "fear response" that occurs Karlo's mind abandons empathy and embraces anger. Batman has Clayface wear a high-technology forearm device that enables him to regain human form without using his powers—reducing the psychotic effect being Clayface has on Karlo. The device is not a cure, as the Clayface DNA consumes Karlo's human DNA whenever he is locked into human form. October gives him a "placebo" bracelet with messages from his close friend Cassandra Cain, which helps him focus on retaining his sanity. After pushing past the twelve-hour mark, Clayface loses his sanity and attacks October. Orphan intervenes, saving her life by putting the real bracelet back on.
Victoria cares deeply for Karlo, and later calls him a "great friend". October expresses a desire to test her cure on a less serious case, and Karlo tells her of Glory Griffin. Karlo also tells Glory about the potential cure, although she refuses to forgive him for what he did to her. Later, with the cure close to being finished, Clayface is captured by Glory when the villain First Victim takes over Arkham Asylum and releases her. Glory removes Clayface's wrist controller, and he goes insane. As Clayface rampages through Gotham to confront Batman, Batwoman obtains a weapon which can destabilize Karlo's molecular structure, killing him. During his attack on Old Wayne Tower, Karlo is accidentally doused with hundreds of gallons psychoactive mud, worsening his insanity. October attempts to cure Karlo, but the effect is only temporary, and Batwoman kills Karlo. Three days later, October cures Glory Griffin, saying she did so only for the sake of Basil Karlo.
Clayface did not die, however. Seven issues later, in Detective Comics #981, it is revealed that Karlo is still alive and retains his powers to some degree. For reasons unstated, October conspired with him to fake his death. Karlo leaves a message for Cassandra Cain and then allows October to take him out of Gotham City.
In a flashback, Clayface is among the villains who protect Ingrid Karlsson during a riot. Before Ingrid was killed by an inmate using a rogue batarang despite the villains getting her away from the riot, she gave birth to Astrid Arkham, who would later become the Arkham Knight.