Basil Karlo Golden Age The original version of Clayface,
Basil Karlo, first appeared in
Detective Comics #40 (June 1940). 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 (Sondra Fuller) 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 (a clay construct similar to him), 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. and Batwoman kills Karlo. 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.
Infinite Frontier In
Infinite Frontier, Basil Karlo, bringing
Killer Croc,
Firefly,
Cheshire, and
Knockout as potential allies seeking a second chance. Then Karlo assures Selina that her Alleytown stronghold will inevitably come to a head with the Magistrate, which can be better served with formidable allies by her side. Clayface and Killer Croc attack Valley, giving Selina a chance to escape into the water, as the Magistrate Croc tell Basil to retreat and before that Valley destroys Clayface with a grenade. In "
DC All In", Basil Karlo puts together a Clayface gathering called the Fraternity of Mud at the restaurant Synesthesia. The gathering is accidentally crashed by Harley Quinn. When Karlo and the other Clayfaces swarm over Harley, they fall through the floor into a laboratory. When Harley uses
formaldehyde on Clownface, the Clayfaces stop their attack. Harley learns that Synesthesia was owned by the sous chef who hired her to break in as it was going out of business and planned to collect the insurance money for supervillain damages caused by the Clayfaces.
Matt Hagen The second version of Clayface,
Matthew "Matt" Hagen, first appeared in
Detective Comics #298. A treasure hunter, Hagen finds a mysterious radioactive pool of
protoplasm in a cave. Immersing himself in it by accident, he is transformed into a malleable
clay-like form which could be shaped into almost anything he desires. This is only a temporary effect, however, requiring him to return to the pool periodically to maintain use of his powers. His criminal activities attract the attention of Batman and Robin. Batman discovers Clayface's weakness and defeats him. Hagen later escapes from prison and decided to investigate the protoplasmic substance that turned him into Clayface so that he can find a way to prolong his powers. Clayface poses as wealthy civilians of Gotham to learn more about his criminal activities. Batman and Robin later confront Clayface at his hideout, using a combination of a freeze gun and the protoplasmic substance to defeat Clayface and return him to prison. Hagen eventually breaks out of prison and uses the protoplasmic pool to become Clayface again. This time, Batman defeats Clayface by immersing himself in the protoplasm, with the resulting battle causing Batman to destroy the cave that contained the protoplasmic pool. Clayface later appears as a member of
Queen Bee's
Anti-Justice League to capture the
Justice League. They are defeated by the Justice League. During the "
Crisis on Infinite Earths" storyline, Matt Hagen is killed by one of the
Anti-Monitor's Shadow Demons, together with the
Bug-Eyed Bandit. In
Infinite Crisis, Hagen resurfaces and joins
Alexander Luthor Jr.'s
Secret Society of Super Villains. In
Infinite Frontier, the Matt Hagen version of Clayface first appears as one of the escapees at Arkham Asylum. He briefly fought Batman before escaping into the sewers. By the time Batman caught up to Clayface, he tried to fool him in the form of
Damian Wayne only for Batman to throw a net on him. When Clayface breaks free, Batman has Penny-One use the
Batmobile's sonic cannon on him. Penny-One then tells Batman that it has alerted the police who will take Clayface back to Arkham Asylum. In "
DC All In", Matt Hagen appears at a Clayface gathering called the Fraternity of Mud. When Harley Quinn accidentally crashes the gathering, Hagen and the other Clayfaces attack her. The Clayfaces stop their attack when Harley uses formaldehyde on Clownface. During the "Mud Pack" storyline, Sondra Fuller, the fourth Clayface, begins masquerading as the superheroine
Looker and visits Payne at Arkham. That same night, he gets into an argument with Helena and unintentionally knocks her head off. Believing that he has killed her, Payne goes on a rampage until he is subdued by guards. Fuller, who is still using Looker's appearance and powers, rescues him and influences him to follow Basil Karlo's commands. Karlo ultimately betrays Payne and Fuller and takes samples of both their blood to inject into himself. Payne finally breaks free of Fuller's control and is about to kill her when she admits how sorry she is for using him. The two, after escaping, fall in love and go on to live together while on the run, leading to Fuller becoming pregnant with their child, Cassius. Following
The New 52 reboot and the
DC Rebirth relaunch, Payne is reintroduced in
Infinite Frontier. He first appears where Nightwing and Red Hood find him impersonating Red Hood and Batman. Red Hood subdued Clayface with a freeze gun. Later at the kitchen at Lineker's restaurant, Nightwing and Red Hood use a freezer to interrogate him on why he impersonated Red Hood. Clayface states that Red Hood is the most violent of the Batman family. Red Hood intimidates Clayface on who hired him to impersonate Red Hood. Clayface states it was a dealer named Wolfgang Bylsma who already planning to depart on an airplane to the Maldives. After freezing and shattering Clayface, Red Hood asks Nightwing to help pick up the pieces so that the feds can retrieve him. In "
DC All In", Preston Payne appears at a Clayface gathering called the Fraternity of Mud. It is mentioned that he and Sondra have separated and he is still carrying around Helena. When Harley Quinn accidentally crashes the gathering, Payne and the other Clayfaces attack her. The Clayfaces stop their attack when Harley uses formaldehyde on Clownface. Later, after the Mud Pack forms and battles Batman, Fuller falls in love with Preston Payne. After Clayface-Prime (Karlo) is defeated, Preston Payne and Sondra Fuller escape and get married while on the run, and they have a child named Cassius "Clay" Payne, a play on boxer
Muhammad Ali's birth name. After
Abattoir kidnaps the child, the couple get into a fight involving
Azrael/Batman. Batman eventually defeated them both, and Fuller was put into custody. The
DC Rebirth version of Sondra Fuller appears in
Doomsday Clock, where she claims that Kobra was not the person who gave her the powers of shapeshifting after all. Instead, she claims that her powers were the result of a government conspiracy to create superpowered beings. Her proclamation further adds to the global scandal known as the Supermen Theory, which suggests that the United States has been secretly creating superheroes and supervillains for an unknown/unstated purpose. Clayface later accompanies
Black Adam in his attack on the White House. In "
DC All In", Sondra Fuller appears at a Clayface gathering called the Fraternity of Mud. It is mentioned that she and Preston have separated. When Harley Quinn accidentally crashes the gathering, Fuller and the other Clayfaces attack her. The Clayfaces stop their attack when Harley uses formaldehyde on Clownface. If a piece of him is separated from his body, it can grow a mind of its own, but it mostly thinks in an unstable form of what Cassius wants. If bonded with another human, it becomes a
Clay-Thing; the piece can give that human Clayface-like abilities, such as becoming soft and malleable, being able to withstand bullets and other forms of harm, and could also manifest Payne's ability to melt objects; all this person would have to do to perform such an action is to think about it. Cassius finds it very painful and distressing to have pieces of himself taken, and will go to crazed lengths to recover them. When
Thomas Elliot attempted to give himself the shapeshifting abilities of the Clayfaces, he determined that Cassius is the only 'pure' Clayface in existence, as all others retain fragments of their former human DNA where Cassius is the only Clayface who was never human. In an issue of
Batman: Gotham Knights, Cassius is depicted as having the clay-like appearance of his mother and father, but can only stay in this form while awake. During the "
Infinite Crisis" storyline, Cassius appears as a member of Alexander Luthor Jr.'s Secret Society of Super Villains. Following the "
Final Crisis" storyline, Cassius attacks the National Guard on the roadblock, but when he was approached by
General Immortus's team, he is able to recognize one of the team,
Human Flame. Cassius attacks and blames him for
Libra enslaving Earth. The Justice League arrives to end the fight as Human Flame and Immortus's team teleport away, leaving Cassius to be captured. After the League interrogates him, he is taken to some FBI vehicles, but the measures to contain him prove to be useless; Cassius escapes into the desert. In "
DC All In", Cassius Payne appears at a Clayface gathering called the Fraternity of Mud. When Harley Quinn accidentally crashes the gathering, Payne and the other Clayfaces attack her. The Clayfaces stop their attack when Harley uses formaldehyde on Clownface. After his capture, he is held captive and further experimented upon for almost two years at
S.T.A.R. Labs in Gotham before being freed by Catwoman. In "
DC All In", Todd Russell appears at a Clayface gathering called the Fraternity of Mud. When Harley Quinn accidentally crashes the gathering, Russell and the other Clayfaces attack her. The Clayfaces stop their attack when Harley uses formaldehyde on Clownface. Williams is a former firefighter who is transformed into a clay-based creature after an explosion in a chemical plant. He first discovers his transformation after he accidentally kills a prostitute; horrified and stricken with guilt, he plans to commit suicide. Before he can do so, he is approached by
Hush and the
Riddler, who tell him that the chemicals turned him into the latest Clayface. They begin to manipulate Williams, promising a cure if he does their bidding. This includes pretending to be Tommy Elliot (Hush's true identity) and
Jason Todd to hurt Bruce Wayne. Elliot also takes some samples from Williams to try and determine how he can duplicate the shapeshifting aspects of Clayface without losing his original form, also using these samples to infect Batman's ally
Alfred Pennyworth with a virus that allows Hush to exert some degree of control over Alfred, forcing him to commit murder. Eventually, Williams realizes he is being manipulated and Hush will never help him after Hush tries to steal a sample of Cassius. Knowing that he is going to die, Williams offers Batman assistance against Hush in exchange for protecting his family. He redeems himself by providing Batman with a sample of himself so that Batman can find a cure for the virus infecting Alfred. ==Powers and abilities==