Hi. This is Thesecret1070. I am an admin of this site. Edit as much as you wish, but one little thing... If you are going to edit a lot, then make yourself a user and login. Other than that, enjoy Villains Wiki!!!
Revision as of 17:27, 17 February 2018 by Valkerone(Message Wall | contribs)(You get an F if you get caught cheating writing an essay. So for future reference, don't plagiarize.)
Basil Karlo, better known as Clayface, is a villain from the Batman series. While there have been multiple people to take up the title, the most well known and iconic Clayface is the original. Basil Karlo was once a renowned actor, but went insane with anger when The Terror, a classic horror movie starring him, was remade with a different actor in the leading role (despite the fact that he was to be among the advising staff). He proceeded to kill several members of the cast, before he was stopped by Batman and Robin.
Basil Karlo's history and origin was altered for the New 52. In this continuity, Basil was once a temperamental actor who had trouble getting a particular movie role. He decided to make a deal with the Penguin in exchange for a way to land the role he wanted. Penguin gave Basil mystical clay that transformed him into the monsterish Clayface, which gave Karlo the power to shapeshift and impersonate anyone he wants. Basil then went on to gain a successful acting career while also working as Penguin's henchman in his down time. The jobs he was forced to do for the Penguin made his temper even worse and Basil eventually punched a dictator who berated him for ad-libbing on set. Karlo's career soon fell apart and Basil decided to fully embrace a life of crime as the supervillain Clayface.
DC Rebrith
Tired of his life as a criminal, Clayface finally decided to turn over a new leaf and made an effort to work as a hero in Gotham. Batman, respecting Karlo's choice to make himself better, recruited Clayface to train under him along with some other budding vigilantes and presents Karlo as more of a sympathetic character than seen in the past. Karlo accepts the offer to join Batman's new team.
Other Media
Batman: Arkham Series
Main article: Clayface (Batman: Arkham City)
Clayface isn't an opponent in the game Batman: Arkham Asylum. He can be seen in a special cell, where he changes his appearance a few times. He is seen in the forms of the guard Aaron Cash, the warden Quincy Sharp and commisioner Gordon. One of the Riddler's riddles revolves around him. Even though he appears, he never shows his true form, though it can be shown in the Character Bios.
He has an entry in the Character Bios. His profile states:
Clayface as seen in the Character Bios of Batman: Arkham Asylum.
Initially an actor in horror films, Karlo went mad when he learned a classic film of his was to be remade with a different actor in the lead role. He took on the mask of the film’s villain, Clayface, and killed several of the remake’s cast and crew before being stopped by Batman and Robin. Later, Karlo joined the Mud Pack, an alliance of shape-changing, mutated villains who had subsequently used the name Clayface. While that group was defeated, Karlo tricked his allies and injected himself with the essence of several of them, becoming a superhuman imbued with the abilities to change shape, melt others into protoplasm with a touch, and mimic the powers of heroes or villains he copies.
Clayface appears as the hidden true tertiary antagonist of Batman Arkham City. In the game Joker hires him to impersonate a cured Joker. Clayface wasn't even supposed to be in Arkham City, but says that he accepted the Joker's offer for that he would have 'the role of a lifetime', hinting more at his backstory. In certain points of the game in seeing 'cured Joker' you see that he has no skeletal system in detective mode. After Joker kindnapps Talia Al Guhl and Batman goes to save her, she stabs 'Joker' in the back and he appears to have died. Until the real, sick Joker shoots her, and Clayface reveals his true form. Batman fights him, and eventually gets the cure out of him, but not before Joker blows up the ground into a Lazarus Pit. Joker tries and fails to jump in, and soon dies without getting the cure.
The Animated Series
This version of Clayface was an actor named Matt Hagen, successful in his career until he was disfigured in a car accident. Roland Daggett, the corrupt owner of a company rivaling Wayne Enterprises, gave him a cream that, once applied, would allow him to shape his face back to normal. The cream saved Hagen's career, but at a price: its effects were only temporary, and the cream was so addictive that Hagen couldn't stop using it without going into withdrawal. Hagen soon became one of Daggett's minions, committing crimes for him in return for refills of the cream.
One night, after running out, Hagen broke into Daggett's lab to get a lifetime supply. Daggett's thugs caught him, however, and immersed him into a vat of the cream. The chemicals absorbed into every cell of his body, turning him into a shapeless mass of clay-like substance. His transformation also granted him the power to assume any shape he wanted and perfectly mimic other people. He hatched a plan to get revenge on Daggett, but it was foiled by Batman. He appeared to die after electrocuting himself during a fight with Batman, but in fact survived and became a criminal.
The Batman
A new version of Clayface appears in this show. Batman's trusted ally police detective Ethan Bennett voiced by Steve Harris gets transformed by Joker via experimental chemicals and gets turned into Clayface. It turns him crazy and he becomes a sympathetic,recurring enemy of Batman. The Basil Carlo version later also appears voiced by Wallance Langham. He was an unsuccessful actor who broke into Waynetech and stole the same chemical that created Bennett and became the new Clayface and also a recurring enemy. In the episode "Clayfaces" Bennett tries to redeem himself by taking out criminals like Joker and the other Clayface. In the fight against the two Clayfaces Batman gives them a cure and both are successfully cured. In another episode that takes place 20 years in the future he is shown as the chief of police.
Batman the Brave and the Bold
In the episode "Joker the Vile and the Villainess" a picture of the Preston Payne version appears alongside a bunch of other pictures of Batman villains in a bar where a bunch of Batman villains hang out.
Young Justice
In the episode "Downtime" the Matt Hagen version appears. He defeated the whole team and was about to finish them off however Batman comes in a is able to quickly defeat him with an electrical weapon. In the episode "Happy New Year" the team attacks him in a sewer however he gains the upper hand in the fight. Robin tries the electric attack on him however he states that it doesn't work on him anymore however they use a special pill that freezes him from the inside. In this show he is voiced by Nolan North.
Gotham
Basil Karlo appeared in the second season of the Fox DC Series Gotham during the "Wrath of the Villains" story arc. He made his first appearance in the second to last episode of season 2, titled "A Legion of Horribles", and was portrayed by Brian McManamon.
Trivia
There are a total of 7 Clayfaces and one of them is a female.
Clayface from Batman:TAS, New Adventures and Justice League, tranfomed in more than 10 personalities.
Video Games Gotham Knights Court of Owls (Jacob Kane, Constance Cobblepot & Talons) | League of Shadows (Ra's al Ghul, Talia al Ghul & Man-Bat Commandos) | Gotham City Police Department (Catherine Kane) | Penguin | Harley Quinn | Mr. Freeze | Clayface
