The Batman 2 Will Feature Villain Big Screen Debut

Who is Clayface from Batman?

Clayface is a supervillain in the Batman comic book series and related media. There have been several different characters who have taken on the mantle of Clayface throughout the years, each with their own unique abilities and backstory.

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The original Clayface, Basil Karlo, was a horror movie actor who turned to a life of crime after becoming obsessed with his roles. He gained his powers after coming into contact with a sample of a mysterious protoplasmic substance, which allowed him to transform his body into any shape or form.

Other notable versions of Clayface include Matt Hagen, a former actor who gained his powers from a mineral called Renuyu, and Preston Payne, a scientist who was mutated into a Clayface-like creature after an experiment went wrong.

In the Batman universe, Clayface is known for his shape-shifting abilities, which he uses to commit various crimes and wreak havoc on Gotham City. He is often portrayed as a tragic figure, with his powers causing him to lose his sense of self and become consumed by his desire for revenge against those who have wronged him.

This is a pretty intriguing development. It also should be noted that Flanagan had pitched DC Studios heads James Gunn and Peter Safran about doing a Clayface show for the DCU, so his angle would likely not be connected with what Reeves could be dreaming up for The Batman 2, which is not connected to the main superhero movie continuity being crafted at WB. However, supposing that the anonymous sources are correct, then the inclusion of Clayface into Reeves’ sequel would signal a major opening up of Reeves’ take on Gotham City and its weirder little corners.

Clayface was originally one of Batman’s first villains in the comics. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane in Detective Comics #40, the character of Basil Karlo was conceived as a riff on then real-life Hollywood stars of horror like Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone, with the fictional Karlo languishing as a B-movie actor when he discovers one of his classics from a decade ago is being remade without him. He thus assumes the persona of Clayface, a character he previously played, to become a serial killer and hunt down the new cast and crew. Really just a pulp villain, there wasn’t a lot to Clayface as originally conceived.

That changed in Detective Comics #298 when a new Clayface, aka Matt Hagen, was introduced in 1961. A treasure hunter and adventurer, Hagen is even pulpier when he falls into a mysterious radioactive pool at the bottom of a cave and sees his body transform into a malleable claylike substance that can be used to change into anything. However, the arguably definitive version of the character did not become fully formed until the first season of Batman: The Animated Series (1992), which combined both previous incarnations and turned Hagen into a washed up movie star who once had a glittering career. He pursues experimental chemical therapy to repair his damaged face after a car accident, but due to the machinations of a crime lord, he is forced to overdose on the stuff, turning him into a hideous claylike monster… who like any good actor can transform himself into anything or anyone he wishes.

It is unclear which interpretation Reeves would favor, and technically it’d be quite easy to slip the original Finger/Kane version into the world created for The Batman. However, we hope that is not the case. The previous Nolan trilogy already deeply explored a version of Gotham City where everything had to be grounded in at least the illusion of plausibility. And while The Batman is in some ways even grittier, it also doesn’t mind focusing on world-building its mythology like a comic book or featuring a climax where the villain hopes to flood all of Gotham City.

If The Batman was our introduction to the dark and dreary world of Gotham, a sequel could peer down to see just how deep the rabbit hole goes. And find a villain capable of transforming his body via grotesque clay into the countenance of others would be a striking departure for the new Dark Knight series. The rumor is also intriguing since Deadline’s sources are unsure if Reeves might have cut Clayface. Could we be getting an even larger, more robust version of the rogues gallery? A trip to Arkham Asylum could surely open the world up.

We’ll undoubtedly know more soon since The Batman 2 is scheduled to release on Oct. 3, 2025.