A superhero is only as memorable as their adversaries. Batman's enduring popularity over the years has been aided by a gallery of some of the finest villains ever created. Names like The Joker, The Penguin, and Harvey "Two-Face" Dent, are in many ways as famous as The Dark Knight himself. The release of Gotham Knights, despite the fact that Batman is not even in it, has seen a welcome return for some of these villains. Gotham Knights features a couple of Batman's regular antagonists including Mr Freeze, Harley Quinn, and Clayface. Of these, Clayface is the oldest DC character, making his debut in the 40th edition of Detective Comics, released in June 1940.
It's common in the DC Universe for multiple characters to don the same moniker over the years, and Clayface is no exception. No less than eight separate characters have gone by the name of Clayface since the character's debut. While these eight individuals are not necessarily related, they all share common traits which are distinctive to Clayface's persona. Most of them have malleable, clay-like bodies, which are able to shift into various forms. Super-human strength and durability are also traits found in most incarnations of the character.
Clayface's History is Complex
Clayface's origins can be traced back to 1940 and the character of Basil Karlo. Karlo was an actor who had starred in several B-list horror movies. Learning that a remake of an old movie he had starred in was in production, and the leading role was given to someone else, Karlo was driven mad, donning the alias Clayface, which was the name of a villain in one of his old films. Clayface went on to murder several of the cast and crew of this remake before he was eventually stopped by Batman and Robin.
In the 1950s, Batman began facing off against foes who were less like normal humans, instead being more supernatural in origin. Among these was Matt Hagen, who gained shapeshifting powers after being exposed to a pool of radioactive protoplasm. Hagen quickly became the second Clayface and kept that title for a number of years. During the 1970s, a scientist by the name of Preston Payne became the third Clayface after using some of Matt Hagen's blood in a botched experiment.
The fourth version of Clayface was a terrorist by the name of Sondra Fuller. Sondra, also known as Lady Clay, went on to join forces with Basil Karlo and Preston Payne in a group known as the Mud Pack. At this point, Karlo, who up to now had no superhuman abilities, used DNA belonging to both Payne and Fuller in order to gain their powers. He became known as the Ultimate Clayface from that point onwards. Further down the line, Payne and Fuller had a son, Cassius "Clay" Payne, who became the fifth version of the villain Clayface. In the late 1990's, Dr Peter Malloy was introduced, and he experimented with Cassius Payne's skin, which turned him into Claything. As well as the usual abilities, this Claything was able to melt things simply by looking at them.
The most recent editions of Clayface have been introduced during the 21st Century. Todd Russell, the seventh iteration, was introduced in the Catwoman comics in 2002. Not much is known about his backstory, apart from the fact he was in the army at some point, and was experimented on, which gave birth to his new-found powers. The eighth and most recent version of Clayface in the comics made his debut in Batman: Gotham Knights in 2005. Johnny Williams, a former firefighter, was transformed during an explosion in a chemical plant. He is manipulated into a life of crime by The Riddler before finally aiding Batman when he realizes his wrongdoing.
While Clayface has never been seen as one of Batman's primary antagonists, the character's rich history throughout the comics is a testament to his enduring villainy. He appeared in the first two Batman: Arkham games, even serving as the final boss in Arkham City, and his inclusion in Gotham Knights should help to further boost his profile.
Gotham Knights is available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.