James Garcia on why Clayface could be the perfect villain to feature in Ben Affleck’s solo Batman movie…
Of any rogues gallery across the pages of comics, none is perhaps more famous and iconic than Batman’s. Frequent Arkham Asylum inmates like the Joker, Two-Face, the Riddler, Catwoman, the Penguin, Mr. Freeze, and even relative newcomers like Harley Quinn have had a substantial impact on pop and geek culture.
As a result, the big names on the rogues list keep popping up in new Batman adaptations. The Joker himself has been given the live action treatment five times (counting Gotham and the upcoming Suicide Squad film), and has been the focus of countless video games and animated adaptations. Catwoman has appeared across film and TV five times, and was even the focus of her own solo film starring Halle Berry (though that particular version of the character bears little resemblance to the source material, and should just be forgotten entirely). Two-Face has appeared in live action twice already, while a pre-disfigurement Harvey Dent has been in both Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman and on Gotham). We’ve had three Riddlers, three Penguins, two Banes, two Mr. Freezes, and even two Ra’s al Ghuls (counting Matt Nable’s portrayal on Arrow).
I could go on, but the point I’m trying to make is this: Batman’s most iconic foes have all been used before, on both film and television. Which makes me just a bit concerned when I hear rumours that “most” of the Caped Crusader’s rogues gallery may be appearing in Ben Affleck’s solo Batman film.
Don’t get me wrong – I’m all for more interpretations of these villains, and if Jared Leto’s tattooed Joker is any indication, the DC Extended Universe is not shying away from trying new things and playing with our expectations of these characters. However, when I heard that many Arkham inmates could make at least cameo appearances in The Batman, I had an idea that could both a) add a different Bat-villain to the live-action pantheon and b) still show us glimpses of Batman’s top-tier baddies without the risk of overcrowding the film:
Clayface.
Clayface has long been one of my favorite Batman villains, and anyone whose seen Batman: The Animated Series‘ two-episode “Feat of Clay” arc will know why. Not only is he visually interesting and different than anyone else fighting the Dark Knight, but his tragic backstory makes him emotionally compelling as well.
There are, of course, several different versions of the shape-shifting villain in the pages of DC Comics, but the most recognizable is perhaps the Basil Karlo version: an actor who becomes tragically disfigured, is manipulated into using an experimental formula to reshape his appearance and regain his looks, only to have that backfire and permanently saturate his cells, turing him into a misshapen clay monster with the power to shape shift.
So, what does any of this have to do with Affleck’s Batman movie? Well, how do you show “most” of Batman’s villains, while still crafting a simple enough narrative so that it’s not overwhelming for both audiences and the film itself? You get Clayface to cameo as different Batman villains, either throughout the film or in one awesome action sequence. You don’t have to stop there, either. Clayface could take on the form of anyone, including those close to Bruce Wayne. We saw him manipulate Bruce by becoming Jason Todd in Hush, and he once even pretended to be Bruce himself in an attempt to take over Wayne Enterprises. The possibilities for his shape shifting, and how that could effect Batman’s hunt for him throughout the film, are endless.
Clayface not only acts as a formidable physical foe (having the ability to stay in his natural, monstrous clay form and shape shift his body parts into dangerous weapons, or even drown and suffocate his foes), but a potentially psychological one as well. Just imagine a scene where Batman is fighting Clayface one minute, then Martha or Thomas Wayne the next. He acts as the perfect way for Affleck and Johns to inject some emotional drama into the film’s action sequences.
Part of why we haven’t seen Clayface on the big screen yet is because he’s hard to pull off in live action. However, visual effects have come such a long way that the idea of a shape shifting clay monster is the least weird thing we could expect to see in a big budget superhero movie nowadays.
The fact of the matter is, villains we’ve seen before will once again show up to take on the Dark Knight on the big screen. It’s inevitable. I just hope that, when that day finally comes, someone like Clayface could act as an innovative new way to tell that story.
James Garcia is a graphic designer, photographer, and writer living in the Pacific Northwest. Follow him on Twitter.
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Originally published May 2, 2016. Updated April 15, 2018.
