Clayface (Basil Karlo)
From Batman Wiki
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| Clayface | |
| Real name: | Basil Karlo |
| First Appearance: | Detective Comics #40 (June, 1940) |
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Created by: | Bill Finger Bob Kane |
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Affiliations: | Mud Pack Secret Society of Super-Villains II |
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Abilities: | Malleable Clay-like Body, Superhuman Strength, Superhuman Speed, Superhuman Agility, Superhuman Stamina, Superhuman Durability, Poisonous Touch |
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Portrayed by: | None |
Basil Karlo, The original Clayface, was an actor who was driven mad when he heard of a re-make of the classic horror film he had starred in, The Terror. Adopting the persona of the film's villain "Clayface", he became a serial killer targeting the cast and crew. He was eventually stopped by Batman and Robin. Later, Karlo would be imbued with the powers of Clayfaces Preston Payne and Sondra Fuller. Additionally, his body sports crystals similar to quartz that endow him with greater powers.
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[edit] History
The original Clayface, Basil Karlo, appeared in Detective Comics #40. He is an actor who is driven mad when he hears of a remake of the classic horror film he had starred in, The Terror, even though he is to be one of the advising staff. Donning the mask of the film's villain, Clayface, he embarks on a murder spree among the cast and crew of the remake. He is foiled by Batman and Robin. He reappears in Detective Comics #49 (March 1941) 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 fiancee. Once again, the Dynamic Duo foil the evil Karlo. The name of the character comes from Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone.
Much later, Karlo languishes in a prison hospital, when Sondra Fuller visits him out of curiosity. Karlo proposes an alliance between all living Clayfaces to kill Batman. Even though the Mud Pack, as the group called itself, is defeated, Karlo manages, by tricking his allies, to imbue himself with abilities similar to those of Preston Payne and Sondra Fuller. He was defeated by the combined efforts of Batman and Looker of the Outsiders by overloading his abilities making him melt into the ground. While literally sinking into the earth's crust when he loses control of his power, he manages to survive, and now his body sports crystals similar to quartz that endow him with greater powers. Karlo was able to escape his underground prison when Gotham City was struck by the great Cataclysm. He was able to capture Batman and was about to kill him, but he got into a feud with Mr. Freeze on who has a right to kill the Caped Crusader. With that distraction, Batman soundly defeated both of them.
During the "No Man's Land" storyline, Basil Karlo holds Poison Ivy, who is in charge of producing fresh vegetables for the remaining people in the city, prisoner in Robinson Park. Poison Ivy eventually battles and defeats Karlo, sinking him deep into the ground. It appears that the Ultimate Clayface is destroyed in this battle, but has resurfaced as a member of the 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 bordered on invulnerability. While he is successful in absorbing the heroine, he is ultimately forced to release her.
Basil Karlo was among the members of the Injustice League and was among the villains seen in Salvation Run. He can be seen as the member of Libra's Secret Society of Super Villains. In the second issue of Final Crisis, he triggers an explosion at the Daily Planet.
[edit] Powers and Abilities
[edit] Powers
- Malleable Clay-like Body: Being chemically altered gave him the ability to regenerate body mass, change shape, size, density and shapeshift into any form he could think of.
- Superhuman Strength
- Superhuman Speed
- Superhuman Agility
- Superhuman Stamina
- Superhuman Durability
- Poisonous Touch: kill with a poisonous touch capable of reducing flesh to protoplasm.
[edit] Abilities
- Skilled Actor
[edit] Strength level
Superhuman
[edit] Weaknesses
- Insane
[edit] Paraphernalia
Clayface Mask: Mask used to terrify victims of his crimes. Clayface no longer uses his mask after gaining superhuman abilities
[edit] In other media
[edit] Television
[edit] The Batman
[edit] Video games
- He appears in Lego Batman: The Video game, his structure and look is that of the Matt Hagen Clayface from Batman: The Animated Series, but the game names him as Basil Karlo. In the game he is an enemy of Batman and a follower of the Riddler.
