- "You've upstaged me for the last time, Batman. Time to bring down the curtain!"
- ―Clayface[src]
The DCAU version of Clayface was Matt Hagen, who was a noted actor who became the villain Clayface after over-exposure to Renuyu.
History
Batman: The Animated Series
Clayface in Batman: The Animated Series
In Batman: The Animated Series, several episodes featured a more tragic Clayface character, voiced by Ron Perlman, that combined aspects of several of the comic-book Clayfaces.
In the two part episode Feat of Clay he is introduced as Matt Hagen, a past-his-prime actor who had been disfigured in a horrible car accident. While recovering in a burn clinic, he is approached by corrupt businessman Roland Daggett, who makes him a test subject for a compound called "RenuYou" (pronounced "Renew You") that he promises will immediately restore his youthful good looks. In exchange, Hagen must impersonate people in illegal roles for Daggett. He greatly resents this, but is forced to comply, as the RenuYou chemical is extremely addictive. Daggett has Hagen impersonate Bruce Wayne in order to obtain documents from Lucius Fox, who is inadvertently wounded; Bruce Wayne is arrested for assault and brought in for questioning. Hagen, attempting to steal a large quantity of RenuYou from Daggett's compound, is seized by Daggett's henchmen; they then try to kill Hagen by pouring an entire canister of the compound on his face. Rather than kill him, however, the overdose saturates every cell in his body, turning him into a bulky and misshapen clay like form who can, for short periods of time, shapeshift into anything or anybody he wishes. After trying to get revenge on Daggett, he is stopped by Batman and, upon being caught, fakes his death.
Clayface reappears in the episode Mudslide, in which he has been in hiding since the events of "Feat of Clay" and in which his body is beginning to deteriorate. He is restored to a semblance of health by a former medical adviser on his films, Dr. Stella Bates, who falls in love with Hagen. She sells her motel in order to raise funds for a laboratory in which to treat him. Batman tracks him down and prevents Dr. Bates' treatment of Clayface (partly because he stole the necessary formula compound from Wayne Biomedical Labs). He and Clayface then fight, but Hagen's now-unstable clay form absorbs too much rainwater to hold its cohesion, falls into the ocean, and he is destroyed once he dissolves. (This episode is notable for its numerous references to classic movies, in-jokes associated with Clayface's history as an actor. For example, Dr. "Bates" owns a "motel," referencing Psycho, while, at the end, a rain-washed Clayface moans for the doctor, crying, "Stella!", in reference to A Streetcar Named Desire.) An action figure of this version of Clayface was featured in the Batman: The Animated Series toy line and featured a firing spiked ball.
The New Batman Adventures
Clayface in The New Batman Adventures
Much like Two-Face, Clayface's appearance underwent little change when Batman: The Animated Series became The New Batman Adventures. His appearance was a bit lighter, but overall his form was quite comparable to the original depiction.
In The New Batman Adventures, Hagen's character re-forms again in "Growing Pains", in which Robin (Tim Drake) befriends a lost, amnesiac little girl he names "Annie". The child turns out to be a portion of Clayface - who has returned to life by way of some strange chemicals - that has gained sentience and an identity on its own, and in the end is re-absorbed into the main body of the villain, effectively "killing" the girl as a separate person. Due to this, Robin (who had feelings for her) mumbled the extra charge of murder to himself as Clayface was taken by the police. Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) is also shown battling Clayface in one segment of a Christmas themed episode, "Holiday Knights", in which Clayface further expands his separative ability by posing as four separate children at once to shoplift from Gotham department stores at the height of the Christmas Eve rush.
Justice League
Clayface makes his return to action in the Justice League series, where it is revealed that at some point, he had been captured, separated, and sealed into several biohazard canisters by Morgan Edge. Gorilla Grodd and his newly-formed Secret Society attacks Edge's mansion, freeing Clayface and offering him a position in their group. Although Clayface is reluctant at first, Grodd promises to find a way to revert Clayface back to his human form. Clayface is defeated when the Flash plants fireworks in his clay body and Hawkgirl ignites them, blowing Clayface apart. He resurfaces in a later issue of the JLU comic.
Abilities and Equipment
In Batman: The Animated Series, Clayface's unique cellular structure allowed him to transform his body into any shape or form he desired. Previously a talented actor, this gave him the capability to impersonate people with ease, allowing him to escape arrest frequently. Additionally, Clayface could extend his limbs a considerable distance, and could also control his size and density. Because of this, he was able to fashion blades, spikes, and massive blocks out of his form. Finally, his amorphous body was able to absorb various objects, which he'd use to suffocate opponents. After he was revived by the chemicals at the factory, Clayface had the ability to separate himself into different entities at once. And while he faked death by electrocution in his first run in with Batman, it was later proven voltage had no detrimental affect on his clay body. In later circumstances however, Batman was able to restrain him with an electrified Batarang. It was never revealed why this worked, although one can assume the electric current disrupts the composition of his clay-like body