So my Gotham friend mentioned to me he'd been witness to Batman throwing down with Clayface recently, and I went to look for more information and it turns out there's been, like, a bajillion people who've called themselves that.
So how about some info on the various Clayfaces?
Ah ha! See, I KNEW I would get this question eventually! And therefore I PREPARED myself! I did this research WELL in advance and have compiled, I think, a worthwhile list that can give you a rundown on these malicious mudpies. Get the dirt on the dirt as it were.
This is gonna be a long one so let's not waste time.
(An assembly of all of the "canonical" Clayfaces. Basil Karlo in front, Preston Payne behind him to the right, Cassius Payne visible under his right arm, Sondra Fuller on the left, and Matt Hagen on the back right)
Basil Karlo was an actor, though never the kind of actor he wished to be. Always hoping for Shakespearean prestige and Oscar glory he instead found himself a dependable and well loved regular in the horror movie circuit being responsible for many movies that are now considered classics of their era and genres. Barely hiding a seething pool of jealous vanity from the world at large, his true nature was unveiled when some of his most famous films were being lined up for the Platinum Dunes horror remake treatment.
Donning a mask of half melted clay, Karlo began to target the cast and crew of the films. Making himself temporarily something of a Phantom of the Opera figure though with much more openly murderous intentions. Of course, he also happened to be carrying out these crimes in Gotham City where he was eventually uncovered and arrested by Batman and Robin. He remained in prison for years afterward as other criminals took on the Clayface name with more superhuman flare. He was eventually sprung by the others as they attempted to assemble all Clayfaces in a plot against the Batman.
Turning the tables on his erstwhile allies he stole a sample from each of them and exposed himself to them so he could become the so called "Ultimate Clayface". Since then he's become the same kind of perennial problem as most supervillains though he's notably more power hungry than the others, even once undertaking a scheme to absorb the clay that made up the body of Wonder Woman though that was about as successful as you would expect
Matt Hagen was a treasure hunter, in the form of those words that mostly just means grave robber but with an adrenaline fixation. Always looking for his next score and, crucially, taking said score from whatever poor sap crossed his path. It was during an unauthorized deep sea cave dive that he came upon a pool of unknown protoplasm and was accidentally immersed in it as he inspected the pool. The goo soaked into his biology, turning him from a normal man into a hulking mass of clay with the ability to shape and control it as he saw fit.
Ever since then Hagen has been what you would call the most "simplistic" of the Clay clan. He's a greedy, brutish thug seeking to steal from anyone he can get away with to enrich himself. He often ends up as the henchman or leg breaker of other less powerful supervillains despite the strength of his own abilities. If what you are imagining as Clayface is a giant hulking pile of goo tossing itself around and forming maces and hammers out of the excess before getting taken down for trying to steal a big jewel, Hagen is the one you're thinking of
Preston Payne, Clayface III
Born with a pituitary disorder that left him physically unattractive and an easy victim for the unkind throughout his school years and young adulthood although he was also gifted with a powerful intellect and was eventually hired into a very competitive position at STAR Labs' Gotham branch that gave him access to Hagen during one of his many periods of arrest. Taking away a needle full of what could charitably be called Hagen's "blood", he began to experiment on it seeking a way to make his flesh moldable while still within human bounds.
Injecting himself with his concoction it seemed to work for a short period, allowing him to mold his face into his preferred shape with his bare hands. Although it was only soon afterwards that the true effects took hold. Not only turning his body into a bundle of melting, horrific protoplasm but also infecting him with a chronic pain and fever he could only temporarily relieve via skin to skin contact with others that lethally dissolved them into their base elements.
He spent several days stalking and murdering among Gotham's homeless population, a time in which his grip on reality increasingly frayed and he eventually became infatuated with a department store mannequin he named Helena. Batman put a stop to him and he's most often been a guest of the law ever since, though he did eventually trade out a mannequin for our next subject...
Sondra Fuller, Lady Clay/Clayface IV
Sondra Fuller, like Basil Karlo and Preston Payne before her was a woman consumed by vanity. By all accounts a perfect attractive and normal looking young woman before her transformation she became constantly envious of the beauty of others. Her fraught mental state becoming fertile recruiting ground for the international terrorist organization Kobra. Subjected to their technological experimentation she was granted powers similar to the previous Clayfaces though whether Kobra's experiments were actually connected to any of the above examples is unknown.
She was an operative of Kobra's short lived Strike Force for a time but barely managed to escape when the team was defeated by the Outsiders. She eventually became the root of the plan to assemble the other Clayfaces and turn them against Batman in attempt to destroy the Caped Crusader once and for all. That was about as successful as expected but during their time working in close quarters Fuller fell in love with Preston Payne (you could not PAY ME to figure out why, yuck). And even after Karlo's betrayal she found she was pregnant with Payne's child and the soon to be trio ran away together. Which leads us into the, as of this moment, final chapter of our story
Cassius Payne, Clayface V
Cassius Payne, unlike every other Clayface was born with his abilities due to the circumstances of his birth. For the first several years of his life he and his family lived quietly and away from the public eye. Although as one can suspect the boy's MORAL education left something to be desired. He was for a time abducted by the serial killer called Abattoir and held for ransom so his parents would be forced to kill Batman to see his safe return. As always, they were defeated (the man they were fighting wasn't actually Batman is the first place but Azrael during the chaotic period he was acting as Batman) but Abattoir was tracked down and Cassius rescued from his clutches even if his parents were returned to custody.
Ever since the trio have remained close, which unfortunately means that Cassius has fallen into his parents' criminal lifestyle. If anything it just means that the three of them have plenty of time to be together as they while away the months in correctional or scientific facilities around Gotham
The Clayface "legacy" is an interesting one. I couldn't tell you WHY its so populated in relation to other supervillain mantles which tend to get passed around more often than heroic ones (if only because supervillains are much more liable to die in action) but not usually by this much. They all have very distinct origins and hang-ups as well although the last three have "grown together" as a concern in a way I don't think any of us could possibly have expected.
Sometimes supervillains are just strange. And I don't think any of us could be surprised that THIS happened to be one of the strangest.
