#mudpack

Side comment, but I think that DC should bring back Preston Payne in some way shape or form. He's such an interesting character from his moments in the comics and the people yearn for more tragic Clayface.

Several villains have operated under the name of Clayface. The original (and most prominent) Clayface had been a once-acclaimed actor named Basil Karlo. Karlo was driven mad with rage when he discovered a famous horror movie he had stared in was being remade without him. Donning the costume of reminiscent of the Phantom of The Opera, he set out to murder each of the actors in the new movie, killing them off in the same order in which their characters die in the movie. His murders were finally put to an end by the intervention of Batman and Robin. Clayface would return to bedevil the Dynamic Duo on several subsequent occasions. The ‘Earth 1’ version of Basil Karlo had a different origin. Here he was a struggling actor who came to use a hunk of mystical clay that bestowed him unique shape-shifting powers. This clay was given to Karlo by The Penguin in exchange for the actor’s services as a henchman. The clay ended up altering Karlo’s genetic makeup, causing it to be more and more difficult for him to maintain a human-like appearance. Before long he was reverted into a large, rampaging monsters who could manipulate his mud-like body in all manner of ways (including transforming his limbs into sharpened weapons). Karlo would battle Batman on many occasions and served as a member of the Injustice League and Secret Society of Super Villains. Years later, Batman and Batwoman offered Karlo a new start and asked him to join a team of secret operatives they were forming. Karlo accepted and acted as a hero for a brief while. The second Clayface was mercenary and adventurer Matt Hagan. Hagan discovered an underwater cavern where he came into contact with a mystical clay that transformed him into a malleable creature similar to the Karlo version of Clayface. Hagan battled Batman and Robin a number of times, was a member of The Anti-Justice League and later perished in the First Crisis. A third version of Clayface was Preston Payne, a physician who suffered from a severe case of hyperpituitarism that left him disfigured. Payne injected himself with a sample of Basil Karlo’s genetic material, hoping that it might enable him to reshape his features into a more normal and handsome appearance. At first this worked and Payne was able to alter his appearance, but it was not long before devastating side-effects began to manifest. Payne was unable to maintain his physical integrity without concentration. And he additionally discovered that his skin exuded a powerful corrosive enzyme that could dissolve nearly any substance. Dubbing himself the new ‘Clayface,’ Payne built a containment suit that acted to maintain his bodily consistency and allow him greater control over the release of his corrosive enzymes. This new version of Clayface battled Batman and was ultimately remanded to Arkham Asylum. A fourth, female Clayface was created by the terrorist group, Kobra, and battled The Outsiders. Some time later, the various Clayfaces all came together to form the monstrous group known as The Mud Pack; all as part of an effort to gain revenge on their mutual foe, Batman. A version of Clayface appeared in the television series Birds of Prey portrayed by actor Kirk Baltz; while actor Brian McManamon portrayed another version of the character in the show Gotham. Basil Karlo first appeared in the pages of Detective Comics #40 (1940); Matt Hagan first appeared in Detective Comics #298 (1961); and Preston Payne first appeared in Detective Comics #478 (1978).

Amidst the fuss of this episode, nobody mentions Lorraine’s racist mother, who treated Dorothy as the maid, or the inclusive theme of the episode.

Mountainbike girl riding with her mud pack mask on

#47 Mudpack