Clayface

Clayface
Information
Real name:	Matt Hagen
Species:	Metahuman
Sex:	Male

Clayface was the supervillain, Matt Hagen and an enemy of Batman.

History

Earth-One

A treasure hunter, Matt Hagen found a mysterious radioactive pool of protoplasm in a cave. Immersing himself in it, he was transformed into a malleable clay-like form, which could be shaped into almost anything he desired. This was only a temporary effect, however, requiring him to return to the pool periodically in order to maintain use of his powers.

He eventually copied the pool's protoplasmic jelly by chemistry studies, although the artificial protoplasm only allowed him five hours of Clayface powers compared to the full two days of the pool's.

Earth-66

Clayface with a large group of thugs.

Clayface was one of many supervillains and thugs that the Dynamic Duo (and sometimes Batgirl as well) were taking on in hand-to-hand combat. He, Riddler, Killer Croc, Mr. Freeze and Cheetah once teamed up to fight Batman and Wonder Woman. Clayface was standing next to David Smythe, aka the Shiner.

Earth 1956

Matt Hagen must drink his special potion daily to keep his Clayface powers. He often uses his powers to take on the forms of animals. Clayface is also able to survive in water without dissolving (unlike later animated incarnations) by turning into a dolphin, but as Matt Hagen he does not know how to swim. He partners up with Catwoman in a plot to steal oil. He is also one of the four villains (the Joker, Catwoman, and the Penguin) that the alien Zarbor cons into teaming up against Batman and Robin as a diversion while Zarbor steals Earth's nuclear plants.

Appearances

The New Adventures of Batman

• Dead Ringers
• Curses! Oiled Again!
• Have An Evil Day, Part One
• Have An Evil Day, Part Two
• Birds Of A Feather Fool Around Together

DC Super Friends

• Jailbreak
• Haunted Heroes

Abilities

Super powers

• Metamorphosis: Clayface could manipulate his physical features to make himself look like nearly anyone or anything. The only restriction appeared to be a limited volume of mass. His mud-like body also made it difficult to harm him, as a bullet would simply pass through him, barely hurting him in some cases.
  • Color Alteration: When assuming different shapes, he could even alter his color, making him able to disguise himself to an even greater degree.
  • Superhuman Strength: Clayface's additional mass afforded him an above-average strength level.
  • Animal Mimicry: When Clayface took on the shape of a whale, he was able to swim just like one.

Notes

• Clayface's first appearance outside the comics was in several episodes of Filmation's The New Adventures of Batman in the late 1970s.
• He was voiced by Lou Scheimer and later voiced by Lennie Weinrib.
• The Clayface featured in the show was Matt Hagen, which was similar to the Earth-One version of the character.
• This is the second version of Clayface, Matt Hagen, he first appeared in Detective Comics vol.1, #298 (December 1961).

External Links

• See Clayface at Wikipedia.org
• See List of Batman Family enemies at Wikipedia.org
• See the Clayface disambiguation page at the DC Database

Appearances in Other Media

Clayface At one time Matt Hagen was a famous actor, but he became facially disfigured after a car accident. Finding work became difficult for the actor, and he feared the worst for his career. Things took a change, however, when he was visited by Roland Daggett, who offered Hagen a second chance. Daggett had developed the Renuyu cream, an untested drug that could refigure a person's face, and Hagen was the perfect specimen to try it. Though Hagen agreed to use the cream, he didn't realize the true nature of the situation. Ever the businessman, Daggett demanded that Hagen commit various crimes using his ability to impersonate people. Daggett's main competition was Wayne Industries This version of Clayface is based on the Batman: The Animated Series (1992-1999), the The New Batman Adventures (1997-1999), and the Justice League (2001-2004) produced for the Cartoon Network. - For more on Clayface see article at 'DCAU'