# Clayface
**Clayface** is the name shared by several shapeshifting supervillains in [DC Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-comics), most of them enemies of Batman in [Gotham City](https://www.edgepedia.org/gotham-city). The original, Basil Karlo, first appeared in *Detective Comics* #40 in 1940, created by [Bill Finger](https://www.edgepedia.org/bill-finger) and Bob Kane, and the name has since passed to a series of characters whose bodies are made of a malleable, clay-like substance.[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/clayface) • [2](https://www.dccontinuityproject.com/clayface.html) The character's profile rose sharply with the 2026 DC Studios horror film *Clayface*, which follows Matt Hagen as an actor transformed into living clay.[3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKPT1hM9JBg)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First appearance | *Detective Comics* #40 (1940), created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/clayface) |
| Powers | Shape-changing ability, duplication, and enhanced strength; base of operations Gotham City[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/clayface) |
| Number of Clayfaces | Eight characters have officially held the mantle according to DC's character page; a DC blog counts eleven unique Clayfaces[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/clayface) • [4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2025-11-04/how-many-versions-of-clayface-are-there) |
| Best-known identities | Basil Karlo (Golden Age), Matt Hagen (Silver/Bronze Age), Preston Payne (third), and the fourth Clayface of *The Outsiders* #21 (1987)[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2025-11-04/how-many-versions-of-clayface-are-there) • [2](https://www.dccontinuityproject.com/clayface.html) |
| Signature trait | Bodies composed of a malleable, mud-like substance they can alter at will, making them skilled shapeshifters who are almost impervious to harm[5](https://comicbook.com/comics/list/every-clayface-in-dc-comics-ranked/) |
| 2026 film | *Clayface*, directed by James Watkins, screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini; released in North American theaters on October 23, 2026[6](https://www.clayfacemovie.com/) |
| Film lead | Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen / Clayface, with Naomi Ackie, David Dencik, Max Minghella, and Eddie Marsan[6](https://www.clayfacemovie.com/) • [3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKPT1hM9JBg) |
## Comic book history
**Basil Karlo, the original.** The first Clayface bore little resemblance to the modern monster. Karlo was a once-famous character actor who, enraged that his classic role in *The Terror* was being remade with another actor in the lead, disguised himself in a clay-like mask evoking [Lon Chaney](https://www.edgepedia.org/lon-chaney)'s Phantom of the Opera and murdered those involved in the remake until Batman and Robin captured him.[7](https://www.dcuguide.com/Clayface_%28Basil_Karlo%29) • [2](https://www.dccontinuityproject.com/clayface.html) In the comics' own framing, he was a horror-movie actor turned serial killer, part of the early influence of horror films on Batman stories.[8](https://comicbook.com/comics/list/5-terrifying-batman-villains-who-make-even-clayface-look-good-in-comparison/) He appeared twice more, in *Detective Comics* #49 and *Batman* #4, before the name went dormant.[2](https://www.dccontinuityproject.com/clayface.html)
**Matt Hagen and the clay body.** The name returned in the Silver Age with an entirely new character. Matt Hagen, a fortune hunter, discovered a mysterious subterranean pool that turned his body into clay and allowed him to shapeshift, and he made regular appearances in the era's science-fiction flavored stories.[2](https://www.dccontinuityproject.com/clayface.html) A DC reader guide gives a simple rule for telling the versions apart in older comics: in a [Golden Age](https://www.edgepedia.org/golden-age) story the Clayface is Basil Karlo, while in a Silver or [Bronze Age](https://www.edgepedia.org/bronze-age) story it is Matt Hagen.[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2025-11-04/how-many-versions-of-clayface-are-there)
**Later holders of the mantle.** Successive Clayfaces varied widely in origin and temperament. The third, Preston Payne, is described as one of the most distinct and tragic versions, a character who lives his own life and even has a family.[5](https://comicbook.com/comics/list/every-clayface-in-dc-comics-ranked/) • [2](https://www.dccontinuityproject.com/clayface.html) The fourth, sometimes called Lady Clayface, was created in *The Outsiders* #21 in 1987 and was only peripherally a Batman villain.[2](https://www.dccontinuityproject.com/clayface.html) In modern continuity the mantle has generally returned to Basil Karlo: DC's reader guide notes that from 2011 to today the Clayface in a comic is almost certainly Karlo again, and later stories gave Karlo the same shapeshifting powers associated with Hagen.[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2025-11-04/how-many-versions-of-clayface-are-there)
## Powers and character
DC's official profile lists Clayface's powers as shape-changing ability, duplication, and enhanced strength, and describes him as a virtually indestructible shapeshifter who is brilliant at improvisation and can shift between villain and ally of Batman.[1](https://www.dc.com/characters/clayface) ComicBook.com's survey of the incarnations gives the shared traits: a malleable, mud-like body that can be altered at will, making each Clayface a skilled shapeshifter who is almost impervious to harm.[5](https://comicbook.com/comics/list/every-clayface-in-dc-comics-ranked/) One ranking of Batman's most powerful villains credits the character with the ability to impersonate anyone perfectly, down to the DNA.[9](https://comicbook.com/comics/list/batmans-7-most-powerful-villains-of-all-time-ranked/)
The stories of the Clayfaces are often tragic: the transformations into hideous creatures generally cause them to lose their sanity and humanity.[5](https://comicbook.com/comics/list/every-clayface-in-dc-comics-ranked/) This tragic register traces back to *Batman: The Animated Series*, whose version of Clayface combined two separate comic versions of the character, and whose treatment, along with the subtext of James Tynion's run, shaped later readings of the character as a figure of tragedy rather than simple menace.[10](https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=bgsu1420734509&disposition=inline) • [11](https://www.dc.com/blog/2026-07-08/shaping-your-fears-jude-ellison-s-doyle-talks-clayface-celebrity-dirt)
## The 2026 film
*Clayface* is a horror thriller from [DC Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-studios), directed by James Watkins from a screenplay by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini, with the story by Flanagan, based on characters from DC.[6](https://www.clayfacemovie.com/) It is the third film in the [DC Universe](https://www.edgepedia.org/dc-universe) (DCU), the shared continuity run by DC Studios co-CEOs [James Gunn](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-gunn) and Peter Safran, and stars Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen / Clayface alongside Naomi Ackie and Max Minghella.[3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKPT1hM9JBg) • [12](https://apnews.com/article/18a4d6120f00812f1e627527ba5c4628) In the film, Hagen is an actor whose face is disfigured, and he turns to a scientist, played by Ackie, who transforms his body into clay.[3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKPT1hM9JBg) The cast also includes David Dencik, Eddie Marsan, Nancy Carroll, and Joshua James, and the score is by Volker Bertelmann.[6](https://www.clayfacemovie.com/)
The film is produced by Gunn and Safran together with [Matt Reeves](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-reeves) and Lynn Harris.[6](https://www.clayfacemovie.com/) Warner Bros. Pictures releases it only in theaters in North America on October 23, 2026, and internationally beginning October 21, 2026.[6](https://www.clayfacemovie.com/)
**Origins of the project.** Neither Gunn nor Safran was initially looking for a standalone movie about a lesser-known Batman villain, but writer-director Mike Flanagan pitched a story that would fuse superhero cinema with horror, a script that eventually took shape with Hossein Amini as co-writer. Safran credited the film's greenlight to Flanagan's passion, saying the studio looks for volunteers rather than recruits.[12](https://apnews.com/article/18a4d6120f00812f1e627527ba5c4628) Watkins' film takes inspiration from the two-part *Batman: The Animated Series* episode "Feat of Clay" while twisting the original Clayface story slightly.[12](https://apnews.com/article/18a4d6120f00812f1e627527ba5c4628)
**Genre positioning.** The film is DC Studios' first foray into horror, and its marketing leans into body horror: Gunn published a list of body horror films, mostly by [David Cronenberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-cronenberg), for viewers preparing for the premiere.[13](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/james-gunn-shares-list-of-body-horror-movies-to-watch-ahead-of-clayface-premiere-and-its-mostly-david-cronenberg/) Harries has said his performance was inspired by the Arkham video games' "effective and psychologically jarring" depiction of the character, describing the film as "not just telling a villain story, but a real psychological unraveling."[14](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/clayface-star-tom-rhys-harries-was-inspired-by-the-arkham-games-effective-and-psychologically-jarring-depiction-of-the-batman-baddie/) Gunn has said the movie will not be the last appearance of the shapeshifting villain in the DCU.[15](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/dc-boss-james-gunn-says-the-clayface-movie-wont-be-the-last-we-see-of-the-shapeshifting-batman-villain/)
## Notable stories and adaptations
Beyond the animated series, the character has a scattered record of notable appearances. *Batman: The Dark Knight* #22-29 (collected as volume 4, *Clay*) reveals the character's origin, with Batman and [Commissioner Gordon](https://www.edgepedia.org/commissioner-gordon) pressed into a corner as Clayface embarks on a murder spree through Gotham.[16](https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/batman-the-dark-knight-2011/batman-the-dark-knight-vol-4-clay) A 2026 six-issue limited series, *Clayface: Celebrity Dirt* by writer Jude Ellison S. Doyle with artists Fran Galán and Patricio Delpeche, presents a noir-horror take in which Karlo hunts a man who has stolen his identity in Hollywood; Doyle has described it as a psychological horror story about another person living out one's ideal life.[11](https://www.dc.com/blog/2026-07-08/shaping-your-fears-jude-ellison-s-doyle-talks-clayface-celebrity-dirt) • [17](https://www.dc.com/comics/clayface-celebrity-dirt-2026/clayface-celebrity-dirt-2026-2) The novel *[Batman: Resurrection](https://www.edgepedia.org/batman-resurrection)* (2025) delivered an adaptation of the shapeshifting Clayface set between the films *Batman* and *Batman Returns*.[18](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/batman-revolution-introduces-new-riddler-author-important-two-deep-cut-villains)
## References
1. [Clayface | Official DC Character, DC.com](https://www.dc.com/characters/clayface)
2. [Clayface - DC Continuity Project](https://www.dccontinuityproject.com/clayface.html)
3. [CLAYFACE Extended Trailer (2026), TrailerSpot, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKPT1hM9JBg)
4. [How Many Versions of Clayface Are There? | DC, DC.com blog](https://www.dc.com/blog/2025-11-04/how-many-versions-of-clayface-are-there)
5. [Every Clayface in DC Comics, Ranked, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/comics/list/every-clayface-in-dc-comics-ranked/)
6. [Clayface | Official Movie Site](https://www.clayfacemovie.com/)
7. [Clayface (Basil Karlo), DCU Guide](https://www.dcuguide.com/Clayface_%28Basil_Karlo%29)
8. [5 Terrifying Batman Villains Who Make Even Clayface Look Good in Comparison, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/comics/list/5-terrifying-batman-villains-who-make-even-clayface-look-good-in-comparison/)
9. [Batman's 7 Most Powerful Villains of All Time, Ranked, ComicBook.com](https://comicbook.com/comics/list/batmans-7-most-powerful-villains-of-all-time-ranked/)
10. [Infinite Earths: Crossmedia Adaptation and the Development of Continuity in the DC Animated Universe, OhioLINK ETD](https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=bgsu1420734509&disposition=inline)
11. [Shaping Your Fears: Jude Ellison S. Doyle Talks Clayface: Celebrity Dirt | DC](https://www.dc.com/blog/2026-07-08/shaping-your-fears-jude-ellison-s-doyle-talks-clayface-celebrity-dirt)
12. [Can DC blend horror with a superhero movie? 'Clayface' wants to blur genres, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/18a4d6120f00812f1e627527ba5c4628)
13. [James Gunn shares list of body horror movies to watch ahead of Clayface premiere, GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/james-gunn-shares-list-of-body-horror-movies-to-watch-ahead-of-clayface-premiere-and-its-mostly-david-cronenberg/)
14. [Clayface star Tom Rhys Harries was inspired by the Arkham games, GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/clayface-star-tom-rhys-harries-was-inspired-by-the-arkham-games-effective-and-psychologically-jarring-depiction-of-the-batman-baddie/)
15. [DC boss James Gunn says the Clayface movie won't be the last we see of the shapeshifting Batman villain, GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/dc-movies/dc-boss-james-gunn-says-the-clayface-movie-wont-be-the-last-we-see-of-the-shapeshifting-batman-villain/)
16. [Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 4 - Clay | DC](https://www.dc.com/graphic-novels/batman-the-dark-knight-2011/batman-the-dark-knight-vol-4-clay)
17. [Clayface: Celebrity Dirt (2026-) #2 | DC](https://www.dc.com/comics/clayface-celebrity-dirt-2026/clayface-celebrity-dirt-2026-2)
18. [Batman: Revolution interview, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/batman-revolution-introduces-new-riddler-author-important-two-deep-cut-villains)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Film characters and fictional worlds › DC Comics characters › Batman characters and elements*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license