A Clayface movie is on its way. And it couldn’t come at a worse time. Variety reports that a Clayface movie will begin production next year, produced by The Batman director Matt Reeves and written by Mike Flanagan, creator of The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass. The news comes just before the release of Kraven the Hunter, the last in Sony‘s ill-fated attempts to build a shared universe around Spider-Man villains. Which begs the question: why would DC try to follow in Sony’s shameful footsteps with its own Batman rogues?
The obvious answer is that Reeves and company just finished The Penguin, a very good (no really—I only gave the first few episodes low reviews) series focused on multiple villains. Second, the Clayface movie will happen under the aegis of James Gunn and Peter Safran, who have already done good villain-centered work with The Suicide Squad and Creature Commandos. Further, Flanagan is one of the most exciting writers working today.
But the most important reason is the most simple. Clayface is one of the richer villains in comic book history, one better suited to carry his own movie than Kraven, Madame Web, and Morbius.
Molding Clayface
When most people hear the name Clayface, they think of a glob of brown muck who can perfectly take the form of anyone he chooses. But the first Clayface who battled Batman and Robin was no one so fantastic. In 1940’s Detective Comics #40, by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, Batman and Robin investigate a series of murders on a film set where Bruce Wayne’s fiancée Julie Madison is working. The Dynamic Duo reveal the killer as disgruntled B-movie actor Basil Karlo, who masqueraded as Clayface, the monster from a horror picture he was making, to commit the crimes.
Finger later reimagined the character in 1961’s Detective Comics #298, “The Challenge of Clay-Face” by Finger, Sheldon Moldoff, and Charles Paris. Befitting the sci-fi tones of the Silver Age, this Clayface was treasure hunter Matt Hagen, who turned into a shape-shifting muck monster after encountering mysterious ooze at the bottom of the ocean. The Hagen Clayface became the primary model for decades, even as different variations popped up.
In 1978, Len Wein and Marshall Rogers introduced Preston Payne, a rich man who stole Hagen’s blood to reshape his physical abnormalities and become Clayface III. Payne eventually met Sondra Fuller aka Lady Clayface, and they had a son named Cassius “Clay” Payne, the fourth Clayface. In Batman #550 (1998), Peter Malley, a scientist in the Department of Extranormal Operations, experiments on Cassius and becomes Clay Thing. Malley may or may not be the amnesiac shape-changer who eventually settled on the appearance of actor Todd Russell and was rescued by Catwoman in 2002. And then there’s firefighter Jonathan Williams, introduced in 2003 as a tragic figure who becomes a Clayface after being doused with chemicals. This Clayface fights with Batman for a bit, but eventually helps the Dark Knight cure Alfred before sacrificing himself.
In the current continuity, with its reboots and retcons, Karlo is back as the main and only Clayface, albeit with aspects of the previous Clayfaces integrated into him. Writer James Tynion IV recently reimagined Karlo as a tragic figure, one given a chance at redemption during The Rise and Fall of the Batmen arc from the Rebirth issues of Detective Comics.
While it’s unclear which Clayface will star in the new movie, the point is there’s plenty of comic book history to pick from as Flanagan et al craft the ideal version for the big screen.
The Man Inside the Monster
“Look at them!” demands Batman at the end of the brilliant Batman: The Animated Series two-parter “Feet of Clay.” The Dark Knight has chased the villain into a room filled with screens, each of which displays one of the personas adopted by Clayface. “You can play those parts again, Hagen,” Batman urges, identifying the villain as Matt Hagen, even though he acts more like Basil Karlo. “Let me help you find a cure.”
Clayface refuses, stumbling back and losing control of his powers, shifting from one form to another. Each transformation blurs into the next, burying Clayface’s true identity under a pile of false selves.
It’s a classic tragic end for a villain from The Animated Series and perfect for a writer such as Mike Flanagan. Although he’s worked entirely within the horror genre, Flanagan’s always had more than scares on his mind. As demonstrated in feature films such as Doctor Sleep and shows such as Fall of the House of Usher, Flanagan loves to construct tragedies about the nature of faith, the foibles of humanity, and the persistence of trauma. Whether he’s writing about a masked killer invading a deaf woman’s home, a dead woman reliving recent conversations with a caretaker, or a priest who confuses a vampire for an angel, Flanagan always finds humanity and empathy for the monster. The scariest thing in all of his stories is the way people hurt instead of heal one another.
That approach works particularly well for Clayface, who has had his share of rich stories over the years. Clayface drives the story of in this year’s Batman ’89 sequel novel Batman: Resurrection, in which he’s a discarded actor who gains face changing abilities after being exposed to Joker’s Smylex poison. Although he doesn’t consider himself a monster, Karlo’s delusions of grandeur allow him to be manipulated by a larger, more malevolent force.
The Animated Series‘ spiritual sequel, Batman: Caped Crusader (which features Flanagan collaborator Hamish Linklater in the lead) takes Karlo back to his roots as a riff on The Phantom of the Opera. There, the classically-trained actor resents the horror roles he’s given because of his unusual looks, a deep-seated hurt that drives him to become a real villain and kidnap a starlet.
Last year’s one-shot Clayface: One Bad Day by Colin Kelly, Jackson Lanzig, Xermánico, and Romulo Fajardo Jr. updates Karlo’s origin for modern day. The story emphasizes the way Karlo’s looks separate him not just from the acting industry but all of humanity, making his murderous ways an extension of his desire for acceptance.
These and other Clayface stories serve as perfect material for a thoughtful and empathetic writer like Flanagan, someone who can create pathos in the most outrageous of genres.
And as these stories show, Clayface is not the same type of character as Kraven or Morbius. Sure, those guys are compelling villains and have had great stories told about them, but Sony wanted anti-heroes. So instead of building on the pathos inherent in the character, Sony simply reshaped them into edgy heroes, something they were never meant to be and nobody wanted (except from Venom, who somehow became part of a rom-com couple).
Flanagan doesn’t need to make monsters into heroes. He lets monsters be cruel, pathetic, and ultimately human, and that’s where Clayface works best. Hopefully, the new DCU will stick to what Clayface has long been in comics, books, and television: not just a compelling bad guy but one of the most compelling and human characters in genre fiction.
The post The Clayface Movie Is a Very Good Choice for the New DCU appeared first on Den of Geek.
0 Commentaires