As we all predicted, the third feature-length movie in the James Gunn led reboot of the DC Universe, following Superman and Supergirl, will of course be… uh… Clayface! And I’m excited about it! (If you’re reading this from the future and I should not have been excited about it, please reply in the comments marked as “from the future”!)
Like a few of Gotham’s most wanted – Mister Freeze and Harley Quinn chief among them – Clayface’s most memorable story may well come from Batman the Animated series in season one’s Feat of Clay. Personally, I’m partial to Alan Tudyk’s hammy portrayal in the Harley Quinn animated series. Appropriately, both renditions have shown how malleable the villain can be.
Fitting for a character who can change their shape and take on the appearance of another, there have been a surprising amount of different individuals to occupy the role of Clayface since the character’s introduction in the pages of Detective Comics in 1940. Below you’ll find a guide through all these variations, with a focus on key essential Clayface comics over the past 85 years!
Collects: Detective Comics #40, #298, #478-479, Outsiders #21, Secret Origins #44, Batman #550, Catwoman #4, Batman Gotham Knights #69, 70, 71, And Batman Secret Files And Origins Villain #1
The Arkham villains collection is the most sizable Clayface “greatest hits” to date, so I’ll break out the issues below. Again, because of the malleability of the villain, these issues cover different identities and eras of the character. I’ll italicize the issues included in this collection below. If an issue is written out bolded and linked, that means it’s separate from the “Arkham” collection, but fits chronologically in that position.
Detective Comics #40 (1940)
Introduction of the original Clayface, Basil Karlo, by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson.
Detective comics #49 (1941)
Detective Comics #298 (1961)
The second Clayface, Matt Hagen, by Bill Finger, Sheldon Moldoff and Charles Paris.
Detective Comics #304 (1962)
Detective Comics #312 (1963)
Batman #159 (1963)
Detective Comics #478-479 (1978)
As you guessed, the intro of the third Clayface, Preston Payne by Len Wein, Marshall Rogers and Dick Giordano.
Outsiders #21 (1987)
Mike W. Barr and Jim Aparo’s Outsiders introduces Sondra Fuller as a new Clayface, although she also tries to make the name “Looker” happen, which reminds me of the time in college I introduced myself as Studmuffin for a semester.
Strangely, the Alan Moore written story about the third Clayface falling in love with a mannequin (you read that right) is not included in the “Arkham” greatest hits. Extremely funny to me that this Moore addition to the DCU was published the same year Watchmen ended.
Secret Origins #44 (1989)
Mike W. Barr and Keith Giffen reframe the story of Basil Karlo in Detective Comics #40, before the rest of the issue gives a glimpse into the lives of each of the Clayfaces’s in Batman’s past. It’s not collected in the same “Arkham” volume, but this sets the stage for the Clays to come together as the Mudpack in the listing below.
Batman: The Dark Knight Detective Vol. 2
Alan Grant and Norm Breyfogle bring the Clays together as the Mudpack in Detective Comics #604 to #607.
Batman Legends of the Dark Knight #89-90
“Clay” by Alan Grant and Quique Alcatena.
Batman Shadow of the Bat #26-27, #75, #88 (1994, 1998)
In the first story arc, “Child’s Clay” (comics!), we meet the Clayface baby (what a sentence to be able to write). Then, a couple minor Clayface roles set during Cataclysm and No Man’s Land. Notable for Mark Buckingham and Dan Jurgens drawing each issue respectively, and for an all-time bad Mister Freeze pun in the former.
Shadow of the Bat #88 kicks off the “Fruit of the Earth” crossover written by Greg Rucka. The story continues in Batman #568 and then Detective Comics #735.
Batman #550 (1998)
Another Clayface?! With a pun so bad I lost a year of my life, Doug Moench and J.H. Williams introduce Cassius “Clay” Payne, the son of two former Clayfaces (Clayfasci?). Perhaps most notable for the introduction of Chase, a character J.H. Williams would do some excellent work on!
Catwoman #4 (2002)
The backhalf of the “Arkham” collection finally taps into non-intro stories, here with some Clayface action from the excellent Catwoman run by Ed Brubaker, Darwyn Cooke and Mike Allred.
Batman: Gotham Knights #68-71 (2006)
The four-part Clayface in the Gotham underworld story by AJ Lieberman and Al Barrionuevo.
Batman: Joker’s Asylum (2010)
Joker takes on the role of Cryptkeeper weaving tales about Batman’s rogue’s gallery. Part two features a Clayface special by Kevin Shinick and Kelley Jones. Definitely not Jones’s best Batman work, but there’s at least one shot of the Caped Crusader’s, well, cape worth the read.
Batgirl #13 (2010)
Batman by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo Omnibus Vol. 1
Snyder and Capullo’s legendary New 52 Batman run took a two issue detour between mega Joker and Zero Year stories for a lil’ Clayface quickie (issues #19 and #20 of their Batman run).
Batman: The Dark Knight #23.3 (2013)
DC’s New 52 had a “Villains Month” special, and Clayface gets the focus here from John Layman and Cliff Richards.
Batman: The Dark Knight (2011-2014) Vol. 4: Clay
Collects: Batman: The Dark Knight #22 to #29
New 52 focus on Clayface’s origins.
In probably the least essential/goofiest inclusion on the list, a stray piece of Clayface’s body gains sentience and is imprisoned in Arkham Manor, the prison inside Batman’s house. Can you even call yourself a Clayhead if you don’t know about Clownface?
Batwoman Vol. 6: The Unknowns (2015)
Collects: Batwoman #35 to #40, Batwoman Annual #2
Batman: The Rise and Fall of the Batmen (2016-2020)
Clayface is a regular during the James Tynion IV written Detective Comics, in probably the defining modern take on the character.
Batman One Bad Day: Clayface (2023)
By Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly and Xermanico.
Batman and Robin Year One (2025)
He’s not even the leading face-based villain, but Clayface plays a role in the quite good Year One series by Mark Waid and Chris Samnee.
Harley Quinn #47 (2025)
The Clayface reunion party.
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