Was Clayface In The Adam West Batman Series?
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"Clayface" (watch its teaser trailer right here) will be the third movie in the DC Universe, a franchise that, to date, includes "Superman" and the forthcoming "Supergirl." Like many Batman villains, Clayface has a long and varied comic book history. He first appeared in 1940's "Detective Comics" #40 as the alter-ego of a Lon Chaney-like actor named Basil Karlo. However, you may be better acquainted with the more popular version of Clayface, a man named Matt Hagen. That iteration of the character first appeared in 1961's "Detective Comics" #298 and gained shapeshifting powers from a puddle of radioactive goo. In order to maintain his abilities, though, he had to keep returning to the puddle.
The Hagen version of Clayface has been lurking about the DC Comics universe ever since then and will be featured in the live-action "Clayface" movie. He also famously appears in a two-part episode of "Batman: The Animated Series" as an actor who uses a dangerous cosmetic cream that allows him to reshape his face. The "Clayface" film appears to be drawing heavily from this story as well, with Tom Rhys Harries playing Hagen.
Of course, given that Matt Hagen's Clayface has been around since the early 1960s, then he surely would have been fair game to pop up in William Dozier's spectacular, Adam West-starring, live-action superhero TV show "Batman" (which premiered in 1966), right? One of the best TV series of all time, "Batman" famously features a litany of classy actors letting loose to play the show's weekly guest villains. And some of the villains are deeply weird, with Vincent Price's Egghead immediately coming to mind. (No wonder Nicolas Cage wants to play him.)
Sadly, Clayface never made his way onto "Batman" ... but False Face (Malachi Throne), who might be his closest analogue, did.
Clayface was never on the 1960s Batman TV show, but False Face was
Like Clayface, False Face (aka. Falseface) has a comic book history, albeit not nearly as long. The character was first introduced in "Batman" #113, which was published in 1958. He is, as his name implies, a master of disguise. That said, "Batman" #113 marked False Face's only comic book appearance prior to him showing up on the "Batman" TV show.
Malachi Throne mainly wore a creepy, plastic, translucent mask as False Face and was not initially credited for his turn on "Batman." He received a mysterious question mark in the credits until the end of the episode "Holy Rat Race," which formed a two-parter with the episode "True or False-Face." The rumor among "Batman" fans is that Throne was offered a great deal less money than his co-star in this two-parter, Myrna Fahey, who plays the wig-swapping moll Blaze, and this discrepancy in pay led him to remove his name. That said, this claim is not wholly substantiated.
What's more, it's been rumored that False Face only ever appeared in this "Batman" two-parter because his plastic mask was deemed too scary for the kids watching, which is wholly believable. "The Official Batman Batbook" quotes Throne as saying that the original plan was for him to wear makeup as False Face, but production issues led to him donning the plastic face instead. He hated the mask, though, and credited its ridiculousness for impacting viewers' ability to connect with the character.
It would've been difficult to visualize Clayface on a 1960s TV show budget, so one can see how False Face was meant to be an acceptable substitute. Of course, one could say the same thing about Two-Face, another famed Batman villain who never appeared on the "Batman" series.
False Face and Clayface are the same character ... kind of
There is an additional wrinkle, however, that confuses the issue. The Malachi Throne version of False Face did return to the DC Comics universe in the 2013 comic "Batman '66," which was designed to look like William Dozier's TV series. Batman and Robin were similarly modeled after Adam West and Burt Ward's portrayals of the superheroes, while many of the series' iterations of Batman's enemies appear in their vintage costumes.
In that comic, False Face's real name is finally revealed, and it's said to be Basil Karlo ... which, as mentioned earlier, is the name of the first Clayface from DC's comics. In "Batman '66," Basil Karlo changes his name and goes on to serve as that universe's version of Clayface, getting identical clay-like shape-shifting powers. So, thanks to a little backward engineering, one could technically claim that Clayface was, in fact, on the "Batman" TV show, just as False Face.
Of course, none of this relates to the Clayface who appears in "Batman: The Animated Series," and it has even less to do with the live-action "Clayface" feature film coming to theaters. This is all just fun superhero trivia and a whimsical way for the minds behind "Batman '66" to incorporate two disparate characters into a single continuity. The only sad part is that Throne passed away in March 2013 at the age of 84, which means he didn't live long enough to see the publication of "Batman '66" in July that same year.
"Clayface" opens in theaters on October 23, 2026. Be sure and check out the 1960s "Batman" TV series as well, if you haven't already. It really is pure joy.