Basil Karlo was Clayface, an actor and master of disguise.
History
Basil Karlo was a famous actor in many classic horror movies. However, his mind snapped when he was denied the leading role in a film and became a serial murderer based on a horror movie character: "Clayface."[1] After fighting Batman and Robin a few times, he was remanded to Arkham Asylum, where he remained for many years.
During this time, the Clayface moniker was taken up by others. First Matt Hagen [2] and then Preston Payne [3] fought Batman as Clayface.
After learning that a modern director/producer of horror movies, John Carlinger, was hosting a film exhibition on his yacht, the Varania III, Karlo murdered his psychiatric nurse and broke out of Arkham to exact revenge on Carlinger for not inviting him. Karlo confronted Carlinger with the intent to kill, but Carlinger overcame and killed Karlo, using his Clayface persona as a cover for his own series of murders.[4]
Powers and Abilities
Abilities
Other Characteristics
Notes
- Clayface first appeared in Earth-Two continuity in Detective Comics #40 by Bill Finger and Bob Kane. He was introduced in Earth-One continuity in Batman #208 by E. Nelson Bridwell and Gil Kane.
- This version of Basil Karlo/Clayface, including all history and corresponding appearances, was erased from existence following the collapse of the original Multiverse in the 1985–86 Crisis on Infinite Earths event and later restored following the rebirth of the infinite Multiverse during the Dark Crisis of 2022-2023. Even though other versions of the character may have appeared, this information does not apply to those versions.
Related
- 2 Appearances of Basil Karlo (Earth-One)
- 1 Images featuring Basil Karlo (Earth-One)
- Quotations by or about Basil Karlo (Earth-One)
- Character Gallery: Basil Karlo (Earth-One)
Footnotes
  Batman Villain(s) |