Basil Karlo (Gotham)

Basil Karlo
Gotham‎ and Pennyworth
Gallery
Real Name	Basil Karlo
Other Aliases	James Gordon · Elijah Van Dahl
Affiliation	Professor Strange
Base Of Operations	Arkham Asylum, Indian Hill
Status
Alignment	Bad
Identity	Public Identity
Citizenship	American
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Actor · Criminal
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Eyes	Variable
Hair	Bald
Origin
Universe	Gotham (TV Series)
Creators	Bill Finger · Bob Kane
First Appearance	"Wrath of the Villains: A Legion of Horribles" (May 16, 2016)
Last Appearance	"Mad City: Ghosts" (January 16, 2017)

Basil is a gifted performer. A chameleon of sorts. Would you like to see?

— Professor Hugo Strange

Basil Karlo was an impersonator employed by Professor Strange.

History

Basil Karlo was one of the many deceased humans that Professor Strange resurrected at Indian Hill, a division of Wayne Enterprises controlled by a secret council that was founded for the primary purpose of finding a cure for death. Like the majority of those resurrected, Basil had little recollection of his memories and identity prior to death. Upon resurrection, Basil was spliced with octopod DNA, making his face elastic and claylike. Strange informed Basil of his name and his talents as an actor. After kidnapping James Gordon, Strange molded Basil's face so that Basil perfectly resembled Gordon.

When the Gotham City Police Department began looking for Gordon, Basil went to their headcounters under the guise of Gordon. However, the GCPD soon deduced that Basil was an imposter. The GCPD discovered Gordon at Indian Hill and arrested Strange for numerous charges, including kidnapping and illegal experimentation.

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Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Malleable Clay-like Face: Due to being spliced with octopod DNA by Professor Strange, Basil's claylike face can be stretched to abnormal proportions, allowing him to mimic the physical appearance of other human beings.

Abilities

• Acting

Other Characteristics

• Amnesia

Notes

• This version of the character is exclusive to the continuity of the television series Gotham, Pennyworth and its tie-in webseries and shorts, Gotham Stories and Gotham: A City Gone Mad. It is an adaptation of Basil Karlo/Clayface. The original character was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and first appeared in Detective Comics #40.
  
  This version of the character incorporates the name of the character created by Kane and Finger and the poweres originally associated with Matthew Hagen, created by Finger and Sheldon Moldoff and first appearing in Detective Comics #298.
  
  It also reflects the character development in comics regarding the results of Detective Comics #298 where Karlo gained abilities identical to Hagen's.
• Basil was portrayed by Brian McManamon while in his normal form. Due to his malleable skin, different actors took on the role, such as Ben McKenzie when disguised as Jim Gordon and Paul Reubens when disguised as Elijah Van Dahl.

Related

• 3 Appearances of Basil Karlo (Gotham)
• 2 Images featuring Basil Karlo (Gotham)
• Quotations by or about Basil Karlo (Gotham)
• Character Gallery: Basil Karlo (Gotham)