Celebrating Artist Adam Hughes

Celebrating artist Adam Hughes on his birthday (May 5, 1967) with a couple of his Wonder Woman covers featuring Clayface (#160 and #161 from September and October, 2000)....where Wonder Woman (who was made from magical clay) faces Clayface (a man who uses magical clay to change shape).

Holy Bill Finger, Batman!

Remembering the late Bill Finger on his birthday (February 8, 1914 - January 18, 1974).

Bill Finger was a writer, who provided many of the inspirational ideas to Bob Kane's outline of Batman that helped make Batman a success....like the cowl, cape, gloves, the blue/grey color scheme, and even the Bruce Wayne name!

Unfortunately, his penchant for research did not make Bill Finger a quick writer, nor did Bob Kane have him included on creator credits for Batman (only noting his contributions after Bill Finger had passed).

Still, Bill Finger did write many important Batman stories, introducing Robin, Joker, Catwoman, Riddler, Penguin and Two-Face, as well as the Batmobile, Batcave...

...and even naming Gotham City!

Much later, Bill Finger introduced readers to Ace the Bat-Hound, Bat-Mite , the first Bat-Girl, Calendar Man, the second Clayface , even Kite-Man and Zebra Man, and gave Batman his two biggest trophies:  the Tyrannosaurus Rex and giant Lincoln penny (a hallmark of Bill Finger stories was battles on oversized items).

Bill Finger also did other work for DC, writing early issues featuring the Golden Age Green Lantern, Wildcat, and creating Lana Lang in Superboy. Some of his last work on Batman was in World's Finest Comics, working with Superman (there he created Moon Man and Atom-Master, among others).

Even better, Bill Finger wrote the two episodes of the second season of the Batman 1966 TV show featuring the Clock King, giving him his first writer's credit on a Batman story....and the TV show Gotham, got his name listed as co-creator of Batman!

Batman Vs. The Original Clayface

Batman has had a long history facing off against Clayface, but, for our purposes, time to start of with the very first...


....a man in a mask, who was on a murder spree in the pages of Detective Comics!

Detective Comics 40

Batman and Robin have to deal with "The Murders Of Clayface" in Detective Comics #40 (June, 1940) by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson.

Julie Madison, Bruce Wayne's fiance (seen previously when Batman faced vampires, as well as in the last issue of Detective Comics), has a new acting job, working on a movie called "Dread Castle".  Problem is, the actors on the set are really being murdered!

The first victim is the lead female, Lorna Dane, and the second, her boyfriend, Fred Walker.  Fred holds on long enough to say the work..."Clayface" before he dies.

This leads Batman and Robin to investigate the set, with the Batman tangling with some gangsters (who have no relationship to the murders), as Robin has to contend with Clayface on his own!  Thankfully, Batman saves Robin, but Clayface escapes.

The next day, while Julie is filming, Clayface attacks again, but this time Batman and Robin were ready for him, capturing the villain.  Batman removes his mask to find out he was Basil Karlo, an ex-actor who was the star of the original movie, "The Terror",  they were remaking, and got a job as a make-up man on this picture.

Basil would have gotten away with it too, if not for Batman and that darn kid.   

Detective Comics 49

"Clayface Walks Again" in Detective Comics #49 (March, 1941) by Bill Finger, Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson, and this is also the next appearance of Julie Madison as well.

Julie had become a big movie star, big enough that her agents required her to change her name to Portia Storme.  Having a successful career, Julie/Portia encourages layabout playboy Bruce Wayne to perhaps find something to do (not knowing how Bruce spends his nights).  Bruce, unable to give up being the Batman (or tell Julie of his masked identity), instead simply dodges the question.

Julie calls an end to their engagement at this time.

Making matter worse, the vehicle transporting Basil Karlo to an asylum becomes involved in an accident, with Karlo being the only survivor.  On the loose, Karlo dons the costume of Clayface, planning to resume his killing spree at the studio.

When Bruce learns of this, he (as Batman) and Robin head to the studio to look for Clayface, with each of them facing the foe individually without success, but that inspires Clayface to try to burn down the studio (capturing Batman and Robin inside as well).  Batman gets out, and goes back to rescue Robin.  With half the studio gone, the film company does try to continue to film, even with Clayface stalking Julie.  Batman has Robin guard her while he looks for Clayface, and finally captures the villain after it appears Clayface was able to shoot Julie with bow and arrow (though, this was just some trickery on Robin's part, who was disguised as Julie, with appropriate insulation to stop the arrow, while Julie was disguised as Robin).

These two tales have been reprinted many times, but the only times together was in Batman Archives Volume 1 of 1990 and in the Batman: The Golden Age Omnibus Volume 1 of 2015.

Julie never returned in the Golden Age (though more of her history with Bruce was revealed in his Secret Origin from Secret Origins #6 of September, 1986).

There were Earth-1 versions of these two stories, as revealed in Batman #208 (January-February, 1969), with Bruce not completing an engagement with Julie.  This Julie returned in a couple of issues of World's Finest Comics (#248 and #253) where the actress married into royalty.  This Basil did return as well, as the aging ex-actor escaped confinement in Detective Comics #496 (November, 1980), but was killed by filmmaker John Carlinger, who assumed his Clayface identity briefly, to rid himself of his enemies.

Two other men had assumed the mantle of Clayface... Clayface II was Matt Hagen, who premiered in Detective Comics #298 (December, 1961), and became quite a menace to Batman for a time, with his mystic pool inspired shape-changing powers.  Clayface III was Preston Payne, who first appeared in Detective Comics #478 (July-August, 1978), who was a homely man who became a S.T.A.R. Labs scientist, withdrawing some of Hagen's blood to try to get his shape-changing powers, but instead becoming a man who had to absorb others to prevent his own cellular collapse.

After the Crisis On Infinite Earths, it was revealed that reports of Basil Karlo's death were exaggerated, and instead he gathered the other Clayfaces (including the fourth, Sondra Fuller, a female with similar powers to Clayface II, who was part of Strike Force Kobra that faced the Outsiders), and Karlo took genetic samples from them all to become the Ultimate Clayface, in a story that ran through Secret Origins #44 and Detective Comics #604 to #607 of 1989....and there were still more tales to be told of these, and even more Clayfaces, but time is melting away!

Superman and Batman Face Brainiac and Clayface

Superman and Batman were considered the World's Finest team....and, who could face them other than the most dastardly of foes?

Well, one such team up of their individual villains was very interesting, as it paired two of the heroes most popular villains of the age...but also two who likely had the least of a reason to meet...Brainiac and Clayface.

Before going into their team-up, a little of their individual history...

Brainiac

Vril Dox premiered in Action Comics #242 (July, 1958) by Otto Binder and Al Plastino, being an alien menace that came to Earth, with plans to shrink Earth cities and keep them as a part of his collection, which would lead to "The Super-Duel In Space" with Superman.

As Superman tried to get aboard Brainiac's ship, but was unable to due to Brainiac's Force Shield, Superman returned to Metropolis and was taken when Brainiac shrank that city.  Flying out of the bottle Brainiac kept it in, the smaller Superman had to take refuge in another bottle as he was being chased by Brainiac's pet monkey, Koko, and thus, Superman discovered the shrunken Kryptonian city of Kandor which Brainiac had captured before Superman's homeworld of Krypton exploded; Superman did get his original size back, put Brainiac into suspended animation for a time, and took the small city of Kandor to his Fortress of Solitude, where he promised to restore the city to its original size (which he eventually did).

Brainiac, furious with Superman for costing him his cities, returned, threatening to destroy the Earth in Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #17 (May, 1960), exposed Superman to a combination of Red and Green Kryptonite in Action Comics #275 (April, 1961), then shrinks Superman and the Daily Planet staff (who get out of trouble with the help of Congo Bill and Congorilla in Action Comics #280 (September, 1961).

Brainiac's origin is finally revealed in Superman #167 (February, 1964) by Edmond Hamilton, Curt Swan and George Klein, with "The Team Of Luthor And Brainiac".  Luthor discovers that Brainiac was really a robot created by the Computer Tyrants of Colu (and given a humanoid Coluian son, Vril Dox II, to complete the illusion...and later allow someone to start the lineage that let to the Legion of Super-Heroes' Brainiac 5, though this is not mentioned here).  Luthor helps free Brainiac from his interstellar prison, and while working with him, increases Brainiac's intelligence from 10th level to 12th on the planet Lexor (a world under a red sun where Luthor is a hero).  The villains defeat Superman by using a "coma ray" on him, and, after being captured by the Superman Emergency Squad (Kandorians who help as a squad of "little Supermen"), are found guilty in Kandorian court, but released so long as they take Superman out of his coma.  This leads Brainiac to his team-up with Clayface...  

Clayface

Matt Hagen first menaced the Dynamic Duo in Detective Comics #298 (December, 1961) under the guise of the shape-changing Clayface...a being able to morph into anything at will in "The Challenge of Clayface" by Bill Finger, Sheldon Moldoff and Charles Paris.


Matt Hagen got these powers after accidentally finding (then bathing) an underground grotto filled with strange chemicals.  During this first story, Clayface's powers were limited in time, and Matt would have to get away to the grotto to restore them, but was captured by Batman and Robin one time after his powers wore off, ending up in jail...

....but with Batman and Robin having no clue as to how Hagen got his powers.

Clayface returned after getting out of jail and going back to the grotto in Detective Comics #304 (June, 1962) being stopped by Batman being armed with a freeze ray, then again, when Batman finds the pool and takes a dip himself in Detective Comics #312 (February, 1963) wherein Batman also blows up the entrance to the pool, returns again with a synthetic version of the formula, but also has to contend with the Joker (upset this new villain is stealing his press) in Batman #159 (November, 1963).

Escaping from prison, Matt Hagen again becomes Clayface with the help of his synthetic chemicals, this time proving too much for Batman and Robin to handle in World's Finest Comics #140 (March, 1964) with "The Clayface Superman" by Dave Wood, Jim Mooney and Sheldon Moldoff.

While battling Clayface, Batman and Robin get help from Superman, at least until Clayface changes into Superman, and battles the Man of Steel to a draw, barely escaping.  Batman and Robin try using Kryptonite on Clayface in this form, but it only works until Clayface changes into something else (then back into Superman form when he has escaped).  Superman uses Red Kryptonite on Clayface, which is more effective, destabilizing Clayface long enough for his powers to run out.  After this, Clayface also needs a new home, as the Bat-titles are about to get a new look, and his type of science fiction crime is no longer welcome in Batman and Detective Comics....

The Team-Up

This leads to "The 1000 Tricks of Clayface and Brainiac" in World's Finest Comics #144 (September, 1964) by Edmond Hamilton, Curt Swan and George Klein, uniting these two villains against the World's Finest heroes!

First, Brainiac returns to Earth, and destroys a prison, freed many criminals, including Matt Hagen., then goes to Metropolis to cause trouble at the Daily Planet, including coating Jimmy Olsen in Green Kryptonite dust (which means Superman can't work with Jimmy).  Meanwhile, Batman and Robin are searching for Hagen (who is exposing himself to the synthetic chemicals to change into Clayface).  Batman and Robin come to Metropolis, where Batman gets the idea of taking Jimmy to help him (including revealing his identity to the lad), while Robin helps Superman.

The two new partners are more of problem when facing the foes, causing both Robin and Jimmy Olsen to doubt themselves (with Jimmy nearly revealing the secret of the Bat Cave to Clayface, as Robin also is very unhelpful to Superman).  

This situation is made even worse as Brainiac gets the upper hand on Superman, as Clayface does on Batman after each team has a second confrontation with their foes....

....then Brainiac decides to team-up with Clayface to increase the menace, but, with some quick thinking by the Robin-Olsen team, the villains are defeated!

After

Brainiac and Clayface II met in Clayface II's next appearance, that of Action Comics #443 (January, 1975), which also included villains such as Merlyn, Grodd and Chronos, all to face the Justice League, then the two were also involved in the Crisis On Infinite Earths, especially #12, where Clayface II met his end, and Brainiac's ship was invaded by Adam Strange, Captain Comet and the rest of the Forgotten Heroes, which included Dolphin and Rip Hunter.

Stranger still, both Brainiac and Clayface had multiple versions, most of Brainiac's version manifesting during the Convergence, and a glimpse of four of the people who were Clayface showing up in Secret Origins (though there are even more!).

Better still, find out more on each of them, with the tradepaperbacks of Superman vs. Brainiac from 2008, and Batman Arkham: Clayface from 2017, sadly, neither of which include their team-up.