Formerly a member of the League of Shadows, "Clayface" (as he was nicknamed by Dick Grayson) was originally a man called
Matthew Hagen, who had been trapped in the Lazarus Pit after he tried to manipulate
Talia al Ghul into a one sided relationship. Giving him his ultimate wish, she allowed him to drown within the chemicals.
However they heavily mutated his body, melting his mind and transforming his body into a mass of living clay. He entire physiology changed, giving him the ability to transform at will into any shape or form that he could think off.
In reality his molecules were changing due to using a "morphic field" which allowed it to regain parts of his body even when losing essential limbs and head as a form of "morphic cohesion." Experimenting with a sample extracted from Clayface, Batman determined that if he could find the exact "frequency" that he was using in his "morphic resonance pattern", Clayface could and would be rendered unconscious from a blast of a taser.
"The Pit..."
Emerging from the Lazarus Pit after months of being submerged in the chemicals on the 25th of August, Clayface had no control over his shape-shifting abilities, first taking on the form of Ra's al Ghul then as Talia as he demanded his lover to explain what she had done to him. He finally transformed into a mass of sentient clay and mud, stumbling forward to attack Talia and the Sensei, the latter blaming Talia for their current predicament.
"The Pendulum"
Grabbing Talia, she callously greeted her manipulating ex by his real name, defiantly standing him down as he tried to question her. However the Sensei used his blade to cut off his arm, forcing him to drop Talia on the ground and
defend himself. The Sensei continued to attack, slicing the top of Clayface's head off as he updated his master on the situation, explaining that the "abomination" (as Ra's saw it) was what remained of Matthew Hagen due to the combined efforts of the Pit and Talia.
Smashing the Sensei against the wall and attempting to asphyxiate him, Ra's stepped forward and triggered the neurological commands that were planted in all agents of the League of Shadows, he ordered Clayface to fall asleep, resulting in a pool of mud at his master's feet. When asked what they should do with him, Ra's dismissed the idea to kill him, instead demanding that he be sent to Gotham City as a punishment to Batman for disrupting his plans at Cape Carnival and indirectly killing him.
On the 26th of August, Clayface arrived to the Wayne Foundation stuffed in a chemical container, where he proceeded to break free and incapacitated several security guards. He tried to attack Lucius Fox, however he was interrupted by Batman and Robin. But the two heroes are easily overpowered by the mutated Hagen, throwing them both through a window and begging to know what Talia had done to change his body. Using two lots of tasers on him, Clayface screamed in pain, smashing them both against the wall as he disappeared into the sewer system below - Batman was forced to call the Team and have them follow his trail.
With no knowledge of what had happened to him and still trying to control his new morphing capabilities. Clayface recuperated beneath the water. He watched from the sludge as the Team tried to track him down. Back to full strength, he attacked them all, pinning them to the walls of the tunnels.
"... And the Penalty"
Resisting his attacks, Aqualad used his hard water swords to slice Clayface's hand off, while the other heroes simultaneously assaulted him. Falling into several pieces, he quickly reformed while their backs were turned, smirking at Kid Flash's jab that he had been nothing more than a "pushover." Knocking them all down he laughed as he walked right over them and deeper into the tunnels.
Having mastered the ability to take on the form of any individual, Clayface engaged the heroes one at a time as they tried to take him down (defying Batman's instructions not to fight him - given the green light by a distracted Aqualad), first taking on the shape of Miss Martian to knock out Superboy and ensnare the young clone in his body, mockingly calling him a "sucker" for not realising it was a trick.
Mimicking Connor's voice and shape, he next flirted with Miss Martian, punching her when the later was offguard, having been called "gorgeous" by the boy she had feelings for. Using the same tactic on Kid Flash (as Miss Martian), she knocked him out as well as the two were about to kiss. Splitting himself into two copies of Kid Flash, he cornered Robin who tried to deuce which one was the real Wally West by asking them to tell him his middle name. But they both label him as a "chump" and "sap" as they floored him.
Finally confronting Aqualad as Robin, he ambushed the disorientated hero and easily incapacitated him, throwing him against the wall. He moved on the defeated Atlantean and was about to kill him, however Batman arrived at the last moment and used a taser to turn
him into nothing more than mud.
Appearances:
- "The Pit..." (First Appearance)
- "The Pendulum" (Flashback/Main Story)
- "... The Penalty" (Final Appearance)
Five years after their previous encounter, Clayface honed his abilities and skills, learning how to defend himself from the electrical attacks that incapacitated him the last time.
Turning round to gloat at Robin for his attempts to electrocute him from behind with birdorangs, he boasts that his body had adapted to insulate himself from electrical attacks. Focusing on Superboy, he lunged at the Kryptonian/human hybrid, but had his mouth often to roar, allowing the teen hero to throw a pill inside his mouth that caused an explosion in his body, petrifying him from the inside out.
