Clayface (Arkhamverse)

Basil Karlo, also known as Clayface, made a cameo in Batman: Arkham Asylum as an inmate still imprisoned on Arkham Island.

Biography
Initially an actor in horror films, Basil Karlo went mad when he learned a classic film of his was to be remade with a different actor in the lead role. He took on the mask of the film's villain, "Clayface", and killed several of the remake's cast and crew before being stopped by Batman and Robin. Later, Karlo joined the Mud Pack, an alliance of shape-changing, mutated villains who had subsequently used the name Clayface. While that group was defeated, Karlo tricked his allies, injecting himself with the essences of several of them, becoming a superhuman imbued with the abilities to change shape, melt others into protoplasm with a touch, and mimic the powers of heroes or villains he copies.

Attributes:
 * Can change his physical form, adopting the appearance of nearly anyone
 * His malleable physical form makes him extremely difficult to injure or contain
 * His touch can be poisonous



Batman: Arkham Asylum
Batman, while searching for Arkham Warden Quincy Sharp, came across a cell behind a clear wall with no bars. A sign next to it read "Danger. Do not approach. Inmate may be impersonating other personel". The cell contained a female mannequin, white hand-prints, and excess Clayface goo. What appeared to be security guard Aaron Cash was pacing behind the wall, urging Batman to let him out of the cell. However, after rescuing the warden in the room above, another man looking like the warden appeared in the cell, claiming that the one rescued was an imposter and begged to be let out. When Batman turned around, a morphing noise sounded and in the cell appeared what seemed to be Commisioner Gordon. He simply laughed at Batman. Detective Mode revealed that the shapeshifter had no skeleton, and scanning him revealed him as Karlo/Clayface. His profile could then be read and the Riddler's riddle, "A case of mistaken identities?" was solved. Clayface commended the detective for discovering his identity, and asked him to keep it a secret, as he had a reputation to keep. Spoilers

After all but one of the hidden chronicles are found around Arkham, Quincy Sharp has disappeared from his santuary. Clayface will mention how the warden left in a hurry despite Batman's insistence that he stay hidden, all while impersonating Commisioner Gordon.

Batman: Arkham City
When the rescue teams of the GCPD swept through the ruined Asylum after Joker's plans, one uninformed guard believed that Sharp was trapped within the same cell Batman saw and let him out, while in reality it was simply Clayface taking advantage of the situation to finally escape. It was only after the real Warden Sharp was found did the guard realize his lethal mistake, but Clayface was long gone by that point.

Clayface assumed the guise of multiple people to avoid capture, until he decided to embroil himself in another set of megalomaniac plans set in motion by the Clown Prince of Crime, The Joker. Despite not being imprisoned in Arkham City, Clayface had made his way into the city under the guise of a common criminal at the request of The Joker to play, as Clayface himself put it, the role of a lifetime. Clayface replaced the Joker for some of the interactions with Batman in order for the Dark Knight to think that Joker had been healed.

The plan was not realized by Batman until Talia was taken prisoner by the Joker at the Monarch Theatre. After Talia stabbed the Joker, Batman realized something that had been said to him previously and pieced together that Joker had been impersonated the entire time. Joker revealed himself and Clayface took on his natural form after the ruse had been seen through. Batman and Clayface were forced to fight one another until Batman was finally able to disable the enemy in the Lazarus Pit Chamber beneath the Theatre.

Psychological profile (by Dr. Young)
While his bizarre ability to shape-change opens him up to the obvious-if controversial-diagnosis of multiple personality disorder, Karlo seems instead to be suffering from borderline personality disorder, with a special emphasis on identity disturbance. He is difficult to pin down on any subject, and defends his wild changes in affect as evidence of his dramatic abilities, which he considers to be wildly underrated. Rarely does he take his own shape, but frequently mimics me when I attempt to interview him.

Additional notes

His identity is at risk of splintering, due to the growing frequency of his adopting the identities of others to the exclusion of taking on his own.

I find his imitation of me to be especially unflattering; I am most certainly not the bitter, calculating academic he attempts to portray me as.

STRONG ESCAPE RISK!

Trivia

 * The mannequin and handprints in the cell are a reference to Preston Payne, who was 'married' to a mannequin he referred to as 'Helena'.
 * Clayface will only congratulate Batman for discovering who he is if he is disguised as Sharp or Cash; as Gordon, he will only laugh mockingly.
 * Karlo's name appears on the party list.
 * Clayface's page in Dr. Young book had a question mark. The reason is that the riddle said something about mistaken identity which is what Dr.Young wrote. Clayface is known to have bars on his window in his cell, so Riddler told him to escape since he is known for escaping and identity theft.
 * If viewed in Detective Mode, no bones will be present and only his shape is visible.
 * In Arkham City, if one uses Detective Mode during the battle with the Joker at the Steel Mill, he has no bones, foreshadowing the reveal of Clayface.