Renuyu, also known as Renu in the New 52 is a fictional substance affiliated with the origin of Clayface. Renuyu is an experimental, likely illegal cosmetic which can cause flesh to be melted and moulded like clay albeit with the user needing a constant supply to avoid disfigurement from the chemical's effects.
History[]
DC Animated Universe[]
Renuyu was an experimental cosmetic developed by Daggett Industries which allowed for flesh to be moulded like clay, allowing for effective shapeshifting. The company's evil CEO Roland Daggett tested the substance on actor Matthew Hagen who was recently disfigured by a car-accident, and was promised the substance to get his looks and career back. In return, Hagen would use the shapeshifting abilities of Renuyu combined with his acting skills to impersonate Daggett's enemies and perform crimes of industrial sabotage.
As it turned out, Renuyu would cause Hagen's skin to dry out, crack and disfigure when not regularly applied. Because of this, Hagen became reliant on Daggett as a supplier of the substance, forcing the actor to commit more crimes such as impersonating Bruce Wayne and making an attack on Wayne Enterprises employee Lucius Fox. Because of this, Batman began investigating Hagen and Daggett's trail.
Hagen attempted to escape from Daggett and used a stash of Renuyu to try robbing Daggett Industries of more Renuyu. When Daggett caught him, he had his men take Matt out back and dissolve his body with a tank of Renuyu. While aimed at killing the actor, it actually transformed him into a giant, mud-like monster deemed Clayface who subsequently sought revenge against Roland Daggett.
Prime Earth[]
Vincent Karlo and ''Renu''
In this continuity, the substance is known as, "Renu" was an industrial chemical sold by Daggett industries while labelled as not being fit for skin application. The cosmetic was stock-piled and used by horror makeup/SFX artist Vincent Karlo for his work. When Vincent's usage of Renu was found out, he lost his job. Vincent however would demonstrate the chemical on himself to his son, Basil Karlo, when Basil was a boy.
Years later, Basil became a celebrated actor and landed the role of a lifetime, only to get in a car-accident which left him disfigured. Basil found his late-father's stash of Renu and became using it to recreate his old appearance, albeit with the side-effects leaving him in effective addiction to the material. After this, Basil began using his shapeshifting and acting abilities to break into Daggett Industries in search of more Renu.
In one incident of trying to steal Renu, Basil was confronted by the GCPD. The police opened fire on the actor, shattering a wall of Renu bottles which flooded onto Basil's body. This incident transformed Basil into the shapeshifting monster, "Clayface" who became a major enemy to Batman and inmate of Arkham Asylum. A cure for the cosmetic's effects would later be developed by ARGUS scientist and Batman ally Dr. Victoria October.
In other media[]
Teen Titans Go[]
A bucket of "Renu-Yu" appears on a shelf in the Batcave.
Notes and trivia[]
- In the original, silver-age comics, Matt Hagen was transformed into Clayface when he happened upon a spring of mysterious chemicals underneath of Gotham's harbour.
- Renuyu's creators Daggett Industries appeared in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) as a evil company run by Roland Daggett stand-in John Daggett although its Clayface ties are not acknowledged.