TRAGIC CLAYFACE | Preston Payne
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- Yet another Clayface joins Batman's rogues gallery this one is Preston Payne. After Bruce Wayne breaks up with Silver St Cloud he must deal with a foe working through some problems of his own. The bronze age of DC Comics presents the most tragic Clayface so far in this ever expanding villain origin collection here on Casually Comics.
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Bruce shouting at his parents portrait over his breakup is both tragic and hilarious in equal measure.
"Damn it, Mom and Dad. Thanks to you two going off and dying like you did my love life stinks!"
@@Nightman221k "My chances at getting a girlfriend are shot like you two were in Crime Alley."
@@Xehanort10 "And this time it wasn't because of joe chill"
@@Xehanort10 Got a big laugh out of me.
"If it wouldn't kill me, I would offer Preston a hug. Seems like he needs one" 😂🤣😂🤣
I like how the BTAS Clayface was a mix of all three. He took the best parts from each of them and blended them well.
Matt Hagen's name and shapeshifting which was a power Basil Karlo would later steal from the Mud Pack and use to become the Ultimate Clayface. He also had Karlo's acting career along with Payne's desire to cure himself of his condition and in the episode Mudslide had to deal with his condition killing him.
My actual favorite Clayface is Ethan Bennett from The Batman, because we had no idea he would end up as one in the first half of hus appearances. Still though, why do the DC Gods hate Preston so much, man only wanted to good, but pulled a WW84 and said "No Shortcuts".
I remember the two episodes that went over the events leading up to his transformation and the tragic misunderstanding that happened afterwards. If I remember correctly, the episodes were called "The Rubber face of Comedy and The Clay Face of Tragedy."
That was my first introduction into Clayface as a kid and I alwasy remember it feeling very tragic. There was even a reference to the Killing Joke in it that I didn't catch until I was an adult. It was a very underrated Clayface. That show had a lot of underrated interpretations of characters like Riddler and Joker
That episode of The Batman was so good. Honestly, I always wish they had done more with Bennett and Yin after the first few seasons since they had reduced roles afterward.
That was a good story; and now I realize a reference to The Killing Joke. The Batman was so underrated
A trick: you can watch movies at Flixzone. Been using it for watching lots of of movies recently.
I actually never heard of Preston Payne or read his origin before. My DC character guidebook just gave him a one sentence footnote. This origin is honestly fantastic, I wish that he was used in more adaptations because his depth and character are on level with Mr. Freeze. I love Batman villains whose lives are tragic and built on disorders beyond their control, his deep loneliness makes me feel really sad cause he didn't seem like a bad person. The wax museum wife thing is honestly twisted and disturbing and makes the thing you alluded to about him falling in love with another Clayface woman, make me want to hear about that when you cover it.
I personally wonder if Preston Payne's story inspired what Dini and Timm did with Mr. Freeze in Batman TAS. I know they drew inspiration from 'Tec 478 - 479 for their "Feat of Clay" two-parter!
The story where Payne finds love was called "The Mudpack". It ran from Detective Comics 604 - 607. It teamed up every active Clayface at that time together and brought Basil Karlo back into the public eye after a decades-long absence. I highly recommend it! It also introduced the idea of a Clayface impersonating Jason Todd to guilt Batman 12 years before Jeph Loeb would do it in Batman: Hush!
@@jonathonriddle9922 I want to check it out now. Thank you for letting me know about it!
And i love how instead of reviling in the deaths he's caused he's actually sad and is disgusted by himself
Found out about him through Mr. Rogues. And since then, I've grown to like this Clayface. He's a close second to Basil Karlo for me.
List of All Clayface:
1. Basil Karlo (Gold Age) aka. Ultimate Clayface
2. Matt Hagen (Silver Age)
3. Preston Payne (Bronze Age) aka. Clayface
4. Sondra Fuller aka. Lady Clay
5. Cassius "Clay" Payne: Son of Presto Payne and Sondra Fuller.
6. Peter Malley aka. Claything
7. Todd Russell
8. Ethan Bennett (animated "The Batman")
9. Clayface of Japan
10. Glory Griffin aka. Mudface: Girlfriend of Basil Karlo.
11. Clownface
12. Johnny Williams (Current)
Woah
You forgot about Clownface
@@JK.Patterson Thank you I didn't know about him. Let me add him to the list.
"Whatever theme you pick, there is an abandoned building for you." Best description of Bronze Age Gotham ever!
Inspired by "The Incredible Melting Man" (1977), released a year before this issue? The similarities of a continuously melting body, having an uncontrollable death-touch, and a tragic life-story seem more than coincidence...
I didn't know there were so many different Clayfaces, I only knew the actor on from the series
There are Total 11 clayface!
Yeah- I thought there was only the one... I need to read the comics more...
@@piercepatterson9274 I have commented in this video with the list of all the Clayface.
@@arpitpatel2781 Wait? There's five more now?
@@mandelabutterfly9162 Yes, we all are here for the ride. I hope Sasha covers them all!
Also you can check the list of all the Clayface I posted as a comment in this video.
Preston Payne is my favorite Clayface for tragic backstory but one of my favorite things in these issues is how Marshall Rogers portrays Batman’s Cape! It has a personality of itself in his artwork.
mine to
With today's outfit it's a shame Sasha isn't covering Mr. Negative.
I kept getting Two-Face vibes with her outfit. Foreshadowing perhaps?
Good to see the return of the Twilight Sparkle wig, though.
Or Zebra Batman.
@@strongblade I'm loving them though
The Batman hugging Clayface on that Silver cover touches my heart.
Thomas Wayne without a moustache? Nope.
I was expecting to laugh and ended up depressed for Clayface...
The 70's were kinda like that.
I hope when you discuss the animated Clayface, you don't forget the version from the Harley Quinn series.
And the arm
"My character was a sassy divorcee...named BRENDA!"
I'd love to see Sasha occasionally dip into other media with an angle that explores the way these different media draw from the comics.
Also could shine a light on some underexpose adaptation like the clayface from The Batman.
When I see this version of Clayface, all I could think of was Plasmus from Teen Titans' Brotherhood of Evil. Esp. the outfit he wears and the melting touch.
In a lot of ways, Preston Payne makes for the perfect Batman villain. He's a tragic figure who deeply, deeply needs help.
And really shows how not all villains relish in the killing they do
I always loved Len Wein back in the day and felt he never got his just due.
Omg. Grant Morrison’s script notes are way to much.
Do any of these Clayfaces (Clayfacie?) marry Lois Lane, though? I want this to all come full circle.
I could not find Lois Lane marrying Clayface.
BUT I found Clayface kidnapped Lois Lane twice. So I think Clayface wants Lois Lane for sure.
1. Basil Karlo in "The Batman - Superman Story Pt. 1" kidnaps Lois Lane while impersonating Clark Kent.
2. Matt Hagen lured Lois Lane to his hideout, hoping to get Superman and all with the ultimate goal of luring Batman into a trap. His plan almost succeeded, but the heroes outsmarted him and returned him to prison. To prevent further problems, Superman evaporated
I would say that this is a ridiculous idea, but after all those Lois marriages videos, anything could happen at this point
I feel like at this point it'd just be like Lois Lane is a rascally scamp, you'd tell "Oh Lois Lane, what are we going to do with you? Always getting into those marriage related troubles."
@@arpitpatel2781 It's only a matter of time.
Wouldn't it be Clays Face
This is it! This has to be the best Clay-Face origin. It is tragic, yet you understand where Preston is coming from. And like most Batman villains, he is indirectly/directly created by the people of Gotham. I don't know about the vampire thing though. If they ever include Clay-Face in a movie/series they should use a very similar origin: a man trying to cure his ugliness. The love for the manikin is the the cherry on top, verifying that he is truly mad.
I enjoy the art in these 70's comics. It is the same Batman illustration that was on my Fruit of the Loom underwear as a child. Lol. Memories.
So many favorite Sasha quotes, but the best one is: "One face, two face, three face, Clay-Face.
Again, nice blouse Sasha!
They used Clayface in Gotham but predictably did a terrible job with him.
@@cetialphav3214 I was thinking of a more action based series. I have not seen all that show or that episode but I can't imagine Clay-Face being faithfully represented in that type of show. Where it is more drama based than action. We want Clay-Face from BTAS in live action.
I love that your clayface voice for this version is so sad sick and dying. Reminds me of the tiny alien that told the M.I.B about Orions belt.
Of all of the members in the Bat Rogue Gallery, Clay-Face is probably my favorite. Each iteration is just different enough to make things even more interesting. The original is similar to Dick Tracy's Vitamin Flintheart, the second is IMHO vintage "how to write a silver age villain." Everything after that draws close to Freeze/Fries, leaning more to "good person making bad choices."
So far, Preston Payne is my favorite. I'd actually never heard of him before, but he has a lot of nuance
Casually comics is only channel that has respect enough for Clayface to grace him with a playlist. This Preston and his suffering reminds me of Darkman.
Fun Fact: the wax museum Preston hides in previously appeared in Detective Comics #450, a story which was adapted into the TAS episode "The Cape and Cowl Conspiracy." Also, it's called "Father Knickerbocker's Wax Museum." Father Knickerbocked appeared in Detective Comics #368, where it was established that he is the "symbol of Gotham City." Kind of like Lady Liberty for New York.
Also, this is easily my favorite Clayface. Wish we'd see more of him! Thank you for doing the story justice as always. :)
7:33
Lowkey, even though the tangent was avoided in this video since it'd go off-topic, I'd love to see a video going over how both comics beginnings changed their story developments, like how you mentioned DC going through the Seduction of the Innocent trials, while Marvel (or a different name given the time period) might not've gotten the brunt of the censorship, or at least didn't self impose the CCA, letting them stretch their writing muscles more with stories and such.
I think it'd be a fun video, and really interesting. Tho probably would take a long time to research 😅
Ah the Batman voice, my day is complete. Saved his sanity? That's debatable.
My first exposure to the clayfaces was Detective Comics 604, part one of the four-part "Mudpack" story. It begins with Clayface III suffering a mental breakdown that sees him escape from Arkham Asylum, absorb a multitude of tranq darts, and melt an orderly to death along the way. I was eight years old at the time, and that opening scene scared the bejesus out of me! Preston Payne has been my favorite of the 'pack' ever since. Plus, Payne got a character writeup in the 1989 Batman Role Playing game, so he's always felt kind of special to me.
Would that game happen to look anything... LIKE THIS? drive.google.com/file/d/11Jm7NM5Dca8Gts7tlOhP3kFwNmXpe7Mp/view
This video was particularly fascinating for me because I was not familiar with this version of Clayface. Handled properly, I think he would make a great villain in a Batman animated movie. Ideally, with Jeffery Combs as the VA and similar in tone to Gotham by Gaslight, but in a modern setting. I know Combs was the voice of the Question in the Justice League, but the guy just portrays tragic, mad characters so well that I think it would be a perfect fit.
When I first saw the back story of Mr. Freeze on BTAS it reminded me of this Clayface with his mannequin
I've never been a fan of metaphors. It's like the old joke:
Critic: The author clearly picked the color blue for the curtains as it represents an unforgiving sea that will drown you in despair.
The author: I just like the color blue.
It's hard to see metaphors unless you are really in that mindset. For many, it just flies over our heads.
Len Wein wrote a secret origins story for clayface three a few year after this tale. It's an almost exact replay of his origin here, except for his meeting with Hagen, where he ads dialogue where Payne tells Matt that he'd be willing to talk to the d.a. or the warden(i forget which) about lightening his sentence if he cooperated with him.
Thank you!! I would to see the dialogue between Hagen and Payne!
Now this is the era of DC Comics that I love! Great artwork and great writing.
This makes me reflect on the whole trend from the Hulk to the various werewolves and monsters who have chosen to go it alone with their monstrous and dangerous transformations. They MIGHT turn themselves in to the po pos in hopes of getting help and , you know , murdering fewer innocent victims. This of course would sap their stories of drama but you gotta wonder how many deaths the Hulk in particular would have caused if he'd been in custody . Same for Werewolf by Night , Moonwolf , Morbius the Living Vampire and so many others . "Boo" to them all .
The 1970s were big on that trope.
I always liked the quasi-“killing joke” version of Ethan Bennet in The Batman,Clayface
Yay to seeing Ethan Bennet getting some love in the comments!
so the 3rd clayface took blood from the 2nd clayface, blood was taken to make basil karlo a clayface, married the 4th clayface, became he father to the fifth clayface who created the 6th. I think he's the ultimate clayface
“If my parents hadn’t dies there’d be no need for a Batman!!” Tell that to your rogues gallery, Bruce
That ending has me wondering if she's ever going to cover the time Two-Face became One-Face
You found your Batman autotune again.....victory!!!
Also, the Preston Payne two-parter reminds me of many episodes from Batman TAS that presents a tragic origin, and story set-up told mostly from the villain's POV where Batman is mostly an interfering force.
Bronze Age Batman is my favorite incarnation of the character.
this Clayface just has the tone of a Clive Barker character
Clayface is one of the more interesting villains in the Batman universe. Thanks for the focus you are always awesome in your character spotlight. BTW I know the guy that painter your portrait, very nice. Now your awesome in multiple ways
This Clayface I really like. From his origin, to his visual design to his powers. Wish Payne has stayed around.
Basil Karol is my favorite: I find the idea of a actor turned villain interesting
Matt Hagen has the most interesting look: A giant blob monster and shape shifter is cool
Preston Payne had the most interesting back story: It’s both tragic, sympathetic, and horrific, you can tell some interesting stories with it
Preston is probably my favorite Clayface from the comics, and ironically he isn't even a shapeshifter.
Sasha, I don't know if you go back and read old comments, but that scene with Bruce Cursing his parents reminded me of something Bronze Tiger says to Bruce in the Batman soul of the dragon animation.
glad i'm not the only one who got the impression that BTAS clayface was in a relationship with his assistant lol, bi icon. he's definately my favorite clayface
My favorite Clayface is the one from the cartoon, because he uses his powers for disguise, but he doesn't change into ridiculous things like buzzsaws and bird creatures.
Clayface was originally based on Lon Chaney who could transform himself into all kinds of folk'n'monsters. Any comic that can capture the spookiness of Mister Chaney's film portrayals does a proper Clayface. Bruce Timm interpreted a superb Clayface. One of these nights the Waynes will whisper to Bruce "we forgive you eternally, Bruce, so let us move on..." and Batman, having witnessed aliens'n'gods finally begins to believe in his own happiness. "I love being Batman" says Bruce and Grant Morrison gets Batman.
Except the sex bit. At least in my interpolation of his romantic life he seems to be ok with sex.
This is My Clayface. I loved this Batman era. art and stories top notch! I loved Silver too, and felt Bruce's pain! Payne is such a great tragic character, in the vein of the classic 1930's monsters. When you're so lonely the love of your life is a mannequin. . . what was that movie, Lars and the Real Doll? That could be someone's real life situation.
Cry For Justice definitely made me cry for justice for my stolen time and death of Lian Harper
Thanks for covering Clayface 3. (I'm a huge fan of the Marshall Rogers-era Batman.) I'm also glad to see that I'm not the only one who had problems with "Arkham Asylum."
Hey Sasha, lets see tour portrait. I'm curious. Thanks for putting out this video. I didn't know about this Clayface.
Clayface... and his Touch of Death! "HEY"!! New Hawkman Adventures! LOL
Preston Payne was the Clayface I started with (getting into comics in the 90s) and I remember being really touched with his happy ending. Which, being comics, didn't turn out to be an ending... But I had the same feeling with Killer Croc when he escaped to the Everglades; that a character who was almost forced into 'villain' territory found a home elsewhere. Actually, same for Poison Ivy in the John Francis Moore story in '97. Basically, I want them to get to a happy ending, but comics being comics it doesn't happen, and, as you mention, that does tend to ignore all the victims left in their wakes.
Like like like. This was a fantastic episode Sasha. I ate it all up. *Nom nom nom*
Wow, they went deep with that Batman Arkham Asylum book. I might have to check that out.
amazing how each clayface represents their era. Although matt hagen is the best of the silver age as his origin is horrifying
The weirdest part about this is that One-Face and Three-Face are part of the Batman mythos too. Not to mention False Face and No-Face!
My favorite: Golden...he's simple and concise.
A wax museum burning to the ground,how odd.
My favorite was the storyline that was used on the Birds of Prey tv show. The dynamics of the father and son.
Dudes so sad his last names literally pain
.....people do NOT understand the lengths, and dusty comic book boxes you dive through to produce these retrospectives. (I know, I know it is mostly digital web digging, buuuuttttt.......) Thank you Sasha your hard work, and efforts are GREATLY appreciated. MY Clayface "dudes" are the silver age, and this bronze cat, but that's probably those were the dudes I grew up reading. Oh well, comics. PEACE, and God bless.
Besides the TAS connection to Hagen, Preston Payne is also a lot like the show's version of Mr. Freeze, with his blue containment suit, tragic backstory cutting him off from the outside world, and his hollow angel that he worships (though at least Nora Freis was a real girl before.)
Girl this is so sad! Omg this just got really sad.
Detective Comics #479 was one of my earliest comic book purchases, so I actually came in on the 2nd part of the story. Later on I found #478 as a back issue to see the first part of it.
Have you covered the Creeper at all? I'll have to check. If not, I would be interested to hear your thoughts.
Fun series again!
Vampire tropes. I first saw Payne's "I'll kill the vagrants." in Gods and Monsters where Kirk Langstrom started out only killing crooks
Len Wein was such an incredible writer. He could make you weep with a couple well-worded sentences.
Clayface's shape shifting powers have NOTHING on your hairdo changes.
I believe Payne appears on a wanted poster in Batman: The Brave and the Bold
4:54 Clayface is looking like The Toxic Avenger. Also I think Clayface works in Batman: Arkham Asylum because your in Batman's head the entire book and him sorting out his nonsense. But the share my disease line does hit off.
This is the Clayface they should use in a The Batman sequel because he fits better in that than any of the other versions
I'd love a retrospective on that Grant Morrison Arkham book. Very influential to me as a high school student. But now I'm like... why DID Batman stab himself? And how neuro-ableist is it in hindsight? How neuro-ableist is Batman/Arkham in general?
I only know this guy from his romance with Lady Clayface during Knightfall, because it was collected in Knightfall. There's no real way I can see myself reading Cry for Justice. :)
For me all these versions of *Clay Face* are *"solid"* versions, there origins are simple yet effective for the time that they were made, and the fact in the *Animated series* combined aspects of all the different versions to create the definitive version of Clay Face is a testament to that.
Incidentally *The Batman* tv series introduced a new Version of *Clay Face* named *Ethan Bennett* he was detective in the *Gotham PD* and was good friends with *Bruce Wayne,* later on in the series he would be kidnaped and tortured by one of *Jokers* new chemicals that caused him to have a mental breakdown and attack the *Commissioner of the PD* and then later *The Joker.* he would appear three more times through out the sires and each time he would try to to do good and use he's powers for good as opposed to evil.
Thanks for the information. I didn't know it was that Clayface in a Serious House
I remember reading this origin story many years ago, and you have encapsulated it perfectly to my eyes. Please carry on.
Also, yes please do dig into the sheer insanity of A Serious House On Serious Earth. Explorations of Arkham Asylum from other perspectives are always fascinating. My favorite being the brief visit in Gaiman's Black Orchid miniseries, where she infiltrates the asylum to speak with Poison Ivy, and then meets Batman on her way back out.
I liked that! Did Gordon/Batman realise that "Helena" wasn't a real person? Wouldn't they have expected her body to be left behind as well, when Clayface went back into the building?
That later version, though... that's a big Nope! from me.
The Len Wein/Marshall Rogers run that gave us the third Clay Face was really well done and gave us well know elements such as the Joker Fish. Much of it made its way into the 1990s animated series.
Bronze has probably been my favorite comic book story wise.
I've been reading for a while but Tynion's Clayface I just loved. Batman TAS would be my favorite adaptation of the character but the Detective Clayface just worked for me and the feel of the book. I'm a sucker for a good redemption arc, and though it didn't end like I'd have liked, I still think they pulled it off. I really felt bad for Basil who seemed to have everything stacked against him. I can relate to the character having had a redemption arc myself. These have been a great breakdown of the characters.
Basil, Matt, Preston. By order of default, can't wait to explore Lady Clay next. :)
This Clayface series is really taking shape dare I say! JK. Awesome video as always. 👍👍
Don't mind me, just catching up on the clayface vid I missed
Dear God I was not prepared for that level of the feels. I had no idea that this clayface even existed.
This way the Clayface when I started reading Bat comics.
Well done. I found this era of Batman very interesting. I would love to hear your take on the Egyptian Prince reincarnation version of the Golden age Hawkman & Hawkgirl of Earth2 and the alien Thanagarian Silver age Hawkman and Hawkwoman of Earth1.
Sad times at gotham wax museum sounds like a great name for batman story
Thanks for the Grant Morrison quote. Now I know why his writing doesn't work for me. He over-thinks everything and it's always the same thought. GRANT MORRISON'S PERSONAL SEXUAL POLITICS, and nothing else.
Preston has the most pathos
This clayface gave me serious Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze vibes
Man, the more you know, the more you hate cry for justice...
I am enjoying all of these clayface videos so far! I love learning about each one and what happened to them because for the longest time I thought there was just the one! But no! There are SO MANY!
I love the Bronze Age of comics so much! Marshall Rogers' art in that '78 run of Detective Comics can't be beat! That panel at 8:30 was so good, Len Wein used it twice: once here in Detective Comics 478, and again when retelling Payne's backstory in Secret Origins 44!
On page 3, panel 1 of Detective Comics 479, Batman is shown hitting Payne with a forward flip kick that the animators of Batman: TAS utilized against Matt Hagen in Feat of Clay part 2. It goes to show how dedicated the makers of that show were to capturing the look and feel of Batman from the comics!
Casually Clayface episode 3. 😆
I really want the Hagan/Preston conversation. Hagan seems very self-absorbed so it would be fascinating to find out what it is that Preston could have said...could have promised to get the blood sample.
Preston Payne said he would talk to the Parole Board on Matt Hagan's behalf in exchange for a sample of his blood.
I believe this should be the Clayface for The Batman 2.
Oh wow I used to have this issue.
The second part of the Clayface story. When I was like 7, in French. From France.
Interesting video, thanks. Nice art in the background!