Returning to Batman: The Animated Series more than 30 years after its original release, Aaron reacts to “Feat of Clay: Part I” and discovers that Matt Hagen’s transformation into Clayface is much darker than he remembered.
Beyond the incredible Gotham atmosphere and Kevin Conroy’s iconic Batman performance, this Clayface origin story explores addiction, identity, appearance and self-worth.
Matt Hagen’s dependence on Roland Daggett’s formula becomes more than a supervillain origin. It becomes a story about what happens when someone begins to value what they do, and how they look, more than who they actually are.
With a new Clayface DC movie bringing the character back into the spotlight, we also look at what this classic Batman story might tell us about the psychological themes that make Clayface such an interesting character.
Chapters
00:00 — Why Superheroes Shouldn’t Wear Capes
00:24 — Returning to Batman: The Animated Series
00:43 — Why We’re Revisiting Clayface Now
02:24 — Does the 1992 Animation Still Hold Up?
03:32 — Kevin Conroy’s Batman Is Still Unmatched
05:04 — Matt Hagen Enters the Story
05:47 — Clayface’s Comic Book Origins
06:18 — Matt Hagen’s Addiction Starts to Show
07:25 — Daggett’s Control Over Hagen
08:58 — Why Matt Hagen Is So Desperate
09:45 — Does Clayface Know Who He Really Is?
11:01 — Why Gotham Still Looks Incredible
12:04 — Batman’s Brutal Interrogation Methods
14:17 — Matt Hagen Becomes Clayface
14:55 — Clayface, Addiction and Dependency
16:21 — When Your Career Becomes Your Identity
17:33 — Batman and Clayface Have the Same Problem
18:31 — What Part II Could Reveal
Primary Media:
Batman: The Animated Series — “Feat of Clay: Part I”
Originally aired: September 8, 1992
Director: Dick Sebast
Story: Marv Wolfman & Michael Reaves
Teleplay: Marv Wolfman
Principal Voice Cast:
Kevin Conroy — Bruce Wayne / Batman
Ron Perlman — Matt Hagen / Clayface
Ed Asner — Roland Daggett
Dick Gautier — Teddy Lupus
Brock Peters — Lucius Fox
Ed Begley Jr. — Germs
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. — Alfred Pennyworth
Additional Media & Characters Referenced:
Batman: The Animated Series — “Feat of Clay: Part II”
Clayface / Matt Hagen and Basil Karlo from DC Comics
The Dark Knight Returns
Court of Owls
The Batman / Robert Pattinson’s Batman
Mission: Impossible
Superman films
The upcoming DCU Clayface film
Keywords
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