DC’s Clayface Has One Big Problem That Almost No Comic Book Movie Has Ever Fixed

Clayface is the next movie in the DCU, and considering how early the franchise is, giving the C-list Batman villain the DCU’s third movie is an odd choice. The film seems to essentially be an adaptation of the iconic Batman: The Animated Series saga “Feat of Clay,” minus actually featuring Batman. “Feat of Clay” is fantastic, and even if Clayface is only half as good as its source material, it’ll still be a really solid movie.

However, Clayface has tons of problems to overcome. For one, Supergirl was a commercial disappointment, and Clayface is definitely a less notable character than Kara is. On top of that, Clayface is rated R, hurting its box office potential even more. The film also has to tie this dark and gritty version of the character to the Clayface that is seen in Creature Commandos, as they are meant to be one and the same. However, the biggest hurdle that Clayface has to overcome is one that multiple other movies have failed to clear.

Clayface Has To Figure Out How To Make Comic Book Fans Care About A Villain-Centric Movie

Tons of studios have attempted to make movies about comic book villains, and basically none of them have been able to answer the question of why audiences should care. A superhero movie is only as good as its supervillain, but it hasn’t yet been proven that a movie focused on a supervillain can be great. Sony’s Spider-Man cinematic universe is the best example of this, with it featuring a lineup of horrible movies, including Venom, Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter.

DC has taken several swings at making movies about its own villains, and the Marvel competitor hasn’t fared much better. While 2019’s Joker was initially met with a positive reception, comic book fans have never been the biggest fans of it, and retrospectives have viewed the film a lot less favorably. Suicide Squad was considered one of the DCEU’s worst movies, and Birds of Prey was a commercial and critical failure. The Suicide Squad was great, but it was hardly a villain movie, as it took a bunch of villains that most general audiences weren’t familiar with and put them in a heroic role.

So, Clayface is next in line to give a pitch as to why audiences should care about a solo villain movie. Admittedly, Clayface has a lot going for it. The Clayface trailers make the movie look incredible, and as a lesser-known Batman villain, the film doesn’t have to worry about living up to the legacy of the character. Plus, this version of Clayface seems to have an incredibly sympathetic backstory, meaning that there is a great hook that could get audiences invested in this story.

Previous comic book villain movies have been too concerned with tying the story to the villains’ respective superheroes, and for Clayface to work, it needs to avoid this problem. If it gets too bogged down in Batman references and Gotham worldbuilding, it will seriously harm the story. The movie needs to make viewers sympathize with Matt Hagen’s situation, and even if they don’t root for his subsequent criminal choices, they will at least understand where he’s coming from. By constantly reminding viewers that Clayface is a Batman villain, it may be harder for viewers to connect to his struggle.

Clayface Needs To Avoid Just Making Its Villain A Superhero

One of the biggest issues with villain movies is that their protagonists are never actually villains. All of Sony’s Spider-Man villain movies just make their protagonists antiheroes. Venom, Kraven, Morbius, and the rest don’t have villainous goals or do evil things. Instead, they’re just heroes who kill. The same issue can be found in Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey.

Many smarter stories contain protagonists whom viewers understand and root for despite their villainous choices, and Clayface needs to be able to capture this. Projects like Breaking Bad, Nightcrawler, Fight Club, and more ask audiences to follow the story of a bad person doing bad things, rather than making their main character a bad person who does good things. 2024’s The Substance is a perfect example of what Clayface could be, with it also being a body horror story that follows a protagonist who makes harmful choices in order to maintain her beauty and celebrity status.

So, rather than sidestepping Clayface’s villain status, the movie needs to embrace it. This will allow the film to tell a compelling story that many other villain movies have failed to, giving fans a reason why Clayface is an interesting film in a world of movies like Venom and Morbius.

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