Matthew Hagen

Matthew Hagen
Alias(es)	Clayface Matt Hagen
Appeared in	Batman: Feat of Clay
Actor	Ron Perlman

Matthew "Matt" Hagen was an actor until he was exposed to an addictive cream that eventually turned him into the villain, Clayface.

Biography

Batman: Feat of Clay

At one time, Matt Hagen was a famous actor, but he became facially disfigured after a car accident. Finding work became difficult for him, and he feared the worst for his career. Things took a change, however, when he was visited by Roland Daggett, who offered Hagen a second chance. Daggett had developed the Renuyu cream, an untested drug that could reconfigure a person's face, and Hagen was the perfect specimen to try it. Though Hagen agreed to use the cream, he didn't realize the true nature of the situation.

Ever the businessman, Daggett demanded that Hagen commit various crimes using his ability to impersonate people. Daggett's main competition was Wayne Industries; as a result, Hagen began impersonating Bruce Wayne, and attempted to murder Lucius Fox. Hagen failed due to Batman's interference, and Daggett had his supply of the Renuyu cream cut off. Addicted to the formula, Hagen broke into Daggett Labs in an attempt to steal the drug. Unfortunately, two of Daggett's thugs surprised him and hyper-saturated the actor in the formula by drowning him with a large canister of Renuyu in an attempt to kill him.

Instead of killing him, however, the cream bonded to Hagen's cellular structure and turned his entire body into a clay-like substance. The transformation gave him the ability to manipulate his body into any shape or form he desired. His true form, however, was that of a hulking humanoid mass of living clay. Though his friend Teddy tried to stop him, Hagen fled and went after Daggett. Batman intervened and they battled until Clayface (the name Hagen had adopted) escaped through the sewers. Arriving at Gotham Insider, Clayface interrupted Daggett's commercial about Renuyu and tried to kill the businessman, only to be stopped once again by Batman. Following Clayface at the AV Room, Batman used multiple images of Hagen's early movies to make Clayface emotionally unstable and cause him to lose control of his abilities. In desperation Clayface tried to kill Batman, but destroyed a screen and electrocuted himself. However, his stasis was momentary; the police left with a shell, and the true Clayface escaped.

Powers

• Shapeshifting: With his body transformed into a clay-like substance, Clayface can reshape his body and assume various forms, imitate other people, and form weapons from his arms.

Relationships

• Batman - Enemy.
• Roland Daggett - Enemy.

Gallery

Matt's face without the cream.

Hagen as he appeared when he'd use the Renuyu.

Hagen pretends to be Bruce Wayne.

See Also

• Clayface