Matt Hagen
Matt Hagen is a male comic supervillain who features in DC Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Pre-Crisis
Matt Hagen
In search for hidden wealth, he went skin-diving to find a sunken frigate filled with gold that would make him rich. During one such dive, he found an undiscovered grotto that contained a natural pool of strange chemicals. After being exposed to it, he was transformed into a clay-covered creature with the ability to change shape and he began to operate as the Clayface. This was only a temporary effect, however, requiring him to return to the pool periodically in order to maintain use of his powers. This weakness allowed Batman and Robin to capture and arrest Hagen. (Detective Comics v1 #298) Shortly after, Hagen broke out of prison and decided to investigate the protoplasmic substance that transformed him into Clayface, in order to find a way to prolong his powers. In the meantime, Clayface impersonated wealthy men in Gotham City, which allowed him to learn information for his criminal activities. He was once again confronted by the Dynamic Duo and they managed to capture Clayface using a freezing gun combined with the protoplasmic substance, which they found on Clayface's hideout. Hagen was then returned to prison. (Detective Comics v1 #304)
Post-Crisis
Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths, a new version of reality was created with a different history of events.
Later on, S.T.A.R. Labs opened a portal to Limbo in Operation Zeppelin. This caused the souls of deceased villains such as the Iron Major, the Top, Clayface, El Papagayo, Electrocutioner and Icicle seeking to escape the underworld and return to Earth through the portal. When Director Jeffrey Simon, creator of Zeppelin, disappeared, a rescue party went through the portal, and the villains captured them. They bargained with their demonic jailer, a demon impersonating Etrigan, exchanging their prisoners to gain temporary mortal forms, and prepared to return to Earth. They were opposed by Hawk, Dove, and the Titans West. The battle was firerce, but the tide turned when Jeb Stuart came down from heaven and gave Hawk his Haunted Tank. The false Etrigan offered them a way out through another portal, but he was merely toying with the dead villains, and when he sent them through a portal, it turned out to be an entrance to Hell. (Hawk and Dove Annual v3 #1)
Overview
Personality and attributes
After gaining his powers, his new form led to him becoming the new Clayface. (Detective Comics v1 #298)
Powers and abilities
Originally, Matt Hagen was an ordinary human being until he found an pool composed of a protoplasm that filled him with a strange energy. This caused his body to be composed of a kind of hard clay-like substance that was pliable and soft. Through concentration, he was able command his body to change shape allowing him to adopt his former human guise to more stranger creatures such as centaurs or giant eagles. (Detective Comics v1 #298)
Notes
- Matt Hagen as the second Clayface was created by Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff where he made his first appearance in Detective Comics v1 #298 (December, 1961).
Alternate Versions
In other media
Television
- In the DC Animated Universe, the Matt Hagen Clayface made a number of appearances in the shared continuity setting.
- In Batman: The Animated Series, Matt Hagen made his first appearance in the animated series where he was voiced by actor Ron Perlman.
- In Justice League, Matt Hagen returned as an antagonist in the animated series where he was voiced by actor Ron Perlman.
- In Young Justice, the Matt Hagen Clayface appeared in the animated series where he was voiced by actor Nolan North.
Video games
- In Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu, the Matt Hagen Clayface appeared as a boss level antagonist in the setting of the video game where he was voiced again by actor Ron Perlman.
Appearances
- Detective Comics v1: (1961)
- Batman v1:
- Crisis of the Infinite Earths v1:
External Links
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