Clayface is coming to theaters this month as a DC Universe (DCU) horror movie, and if it finds success, it could open the door for more horror titles in the future. Of course, Clayface is an old-school Batman villain, and it is actually the name of several different villains over the years. The original Clayface goes all the way back to the Golden Age of DC Comics, where Basil Karlo was a horror movie actor turned serial killer. However, the most famous of the different versions of the villain was Matt Hagen, thanks mostly to his role in Batman: The Animated Series. It is Hagen in the movie, an actor who is attacked and disfigured before becoming Clayface thanks to an experimental procedure and setting out for revenge.
Clayface is a terrifying villain, able to change his shape and appearance thanks to his body being made mostly of a clay-like substance. While this lends itself well to horror, there are several other Batman villains who are even more terrifying. These villains include some based on classic monsters from the Universal horror days and some monstrous DC Comics serial killers whose actions are as disturbing as their appearance.
Professor Pyg is a horror-centric Batman villain who is more disturbing than almost anyone else that Batman has ever fought. In some cases, he even makes the Joker look a little more normal in comparison. Professor Pyg is Lazlo Valentin, and he made his full DC debut in Batman and Robin #1 (2009) by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. While he has no superpowers, his skills involve something more disturbing. When he abducts his victims, he gives them surgical mutilations, turning them into mind-controlled Dollotrons.
Professor Pyg is best known for the body horror that he brings to Batman’s world. In his first full appearance, he leads what he calls the Circus of Strange, alongside the victims that he mutilated and mind-controlled. He has also targeted the Gotham City elite by creating what he referred to as farmhands, which were human-animal hybrids. While Clayface transforms himself into a monstrosity, Professor Pyg transforms others against their will, stripping innocent people of their identities forever.
Man-Bat is an old-school Batman horror villain, making his debut in Detective Comics #400 (1970) by Frank Robbins and Neal Adams, in the story “Challenge of the Man-Bat.” Man-Bat is a tragic villain and is based on classic horror stories like The Wolf Man or Jekyll and Hyde. Man-Bat is Dr. Kirk Langstrom, a genius-level biochemist and zoologist. He creates a serum that gives him superhuman powers, but it soon makes him increasingly feral as well. That said, Langstrom never wanted to be a villain, and Batman always tried to help save him.
Man-Bat has been involved in several big storylines, such as “Blackest Night,” “Forever Evil,” and “War of Jokes and Riddles.” He also had his own series, although it was quickly cancelled. He is more terrifying than Clayface in many ways. While Clayface chooses to be evil in most of his storylines, Man-Bat is a man fighting his evil ways but eventually succumbing to the infection and not being able to control his own actions. It is a dark tragedy in Batman’s world.
Scarecrow in DC Comics is frightening since he uses his fear toxins to make people see their greatest fears as if they were really happening. However, there is something about the Absolute Universe’s Scarecrow that is even more terrifying, and he might be the scariest character Batman has faced in that world, which says a lot considering how many monsters and creatures are there. He debuted in Absolute Batman #19 (2026) by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta, and he quickly made his mark.
This Scarecrow is a mysterious figure who wears a 1920s-style brown suit with a hat, while wearing a scarecrow mask with button eyes and a sewn-shut mouth. He works for the Joker in this world, and he actually uses his powers of manipulation thanks to the gases he uses to make Joe Chill die by suicide in front of Batman, who can’t stop him. Clayface is scary because he can kill anyone with pure power, but Scarecrow doesn’t even need to touch someone to drive them to death. His attitude is also chilling. He is one of the scariest characters in Absolute Batman.
Solomon Grundy is easily comparable to DC Comics’ version of Frankenstein’s Monster, but with a supernatural twist. Unlike the Monster, he is more of a hulking, superhuman zombie, with strength comparable to DC’s most powerful heroes. He debuted in All-American Comics #61 (1944) by Alfred Bester and Paul Reinman as a Golden Age Green Lantern villain. His name is Cyrus Gold, a wealthy merchant from the 19th century who was murdered and dumped in Slaughter Swamp near Gotham City.
He rose from the dead as a zombie-like character 50 years after his murder and heard a nursery rhyme after he told some transients that he only remembered that he was “born on a Monday.” He took the name Solomon Grundy from that nursery rhyme. Solomon Grundy has since become a Batman villain, and he remains one of Batman’s most unbeatable foes because he has a healing factor and constantly returns from the dead. Clayface is a powerful monster, but Solomon Grundy beats him in almost every way. He is a zombie who is strong enough to fight Superman.
Killer Croc made his full debut in Detective Comics #524 (1983) by Gerry Conway and Gene Colan. In the pre-Crisis era, Croc was originally a mob boss running protection rackets and was the one who killed Jason Todd’s parents. However, the post-Crisis Killer Croc stories removed that connection. He has superhuman strength, durability, and hardened fangs and claws. He has also been shown to be a cannibal. He has been involved in stories like “Knightfall,” “Forever Evil,” and “Hush.”
He is a terrifying villain, even more so than Clayface. While Clayface is a horror villain who can change shapes and kill people in gruesome ways, Killer Croc is a straight-up monster who can tear people to shreds and has no problem eating his enemies. The DCEU tried to humanize him somewhat thanks to Suicide Squad, while he was turned into a tragic villain in later comics, with Waylon Jones just wanting to be left alone. However, in his more horrific appearances, he is one of the deadliest monsters in Batman comics.
Who do you consider the most terrifying Batman villain in comics? Let us know who scares you the most and your thoughts on the upcoming Clayface movie from the DCU in the comments below.
