DC Clears the Air: One of Batman's Foes Is a God in Disguise

Batman

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One of the most fascinating things about Batman villains is just how versatile they can be. Characters like the Joker can be harmless pranksters or world-threatening disasters. While the versatility of Batman's villains is well-known, most would be surprised to learn that his shapeshifting foe Clayface was revealed to be an avatar of a cosmic force.

The events of Dark Nights: Death Metal were absolutely massive. This was perhaps the biggest war in the history of the DC Multiverse. It involved absolutely everyone going up against the Batman Who Laughs and his Dark Multiverse army. Tons of characters who normally never interact teamed-up to take down twisted versions of beloved characters. This included Clayface, Solomon Grundy, Arcane, Frankenstein, and Swamp-Thing uniting against the twisted Swamp-King.

It was during this team-up that Swamp-Thing revealed a surprising fact about Clayface. While former actor Basil Karlo gained his powers from a toxic putty, it turns out that in transforming into Clayface, he became an avatar of the Melt - one of the fundamental forces of DC's reality.

Clayface Is An Avatar Of The Melt

Dark Nights: Death Metal: The Last 52: War of the Multiverses story "Reign of the Swamp King" by Justin Jordan, Mike Henderson, Adriano Lucas and Dave Sharpe

There are tons of different cosmic forces in the DC Universe. The most prominent primal forces of nature are known as the Green, the Red, the Gray and the Black. The Green is nature itself. Anything involving plant life is connected to the Green, which is protected by its avatar the Swamp-Thing. The Red is bound up in blood and flesh. Any living being made out of meat, such as animals and humans, is connected to the Red, which has ties to Animal Man's family. The Gray is fungal life, everything based on spores or mushrooms comes from the Gray, and finally, the Black is the force of death.

Every cosmic force has an avatar. Swamp-Thing is the most famous avatar of the Green. Arcane is often the avatar of the Black, and Solomon Grundy belongs to the Gray. Surprisingly, Swamp-Thing claims that Clayface is the avatar of a force rarely talked about, known as the Melt. This force is connected to everything made of earth and rock. With his absurd control over his own body and command of clay, such as Clayface's ability to harm Wonder Woman (who was originally shaped out of clay), it makes sense that Clayface is the Melt's avatar.

Clayface Is Connected To A Primal Force Of The Universe

Batman Has Been Fighting a Living God All This Time

It's not unlikely that Clayface would be an avatar of the Melt, and it's not even the first time one of Batman's rogues has become an avatar for one of these primal forces. The last time it happened was when Poison Ivy became the avatar of the Green. Superhumans are often chosen by DC's fundamental forces, since they often combine unique elements and powers with the human consciousness needed from an avatar.

The surprising part is that the Melt is almost never talked about. While the Green gets the most attention, avatars of the other forces are less often explored. Clayface's avatar status opens up a lot of narrative potential that still needs to be explored. It's fascinating to know a Gotham villain - characterized by bank robberies and kidnappings - is tied into the larger cosmos. While he doesn't know it, Batman has been keeping his city safe from a fundamental force of nature made flesh, with Clayface being far more than he seems.