How DC Mastered the Formula Marvel Couldn’t Figure Out With Clayface

A villain takes center stage

After an accident disfigures Matt Hagan, played by Tom Rhys Harries, the aspiring actor is shunned and pushed out of his industry. He turns to an experimental treatment developed by Caitlyn Corr, played by Naomi Ackie, hoping to restore his appearance.

As the treatment responds to Matt’s anger, his body changes and becomes dangerous. Directed by James Watkins, with a story by Mike Flanagan, the film follows Matt rather than placing a hero at its center.

The article’s central distinction is that a villain-origin story needs a clear main character. Clayface, it says, lets audiences understand its central figure without relying on his heroic counterpart.

Horror shapes the transformation

Matt’s face matters both to his career as an actor and to his acceptance by a society the article describes as focused on appearance. As he becomes more comfortable with his abilities and more vengeful toward his enemies, those powers turn violent.

The film embraces grotesque imagery and disturbing psychological material, making body horror central to the story. Its transformation scenes help establish a distinct identity rather than shifting toward a standard superhero conflict.

Batman stays out of the story

The film introduces Gotham in DC’s new universe, where Clayface and Batman are expected to meet in a future project. But Batman does not appear, and the film does not use hints or Easter eggs to tease his arrival.

That absence lets the story remain focused on Matt. The article argues that including Batman could have pulled the film toward a conventional superhero narrative and away from the horror story it set out to tell.

A contrast with Marvel and Sony

Sony’s standalone films about Spider-Man villains, including Morbius and Madame Web, faced a recurring audience question: where was Spider-Man? The article points to the characters’ lesser recognition and the complicated shared rights between Marvel and Sony as factors in the challenge of building that universe.

Clayface avoids the same concern by making its own story the priority, even though Batman is associated with the character. The article also describes DC’s wider universe as rocky, while noting that Superman and Clayface take markedly different genre approaches.