Basil Karlo (New Earth)
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Basil Karlo is an actor who is driven mad when he hears of a remake of the classic horror film he had starred in, The Terror, even though he is to be one of the advising staff. Donning the mask of the film's villain, Clayface, he embarks on a murder spree among the cast and crew of the remake. He is foiled by Batman and Robin. He reappears after the prison ambulance he is riding in plunges off a cliff. He once again dons the mask of Clayface and targets Bruce Wayne's fiancee. [1] Once again, the Dynamic Duo foil the evil Karlo.The name of the charecter comes from Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone.
Much later, Karlo languishes in a prison hospital, when Sondra Fuller visits him out of curiosity. Karlo proposes an alliance between all living Clayfaces to kill Batman. Even though the Mud Pack, as the group called itself, is defeated, Karlo manages, by tricking his allies, to imbue himself with abilities similar to those of Preston Payne and Sondra Fuller. He was defeated by the combined efforts of Batman and Looker of the Outsiders, by overloading his abilities, making him melt into the ground. Sinking into the earth's crust when he loses control of his power, he manages to survive, and now his body sports crystals similar to quartz that endow him with greater powers. Karlo was able to escape his underground prison when Gotham City was struck by the great Cataclysm. He was able to capture Batman and was about to kill him, but he got into a feud with Mr. Freeze about who should kill the Caped Crusader. With that distraction, Batman soundly defeated both of them.
During the "No Man's Land" storyline, Basil Karlo holds Poison Ivy, who is in charge of producing fresh vegetables for the remaining people in the city, prisoner in Robinson Park. Poison Ivy eventually battles and defeats Karlo, sinking him deep into the ground. It appears that the Ultimate Clayface is destroyed in this battle, but he resurfaces as a member of the Secret Society of Super Villains. Later, he seeks to increase his already formidable powers by absorbing Wonder Woman (a clay construct similar to him), giving him an amount of power that borders on invulnerability. While he is successful in absorbing the heroine, he is ultimately forced to release her.
Basil Karlo was among the members of the Injustice League and was among the villains seen in Salvation Run. He can be seen as the member of Libra's Secret Society of Super Villains. In the second issue of Final Crisis, he triggers an explosion at the Daily Planet.Powers and Abilities
Powers
Malleable Clay-like Body: Being chemically altered gave him the ability to regenerate body mass, change shape, size, density and shapeshift into any form he could think of.
- Superhuman Strength
- Superhuman Speed
- Superhuman Agility
- Superhuman Stamina
- Superhuman Durability
- Poisonous Touch: Kills with a poisonous touch, capable of reducing flesh to protoplasm.
Abilities
Strength level
SuperhumanWeaknesses
Insane
Paraphernalia
Equipment
- Clayface Mask: Mask used to terrify victims of his crimes. Clayface no longer uses his mask after gaining superhuman abilities.
Notes
- Basil Karlo was also a Clayface, albeit a non-powered one, in both Earth-Two and Earth-One continuities.
Common Enemies: Batman, Poison Ivy, Robin
Trivia
- Basil's name is a pun on Boris Karloff.
See Also
- Discuss Basil Karlo (New Earth) on the forums
- Appearances of Basil Karlo (New Earth)
- Character Gallery: Basil Karlo (New Earth)
- Images featuring Basil Karlo (New Earth)
Links and References
Footnotes
- ↑ Detective Comics #49 (March 1941)
  Batman Villain(s) |
