The following story and photos are from Giant Panda King's book, Gotham 1919-1939 by Russall S.
Beattie, available from www.giantpandaking.com. Viewer discretion is advised.
Opera was at the heart of the performing arts for centuries. Many rising stars
were pioneering Modernism in opera, as well as other such trends, and one such rising star was
Basil Karlo. From a young age, Basil showcased extreme talent in the performing arts.
He was considered a prodigy by his parents, and groomed for the operatic theatre from a childhood
to young adulthood. His talent shone through, earning him fame as a local celebrity in Gotham.
He was widely acclaimed, appearing in such performances as The Bride of Dionysus,
The Gambler, and many others.
But, as is too often the case, fame and power can turn even the most talented to corruption.
Basil Karlo was no exception. As he became older, he began to turn to the bottle to cope
with his fame and fortune, becoming depressed and paranoid. He was also beginning to leave
his golden years behind, and he was worried about the prospect of being ushered out.
At first, this didn’t affect his performance or interaction with the other performers.
He continued on like normal, singing and maintaining appearances.
No one was the wiser to his internal struggle.
As time went on, however, the stress caused him to drink more and more, losing himself in the liquor.
His once dignified and amicable personality became twisted and even abusive. He would lash out at his
fellow performers, and even got into some physical altercations with them over minor disagreements.
These incidents continued so much that he was eventually let go by the Gotham Opera House.
The disgraced opera singer, still stuck in his depression
and alcoholism, tried desperately to find work somewhere, anywhere else.
After much searching, he began to realize that no place in Gotham would have him.
Word had spread of his drinking problem and erratic behavior,
and no one wanted the bad press that Basil Karlo would bring.
His worst fear was realized: he was no longer relevant. He was a disgrace.
He felt alone, unnoticed, and forgotten, and soon, his depression turned to burning anger and hatred.
In an alcohol-fueled rage, he plotted to burn the Gotham Opera House to the ground
with most of his colleagues still inside.
Though he felt unnoticed, he was not.
His actions and erratic behavior had attracted the attention of the Bat-Man.
Though Karlo was not the Bat-Man’s main focus, he kept tabs on him nonetheless. Basil set about to
execute his plan, laying some of the accelerants he’d accumulated, but was intercepted by the Bat.
The Bat-Man stopped Karlo from injuring anyone, but in the scuffle, Basil was severely disfigured.
He had spilled some of the accelerant on himself, then desperately tried to light what little he
had prepared, but only managed to set himself ablaze. He was horrendously burned that night.
Karlo went into a coma and was hospitalized for months.
When he awoke, he was dazed, confused, and shocked at his horrible disfigurement.
He escaped from the hospital, stumbling into the streets and hiding in Gotham’s slums.
It was here where he hatched a plan to get back at the Bat-Man for causing his disfigurement.
Attacking random civilians at night, he sought out the vigilante’s attention.
His horrendous appearance gave birth to the moniker “Clayface,”
as his face seemed amorphous and shapeless due to his burns. Basil Karlo always hated the name,
but he hated the Bat even more. He continued on this mugging - and sometimes murder - spree
until he was apprehended by the Bat-Man and Nightwing and remanded to GCPD custody.
The Bat-Man felt somewhat responsible for Karlo’s condition,
and saw to it that he would be incarcerated in the Special Inmate Wing of Blackgate,
alongside Victor Fries and Kirk Langstrom. It was there that the Bat hoped he could be rehabilitated
and possibly return to society someday. The police did not want to send him to Arkham
as they worried his physical appearance would be harmful to the mental state of the patients there.
Blackgate did not have the desired effect,
in fact it had the opposite. Clayface’s hatred continued to fester during his incarceration.
He became the latest in the line of freakish and tragic villains to appear in Gotham City.
Clayface died in Blackgate years later, well before the prison closed down.
Some attribute his death to his physical condition,
and others claim it as part of a conspiracy involving the heads of the Gotham Opera House,
but whatever the case, Basil Karlo was merely the latest in the worst Gotham had to offer.
Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. Or in the case of Basil Karlo, clay to clay.