The following contains spoilers for Creature Commandos.
A number of fans are likely waiting for the Superman release date to hit in July since that will be the big-screen debut for James Gunn’s new DC Universe. However, the first installment in the rebooted franchise is already here in the form of the animated Creature Commandoes show. The series featured a number of familiar faces, including Batman villain Clayface. Now, Gunn has provided some clarity on the character’s fate following the series, and the phrase “quite mushy” was used.
It’s known that a new Clayface movie is on the way from horror maestro Mike Flanagan. The movie even has a release date already, something that can’t be said for the majority of upcoming DC movies in James Gunn’s new franchise. However, Creature Commandos also showed a Clayface who, last we saw him, appeared to be very, very dead. Fans afraid they have already seen the first and the last of shapeshifter need not be too concerned. On BluSky, James Gunn confirms that antagonist lives, saying…
The reports of Clayface’s death have been greatly exaggerated.
He is quite mushy though.
During a fight with Rick Flag Sr. and Frankenstein on Creature Commandos, Clayface was electrocuted, leading to an explosion that sent pieces of his gooey body in all directions. When Amanda Waller visited the scene of the battle later, the creature was still motionless and, as Gunn said, in mushy pieces.
While multiple versions of the tragic villain exist throughout DC Comics and its associated media, the character is traditionally a man who, through exposure to strange chemicals, becomes a shapeshifter. In his default form, he’s just a mound of “clay.” The fact that his body can be endlessly reformed traditionally makes him functionally immortal, and it seems that is likely the case here as well.
Of course, it doesn’t mean that Clayface needs to be alive for Mike Flanagan’s upcoming movie to work. Flanagan has had the Clayface movie idea for years. So, while James Gunn said the film will be part of the DCU, just as Creature Commandos is, it doesn’t mean that the feature will be particularly connected to the series. For instance, Flanagan’s flick could be the origin story for the character and not require a great deal of connective tissue to the larger franchise in order to work.
Of course, the fact that the mutated being is apparently alive doesn’t mean there are any specific plans for the character at this point in the DCU. It could simply mean that Gunn wants to keep him alive so that the character can be used in the future. Still, it seems likely that if the DCU can use Clayface, it likely will.
The most obvious place to see the clay monster would be in a Batman project. Yet, considering that there has seemingly been little movement on The Brave and the Bold, the DCU’s Bat movie, it could be quite some time before we hear anything.
In the meantime, stream the entire first season of Creature Commandos using a Max subscription.
