What Clayface Has Done For The DCU

The DCU continues to build. The latest brick among the foundation is Clayface. This was a film that was scrutinized when it was first announced a few years back. Couple of complaints revolved around the facts that Clayface is not a popular DC character. Not even a major popular Batman villain. So, the film was fighting an uphill battle. But from the first trailer to its recent release, Clayface has and is doing well. It went beyond expectations. And because of that, is reaping some of that success. But what does a successful Clayface movie do for the DCU?

One of the biggest benefits is that it shows that the DCU could find success away from their heaviest hitters. This was a problem DC found in the past. Before the DCU even became a new franchise, a host of popular to fan favorite to lesser-known characters took center stage on the big screen or the small one. Those projects ranged quite a bit in quality. Some major characters had a hard time finding success while lesser-known characters did pretty well. But those movies felt disjointed. They weren’t a part of something. Clayface is. And Clayface found its footing and delivered. It proved that the DCU could step away from popular characters and produce high-quality content. It helps make the franchise more organic and not stuffed with the same faces. It widens versatility. Opens the door for a lot of characters who are ready to make the leap or for characters that probably wouldn’t even have the opportunity to begin with in the first place, like Clayface. Movies or television don’t necessarily need to fight over major popular characters to potentially find a shortcut to success. The proof has already been delivered. Clayface also proved that it’s worth taking the risk in following characters such as him. There could be something greatly positive on the other side of it. Superman – THE most popular superhero – landed with fans. Clayface has done the same. Clayface has helped the DCU create this image that success can be found no matter who takes center stage.

As a sub-benefit, it may have doused the flames a bit when it comes to the concern of less popular characters getting attention. This is and will be a major concern of the DCU while James Gunn is in charge. He loves bringing those characters to the spotlight while putting way more popular characters on the back burner. But Clayface shows that these movies have relevance due to the success. Success could be quite a silencer. So if more projects follow in this path, the naysaying might be quitter down the road.

What the film also did for the DCU, is fully exploring a genre and a tone. One of the biggest selling points of Clayface was it being rated R and having a body horror tone. And that’s big given Clayface is the third film in the DCU. The DCU was not intimidated in establishing a formula just to toss it to give Clayface leeway. It gave DCU full reigns to do what it wanted. The movie was not limited to an overarching way of doing things. Was not expected to push the gerne it really wanted to play with on the backburner. It knew the exact way it wanted to go and took it there. This is a great thing for the DCU. If another project wants to bring in a fresh genre to a superhero project, that genre will fully be explored. It’s the main dish and not just seasonings sprinkled throughout. That’s something the DCU will have on its side. And again, the DCU has a solid streak of this going. Superman was that classic superhero genre. Supergirl, for the most part, was the same, but brought more Sci-Fi. Lanterns was that mystery genre. And Clayface delivered the body horror and R Rated madness. It helps the DCU stay fresh. Helps the DCU stand out. Give the brand a uniqueness. Clayface just continued the momentum. All this, especially what Clayface achieved, helps the DCU build a wider range of storytelling. The brand could venture out and explore a genre fully, creatively and freely. This method carves new territory for the DCU to sit in to tell a variety of different stories.

What this benefit does too is allow villains to enter the picture. Villains are just as captivating as heroes. But sometimes, if not many times, they get the short stick because they have to take the back seat to give room for the heroes’ journey. Not much time is given to the villains. And there a lot of villains that do deserve to have their own story told without being bogged down by the hero. This could be slippery slope. There are a handful of movies revolving around the villain and spare no time on connecting it to the hero. Many of those movies felt short in quality. But Clayface proved that movies about villains and only about villains continues a small trend of successful supervillain movies. By incorporating supervillain movies here and there throughout the DCU, that adds even more diversity and uniqueness to the universe. And what makes it stick more is that Clayface was a kept as a villain. A tragic villain but still a villain. Many times, when villains take center stage, they are often nudged into being anti-heroes. What makes them villains and what makes their characters special is taken out. Kind of bland. But Clayface wanted the titular character a villain and kept him as a villain. This movie has already carved a path for more DC supervillain movies to come forward.

And a big benefit Clayface created was probably a hidden one. This movie subtly created the need for Batman. Created a reason to why Batman MUST exist in Gotham. There is not one single reference to him throughout the movie, despite what rumors suggested. But this movie did plenty to set up Batman’s important need to exist. The court system is flawed. The cops are corrupt. Mob bosses run the city. Crimes are tolerated and promoted. Innocent cops are punished for doing the right thing. Cops are underpowered. Monsters could be made every day. All that is part of Batman’s everyday missions. It’s almost like this movie made a hole that only Batman could patch up. So even though there was no mention of him, it did clearly show why he does need to be around. For many movies, we saw Batman’s why from his perspective. With Clayface, we saw Batman’s why from the city’s perspective. Now, this was a Clayface movie at the end of the day. This could be digging into something that may not even be there. But Clayface still showed the infamous ugliness of Gotham. And it’s that ugliness that Batman fights. So subtly, Clayface pumped more pressure into the Batman powder keg.

Clayface was the little movie that could. In fact, it was the little movie that did. It faced skepticism right when it was announced. And the biggest was why is a lesser-known Batman movie getting a movie before Batman himself? Well, it performed beyond expectations. It did it without relying on anything other than itself. But for a movie that had little references to the broader universe, it did help the stability and the future for the DCU. For a movie that had carved its own little corner, it impacted the DCU. So, while the movie is currently reaping the benefits of success, it has strengthened the DCU as a whole. Clayface might be a crucial early step for the DCU’s future.