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Basil Karlo

Basil Karlo

5 appearances · Silver Age · 1966–2025 · 1 key issues
Who is Basil Karlo?

Basil Karlo is Clayface, a Batman villain who began as a classically trained actor driven to murderous rage when a horror film he starred in was remade without him, adopting the guise of the film's monster to terrorize those involved in the production.

Basil Karlo is a Silver Age villain who has haunted the Batman corner of comics since his 1966 debut, brought to life by the legendary creative duo of Bill Finger and Bob Kane. Over nearly six decades of publication, this sinister figure has kept some of the most iconic company in comics — sharing pages with Batman, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, and the Joker himself — a rogues' gallery pedigree that speaks volumes. His appearances across titles like Batman: City of Madness and Batman: Silence 2 place him firmly in the darker, more atmospheric chapters of Gotham's story, and collectors will want to note that one of his appearances carries genuine key-issue status. A character with that kind of longevity and lineage is always worth tracking down.

Superman
#12
★ First appearance
Superman #12
Dec 1966

Top series

Appearances

Superman (1965)
#12
Le Monde de Flashpoint (2021)
#1
Harley Quinn The Animated Series (2022)
#1
Batman - City of Madness (2024)
Batman Silence 2 (2025)
#1