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Matt Hagen

37 appearances · Silver Age · 1963–2026 · 1 key issues

Who is Matt Hagen?

Matt Hagen was a treasure-seeking scuba diver who discovered a mysterious radioactive pool of protoplasm in an underwater cave. Exposure to the substance granted him the ability to reshape his body into any person or object, transforming him into the shape-shifting villain Clayface.

Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff introduced Matt Hagen to the Silver Age DC Universe in Batman #159 back in 1963, and this Gotham-connected figure has proven surprisingly durable — still turning up in comics more than six decades later. His catalog trail winds through beloved titles like Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight and the charming Batman: Li'l Gotham, placing him squarely in the orbit of Bruce Wayne, Batman, Robin, and Alfred Pennyworth — some of the most iconic company a character can keep. With a key-issue appearance to his name and 37 logged appearances spanning 1963 to 2026, Hagen is one of those Silver Age creations that rewards the curious collector willing to dig into Gotham's deeper corners.

★ First appearance

Detective Comics #298

Dec 1961

Trivia

Matt Hagen was the first Clayface to wield true shape-shifting, clay-like abilities, cementing the template that every subsequent Clayface and nearly every major adaptation would draw from.batman.fandom.com
Hagen's powers came with a built-in expiration date — transformations lasted only around 48 hours initially, a window later slashed to roughly five hours once he synthesized an artificial substitute for the original cavern substance.batman.fandom.com
It was Matt Hagen whom Batman: The Animated Series immortalized as a major recurring villain, making him the Clayface burned into the memory of general audiences even as many dedicated comic readers instinctively think first of Basil Karlo.batman.fandom.com