SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Detective Comics #972 by James Tynion IV and Miguel Mendonca, on sale now.


It was too good to be true, or perhaps just too implausible to last.

Writer James Tynion IV has spent much of his run on Detective Comics transforming Basil Karlo, aka Clayface, into a legitimate member of Batman's latest team, the Gotham Knights. While Karlo's physical form is known for its shape-changing abilities, it's his mindset that had been convincingly reshaped by Tynion. Even given his own seat at the literal roundtable, Clayface had seemingly found a permanent home there – that is, until a member of the Victim Syndicate got ahold of him last issue.

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In Detective Comics #972, the penultimate chapter of "Fall of the Batmen," Karlo's meteoric moral collapse is what's shaping up to be the decisive blow to the Gotham Knights' crusade.

Clayface vs. His Former Allies

Batman has willingly trained the one-time villain to fight at his side, but that gambit appears to have backfired. Re-vilified, and seemingly more sinister than before, Clayface stalks Batman in the recesses of Arkham Asylum, where Batman falls victim to his deadly power. When the battle fortuitously makes its way into the asylum's storage unit, it's only Batman's clever usage of Mr. Freeze's weapon that saves him. Not long before, this might have won the battle for Batman, but thanks to his training, Clayface is able to effortlessly escape. Worse yet, Karlo has made his way into Gotham's sewer system – which connects directly to his Belfry headquarters.

In those sewers, Azrael and Batwing have been dispatched to intercept Clayface. Karlo gets the drop on them, though, and apparently neutralizes them – although what exactly happens to them remains unknown. While brief, this encounter shows a Clayface who looks to be even more powerful, and correspondingly more deadly. Karlo's ability to blend into the background evokes an even more villainous intent, along with his body sprouting additional disturbing heads and faces along its entirety. Partway through the issue, Clayface's one-time reformation is all but forgotten.

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A Friend Takes a Stand

Forgotten, that is, until Clayface reaches his final stop: The Belfry. Batman has no more success stopping Karlo than he did the first time, nor do Red Robin or Batwoman. Who manages to stop Clayface in his tracks? None other than Orphan, aka Cassandra Cain.

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Appealing to the remaining shred of Karlo's good nature, Cass bravely forces her friend to stand down, and Karlo's own personality reemerges. The moment of clarity doesn't last, though, as the damaged reservoir containing hundreds of gallons of clay from the Belfry's mudroom ruptures and rains down on Karlo, resulting in the reemergence of Clayface's persona.

The calamity isn't just a matter of Clayface's personality reasserting itself, though – the accident results in a tragic transformation that's nothing short of disastrous. Karlo has now morphed into nothing less than a towering, gigantic monster, destroying the Belfry tower in the process and clinging to its remnants like a raging King Kong. The cliffhanger ending to the issue serves as a tragically ironic homage to Basil Karlo's Hollywood career.

Is Clayface Now Beyond Redemption?

"Fall of the Batmen" hasn't been a whodunnit, but instead a kind of who-will-do-it? Namely, who will be responsible for the "Batmen's" fall? Tynion's story has pointed multiple fingers at Tim Drake, who's taken on a darker disposition since his return from Mr. Oz's prison. Batwoman has been cast in a suspicious light, by way of future Tim's allegations that she is, in fact, the cause of the group's downfall. Clayface, though, has always been an odds-on favorite – once a villain, always a villain, and all that.

This chapter seems to make a case for Karlo being the culprit, although Tynion leaves a ray of hope for a second redemption. Cass was able to reach him, after all, and he might have been able to be subdued if not for his empowering clay mud bath. And the multiple faces growing from his body are curious manifestations of his condition. Are these manifestations perhaps those of his countless victims, brought forth from his mind because of crippling, and lingering, guilt? More than once, Karlo has made mention of this burden he carries, indicating that his longing for redemption is still in place, despite any grotesque physical transformation that indicates otherwise.

Only one chapter in the storyline remains, and while Clayface looks to have the Belfry's occupants all but defeated, Kate Kane, Tim Drake, and possibly others haven't been ruled out as the party responsible for the fall of the Gotham Knights. One way or the other, Detective Comics #973 wraps things up on January 24.