Rounding up the Easter Eggs in “Clayface”

Rounding up the Easter Eggs in “Clayface”

Clayface is a story of revenge. It’s a story of body horror. And more than anything, it’s a story of Gotham City. If you’re a DC.com regular, then you likely know that I love hunting for Easter eggs in DC movies. While the character of Clayface may not be quite as well-known as Supergirlor Superman, his film is just as big a hero when it comes to giving us hidden comic book references. As usual, I was keeping my eyes open for every small background detail, and even I was surprised at how much there was. Let’s dive in…

Warning: Spoilers ahead!

• The Matt Hagen version of Clayface first appeared in 1961’s Detective Comics #298. However, the character we get to know in the movie is heavily inspired by the Batman: The Animated Series two-parter “Feat of Clay.” For example, the idea of Matt being an actor like original Clayface Basil Karlo instead of a treasure hunter like he was in his comic debut and the concept of Hagen becoming Clayface to fix a disfigurement come from these episodes. Don’t be surprised when I continually mention “Feat of Clay” throughout this roundup. Speaking of…
• The film begins with Matt Hagen entering the Imperial Pictures studio lot. Imperial Pictures was the name of the studio Matt Hagen called home in the Batman: The Animated Series “Feat of Clay” two-parter.
• The first scenes of the film are set in Coast City, which is famously known as Hal Jordan’s base of operations. The DC Universe version of Coast City was recently seen in HBO’s Lanterns. Do you think Hal and Matt ever ran into each other?

• Matt watches a television broadcast listing nominees for an award ceremony. Among the movies listed are No Man’s Land, which is a reference to an iconic Batman storyline. One Bad Day is also mentioned, which is part of a famous line the Joker says in The Killing Jokeand a series of one-shots focusing on Batman’s villains (including one about Clayface by Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing and Xermánico, who all get a shout-out in the movie’s credits). There’s also a film called Before the Flood, which could be a reference to Gotham’s deadly flood from Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Zero Year or Matt Reeves’ The Batman.
• Matt and his friend Corey party at a nightclub called Vesuvius, which was first seen in 2009’s Streets of Gotham #1.

• Matt tells gangster Markos Szabo that he grew up in the Narrows, a rundown Gotham neighborhood that was introduced in the 2005 film Batman Begins.
• Markos is questioned at the Gotham City Police Department’s 298^th Precinct. This is a reference to Detective Comics #298, Matt Hagen’s first appearance. 
• Matt is treated at Gotham General Hospital, a medical facility that was first seen in 1951’s Batman #65and which was featured in DC’s recent “Batman: Bad Seeds” event.

• After his surgeries, Matt recuperates at his home in Gotham City’s Pinkney Tower. The building is named after Cyrus Pinkney, the architect who is responsible for designing many of Gotham’s buildings. He’s the reason the city has so many gargoyles, as he felt they would scare people into behaving righteously. Cyrus first appeared in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #27.
• It’s hard to spot, but during the scene inside the GCPD, we see a wanted poster for a mobster named Jimmy McCoy. This is an impressive deep cut since Jimmy McCoy is a mobster who had a single appearance in 1941’s Batman #4. The prop department isn’t messing around! (It also, admittedly, could be a coincidence. But in these Easter egg roundups, I always like to err on the side of intentional.)

• Matt is seen wearing a Gotham Goliaths jersey as he plays basketball. The Gotham Goliaths are a basketball team that was first seen in Detective Comics #392. They’ve also been depicted as a baseball, hockey and football team depending on the comic. It looks like Clayface isn’t the only one here who can shapeshift.
• When Matt flies back to Gotham from Coast City, the airplane he takes is operated by Ferris Air, the aviation company that was introduced in Showcase #22 (which also serves as Hal Jordan’s first appearance). Ferris Air is operated by Carol Ferris, Star Sapphire and Hal Jordan’s occasional love interest. The DCU version of Carol (seen below) was recently introduced in an episode of Lanterns.

• A Jitters Coffee advertisement can be seen in the newspaper Matt is looking at when he’s calling his accountant. Jitters is a popular DC Universe coffee shop which first appeared in 2010’s The Flash #1 and was a frequent setting in the CW’s Flashseries. If you’ve been paying attention to the cinematic DCU, then you might have also spotted Jitters in Superman and Peacemaker.
• Matt goes to the Moldoff Building to confront his crooked accountant. The building is named after Sheldon Moldoff, the iconic Batman artist who penciled Matt Hagen’s first appearance. Moldoff also drew the first appearances of Mr. Freeze, Scarecrow and Batwoman.

• When Dr. Caitlyn Corr leaves Matt’s apartment, she passes signs for Amusement Mile, an area of Gotham known for its rundown amusement park. Amusement Mile was first seen in Batman #569.
• During the film’s final act, Matt mutates into a terrifying clay behemoth that’s reminiscent of Clayface’s monstrous look in the comics. This design for Clayface (with the curved head and no neck) originated in the Batman: The Animated Series “Feat of Clay” two-parter.
• As Caitlyn walks through the streets of Gotham in the finale, we see a sign for Sionis Industries. The cosmetics company, which is run by Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask, first appeared in Batman #386.

• In the same sequence, Caitlyn also buys a copy of the Gotham Gazette, an in-universe newspaper that has been around since 1941’s Batman #4 and that also inspired the name of the monthly Batman column we’ve run on DC.com since 2018 (which is currently written by yours truly). The back of the newspaper contains an ad for Big Belly Burger, the fast food chain that was introduced in Adventures of Superman #441. Once again, if you’ve been paying attention to the cinematic DCU, you may have noticed Big Belly Burger in Superman and Peacemaker.

   

And that’s just the stuff I caught! Honestly, I can’t help but wonder what other cool details are hiding in the background. I encourage you all to watch Clayface in theaters and have an Easter egg hunt of your own. Then post your findings in the DC Discord server and let me know what I missed!

Clayface, directed by James Watkins and starring Tom Rhys Harries and Naomi Ackie, is now in theaters.

Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, movies and comics for DC.com, is a regular contributor to the Couch Club and writes our monthly Batman column, “Gotham Gazette.” Follow him on Bluesky at @joshualapinbertone and on X at @TBUJosh.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joshua Lapin-Bertone and do not necessarily reflect those of DC, Warner Bros. or Skydance, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.

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