The rumored villain of The Batman Part II would fix a recurring issue with the Dark Knight's big-screen villains. Matt Reeves's The Batman introduced Robert Pattinson's version of the Caped Crusader, in the midst of his second year of fighting crime in Gotham City and on the case of a new masked villain known as the Riddler. The Batman ended with Gotham City flooded and Batman continuing his mission to combat both old and rising criminal threats in the wake of the Riddler's defeat.
Exactly how that story will unfold in The Batman Part II remains to be seen, but the movie's villain is rumored to be Clayface. Given that Clayface is essentially a man made of mud, he's a rather surprising villain to follow the Riddler and the grounded, gritty style established by The Batman. However, that doesn't necessarily mean he's a less appealing choice than all the other villain candidates.
Batman Movies Rely On The Same Villains - But Clayface Can Change That
A major benefit that Clayface offers the DC Universe is the fact his presence in The Batman - Part II would expand the Batman movie villain roster beyond its usual luminaries. While Batman has one of the most expansive rogue's galleries of any superhero, the villains of Batman movies tend to be consistent and are often repeated, with different versions of the Joker in particular being associated with almost every big-screen Batman. The Batman itself made its own tease of the Joker, with the Riddler and the Penguin also being repeat Batman movie villains. In potentially being the villain of The Batman - Part II, Clayface would disrupt this trend.
In never having been in a Batman movie before, Clayface taps into Batman's rogue's gallery in a way that has seldom been done before. Even previous Batman movie villains who have not made multiple appearances, such as Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman) and Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) in Batman & Robin, were still among Batman's more widely recognized foes. The Batman - Part II using Clayface as its antagonist would open the door for other secondary Batman villains like Man-Bat, the Ventriloquist, Bronze Tiger, and others to finally make their cinematic debuts in the DC Universe's future.
Why Clayface Would Be Great For The Batman 2 (& How He Might Fit Its Story)
It's worth noting that since there have been multiple versions of Clayface in the comics, The Batman - Part II has a substantial amount of freedom in its approach to the character's portrayal and won't be held down by one particular interpretation of the villain. Also, like Mr. Freeze, Clayface represents a chance to push the boundaries of Reeves' Batman movie universe in terms of how far he can incorporate sci-fi elements and characters within the tone put forth by The Batman.
As for how he'd work, the movie's take on Clayface could be the result of a laboratory experiment gone awry. Alternatively, the flood that left Gotham under 30 feet of water could be what triggers Clayface's transformation, merging his body with mud, thus leading into The Batman sequel's story. In any case, Clayface's is malleable enough in his character history that a reworking of his origin in The Batman - Part II is perfectly doable. The greatest benefit of all, however, comes in allowing a new villain from the Caped Crusader's comics to finally shine on cinema screens in The Batman - Part II.
