Matt Reeves hasn’t wasted any time filling up his “Batman epic crime saga"with staple comic book characters.The Batmanintroduced the Penguin (Colin Farrell), Catwoman (Zoë Kravitz), the Riddler (Paul Dano), the Joker (Barry Keoghan), Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), and even teased less infamous villains like Hush.The Penguincontinues to expand on this roster of characters, translated into a more grounded version of their comic book iterations. So far, we’ve seen Salvator Maroni (Clancy Brown), Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti), and Victor Aguilar (Rhenzy Feliz) all make their debut inThe Penguin, but there may be another iconic Batman villain hidden in the series.
Carmen Ejogo plays Eve Karlo (Carmen Ejogo), a sex worker loyal to Oswald. Eve has featured in a secondary role so far, providing an alibi for Oz after he murdered Alberto Falcone (Michael Zegen). Their relationship is somewhat based on money, but Oz trusts her more than his associates in the criminal underworld. Most viewers assumed Ejogo played an original character, but upon closer inspection of her surname, it seems she could go on to become theinfamous Batman villain, Clayface.
Who Is Clayface, A.K.A Basil Karlo?
Clayface is usually depicted as a man by the name of Basil Karlo. Karlo was a struggling actor appearing mostly in B-movies, but upon discovering that he would not be returning for the remake of a cult-horror film he originally starred in, he lost his mind. Basil conducted a string of serial killings while disguised inmakeup and prosthetics stolen from his old film studio. Later iterations of the character would delve into the fantastical, where Clayface gains the ability to shapeshift and morph his body into all different shapes and sizes. Should Clayface appear in Reeves’ universe, it will undoubtedly resemble something closer to the original character. In a recent interview withCollider,Reeves clarified his franchise will remain grounded. “We might push to the edge of the fantastical, but we would never go into full fantastical. It’s meant to feel quite grounded,” Clayface has yet to appear in live-action, though he is a main character in theHarley Quinnanimated series and a prominent villain in Rocksteady’s Arkham games.
Is ‘The Penguin’s Victor Aguilar in DC Comics?
Oz Cobb’s unlikely ally has more in common with Batman.
Will Eve Become Clayface in ‘The Batman: Part II’?
We still don’t know whether Eve will go on to play the villain or if she is just related to the character who will go on to play Clayface. Not much is known about Eve’s backstory. It’s entirely possible she was once married to Basil Karlo but was forced to fend for herself after his incarceration. Nevertheless, manyBatman villains could easily be gender-swapped, andThe Penguinhas a history of changing the names of alter egos, withOswald Cobblepot now amended to ‘Cobb’. Reeves has hinted thatThe Penguincould feature origin stories for other villains aside from Oz. “I wanted the origin stories of these other characters, of the Rogues Gallery, and that story was originally going to be the entrée into the next movie,” said Reeves in the same interview. Could Clayface be the main villain ofThe Batman: Part II? It’s too early to tell, but it doesn’t feel like Eve Karlo’s surname is a coincidence.
The Penguinmainly focuses onthe ongoing crime war between the Maronis and the Falcones, and the story will focus on the mob families for the foreseeable future. But that doesn’t necessarily mean there isn’t any room for subplots featuring secondary characters like Eve. Rumors surroundingThe Batman: Part II’s villains have run rampant over the past year. Hush is always a possibility, given he was teased during the first film,but Mr. Freeze is another favorite, considering the sequel is confirmed to be set during winter. But there have been a lot of rumors suggestingClayface could be the villain.The Batmandemonstrated how it’s possible tofeature numerous villains without overcrowding the story, so perhaps we’ll see both Clayface and Mr. Freeze appear in Part II. We may learn more asThe Penguinplays out.
The Penguinis available to stream on MAX in the U.S.
The Penguin
It follows the transformation of Oswald Cobblepot from a disfigured nobody to a noted Gotham gangster.
Watch on MAX
