The Batman "The Clayface of Tragedy" Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

The Batman airs on Kid's WB at 10:30 a.m. ET. What is going to happen to Ethan now...

The Batman #13 - Clayface of Tragedy
Original Airdate - May 7th, 2005

Clayface is in Gotham—but is he a friend, or is he a foe of The Batman?

Comments?

[Nobody You Know]

Much darker and bleaker than what we've seen from this show thus far. Clayface, at the very least, seems far more coherent and motivated than the villains we've seen to date. In addition, they are making better use of his talents than we've seen with the other villains (Exception: Mister Freeze, possibly Scarface). And that confrontation at the end was perhaps the best scene we've seen from this show, ever.

The only thing I'd wish they would do is get rid of those stupid Buck Rogers Zap Guns.

Still, if this is what we can expect from the newest episodes? There may be some real hope for the show to shine.

[Razor]

Hey, that was actually pretty good. I particularly like the part where Yin and Batman confronted Ethan and he did that shifting from person to person thing...

[Gaunt]

Wow. Just WOW.

Yes, Rojas sucked. Yes, Ethan didn't seem frustrated enough. Yes, some lines didn't fit.

But it is still the best episode of "The Batman" so far.

It had genuine emotion and actual suspense that kept me at the edge of my seat. The camera angles and moments, from the clay piece in the Batcave to Ethan's police disguise (with Rojas stuck in the middle), was brilliant in direction.

The best moment, in my opinion, is when Ethan returns to his apartment and tries to return back to normal. His gutteral way of speaking and genuine hope, almost pitiful in nature, really made that moment shine. Oh, and the part when Ethan first becomes Clayface was actually scary. His inability to dial a phone or even communicate with his comrades really compounded the moment.

One of the best animated Batman stories EVER.

Five Stars.

[Style]

One of the best animated Batman stories EVER.

I concur. If this series is remembered for nothing else, this is what should be written about it.

This episode justified The Batman's entire existence.

[Mister Intensity]

I find myself not caring for these characters.

Mister Intensity

[Gaunt]

I find myself not caring for these characters.

Call me paranoid, but I think the fact that you did not explain your reasoning shows that you are saying that for stubborn dislike of the series.

Honestly, this was an excellent episode! Fans of B:TAS should enjoy this.

[creativerealms]

The only thing I'd wish they would do is get rid of those stupid Buck Rogers Zap Guns.

Turns out they only look like zap guns. when they are finally fired in Fire and Ice they sound like real guns.

Clayface VII will probably be one of the few positive things The Batman will be remembered for. He is also the only The batman character so far that I would not mind seeing in the comics.

[Mister Intensity]

Everything was just a bit too convienient in terms of how the events of the storyplayed out. I stopped watching The Batman after the fourth episode, and only saw one episode after that before last week's so I have a sense of who these characters are but at the same time, besides Yin's change of opinion towards the Batman these characters were really no different than the last time I saw them. I just felt that the characters just served the purpose of the plot instead of the other way around. At no point was I really engaged. Yeah, it had a neat little plot but I had no emotional attachment to anyone in this episode. I have more emotional investment towards the happenings in a Krypto episode than in this one. I just wasn't that much into it.

Mister Intensity

[Link]

Pretty good episode. Offered some great character development from Bruce, Bennett, and Yin. Real dramatic too with Clayface and stuff. Despite a few flaws, I'm going to rate it a 5.

[Shark]

Great episode. You can't help but feel sorry for Bennet. So much happened to him in so little time, I would probably seek out vengence too.

[Gaunt]

Everything was just a bit too convienient in terms of how the events of the storyplayed out. I stopped watching The Batman after the fourth episode, and only saw one episode after that before last week's so I have a sense of who these characters are but at the same time, besides Yin's change of opinion towards the Batman these characters were really no different than the last time I saw them. I just felt that the characters just served the purpose of the plot instead of the other way around. At no point was I really engaged. Yeah, it had a neat little plot but I had no emotional attachment to anyone in this episode. I have more emotional investment towards the happenings in a Krypto episode than in this one. I just wasn't that much into it.

I don't see how everything seemed so convienent. True, the last part (with Yin and Batman finding Bennet in the basketball stadium) seemed a bit forced, but most of the time the characters reacted to every threat.

Yin has always held a black and white view of the world, evident by her hatred of Batman. The fact that she would change her mind shows that "The Batman" is working on character evolution.

[John Cage]

Good, but it felt too choreographed -- Ethan becomes Clayface and HAS to go bad. There were some genuine moments of surprise, but the episode was too by-the-numbers for a perfect score. Still the best episode so far.

Have a good day.
John Cage
(Mystery Man)

[Mister Intensity]

I'm just not interested in the characters, and its not because I feel that nothing could hold a craddle to B:TAS. The Batman just never grabbed me on any level. I enjoyed every DC animated show that followed B:TAS (even Krypto) with the exception of The Batman. I was hoping that this episode would grab me. Even a show I caught up on this morning after missing quite a few episodes, Xiaolin Showdown, grabbed me this morning because I like the characters and care about them and the latest plot twist have me interested in the show again after I have given up on it. While I'll probably watch next week to see if season two grabs me; if it doesn't grab me I'll just continue to avoid watching The Batman. Yeah, it was a good episode but I wasn't invested in it so it didn't register more than an okay from me. It didn't make me care enough to make me want to find out what happens next. Yeah, the consensus on this board is that this is a strong episode but I don't feel that way for the reasons I already stated.

Mister Intensity

[MJC]

Surprisingly decent episode. If only more episodes were like this. The writing was actually GOOD.

4.5/5

[creativerealms]

Ethen really did not "Go bad" until the last fourth of the episode. before he had control of his powers he was trying to get people to help him but no one could understand him and saw him as a monster. He was actually the victam in this episode until he kidnapped and tried to kill the chief. His first visit with the Chief along with his meeting with Yin was Clayface hoping they would realise who he was. Sadly he had not figured out how to talk right in his new form at that time.

And of course Ethen did not cross the line. he was able to control himself enough in this episode for there to still be hope for him.

[Mr_Millions]

I was genuinly pleased with this episode, or at least the last few minutes that I saw. I have to give the writers points for turning Ethan into Clayface. Like others had mentioned, I haven't watched the series since early on, and I didn't really have an emotional attachment to the characters. That being said, I had figured that Ethan would become Batman's police buddy, some kind of stand in for Commisioner Gordon. That he became, after an entire season, a (possible) villain was a complete surprise. In the small part that I saw, I was pleased to see that there were no crappy puns, and that the shower didn't melt clayface.

Clayface had the most tragic of origins, in my opinion, and it's nice to see that that emotional element was present in this version.

I hope this show stays at this level of quality. It seems as though it's starting to live up to the potential shown by the brief flashback scenes of Young Bruce mourning. At the very least, I'll watch next week.

Now if they can just make the Batwave a little more subtle...

****

[CyberCubed]

Good episode, but the Clayface 2 parter from B:TAS is FAR superior. There was much better drama and emotion in that series than this one.


Still, it was a good ep. Just nowhere near the mind blowing episode some of you hyped it up to be.

[Batman Fan]

When I gave last weeks episode 5stars I did it because it was better than the whole season put together, but this episode really deserves 5stars, it was fantastic. It started off slow with Ethan freaking out over his transformation and trying to get help. But, his personality and the end was great. The gymnasium scene was superb with Ethan's line about how Joker not only melting his skin, but his mind as well, that was a powerful line that explained some of actions like abducting Chief Rojas, which he so deserved, and his line how it only takes on bad day to change someone, and him saying that as the Joker made it all the more better.

The relationship between Yin and Batman/Bruce was handeled well, from the conversation on the phone, to the end scene where she realizes that Ethan was right, Gotham needs the Batman, to the end scene at the coffee shop where they discuss their best friend, and now that he's gone they're a little unsure of each other, and seeing Ethan watching them from the window was great too, kinda like his last wish, for his 2 best friends to get together, and even though he doesn't know it, Yin accepts Batman as her partner.

The animation was superb with Clayface, he was very fluid, reminded me of Elastigirl from the Incredibles the way he moved across the villans. Him morphing into different objects was great too, and it's nice to see him have new abilities like flying instead of using recycled moves from B:TAS. He also handeled well in fight scenes which were great in this episode too, but for once, not the best part.

This episode really gives me hope for what the Batman could become.

[Anarky]

i give it a 4.5

unique spin when clayface when bennett was struggling to speak, adding further frustration to his character

last episode had that whole "Killing Joke" vibe and Joker's assumption that it only takes one bad day to break a sane man.

i'm liking the animation and the backgrounds. i like the way the bg artists are showing Gotham's age...and I really liked the pan away displaying all of Gotham at the end. Makes Gotham look like Manhattan from afar but like London from within.

at first i couldn't dive into the series but the toonami broadcasts are winning me over slowly. i've already committed myself to buying the dvds...though i am leery about the batman-dracula dvd. ya gotta wonder if langstrom is somehow involved.