Long before proportions, jaw measurements, and “shaking” took over social media, Batman villain Matt Hagen was willing to risk everything for a better face.
That pursuit of physical perfection is central Clayfaceis the first full-length horror film for DC Studios. Directed by Don’t Talk Bad Filmmaker James Watkins, star of the original rated R Tom Rhys Harries, known for Netflix’s. The White Lines again Gentlemennearby Mickey 17 star Naomi Ackie. Warner Bros. released the official trailer on Wednesday, July 22, ahead of the film’s theatrical release on Oct. 23.
DC fans celebrated the body horror of the trailer and the character finally getting a solo movie after decades in comics, animation, and video games.
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Harries plays Hagen, an up-and-coming Gotham actor whose face is set just as his career takes off. Convinced that restoring his appearance is the only way to restore the life he has built, he turns to scientist Dr. Caitlyn Corr (Ackie) and an experimental treatment that promises to make her look like herself again.
The potential consequences don’t stop him.
“Even if it kills me, I’ll be better off than I am now,” Hagen says in the trailer.
The treatment first restores her movie star appearance. Then his face begins to melt and transform uncontrollably, turning him into a mutant Batman villain.
The origin story of a terrifying superhero. But in an age where young men are encouraged to shape, position, and completely change their faces, Hagen’s conviction that looking better will fix his life feels unexpectedly powerful.
So, was Clayface the first to look great? Let’s examine the evidence.
What is lookamaxxing?
Looksmaxxing is the practice of attempting to “maximize” physical attractiveness through methods ranging from skin care, exercise, hairstyling, and clothing to cosmetic surgery and potentially dangerous cosmetic procedures.
The term originated in incel and manosphere sites in the 2010s before spreading to mainstream internet culture, particularly on TikTok. In nurturing societies, attraction is often treated as a system that can be measured and perfected. Users consider jaw width, eye shape, cheekbone visibility, facial proportions, body fat percentage, and the angle at which a person’s eyes are tilted.
Its vocabulary sounds like a cross between a beauty tutorial, a fitness program, and a video game. “Softmaxxing” generally refers to regular grooming and lifestyle changes, including skin care, exercise, fashion, and better sleep. “Hardmaxxing” can include cosmetic procedures, anabolic steroids, weight loss drugs, unapproved peptides, and other brutal attempts to alter the face or body.
“Wiggle” means to outdo another person in an attractive way, while “grinding” refers to an unproven tongue-fixing procedure that is said to reshape the jaw. Some users also judge faces using the PSL scale, a category that sorts men into categories ranging from “subhuman” and “normie” to various levels of “Chad.”
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One of the most visible people in this movement is Braden Peters, a 20-year-old broadcaster known as Clavicular. Peters has built an audience of over 2 million followers across TikTok, Kick, and Instagram by blogging about her looks and promoting her growing presence.
He said he does “bone drilling,” which involves hitting the bones of the face with a hammer in the unscientific hope that the resulting injury will heal into a bigger jaw or more prominent cheekbones. He also said that he started taking testosterone at the age of 14 to “enhance” puberty and later used anabolic steroids including Masteron and Anavar. Although Peters has admitted that hormone use may affect her fertility, she continues to put the potential health effects as an acceptable price for being more attractive.
Some creators have promoted DIY orthodontics, probes, extreme fat loss, and procedures aimed at producing “angle eyes,” hollow cheeks, and sharply defined jaws. One creator known as Nocturnal Kent said that eating 500 grams of sugar a day changed the shape of his face.
The audience for masculinity content is wide. A 2025 study found that 60 percent of men between the ages of 16 and 25 regularly consume products from at least one masculinity influencer. That doesn’t mean they’re all following the best advice, but reports have warned that recommendation systems on TikTok and YouTube can steer users away from regular selfies and fitness videos to extreme content.
The rise of lookmaxxing has also coincided with many men seeking a professional career in makeup. According to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the number of cosmetic surgery procedures performed on men worldwide has increased by 95 percent between 2018 and 2024. Young patients have shown particular interest in treatments designed to produce strong chins, sharp jaws, and more angelic faces.
Was Clayface the first to look great?
Not literally. The term “lookmaxxing” didn’t come around until decades after Clayface’s appearance, and several DC characters used the gangster name.
But Matt Hagen’s version developed in the early 1990s anticipated the organization’s basic thinking: Appearance determines value, physical flaws can be made up, and almost any intervention (no matter how bad) is justified if it brings someone closer to the right face.
The first Clayface, Basil Karlo, first appeared in the 1940s Detective Comics No. 40. Karlo was the actor who killed wearing the mask of the scariest character he ever played. He had no shapeshifting abilities and was not trying to improve his appearance.
Matt Hagen became the second Clayface in 1961. Originally portrayed as a treasure hunter, Hagen encountered a strange pool of protoplasm that turned his body into a clay-like substance. He could temporarily transform himself into other people but had to return to the object to regain his power.
The closest version to the modern look came in 1992, where Batman: The Animated Series features the combined histories of those characters in the two-part episode “The Feat of Clay.”
This Hagen was a successful actor whose face was badly damaged in a car accident. When the reconstruction procedures failed, he started using Renuyu, an experimental cream. The product restored Hagen’s appearance and allowed him to reshape his face for different acting roles, but the results were short-lived. Each conversion left him dependent on the other dose and the man in control of the supply.
Renuyu was, in fact, the ultimate hardmaxxing product. It didn’t just smooth Hagen’s skin or define his jawline; it allowed him to rebuild his entire face into whatever role or identity he wanted.
However, the problem with it is that its effects are temporary. Every time the cream runs out, Hagen’s injuries return, forcing him to seek another dose from Roland Daggett, the businessman who controls the supply. That dependence gives Daggett control over Hagen. In exchange for Renuyu, Hagen impersonates other people and commits crimes in her name. The treatment that was supposed to restore his identity little by little requires him to give it up.
This is where the comparison with the extreme maxxing look becomes more obvious. Hagen is not trying to “mog” strangers or increase his PSL score. But he believes that his face determines whether he can work, appear in society, and live the life he wants.
That reflects the blackpill belief that physical characteristics such as facial features and height largely determine a man’s romantic, social, and financial prospects. If appearance controls your future, lookmaxxing offers a way out: Change your appearance. New Clayface he carries that same mindset to this day, when Hagen says he’d rather die than live with his injuries.
The name may have changed in 2026, but Gotham’s original hardmaxxer will get it.
Clayface opens in theaters October 23.
