History Recap / BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE52Mudslide

* PowerPerversionPotential: Batman wonders about Clayface's new female accomplice:

* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Somewhat jarringly, and it's this episode's one weak point. As noted, Alfred is blithely indifferent to Clayface's plight, making dry jokes about it when even Batman pities him. But Batman only wants to save Clayface on ''his own'' terms, as he pulls the plug on a machine that would have stabilized Clayface's deteriorating form, seemingly for no other reason than because Clayface stole the isotope to make it work. Given Batman's offer to help Clayface earlier in the episode, you'd think he would have been more charitable.
** On the other hand, it is somewhat justified. While it is mentioned that the treatment will increase Clayface's powers a significant degree and allow him to shapeshift into Matt Hagen permanently, there is also no indication that Clayface cannot still use his enhanced powers to otherwise cause crimes as he had already shown himself willing to do on multiple occasions. While it is unnerving to see Batman unwilling to let Clayface treat himself while he's falling apart, he did give him an option for a more legal avenue earlier and allowing one of his metahuman villains to become stronger wouldn't be good for anyone.

* DrivenToVillainy: Played with--Clayface is committing robberies to pay for a procedure to restore his degenerating form, but when Batman offers to help him, he rejects the offer. Later Batman pulls the plug on his lab, making it clear both men only want to see Clayface restored to Matt Hagen on their own terms.

* ElementalShapeshifter: Averted. In ''Feat of Clay'' Clayface could apparently change his limbs into metallic substances. Here, it seems he's too far gone to pull that off.
%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

** Clayface reveals the first name of his accomplice when he shouts, [[Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire "STELLAAAAAAA!"]]

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: The ending, which averted the "no killing" rule. As per Animato Magazine:
--> The ending is equally chilling and Clayface literally slips through Batman's fingers to fall to the water below and slowly gets dissolved in the waves. It's something that story editor Michael Reaves thought they wouldn't be able get away with. "Since Warner Brothers was paying for the series, Fox could give suggestions, but we didn't have to take them," he said. "The only people we had to listen to was Broadcast Standards and Practices and their only flat-out taboo was that we couldn't kill anybody, and we even got around that a couple of times. In this episode Clayface went off that cliff and melted. He's dead."

* ShootTheTelevision: Stella was watching one of Matt Hagen's movies (a romance about a female doctor falling in love with her patient - Hagen's character). Clayface appears and screams at her to shut off the TV as he smashes it, saying it's not him anymore.

-->'''Alfred:''' Please don't take this the wrong way, sir, but your goose it cooked.

* ElementalShapeshifter: Averted. In ''Feat of Clay'' Clayface could apparently change his limbs into metallic substances. Here, he's apparently too far gone to pull that off.

* LoveMartyr: Between Stella and Teddy from ''Feat of Clay'', Hagen sure as a way of attracting these.

* AnimationBump: It's one of Studio Junio's best episodes, and ''almost'' manages to top TMS's work in "Clayface Part 2".

!!Tropes:

* DrivenToVillainy: Played with -- Clayface is committing robberies to pay for a procedure to restore his degenerating form, but when Batman offers to help him, he rejects the offer. Later Batman pulls the plug on his lab, making it clear both men only want to see Clayface restored to Matt Hagen under their own terms.
* GrandTheftMe: Clayface attempts to possess Batman's body. Given he doesn't try anything similar later, it's likely it wouldn't have worked.

* MonsterFangirl: Stella Bates is one of these, though she hopes to restore Clayface back into his Matt Hagen identity.
* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: Another recurring theme in Clayface episodes. He definitely died when he fell into the ocean there at the end. Didn't he? ''Didn't he''? [[spoiler:He didn't]].
* OutOfCharacterAlert: A young security guard catches what he thinks is a thief stealing his boss' safe, until he sees his boss telling him to get back to his post. The guard is about to leave when he notices his boss's accent is gone and remembers he was on vacation in Hawaii. The "boss" knocks him out by throwing clay at him.

'''Alfred:''' (''completely deadpan'') Perhaps she enjoys mudbaths.
* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: Somewhat jarringly, and it's this episode's one weak point. As noted below, Alfred is blithely indifferent to Clayface's plight, making dry jokes about it when even Batman pities him. But Batman only wants to save Clayface on ''his own'' terns, as he pulls the plug on a machine that would have stabilized Clayface's deteriorating form, seemingly for no other reason than because Clayface stole the isotope to make it work. Given Batman's offer to help Clayface earlier in the episode, you'd think he would have been more charitable.

** Clayface reveals the first name of his accomplice when he shouts... [[Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire "STELLAAAAAAA!"]]

** Clayface's containment suit makes him look like the Oscar statuette.

** One film Clayface is watching has the Creator/WarnerBrothers VanityPlate.

* LargeHam: Clsyface, even more so than in earlier appearances.

* TragicVillain: Clayface

* UngratefulBastard:

* UnsportsmanlikeGloating: As a contrast to the general reaction of "Aw, poor Clayface!" Alfred is totally comfortable with Matt Hagan dying in a horrible fashion. When Alfred brings him a snack, Bruce explains that Clayface's body is loosing its ability to hold together, to which Alfred replies, "How grotesque! ...Tea?"

* AlasPoorVillain

* AntiVillain: Clayface