Sandman Vs. Clayface: Who Would Win in a Fight?

Marvel copying from DC Comics and vice versa is a known thing. One of the examples is Marvel’s Sandman and DC’s Clayface. Who is the strongest between the two? Who would win in a fight between Sandman and Clayface?

The battle between Sandman and Clayface would end in a draw, as both of them have practically identical powers and weaknesses. Both of these characters are shapeshifters whose source of power is earth; in Sandman’s case, it is in the form of sand, while in Clayface’s case, it is in the form of clay. Due to their similarities, we don’t see how any of them could effectively overpower the other.

Now that you have the short version of the answer, the rest of the article is going to tell you, through several categories, exactly who the stronger of the two is and why our answer is like it is. In the end, we’re going to give our final verdict and explanation on why we think that a fight between Sandman and Clayface would end in a draw.

Sandman and His Powers

William Baker (also known as Flint Marko), aka the Sandman (Sandman) is a famous and recurring opponent of the Spider-Man hero. He is often portrayed as a powerful supervillain while having a good side deep inside of him.

Shapeshifting Abilities and Powers

The Sandman can convert all or part of his body into a granular sand-like substance at will. When he gained his power, his brain developed to a degree of consciousness that now makes him sensitive to the smallest particles in his body. The Sandman can give this granular substance any shape he wants.

By conscious effort, he can modify the degree of molecular cohesion between the surfaces of its particles and thus cause a displacement of small volumes, up to a displacement at the scale of individual grains.

With the composition of his body having been radically altered in a genetic way, the Sandman has total control of his density; it can compact the sand particles that make up its body or, on the contrary, space them apart, becoming as hard as cement or even being able to disperse the particles to make themselves insensitive to physical attacks.

In its sandy form, it can take any shape he can imagine. In combat, he often transforms his arms into blunt weapons (hammers, maces, flails, etc.). It can also project its sand particles at high speed and, taking the shape of a large object, have an impact equivalent to that of a large bag of sand.

Clayface and His Powers

In the world of DC Comics, Clayface is actually a name used by various supervillains over the years. Each of them had a different origin story and despite the fact that each of them had the same fundamental powers, Cladyface is a character that has evolved over the years, with each iteration bringing in something new.

Characters that have appeared using this alias are Basil Karlo, Matthew “Matt” Hagen, Preston “Bill” Payne, Sondra Fuller, Cassius “Clay” Payne, Dr. Peter Malley, Todd Russell, and Johnny Williams.

Shapeshifting Abilities

Clayface can use his malleable skin to transform himself into virtually anything he desires, such as objects, animals, or people; he can also alter his density at will, becoming liquid to sneak through every crack or hard as metal to resist blows; he also possesses a great level of super strength.

In combat, he usually transforms his limbs into weapons, such as hammers or blades, throwing fragments of his body like bullets and being crossed by the blows of his opponents, thus being able to trap and kill them calmly.

He has a powerful regenerating factor that allows him to rebuild lost parts of his body and which makes him, in all probability, immortal: if he is destroyed, he is, in fact, able to rejoin the fragments of his body and regenerate himself, and can control these fragments at will, independently of each other. To transform himself into the perfect copy of another person, even just a hair or a fragment of skin is enough.

Weakness

Clayface’s only known weak point is water, which dissolves him, and ice is the only substance that can trap him and prevent him from regenerating; he is also vulnerable to electrical attacks, as it paralyzes his diluted nervous system in his clayey mass, instantly liquefying him.

Given this almost invulnerable nature, Batman, in order to get the better of Clayface, has repeatedly used freezing bombs, taser guns, special chemicals, and microwave devices, as a source of heat to beat him.

Not infrequently, however, Batman also managed to beat him in close combat, when Clayface was in his least powerful form. The current Clayface (Basil Karlo) however, has proven to be extremely more resilient than previous versions.

In Batman (vol. 2) #20, Batman attempted to beat him with a special armor that was equipped with special chemical solvents, freezing liquid, and electric beams, but it was not enough to stop him; he only momentarily slowed him down. In the end, the hero only managed to trap him via a special indestructible cylinder.

Sandman Vs. Clayface: Who Wins?

This analysis was a pretty one-way street, since we actually compared two identical characters. Okay, sure, Sandman’s basis is sand, and Clayface’s is clay, but these two guys are, more or less, completely identical.

They are both very skilled shapeshifters, they both use these abilities to transform their limbs into weapons, they have the same weakness and resistance, and they both have superstrength.

This is why we are more than certain that a battle between Sandman and Clayface would, ultimately, end in a draw.