James Watkins’ dark DC film and Alex Ficsher and Eleanor Wilson’s whimsical tale have been released at a strangely similar time, so it seems appropriate to see how the two titular characters weigh up against each other in terms of their respective bodily materials. Not that there’ll ever be a cinematic crossover (Clayer? Wickface? Maybe not), but still.
Matt Hagen never actually titles himself as Clayface at any point in the film, but I’ll be using that moniker for ease of recognition nonetheless.
Physical Strength
Clayface (C) –
You’ve gotta hand it to him, Clayface certainly finds some creative ways to dispatch his enemies. It might start off simple with a finger, but then the kills get more intense with his stomach. Like a full body suffocation take down with his abdomen. It’s impressive. Then another murder suffocation via throat. Outstanding. Followed up by a next-level revenge kill via his own blood. There’s serious power on display here
Wicker (W) –
This dude’s certainly made of strong material, and he carries out a lot of physical building endeavours for his beloved. And he’s very strong in another department, too, but I’ll get onto that in the next category. Wicker’s a chill dude, though, so even when he receives aggressive comments from the suspicious folk around him, he doesn’t react aggressively. Nobody’s violently murdered, even though Wicker potentially could. It’s not that kind of film.
Clayface has got the edge here, partly due to sheer creativity of those killings. Damn.
C – 1 W – 0
Sexual Strength
C –
We only see Clayface get one attempt to show off his sexual prowess in the film, and he’s not even that persona at this point. But the only scene we do see him get started is brought to a violent end. Nonetheless, in the short time Clayface has to get in on the action, he’s pretty impressive, helped by the tuneful sounds of Goldfrapp’s ‘Ooh la la’ (even though I can’t think of the film in that context without thinking of ‘that’ scene in The Other Guys. Anyway, that’s a different film).
W –
Wicker’s sole purpose is to be a husband. The guy’s created for that specific role. And he’s only got eyes for his beloved eyes. She’s the only gal he’s taking to bed. And said bed gets broken multiple times with the sheer force of Wicker’s sexual prowess. The bed breakings become a major topic of conversation for jealous male individuals of the town, who can barely suffer to stand in Wicker’s presence after he innocently describes his loving attentions to his wife. It’s fair to say that Wicker’s got wood.
No contest here. Wicker’s ahead in this department. Just facts.
C – 1 W – 1
Emotional Strength
C –
There’s not really much of a defence I can make for Clayface here. The guy’s emotional turmoil is what directly causes him to fall apart. When he maintains composure, he’s all good, but as soon as he flies off the handle, things start getting messy. Also, his feelings towards Caitlyn aren’t exactly well-judged. His face changes are darn cool, but he ultimately hasn’t enough strength with the feels to make a dent in this category.
W –
Wicker, however? Loads of strength right here. He’s earnest and honest with his wife, devoted even she starts to wrongfully distrust him. Despite getting affection from other jealous women, he doesn’t take the bait. Even when he’s almost killed by an accidental outburst of rage, the guy doesn’t even make a sound when he runs off into a river. I guess that could be interpreted as unhealthy stoicism, but hey. Wicker’s a chilled dude with a lot of emotional maturity under his belt/branches.
Another strong point to Wicker.
C – 1 W – 2
Practical Strength
C –
We don’t really see Clayface get to grips with any DIY- related or even adjacent projects. His power’s in his body, so there’s not much opportunity for scenes showing him hurling heavy objects to best his opponents or anything similar. He’s practical in the sense of being a powerful opponent in his field, particularly if he ever came up against another DC alumni like Batman. But I’m thinking more of what he’s able to do in terms of using external tools around him to assist in his actions. And there aren’t really any clear moments of that.
W –
Wicker, on the other hand? This guy’s practical. This guy fixes leaks, he fixes beds (multiple times), he fixes the roof too, getting right up there, sorting problems and earning further jealousy from surrounding inept men who couldn’t dream of matching Wicker’s top class DIY skills. He might be made of wood, but he can fix materials far more effectively than any of his skin and bone compatriots.
Another point to Wicker.
C – 1 W – 3
It looks like it’s a resounding victory for the man in lumber. I’d still like to see that crossover, though.