Derek Powers
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Derek Powers aka Blight is a supervillain in the animated series Batman Beyond, voiced by Sherman Howard. He is the corrupt leader of Wayne-Powers, having taken over Bruce Wayne's corporate empire. He's the arch-nemesis of McGinnis's Batman, and the primary antagonist of the first season. Derek's character is comparable to that of Lex Luthor - he uses many illegal means to control corporate Gotham, and has amassed a vast fortune. His powers seem to be based on Batman villain Dr. Phosphorus. He is also responsible for the death of Terry McGinnis' father.
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[edit] Character history
His personal history before the events of Batman Beyond is largely unrevealed, except that he rose to become Bruce Wayne's business partner who took advantage of the billionaire's gradual withdrawal from life to take control of his business as Wayne-Powers.
Eventually, Powers decides to go into the munitions business, such as an extremely dangerous mutagenic nerve gas he intends to sell internationally. Terry McGinnis' father learns of this from a colleague who is fatally infected by the weapon, but Powers learns of this and has his personal assistant, Mr. Fixx, murder him. Terry McGinnis, already deeply aggrieved, finds records of the weapon and approaches Bruce Wayne to examine it.
When Wayne discovers the nature of the gas, he instructs McGinnis to take the evidence to Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon. Unfortunately, McGinnis is intercepted by Powers and although the boy manages to escape, Powers still recovers the data disc. Now desperate to stop Powers, McGinnis steals Wayne's last Batman suit and infiltrates Wayne-Powers to collect more evidence. In this quest, this new Batman is discovered and a furious chase and battle occurs that ends with the gas shipment being sunk and Powers fully exposed to a massive dose when one container ruptures in his presence. Powers is able to employ the gas' counter measure with an extreme radiation treatment to stay alive, but at the cost of becoming a hideously irradiated being. Powers is able to hide his state with a special chemical covering, but it is only a stop-gap for his problem.
This engagement begins a personal feud with Batman that is further bedeviled by a reinvigorated Bruce Wayne reassuming control of his company. As a result, Powers employs multiple schemes to not only to secure more profit by removing Wayne, but also to find a permanent solution to his medical condition. To that end, Powers allows himself to appear in public as the notorious criminal, Blight, such fighting a revived and rebellious Mr. Freeze and committing robberies to steal the necessary polymold to maintain his cover. To his frustration, which is aggravated by his condition's destabilizing effect on his emotions, Batman and Wayne are able to foil all his schemes to the point where he decide he needed to withdraw from public life to some degree.
With that in mind, Powers summons his estranged son, Paxton Powers, from abroad to Gotham City to run his business interests. Unfortunately, Paxton Powers is a business executive who is just as callous and corrupt as his father, and that reputation follows himself home as environmental protesters personally confront both Powers with their grievances. At that confrontation, Derek Powers lost all composure, causing his covering to disintegrate and exposing him as Blight to the world.
Although he manages to escape the police and Batman, Paxton Powers not only refuses to help his father flee the city, but is also responsible for the exposure in the first place in order to seize total control. To end the matter of his father's interference, Paxton Powers contacts Batman to reveal his father's hiding place, a permanently docked nuclear submarine. Together, Paxton and Batman confront Derek Powers, but Batman realizes Paxton wants to murder his father and refuses to cooperate. In the resulting battle, Derek Powers frees himself and goes berserk with massive radiation bursts that sinks the submarine him inside while Paxton and Batman escape.
Although Batman knows Paxton has committed numerous crimes, he cannot testify against Paxton Powers without exposing his own secret identity. Instead, McGinnis satisfies himself with a veiled warning for Paxton that since his father's body was never found, there is always a chance he may come back for revenge.
[edit] Appearance
Before his transformation, Powers was over six feet tall with white hair. Since then, he has the form of a black skeleton surrounded by bright green translucent flesh after his exposure to a mutating gas and radiation. Powers is able to hide his condition with a thin chemical covering over his skin that imitates his original appearance and contains his radioactivity, but it has a limited duration and tends to flake off when he is under stress.
[edit] Powers
Powers' powers are a result of his exposure to a mutating gas of his own creation upon his first confrontation with Batman. His staff was able to save his life with intense radiation exposure, but the procedure altered his appearance, damaging his cellular structure and causing his skin to peel and his body to glow bright green. He continued seeking a cure for his condition, including transplanting his consciousness into a new body cloned from his DNA. The process was tested on Mr. Freeze, who also had damaged cellular structure, but Freeze's new body soon reverted to its previous form, implying that the same would happen to a clone of Powers. Thus the procedure required further study and prompted Powers to attempt to have Mr. Freeze murdered and his organs biopsied. The attempt failed, Freeze escaped and returned (in an ice suit) to exact revenge, freezing Powers in the process. This attack caused Powers' potent radioctive properties to become unleashed and, adopting the name of Blight, he used his new powers against both Freeze and Batman, against whom he appeared unstoppable until Freeze was able to propel Blight into a lake with a blast of ice (Freeze then sacrificed himself and destroyed the facility). Blight was able to shoot powerful blasts of radiation; his very touch could be lethal.
[edit] Quotes
- Blight: "Who are you?"
- Batman/Terry McGinnis: "Here's a clue; you killed my father."
- Blight: "Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?"
- Batman/Terry McGinnis: "But I don't even know your birthday."
- Blight: "It's June 17th."
- Blight: "Behold, I shall be a blight upon the land, and all that I touch shall wither and die!."
[edit] Father
While Paxton is the only family of Derek Powers shown, Batman Adventures #15 was originally going to introduce a character known as Warren Powers (Confirmed as the father of Derek Powers). To note, Powers Technology obtains the patients of Gothcorp. Due to a hidden clause, however, Ferris Boyle receives 77 million dollars on the deal.
The issue features the final fate of Mr. Freeze, setting up his appearance in Batman Beyond. The original ending further supports the idea by having Powers Technology taking the remains of Freeze (his head), because as Warren states it might come in handy some day. The secrets of immortality are locked inside that head.
[edit] Other Appearances
Derek Powers/Blight would make a few appearances in the comic based on the show.
He appears in issue 3 of the miniseries attempting to steal radiation to destroy the city. His second appearance (his last was Post-Ascension) is in issue 18 where Stalker plotting ways of capturing him, including using Batman as bait.
