Blight is Pure Poison | Batman Beyond

In this Batman Beyond video, we explore the complex and vile character of Derek Powers, a.k.a. Blight—one of Terry McGinnis' most dangerous and memorable foes. Though not as iconic as the original Batman's rogues, Powers’ descent into villainy is a powerful commentary on the corrupting nature of wealth and power.

Derek Powers, a.k.a. Blight, is an original character created specifically for Batman Beyond, and his role as an industrialist turned radioactive monster marks a dark chapter in the future of Gotham City. With a cautionary backstory, Powers embodies the dangers of capitalism taken to an extreme—his pursuit of wealth leaves destruction in its wake, including the murder of Terry McGinnis’ father, which ultimately leads to the birth of the new Batman.

This video explores Derek Powers' character arc in depth, touching on his inspiration from other classic comic book villains like Doctor Phosphorus and Norman Osborn (the Green Goblin). We also analyse his relationship with his son, the tragic irony of his downfall, and how Batman Beyond uses him as a criticism of capitalist greed.

#batman #batmanbeyond #blight

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:50 The origins of Derek Powers
2:34 Blight's villainy
4:10 Ascension
6:05 Blight's comic book appearances
7:46 Summary
8:22 Self-promotion
8:59 Next Time

Related Videos:
Batman Beyond 25th Anniversary Special:

Inque: A Seductive Monster:

Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more deep dives into Batman Beyond and other classic animated series! Hit the bell icon for updates on new videos!

Join this channel to get access to perks, including early access to my next video essay:

[SerumLake]

Special thanks to channel members:

Smirky Starscream 86
AmpLyte
chris rochefort
Graham Brown
James Fullerton
Eduardo Azevedo
Sam B
Meth0Moth
SWIFTO_SCYTHE
David Huber

Channel membership costs 1.99 per month and gets you early access to the next video essay, priority responses to your comments, regular members only videos, custom emojis (like the ones above), and an icon on your profile to let the world know that you're a member of my channel.

[DragonmanX]

The writers gave Powers some of the best lines I've ever heard; whether as himself or as Blight.

"It's better to be feared than loved." -While selling the idea of villainy to Walter Shreeve; and this is after calmly no-selling Shreeve admitting he's in the office to kill Powers! He never takes the guy with a suit capable of easily killing him seriously!

"And behold: I shall be a blight upon the land; and everything I touch shall wither and die." -This is Derek Powers in a nutshell even before the radiation. While some moguls in fiction are unscrupulous or amoral; Powers ruins everything and everyone he comes in contact with. Wayne Enterprises may've been more profitable as Wayne-Powers; but look at the kind of stuff Powers got the company involved in. Look at Shriek, Mr. Freeze; hell, look at the man's own family! His son is a less competent chip off the old block!

"Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?" -I'm convinced that the split second between Terry saying that Blight killed his dad and him responding to it was him actually trying to think of someone he'd killed/had someone else kill, realizing how huge that list was, and giving up!

[TheZackofSpades]

“do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?” has to be one of the coldest lines in the entire DCAU. It never gets old and it lived long enough to be beautifully meme-worthy.

[Xehanort]

My favourite Blight line is in Meltdown where he says "I shall be a blight upon the land and everything I touch shall wither and die" while he's trying to kill Freeze.

[CJ-]

I think the fact that Batman/Terry never once considered that Paxton would want to kill Derek is pretty in-character for him and is a good juxtaposition for the 2 father-son duos. Like Paxton and Derek, Terry and his father rarely got along, and like Paxton, Terry felt like he was a disappointment to his father. However unlike Paxton, Terry could never once imagine ever wanting to hurt his father, no matter how bad their relationship got. So when Paxton says that he’ll only drain enough power from Blight to incapacitate him, of course Terry would believe him. He couldn’t imagine a son actually wanting to see his father dead. If anything, the biggest doubt he might have is Paxton actually following through with his end.

[andydrew]

Blight is single-handedly the best villain in Batman Beyond. I’d say he’s one of the best Batman villains in general. Such a shame he wasn’t used that often in the actual series but he was nonetheless amazing. I know this is a DC focused channel but if I could compare Blight to anybody, it would be the Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 1

[Lionstar]

"Oh my God, we're all getting old, aren't we?"
To quote Bruce Wayne from the "Out of the Past" episode - "Don't remind me"

[tashibalampkin]

Seeing powers get hit by the same poison gas he planned to sell was so satisfying. I just can't help but crack a smile when Powers recognized his goose was cooked. Happy to see it.

[jordanloux]

The comics have recently introduced Geri Powers, Derek's mother who was the creator of the company that would one day buy out Wayne Industries. It's only a matter of time until her boy becomes the monster we all know and... tolerate.

[FirstLast-cgnk]

I think my favorite villains from Batman Beyond were Willie Watt, Terminal, and Big Time. Why? because they feel like genuinely real people. How many of us have met a CEO or scientist? Meanwhile, we've all met the small and weak bookworm who gets relentlessly bullied, the kid who despite excellent academic performance is emotionally abused by parents pushing them to unrealistic standards, or the small-time bully who thinks he'll make it big.

More importantly, however, we've all seen people like these three end up suffering similar fates to these characters. While Willie Watt getting a gigantic construction robot to attack the prom is unrealistic, how often do we hear about the quiet, bullied kid finally having enough and pulling out a pistol and gunning down his bullies? While Terminal becoming a psychotic gang leader is unrealistic, how often do we hear about the kid who had a stellar academic performance but had an awful home life and turned to drugs or crime as an outlet? While Big Time getting turned into a hideous mutant is unrealistic, how often do we see some small time criminal with delusions of making it big wind up either arrested or killed while committing small-time crimes?

Batman's rogues gallery is more memorable, but Batman Beyond's rogues gallery feels more genuine.

[FirstLast-cgnk]

My favorite part of the "Do You Have Any Idea How Little That Narrows It Down?" bit is that even a moment's thought about the timeline between when Batman first appeared, what Batman was fighting him about, and who he'd killed in relation to that should have given Blight the answer. How many people was Derek Powers killing per day that even with all that info he had no clue who Batman might be?

[nils]

On one hand I agree Derek Powers/Blight was such a underused character it's blasphemous. The fact he used Bruce Wayne's company and assets to create a bioweapon to sell to dictators or/and terrorists, and had Warren McGinnis murdered to cover it up made him an enemy of both Batman generations. Also add his powers as a walking nuclear reactor and you have a formidable supervillain for sure. On the other hand, I can kinda understand why he was dropped in season 2. The simple fact it was lethal to just be anywhere near Blight can be seen as him being overpowered. Now one could make the argument Bruce could've upgraded Terry's Batsuit to provide better protection from radiation, but they clearly stated Blight's radiation became more severe as the season continued.

[katmore]

Another great vid. I recall someone once saying the villains in Batman Beyond mirrored Spiderman's. Inque = Sandman; Shriek = Shocker; Spellbinder = Mysterio; The Stalker = Kraven.
Blight was Terry's Norman Osborn, which to me makes him a standout villain.

[thebeavpercabethftw]

The Norman Osborn comparison works extra well given how both he and Derek treat their respective sons.

[zemox]

Blight was the best villain on the show. I wish they brought him back in an animated special or something because he was too wicked to just "die" in the S1 finale. Especially since his body was never found.

Derek was literal poison. As he once said, he was a blight upon the land, and everything he touched would wither and die.

[tookiwolfpaint]

1:30 Man, that stuck in my mind FOREVER as a kid. The fact that we don't see the picture, only his horrified reaction, kept me up at night wondering just how terrifying it could be. Great example of less being more sometimes, and creative avoidance of onscreen gore in kids shows.

[tashibalampkin]

0:17 Honestly, I considered Terry's constant battle to balance his social life his main antagonist. Terry has established life before he takes on the mantle of Batman and he doesn't want to give that up. Batman Beyond had episodes where Terry's personal life and hero life clash. In some hilarious ways, like the egg baby episode.

[AegisAuras]

2:42 the “we’ve got to have money” meme hit me

[juanhaines]

Batman beyond really loved body horror.

[johnrandolph]

Whether his hiring Inque to settle business or handling it himself, he's amazing.