Who the Clix? is a series of articles featuring information on comic book characters that have been made into figures for the popular tabletop game Heroclix. These articles are meant to help Heroclix players learn more about the characters behind their favorite pieces.
Today we look at the arch foe of Terry McGinnis: Blight
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Appearances in Heroclix: Justice League Unlimited
First Appearance: Batman Beyond: Rebirth, Part 1
Team Affiliations: N/A
Created By: Bruce Timm and Paul Dini
Derek Powers is the owner of Powers Technologies and stages a hostile takeover of Wayne Enterprises after Bruce Wayne’s health declines. This new company develops a mutagenic nerve gas that Powers intends to sell to vilainous interests. Warren McGinnis, an employee of Wayne-Powers, discovers evidence of this scheme and is murdered before he can go to the authorities. When Warren’s son Terry, who has just recently discovered the Batcave, finds the evidence it is quickly retrieved by Powers. Determined to avenge his father and stop Powers’ plan, Terry becomes the new Batman. In the course of their confrontation, Derek is exposed to the nerve gas.
He undergoes extreme radiation treatment to survive and is transformed into a translucent radioactive man. He develops a faux skin to hide this mutation, but as his condition worsens over time the skin burns off faster and faster.
He soon adopts the villainous alter ego of Blight. One of his scientists, Stephanie Lake, believes she can clone him a new body and transfer his mind into it. She tests this procedure on Mr. Freeze, who has also been mutated over the years. This procedure ultimately proves unsuccessful. Blight suggests biopsying Freeze’s organs, a veiled message to kill the villain, that leads Freeze to escape and retrieve one of his old freeze suits. Mr. Freeze manages to freeze Powers and Lake, but Derek uses his powers for the first time and melts off both his skin and the ice. The two villains battle before Batman becomes involved.
As Blight’s condition begins to drive him mad, he steps down from leading Wayne-Powers and focuses on curing himself. He places his estranged son Paxton Powers in control of the company, only for Paxton to betray him. Paxton hires a group of actors to accuse the company of poisoning their river, which enrages Blight and exposes his mutation to the world. Blight attempts to hide in an abandoned nuclear submarine but is found out by Batman, who is sent by Paxton to bring the elder Powers into custody. Paxton drains his father’s radiation with a “pinch cell” that almost kills Blight. Batman realizes this and frees Blight from the device. This pushes Blight over the edge and he unleashes massive blasts that sink the submarine with him still inside while Paxton, his minions and Batman all escape.
Blight manages to survive the sinking of the submarine, somehow, and hides in the Gotham City sewers. The hunter, Stalker, sets his sights on Blight and attempts to use Batman as bait. Blight has been driven completely mad, forgetting his life as Derek Powers, and blames all of this on Batman. The two battle in a Steel mill only for molten steel to engulf Blight and seemingly kill him. Stalker tases Batman and when Terry awakens, both the remains of Blight and Stalker are gone. Stalker later places the steel statue of Blight’s remains in a hidden cave, among his other trophies.
Some time later, Blight seems to have survived becoming a statue and returns to Gotham. Now wearing a containment suit and having regained some of his memories of his life as Derek Powers, Blight sets his sights on his son. He arranges for Paxton to be released from prison and directed to a Wayne-Powers facility. Once inside, the building explodes with both Batman and Paxton inside. Blight is disappointed when he learns that both his son and arch foe managed to escape. Blight’s condition has now progressed to the point where he no longer needs oxygen or food to survive. Blight goes about sabotaging Wayne-Powers facilities in an attempt to ruin the company so that he can rebuild it in his image.
Batman and Blight eventually have a final showdown at Wayne Manor. Batman damages the control module on Blight’s suit and seems to reduce the villain to radioactive slime. Gotham PD takes the slime into custody and remains unsure if Blight is alive in this form or finally dead.