We will always have Batman Beyond’s funniest joke: when Terry tells Blight he killed his dad and Blight goes “Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down.”

Scooby Doo: the glowing skeleton is an evil businessman in disguise Batman beyond: the evil businessman is a glowing skeleton in disguise

I still very much love what Terry says when he learns he might have helped created Powers as Blight. It's such a great line for both. Terry: Hey, this guy had my father murdered and all he's done since is hide from the law. Well, no more hiding for Mr. Derek Powers. Now everyone can see him for what he is. Even in the dark.

Blight's story is a perfect example of a creative team recognizing that when a character is done, its best to stop using them. Granted, given the sheer success of the DCAU (I mean, take a moment to think whether something like Batman Beyond would have ever been greenlit, let alone be a hit nowadays) I'm sure the higher ups were ok letting the character stay dead.

Blight having an end to his story is one of my favorite things about the Batman Beyond animated series. So many of Terrys enemies get beaten and are done for good! He has a good roster but its a nice change of pace to see bad guys get actually dealt with and go away.

One of the tricky things about using Blight: that old question of motivation. Once it’s established how clever he is (mental deterioration or not), you need a good reason to use him beyond “I want revenge for what you did to me” or “I want my old life back” etc. One thing that might work: if they’re serious about the “radiation never dies” angle, then you could work him into become a Legion of Super Heroes villain. Man out of time, learned to control the radiation mentally, emerging into a new world where he makes himself into an LoSH-level threat.

Blight in the show: -"And behold I shall be a blight upon the land and everything I touch shall wither and die." -"Do you know how little that narrows it down?" -Eats sandwich like a boss. Blight in the comics: -'Radiation does not die!" -"Radiation does not die!" -Does not each sandwich.

Blight is smiling because any sandwich he eats is automatically toasted.

His 'narrow down' meme will immortalize him forever.

The later DCAU comics miss the point of the show. Terry is the MC, the story is about him and his relationship with Bruce. By bringing back so many old Bat Fam members and tying so plots to Bruce, they shift the focus away from Terry. Timm, Dini and co were very clear that they wanted Terry to be the MC and the story be about him.

IDK, the fact that he had a son who's also corrupted by his influence, I get more of a Norman Osborn vibe than Luthor. Not to mention trying to conceal your derangement/mutation under the veneer of a calculated corporate suit is also more of a Osborn trait.

I love how Bruce Timm said in his interview that Superman mostly has fatguys in suits and not enough good villians, and then he combines Atomic Skull and Lex Luthor two Superman villians into his OC, and thought no one will notice.

The containment suit for Blight makes sense, but I agree, the radiated bones look is sleeker and much more appealing. Fashion trumps function!

So... whe he finally dies... we can say: Batman definitely doesn't have Powers?

That sandwich scene was the most depressing thing for me as a kid. The scene shows he's this monster, but he's still human. I thought of his emotions when the woman sees him and he smiled at her and she recoiled in horror. His smile faded.

The Blight meme gives me strong "For you, the day Bison graced your village was the most important day in your life, but for me? It was Tuesday." vibes from Street Fighter lol

I like how in the sub you see one of the few times a Batman villain is humanized. Not so much the living nightmare they usually are, you see Powers sitting at a table in the sub eating a sandwich. That image, to this day, is one of the saddest things I've ever seen.

One of my favorite debuts for a villain in all of comics. The maniacal laughter when the radiation is turned off is great; but it's when he confronts Freeze that things really get moving! I mean just the line he delivers to Freeze is a mic drop! Blight: "And behold; I shall be a Blight upon the land, and everything I touch shall wither and die!" (gets knocked back by Terry) Batman... Batman: And who are you, sunshine? Blight: (calmly, almost lazily creates a radiation bubble) Blight will do. And feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on this: Like Inque, Blight is one of the villains that Terry never definitively defeats on his own. Freeze blasts him away; there wasn't really a fight when he confronts Blight on the sub; just everyone trying to escape while he has a meltdown.

Radioactive wigs never die.

“Radiation doesn’t die, but its feelings can be hurt!”

3:28 The fact that even the man Powers was selling the nerve gas to was uncomfortable seeing its effects was good setup.

Aside from Inque who was a brilliant villain in her own right, i felt Blight was the best Batman Beyond villain ever and the most well developed, he was like a combination of Atomic Skull and Lex Luthor with the radioactive power and the evil intellect. Such a shame that he only lasted one season as i would have loved to have seen him in more episodes and they built him up as the ultimate big bad, i would definitely say he was Terry's Joker in terms of being the main enemy and tied to his origin as well as playing a role in helping to create him similar to how Bruce indirectly helped make Jack Naiper become The Joker. I know Blight survived in the tie in comics but it would have been cool to see him continue his beef with Batman as i felt none of those issues never got truly resolved. Fantastic video and pretty cool to see Blight get some well deserved love. Keep up the good work.

"Radiation never dies" is as eye rolling as "Evil dies tonight" from the new Halloween movies. 🙄

I love the ending of the "Shriek" episode! 📺🥰 Bruce: "In my mind, that's not what I call myself." Terry: "What do you call yourself?" (Bruce looks at Terry strongly.) Terry: "'Oh, yeah. I guess you would, but that is my name now." Bruce: "Tell that to my subconscious." (The end)

As a little kid Blight was one of my favorite villains from all the animated shows. I appreciate the writers not milking him but dang I miss his character

Blight kinda feels like they looked at old series characters like Ferris Boyle and Roland Daggett. Both corrupt evil CEOs who's heinous actions turned a man into a mutant supervillain(Mr. Freeze and Clayface respectively). Powers is basically "what if that evil CEO was the one who mutated himself into a monster?".

Blight is a Great Villain, with the Perfect Name, & The Perfect Run in the DCAU that IMO should have been it for the Character…I also liked how they introduced 2 of My other Favorite Beyond Villains…Especially Shriek for the Classic scene…Terry “ Why where You so sure those voices weren’t coming from You?” Bruce “ First off I’m not psychotic” Terry “ I hope Your other reasons is more convincing “ Bruce “ Secondly the voice kept calling Me Bruce, & in My mind that’s not what I call Myself” Terry “ what do You call Yourself ?” ( Bruce stares sternly) Terry “ Oh! Yeah You Would, but that’s My Name now” Bruce “ Tell it to My subconscious “ …Keep Up The Outstanding Work Sasha 🖖🏾

It’s happens a lot with popular characters who’s arc is finished when character is brought back into story the writers just don’t know what to do with them.

As you noted, Sasha, Blight’s design (and radiation exposure origin) always reminded me of Dr. Phosphorus from the Batman comics - that must have been an inspiration for the writers.

That was my first take as well. That was an updated take on the Steve Engleheart creation of Dr. Phosphorus. But Blight was far better developed, as Englehearts run was sweet, but short. Unlike Timm and Dinis. Just goes to show how creative consistency makes the difference.Had forgotten Sherman Howard’s voice over. Perfect,as he could always go from slick to menacing in seconds flat.

Batman Beyond really needs to be talked about more. It was a great show with great villains. I think it’s better then BTAS. Wish the Batman Beyond comics didn’t exist. I don’t want to think about the entire Barbra was pregnant with and miscarried Bruce’s baby.

Blight is a great villain, but I do think that he his arc was completed nicely. He's definitely a character that should be left alone, unless there's an extremely good story behind his return.

Aka that one Batman Beyond Villain who somehow survived the ship exploding and presumably being in underwater after that

One thing I noticed when I rewatched Batman Beyond as an adult was the slight religious undertone (not sure if that's the right word) they gave to Blight. At several points he says quotes that sound like they came from the Bible, both as Derek Powers and then as Blight, culminating in his fight against Mr. Freeze where he utters: "Behold I shall be a blight upon the land, and everything I touch shall wither and die". I know it's not huge, but it's one of the interesting pieces of characterization that both hints at his background, and says something about how he views himself and the rest of the world (both pre and post superpowers).

The "Radiation doesn't thing" would have been a cooler concept if Blight died in the sub and then another villain used his radioactive corpse as a weapon.

It awed me seeing Blight just curb stomp Mr. Freeze as a kid. That's how you establish a villain.

It's a shame that JLU combined such a great story in Ace's final moments with the travesty of the retcon of Terry being Bruce's son.

Just picked up Blights action figure and wanted some backstory, I got that and a beauty explaining it, thank you ❤🙏

I really enjoyed Blight's AU run, though I am just generally fond of batman beyond. But I really liked Paxton's first big outing as Blight, which lead to his battle with Freeze. It was a nice juxtaposition, both with unique and dangerous afflictions, one hot, one cold, one unrepetant, one sympathetic. It was an interesting clash.

While comics are an ongoing medium Blight was made for a show, one where his story was pretty much told in its entirety. Sure you could bring him back, especially in other mediums, but I feel like the writers would always be trying to outdo what I see as a well told story. Having said all that Blight does have a great design and plays well to nostalgia so bringing him back occasionally isn't a terrible thing. Also if the man can eat then clearly his digestive system is functioning, Blight is out here contaminating every toilet in Gotham.

This is why I used him in my Batman Beyond Lego Stopmotion. He’s a great villain! ACENSION is a phenomenal episode in the series

"Radioactive hair" I nearly fell over laughing, loved this video hope that there is more batman beyond story lines examined in 2023

"And that's what really hurts Is that you do it to yourself, just you You and no one else" Is part of the joke that the character's radioactive? Neat.

Fairly sure Blight was Scowling at his son in the scene with the sandwich, not smiling as he was being watched.

It is a shame that Blight's final sandwich wasn't a Sub. Radiation, like old soldiers, doesn't die; it simply fades away.

I'd like a Blight story where one of the Dark Sites was built around a depleted Lazarus Pit. Might be a way to keep his deterioration in check?

I'm glad you addressed your radioactive wig, because literally as soon as the video started I said "ohmygod that wig is perfect for a video on Blight!"

" you killed my father." " Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down."

7:03 I find it cute how the giy brought some blankets.

That sandwich looks delicious. “Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?”

OG Blight will always be my favorite version, due to his design and the portrayal by his VA. BTW, I nearly spit out my drink at 27:16. I know what you meant, Sasha, but phrasing matters.

Hm... Business Blight (from the comics) could always be explained away later as a clone with implanted memories. That plus the containment suit would bring things back full circle to "Meltdown"...🤔

Appropriate wig color haha. Powers is an interesting villain. I remember reading how some people complained over BB S1 for being too dark and corporate...but I loved it.

Great video! Love your videos(the FF ones are my favorite) I also wanted to put Tom Kings Danger Street on your radar it seems to be a DC comics version of Fargo in all the best ways and might be up your alley.

Blight looks very similar to Dr Phosphorus, who appeared in Batman comics in the 1970s. Not sure if they supposed to be the same character.

With Derrick Powers, comes Derrick responsibilities.

I LOVE _Farscape!_ That's an amazing simile.

Blight really became an underwhelming villain ever since the end of season 1. I get the comics try to add more to his character, but they weren't that good. In the Rebirth, he knew Bruce was Batman the whole time, he should have made moves against Bruce a long time ago.

can't believe im only finding this channel now, instant sub

You could mold Blight into more a rage monster type villain. He gets a hold of himself and learns to slow his decay until he's practically immortal, so long as he keeps control. You'd have the same gimmick of villainous decay but it would be more sustainable if he could flip back and forth. It also adds the little irony that if Powers had any humble desires he could follow them forever, but that's just not the kind of guy he is

How about if we bring Blight back, it's as a behind the scenes mastermind type of character. He survives the submarine and escapes, but winds up on some island or secret sea base from another villain no longer around (or maybe an illegal prison designed to hold super powered villains). The outburst has reduced his radioactivity levels, but only temporarily. He will build up again. Fortunately, this new base either has something to help already, or the equipment needed that he can build what he needs. Regardless, Blight ends up with a room that can syphon off excess radiation (temporarily) giving him more time. Unfortunately, it also means that he can't go too far from it, and is often stuck in the room as his energy is siphoned off, which would also leave him weakened. So, he is trapped, but has ways to communicate with the outside world. From there, he can try and recreate the doctor's science, hopefully giving him a cloned, and functioning body again (although me MAY need some genetic samples from his son), and also, create his own Legion of Doom type of group. having villains that he can send to various places -- ESPECIALLY Gotham -- to accomplish certain goals. As such, you could have these seemingly unrelated events -- like Batman being attacked by one person, Paxton attacked in prison by someone, and a robbery by a different villain -- all occurring, and eventually coming together in the reveal Blight is alive and behind it all.

The absolute joy and positivity that you radiate never dies 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚

"Does radiation never die? I know my sass doesn't." I laughed so hard at that.

Powers introduction in the pilot is a reworking of Batman's first appearance in Detective Comics #27 where the villain of the piece, Stryker, like Powers, is a ruthless business man getting rid of associates for his personal gain and is ultimately undone by his own machinations. It also emulates Detective Comics #29, which introduces Batman's first Supervillain Doctor Death, where Hellfern's (Doctor Death's civilian identity) gambit involves a newly developed nerve gas he plans to profit from and like Powers he would be morphed and mutated following his encounter with Batman. This is really neat because it's the same idea behind Detective Comics #168 which was the first attempt at providing an origin to the Joker featuring him as the thief Red Hood who fell into the vat of Chemicals and became the Joker.

Excellent summary and analysis

Neat! I like the concept! I've never heard of them before!

Blight sort of reminds me of the corrosive man who appeared in one of the first batman comics I remember reading in the 80s (think it was a detective comics 2 parter)

I can’t deny that the background music had me bumping and bopping throughout the entire video. It took me back to my early 1990’s - mid 2000’s clubbing days.

Every cycle of the moon I check in on top ten nerd… I’m very impressed you left comfort and grew into such a cool successful channel. ALSO would you check out the marvel anatomy book? It has interesting tales and pictures

12:39 5 points for Radiohead. +3 more for the Mark Ronson cover.

One thing they could do, is lean into the half-life radiological decay- like really lean into it a lot. The more he breaks down, he eventually stabilizes, but grows weaker. So we still get him tech'd up, amplifiers or something, but not containment suit. And set him up as only ever declining, and ever-desperate to claw back his power. Both political and radiological.

14:00 I actually think this idea works really well. Blight was getting irradiated because it kept the nerve agent in check, and they combined, so comic book science makes me let that aspect pass thanks to the plot. He's still deteriorating. It's continuing the concept from where it was left off in the show. His humanity was always rotting away, as you said. You made the point that he really died when he became Blight. This is another step. Think of characters like Solomon Grundy, or Killer Croc. He's stronger, less human, and further from human than ever before. He's not the man who killed Terry's dad, he's an animistic brute that used to be him. It makes perfect sense. He descended further from humanity.

Batman Beyond is such an under rated show. It was always my favourite Batman series. Just as Terry is my fav Bruce Wayne son type character.

Gotta love glowing green skeleton villains, I've been a fan of Phosphorus for a while but now I'm just getting around to Corrosive Man who is very derivative of Phosphorus but i don't care cause i like him. Phosphorus is a really interesting case because I feel like everytime he shows up he's written differently, but certain motifs keep popping up with him. The main one is the religious imagery especially the idea of his handprints looking like angel wings (which is used twice!! weird and fun!) It's cool seeing a much stronger character for the design in Blight but really sad that nobody seems to get him right since then. I think that his strong character arc makes him harder to tell new stories with (or maybe they need better writers on him lol). I would love to see Blight again especially with the ideas you had!

Since I love Englehart's run in Detective Comics, I immediately knew the origin for Blight's look and powers, but I must admit that the name and sleek visual design of Blight beats out Dr. Phosphorus. On a side note, while I will never accept any version of Batman Beyond as canon for the main DCU timeline, BB's villains were often exceptional. Blight, Shriek, and Inque were all fantastic.

I always thought that he was glaring when he eats the sandwich because his assistant was watching him.

You say is hard to go wrong when you have a bright skeleton design. But poor Dr Phosphorus never had is chance to shiny as a Batman enemy

I really wish the DC films would lean on Paul Dini for direction on how to create a compelling DC Universe. The Batman, Superman and Justice League cartoons of his were just wonderful.

Can we get an update on how it ends if you decide to keep reading? I'd rather give content creators my time than dc comics my money, if I'm honest. I don't think I'll ever get over what they did to wally, and with their "everything is cannon if you want it to be" attitude, that list can get preeeeeetty long Also I liked blight before his whole transformation. I like that kind of frieza style villain that gives the orders, but will also get into if he has to. I say frieza instead of lex Luther because it took them decades to find a way for him to regularly compete with Clark. And powers was in the streets busting off shots sometimes lmao. Great video!

damn I love your little costumes, always on point

Shout out to the Farscape reference. Loved that show! If you did an episode on Farscape, I wouldn’t be mad about it.

Blight is such a good villain and I was in the middle of drawing blight so perfect timing also I just remember that one time he was in gotham academy randomly.

Quite the journey with this villain for sure. Entertaining, this guy

love the vid subbing for sure!

I like this. Thank you

I'd still rather have Blight return again than when they tried to do another Joker Beyond story in the comics. I still don't know why they did that.

One of the main reasons I watch these videos is cause of how hilarious your Batman voice is

I love how you read Blights voice it reminds me of when my mom or I would do voices for reading out loud

Godzilla is a metaphor for the dangers of radiation, along with the general follies of man. He has also died on at least several occasions; so I am truely sorry to break the news to you blight but you are wrong. According to one of the newer Godzilla comic runs, radiation can also go to Hell so I guess that's soemthing for you to look foreward too! Oh! Who else wants to see Hellspawn Blight!? Make it happeeeeeen!!!

I came for the comics discussion (always fun on this channel!). I stayed for the wig game. The color tie-in is spot on!

Honestly think that Paxton should've become a more stable Blight 2, y'know' without the whole "I'm slowly deteriorating and dying" gimmick.

I need to know. Do you choose the videos based on the wigs? Or wigs based on subject material? Because u could imagine with a wig like that you may go with the former. Regardless, always great stuff!

Blight was a despicably fun to hate villain with an all-time AMAZING design (in animated form).

Great video and I love the editing also 10:44 similar energy when Bison said it was a Tuesday🤣

I remember in the Romanian dub they used to apply a voice distortion when he went into the Blight form. It was pretty cool as far as I can recall, but I haven't been able to find that dub online.

Talking about “the submarine” sure hits different in July 2023!!! 😭😭😭

Blight was epic, too bad Batman Beyond didn't go longer. could you make one of these for Inque? she was my favorite Beyond villain

I liked his storyline of coming across as the sort of stereotypical puppet master villain that everyone has to have apparently but plays on it by being more of a descent from cunning to unstable power that comes with a desperation from a man who wanted power but got a bit more than he bargained for.

Terry: Radiation dies tonight!!! I always loved Blith, I saw him as a mix between Lex Luther and the Joker, but without the influence is being too on the nose… I wish they had bring him back for more episodes, I hope to see him again someday in another animated series or movie… Fingers crossed lol

Great series/animation( especially the first season.) Even more impressive for it to follow the massively successful - Batman the animated series, and be just as entertaining and imaginative with the character designs/storylines, having an elderly Bruce Wayne reluctantly training a new hero with the aid of a advanced batsuit empowered with futuristic technology.