Derek Powell (UE-43)

"I'm already dead."

- Derek's last words to Superman

Derek Powell was a Subjekt of Morgan Edge's X-Kryptonite experiments from New Carthage.

Experimented
In 2020, Derek was offered a better work by Morgan Edge and went missing for months. He was then experimented with X-Kryptonite, allowing his body to be possessed by a Kryptonian and gained their powers.

Fighting Superman
In fall 2020, Derek's mother asked for The Smallville Gazette's assistance. Later, Derek returned to Sharon and the two went to the Gazette's office. However, both Lois and Chrissy felt suspicious on Derek's sudden reappearance. After causing a fire in the Community Center with his heat vision during the Harvest Fest, Derek escaped through the back door and went to Leslie Larr's building for assistance. After exposing to the Eradicator, Derek gained more control over his powers and was attacked by Superman. Derek then told Leslie to secure the asset and fought Superman. During the chase, Derek destroyed a barn and the fire was put out by Superman. Derek and Superman's chase then caught the attention from Captain Luthor, with the latter shooting them with a rocket launcher, hitting them both to crash on the ground. As Superman attempted to help him, Derek claims he was already dead and committed suicide using his heat vision on himself.

Powers

 * X-Kryptonite Mutations: After exposed to X-Kryptonite, Derek gained limited Kryptonian powers.
 * Heat Vision: Derek was able to use heat vision to start a fire in the community center.
 * Superhuman Strength: Derek was able to fight Superman hand-to-hand alone.
 * Flight: Derek was shown to fly at a high speed, surpassing that of Superman.
 * Superhuman Durability: Despite being hit with a rocket launcher, Derek was shown to have no major injuries.
 * Superhuman Speed: Derek was shown to vibrate at superhuman speed before his suicide.

Abilities

 * Hand-to-Hand Combat: Derek was able to fight Superman hand-to-hand alone.

Former Weaknesses

 * Power Instability: Prior to exposing himself to the Eradicator for the second time, Derek was unable to control his powers and started having headaches.