Image via The CW
The new CW show “Black Lightning” came and electrified Comic Con. Get it? Electrified! Because he has electricity powers!
The superhero show will be taking a different approach than most, in that this hero already gave it a shot, heroeing it up. A life he left behind, due to the dangers inherently involved with fighting criminals and chose to be a family man instead. That is until…(insert generic reason to pick up the crime fighting mantle once again.)
Black lightening will undoubtedly be compared to last year’s Luke Cage. A series generally well received by critics and viewers alike, and noted for its great depiction of a black hero headlining his own series. Time will only tell if Black Lighting can do the same, with the majority of the burden falling unto Cress Williams (Black Lightening) to breathe life into the character and find his own place amongst the pantheon of superhero shows currently dominating the small screen. The actor had this to say about playing the role and the heroes’ intentions, “I’ve played a lot of bad guys. I’m changing teams. I’m officially on the side of light. Jefferson is going into the community. We effect change positively from his family out to the community. He’s trying to save the world one person at a time”
Executive producer Salim Akil is promising that the show will have an authentic ‘Black Voice’, he further explained, “It’s time for Black Lightning. Jefferson Pierce is the epitome of what black men are: He loves his wife, his children, and the community. This family is the Obamas of the superhero world. This show will have an authentic black voice. This character will add something to the conversation. We’ve always been character-based and we’ll continue to be character-based. It’s about when and how he uses his powers and why. We want people to get to know this family. Their powers, like their race, is only part of who they are. There’s definitely a problem with police brutality and we will get into that. There’s also a problem with us killing each other and we’ll talk about that too.”
The show will premiere at midseason on The CW network in 2018
Official Trailer here:
Official Synopsis here:
BLACK LIGHTNING –– Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) is a man wrestling with a secret. As the father of two daughters and principal of a charter high school that also serves as a safe haven for young people in a New Orleans neighborhood overrun by gang violence, he is a hero to his community.Nine years ago, Pierce was a hero of a different sort. Gifted with the superhuman power to harness and control electricity, he used those powers to keep his hometown streets safe as the masked vigilante Black Lightning. However, after too many nights with his life on the line, and seeing the effects of the damage and loss that his alter ego was inflicting on his family, he left his Super Hero days behind and settled into being a principal and a dad. Choosing to help his city without using his superpowers, he watched his daughters Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain) grow into strong young women, even though his marriage to their mother, Lynn (Christine Adams), suffered.
Almost a decade later, Pierce’s crime-fighting days are long behind him…or so he thought. But with crime and corruption spreading like wildfire, and those he cares about in the crosshairs of the menacing local gang The One Hundred, Black Lightning returns — to save not only his family, but also the soul of his community.
Based on the characters from DC, BLACK LIGHTNING is from Berlanti Productions and Akil Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti (“Arrow,” “The Flash”), Salim Akil & Mara Brock Akil (“Being Mary Jane,” “The Game,” “Girlfriends”), and Sarah Schechter (“Arrow,” “The Flash”). The Black Lightning character was created by Tony Isabella with Trevor Von Eeden.
