(We’re so sorry about the pun. Good luck finding an article without one.)
Big release today from CW. The first trailer for their new Black Lightning TV show has dropped and it looks good. Centered around the DC comics character of the same name, Jefferson Pierce is an electricity powered superhero named Black Lightning forced to come out of retirement by the threat of gang violence overtaking New Orleans. Interestingly, today we also learned that Black Lightning will not take place in the CWDC universe and will not feature in next season’s crossover.
Two big takeaways from this trailer.
- This is a different kind of show from anything else DCCW has put together. It’s somehow more “grounded” even though Lightning seems to be some kind of metahuman. It probably has to do with the lack of an evil archer or speed monster. The threat facing Pierce is much closer to the violence a lot of people face on a daily basis. Black Lightning also feels like the community will play a big part of the story, where the rest of the CW shows have a community that is secondary to the plot and characters. The city of New Orleans has always had a considerable amount of personality.
- The suit looks good. I was a little worried from the original promotional images, but in motion, this suit works. The goggles are a little goofy but everything else is spot on. Hopefully, these aren’t just “pilot effects” like Barry’s crime solving holograms from The Flash. It is also hard to not make the connection to Luke Cage’s first trailer; not because of anything besides the way this trailer features a long scene where Pierce tears through a gang stronghold in what looks like his first heroic outing. If you don’t believe me, give this another look.
“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.” – The CW
