A new teaser has dropped in anticipation of The CW’s new superhero show, Black Lightning, based on the DC Comics character of the same name.
The character Black Lightning/Jefferson Pierce was created in 1977 by writer Tony Isabella and artist Trevor Von Eeden and has been a mainstay in the DC Comics Universe ever since. Black Lightning, the new CW series, follows Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams), a former superhero with the power to harness and control electricity who returns to his life of crime fighting when the menacing local gang The One Hundred — led by Tobias Whale — threatens both his family and his community. The new series comes from Berlanti Productions and Akil Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television with Greg Berlanti, Salim Akil, Mara Brock and Sarah Schechter serving as executive producers.
While the video is only six seconds long and doesn’t offer much in the way of new footage, we do get to see Black Lightning himself, Jefferson Pierce, charging up to use his powers on an unseen menace. You can check out the teaser below.
The series stars Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce/Black Lightning, Nafessa Williams as Anissa Pierce, China Anne McClain as Jennifer Pierce and Christine Adams as Lynn Pierce. Here’s the official synopsis:
“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.”
Black Lightning is set to premiere Tuesday, January 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, taking the timeslot that currently belongs to DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
10 Heroes Who Should Get Their Own CW Arrowverse Shows
This past week marked the season finales for the core DC CW shows from the Arrowverse. Legends of Tomorrow ended a little bit earlier than Supergirl, The Flash, and Arrow did, but all of the finales were great. They each successfully concluded the seasons and helped set things in motion for their upcoming seasons of the show. Supergirl teased a potential new villain, while The Flash, Arrow, and Legends of Tomorrow left us off with cliffhangers that will hopefully be resolved early next year.
While each of the DC CW shows were good, this season of Arrow was great! We here at Heroic Hollywood even gave an argument that this season of Arrow was better than this season of The Flash, due to how great this season for Oliver and the other Star City vigilantes were this year. Not only did the show deliver a compelling storyline, great choreographed action, and probably one of the best villains the CW produced (Prometheus), it also marked the return of Slade Wilson/Deathstroke (arguably the second best villain of Arrow), who has been missing since season two. His return at the end of “Missing” made fans excited for his return. Recently actor Manu Bennett has been campaigning for a Deathstroke spin-off within the Arrowverse. The sometimes good, sometimes bad guy was a great presence earlier in Arrow and the character was one of the highlights of the past seasons. It would be interesting to see his backstory if possible, as well as what happens after he helped Oliver and Team Arrow on Lian Yu.
With that said, there are still plenty of characters who could get their own show within the DC universe. The DC CW universe started with Arrow and has quickly spun off into a wide range of shows, each able to stand on their own, each interconnected as well. Because of this, they have created their own coherent cinematic universe. The CW has been very successful with their DC shows as well. They have almost run out of days of the week to have their shows on, and with such a high volume of characters to work with, there’s a great deal of DC characters who could get their own spin-off shows. Next fall we will see Black Lightning (although it’s stated not to be a part of the Arrowverse… yet), so the sky’s the limit for what they can do. Here are a few ideas for spin-offs for the Arrowverse.
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