With diversity in cinema coming to rise, especially with movies like Black Panther, now seems the perfect time to strike while the iron is hot. With superhero movies coming out of the wazoo, there is also no shortage of superhero television. DC has its own mini interconnecting universe on the CW with shows, like Arrow and The Flash. The newest member of this universe controlling lightning, like a Pikachu from Pokémon, is Black Lightning also known as Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams). Does Black Lightning equal to or surpass the other CW superhero shows? Let’s find out.
After being experimented on when Jefferson was a child, he gained the power to control lightning at will. This led him to be the vigilante called Black Lightning. In his prime, he would fight crime around Freeland (the fictional city he lives in) trying to make it a better place. After many fights with gang members and coming home every day nearly beaten to death, his wife Lynn (Christine Adams) made him promise that he would quit the life of a vigilante. Jefferson was addicted to fighting crime and broke his promise to his wife, which became the final straw for her and she divorced him. Heartbroken from the loss of his lover, Jefferson stopped the life to become a principle. He tries to win his ex-wife over so they can be a family again with their two daughters, Jennifer (China Anne McClain) and Anissa (Nafessa Williams). After crime starts to become rampant because of a gang called the 100, Jennifer gets kidnapped by the gang and Jefferson has to suit up again to dispose of the 100 gangs from his city.
Jefferson Pierce aka Black Lightning is a man who just wants his family to be whole again and his city to be safe. Tobias Whale (Marvin Jones III) the leader of the 100 gangs has three goals. The first is to kill Black Lightning for all the meddling in all of his affairs. The second is to sell people with superpowers to foreign governments to make a lot of money. Finally, his last goal is to take over Freeland and make it his own dominion. Tobias with his large wealth seems to have endless source of resources to go against Black Lightning. But Black Lightning is not alone. Peter Gambi (James Remar), who raised Jefferson since his real father was killed, is his tech man or “guy in the chair.” He is in Black Lighting’s ear every time he is out on the field.
What Hank Stuever (Washington Post) says about the show is true, the show definitely feels more like a drama with some crime in it then a genuine superhero show. This is quite refreshing to get away from the action and enjoy people with powers trying to be normal. With one single villain in the story, it makes the clashing between Black Lightning and Tobias Whale have more emotional weight. It’s not just a story on good vs evil but a show that goes through heavy topics like racism and poverty.
This show is lacking a bit in the action scenes but is well worth the character development. It has a good message for living in today’s world of racial tension. As a superhero show, I would rank it pretty low but as a drama with some action it is great. Compared to the other CW shows in the same interconnected universe, I would say that it ranks in the second slightly behind Arrow. This is great but all the other shows are mediocre, so it wasn’t that hard of a choice. Don’t watch the show expecting beautifully choreographed fight scenes and stellar visual effects. The show heavily depends on how the actors work wonderfully with each other. Presenting relevancy with topics that are major problems in today’s day, this show teaches how to face those problems even if you’re not a walking battery like Black Lightning.
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