[PREVIEW] DC Comics’ ‘Black Lightning’ Character Is Coming To Prime Time
Hoping to capitalize on the continual superhero craze sweeping the nation and the world, The CW is embarking on exploring the DC Comicverse further with Black Lightning.
Born Jefferson Pierce, the character is a crime fighting champion bent on removing injustice from the sphere in which he lives. Played by Cress Williams, who has starred in films such as Never Been Kissed and Fallen, as well as TV shows, ER, Hart of Dixie, and Prison Break, viewers should find a significant amount of acquaintance with the star.
At the onset of the first episode, Pierce has retired from his alter ego opting for familial life and heading up as principal of a charter school, but is quickly brought back into the proverbial fold to tackle the racial and social ills plaguing his community. According to an interview that Williams did with The Hollywood Reporter, he proclaimed that the Akils will undoubtedly weave real-life issues into the mix, thereby constructing a plot that intertwines fantasy and the fixedness of the world.
For those unfamiliar with Black Lightning, his initial presence emerged in the late 1970’s from Tony Isabella, who also crafted Marvel’s Luke Cage. The first African American superhero from DC Comics, Black Lightning’s super powers include the ability to control, manipulate, and turn into electricity, and a whirlwind of energy absorption power making it extremely easy for him to strengthen the potency of his power and heal quicker. It is highly likely that the Akils thought of everything when envisioning the Black superhero. Black Lightning co-stars China McClain, as Pierce’s youngest daughter; Nafessa Williams, as his older daughter; Christine Adams as Lynn, his ex-wife; and Marvin Jones III, as Tobias Whale, one of Pierce’s adversaries.
The series, created by Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil, who also created Girlfriends, The Game, and Being Mary Jane, is an interesting and fascinating foray into superherodom. The series was initially shopped at Fox, who passed on the series and subsequently, picked up by The CW. The Akils reformulated the script for The CW and in turn, secured a 13-episode run for the series. Black Lightning jolts into television screens on January 16, 2018.
Watch the trailer for Black Lightning below!
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