Details

Release year: 2018

Storyline

A crusading school principal gets back into action as the original African-American electrical superhero.

Top credits

Cast

Cress Williams — Jefferson Pierce, Black Lightning
Nafessa Williams — Anissa Pierce, Thunder, Anissa Peirce, Blackbird
Christine Adams — Lynn Pierce, Lynn Stewart, Dr. Lynn Stewart
Marvin Jones III — Tobias Whale

Did you know

• The plot of the government experimenting on an African-American community is based on the Tuskegee Syphilis experiment, where impoverished African-American men were tricked into participating in a study to observe the progression of syphilis under the guise of free meals and medical care. The men were never told they had contracted the illness and were never treated for it; in some cases, they were even prevented from taking drugs that might have helped them.

• While produced by the same production team as the CW's Arrowverse, no crossovers were announced between Black Lightning and any of the other CW superhero shows. However, first season episodes did mention the existence of other superheroes, including two from the Arrowverse (Vixen and Supergirl), leaving open the possibility of future crossovers.

• Jefferson adopts a more street-wise manner of speaking when disguised as Black Lightning. This is in keeping with the original comic books, where Black Lightning made use of 70's era slang to disguise his identity.