"Black Lightning": The CW's New Superhero Is Electrifying

The original Black Lightning character was the first African American DC character to get his own selftitled comic series and first appeared in Black Lightning No 1 in April 1977 amp160Over 40 years later this iconic title has been brought to television by directorproducerwriter Salim Akil whose resumamp233 very much speaks to his experience working on successful amp8220blackamp8221 shows Being Mary Jane The Game Girlfriends etcThe comic book backstory and the one from the show vary slightly from one another but are still fairly simple amp160In the comic Jefferson Pierce was born with the ability to generate and manipulate electricity amp160Additionally he was an Olympiclevel athlete and expert martial artist so after the death of his father at the hands of The 100 a dangerous and powerful local gang not to be confused with the CW show of the same name Jeff left his hometown having opted instead to become a goldmedal winning decathlete amp160Some other things happened then tragedy struck and he returned to his hometown where he tried to better his community not with his powers but as the principal of his former high school amp160Although his less physical methods do have a huge positive impact they prove to not be enough and eventually he is reeled back into a life of oneonone crime fightingIn the TV show Jefferson Pierce who we get a killer portrayal of by Cress Williams mostly known for The CWamp8217s Hart of Dixie and 1998amp8217s Never Been Kissed does all the same stuff just a little differently amp160I donamp8217t envy the man either amp160Heamp8217s got it rough amp160This time BL sustained near lethal injuries which inadvertently exposed just how lifethreatening his night job was to his eventual exwife Lynn Christine Adams amp160In an attempt to repair the damage to his family Jeff promised to never again use his powers to fight crime a promise he ended up having to break after nine years which is pretty much where the show picks upAlthough Lynn the exwife she seems pretty adamant about not wanting Jeff to bring Black Lightning back she still loves him and seems to be constantly fighting the amp8220stand by your manamp8221 part of her personality amp160She and Jeff disagree but she never gets ratchet or even cusses and almost always comes off as levelheaded and supportive amp160I dig that about her amp160Kudos to Adams for bringing that to lifeOn TV the catalyst for Jeffamp8217s return to the vigilante life was a combination of his lovedriven need to protect his girls the system he adhered to continually failing to work and the racerelated mistreatment he suffers at the hands of his townamp8217s local police officers while the town suffers at the hands of The 100 amp160I love the idea that Black Lightning being fed up with injustice is what puts him over the edge especially since as a black man injustice is something heamp8217s more than familiar withOn to the cool stuff amp8230Thankfully Black Lightningamp8217s superhero outfit is hotter than the ad spots initially made it look amp160In the commercials I came away with the impression that the suit was kind of bulky and a little hokey amp160However itamp8217s appearance and functionality in the actual show is much more solid amp160Cress Williams pictured at top and above left has got the TV superhero body type down so there isnamp8217t as much padding as I initially thought and BLamp8217s suit comes with a builtin voice changer which alleviated some of my concerns about how people didnamp8217t recognize their principal running around whupping ass at night with that tiny mask onAlso the action scenes are more legit than I thought theyamp8217d be amp160In fact the tone of the entire show is grittier darker and more realistic than I originally expected amp160The music is as soulful as the musical references by the students are current though Iamp8217m not particularly fond of the theme song thereamp8217s the threat of actual death which is a welcome addition to any narrative if you ask me and then thereamp8217s that whole amp8220You were sitting next to this guy at a party so now you have to become a sex worker to pay off his debtamp8221 situation that happens to one of Jeffamp8217s daughters during the pilot amp160Talk about immediately setting the mood right amp160Trust me it doesnamp8217t let up eitherThis reincarnation of a legendary black DC Comics character has a rich and colorful narrative to pull from and apparently itamp8217s already been poking its head out in some places amp160Comic book arch villain Tobias Whale Marvin amp8220Krondonamp8221 Jones III already seems to be a major player on the TV show and Peter Gambi James Remar an older Italian gentleman whoamp8217s basically Black Lightningamp8217s Alfred plays a huge role as wellInamp160the show as in the comics Jeff has two daughters Anissa played here by Nefessa Williams and Jennifer China Anne McClainamp160 In the comicsamp160both of them gain superpowers of their own causing Anissa to take on the name amp8220Thunderamp8221 and Jennifer the name amp8220Lightningamp8221 amp160Since the pilot episode of the show Anissa hasamp160gone from accidentally breaking her bathroom sink during a amp8220panic attackamp8221 to almost crippling her first three bad guys so Iamp8217m thinking the writers arenamp8217t going to waste any time getting at least the first two legs of this probable tripod on its feetBlack Lightning is a more than solid superhero show amp160Even if the superhero aspects of the show were removed it would still be a gritty drama built on excellent performances and thoughtful writing amp160This series represents a positive fictional character of color and that character brought into modern times and combined with the collective voices of his exwife and daughters represents a huge cross section of our country modernday black families trying to survive in America amp160It shines a mindful light on issues that face inner city school systems and neighborhoods filled with poverty and crime without making any of its main leads drug addicts or criminals amp160These people exist outside the stereotypesIf anyone tells you The CW dropped the ball on this one theyamp8217re lyingBlack Lightning is telecast at 9amp160pm Tuesday on The CWClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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"Black Lightning": The CW's New Superhero Is Electrifying

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"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

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