BLACK LIGHTNING
NETFLIX OUT 23 JANUARY EPISODES VIEWED 1-2
CREATED BY Mara Brock Akil, Salim Akil CAST Cress Williams, Nafessa Williams, China Anne Mcclain, Christine Adams, James Remar, Damon Gupton
PLOT Former superhero-turned-school principal Black Lightning (Williams) is drawn out of retirement when local gang The One Hundred targets his two daughters.
THE WORLD IS changing for the better. Albeit slowly. And in isolated pockets. But cast your mind back 18 months — there were no black superheroes in title roles on TV or in film. Since then we’ve had Luke Cage on Netflix, Black Panther is the next entry in the MCU and, after a false start and a rewritten pilot, the first series of Black Lightning is now streaming.
For those not up to speed, this is what you’ve missed. Real name Jefferson Pierce, Black Lightning debuted in 1977 as DC Comics’ first black lead character. From what we see in these opening two episodes, his powers aren’t as far-reaching here as on the page. He still has the ability to manipulate electricity, but instead of turning into an all-energy invulnerable being, he most commonly uses to shoot lightning from his hands.
Or at least he used to. This series, created by wife and husband team Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil, picks up with Pierce retired from vigilante work, a decision he took to protect his family. Now he’s a high-school principal at a once rough school that’s thrived under his stewardship. But when his daughters Anissa (Nafessa Williams), a teacher at the school, and Jennifer (Mcclain), a pupil, are kidnapped by a local gang, he suits up once more.
The recent trend in superhero-based television, certainly the Netflix MCU shows, has been for reluctant heroes. At least three quarters of the Defenders acted as though they’d rather be anywhere else than fighting crime. Jefferson’s motivations are different. He likes being a superhero and is constantly resisting the urge to return to his vigilante ways. His wife left him, not able to stand not knowing whether he’d come back safe, injured or not come back at all. And so he quit — concentrating instead on bringing up his daughters.
It’s an interesting dynamic — where can Jefferson do the most good? As a masked hero fighting the city’s gangs? Or as a high-school principal trying to give the kids under his charge the best start in life? But is he wasting his powers by not using them? It’s this push and pull that drives much of the drama and Jefferson’s relationships with the people in his life — both those in on the secret, and those who aren’t.
Broadcast on The CW in the US, you’d be forgiven for assuming Black Lightning is part of the Arrowverse, but its writers claim (for the moment at least) the show stands alone. But in terms of production values and tone, it would fit perfectly —too glossy to be gritty, even with the gang-land crime it deals with. But these two episodes, working as one to set up the world and the Big Bad, are a lot of fun. JONATHAN PILE
VERDICT Slick (and sometimes silly) superhero TV — it’s too early to know whether the show can live up to its promise, but it’s an entertaining start.