LIGHTNING
“The Game”). “I wanted to add something not only to black culture but to American culture that can’t be taken away.”
Cress Williams plays the titular hero, Jefferson Pierce, a scrupulous highschool principal and divorced father of two daughters living in the fictional city of Freeland.
Nine years before the start of the series — after a near-fatal showdown with nemesis Tobias Whale ( Marvin Jones III) — Pierce retired his alter ego, Black Lightning, a masked vigilante with the power to manipulate electricity.
But superheroes rarely stay retired. Pierce resurrects Black Lightning to combat racist cops and a violent gang led by Whale, terrorizing the community. The battle becomes personal when gang members target his daughters, activist Anissa ( Nafessa Williams) and high- schooler Jennifer (China Anne McClain), who turn out to have special skills of their own. (Stay tuned for “Thunder” and “Lightning.”)
One of the key goals for Akil, who grew up in Richmond, California, is to show that black heroes matter.
“In my community, I know who the good guys and the bad guys are,” he said. “I’ve never seen Superman go to Chicago. I’ve never seen Batman go to Watts. There are no superheroes going into the neighborhoods I grew up in and fighting any kind of crime. So that was a must in terms of the world ‘Black Lightning’ would live in.
“There are no more heroic people than those who live with the threat of gun violence and drugs. It’s not even about what race you are. It’s about socioeconomic status.”
Although “Black Lightning” features many familiar comicbook touchstones
— the reluctant hero, the snazzy suit, the complicated romantic life — they are filtered through a contemporary prism crafted by a predominantly black writing staff.
Characters quote the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and civilrights activist Fannie Lou Hamer (“I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”)
The soundtrack ranges from contemporary hip-hop to vintage R&B tunes such as Isaac Hayes’ version of the pop classic “Walk on By” and Billy Paul’s socially conscious “Am I Black Enough for You?”
Although the series hails from executive producer Greg Berlanti, the man behind the other DC shows on the CW, crossover episodes aren’t likely. “Black Lightning” is designed to stand on its own.
“I saw the script, and it was different in so many ways but also fit the genre,” CW President Mark Pedowitz said. “It’s a DC character and property. It fits the lineup, but we made a decision that it doesn’t fit in the ‘Arrowverse’ because it has a unique perspective.
“Black Lightning is a more-mature superhero,” he continued. “The show depicts an African-American family trying to exist and survive in this world. It’s about realizing that vision, not making (it like) everything else.”