The CW has revealed the first photo of “Black Lightning, the latest hero joining the network’s stable of super-powered crime-fighting shows.
The image shows Cress Williams (“Hart of Dixie,” “Friday Night Lights”) suited up as Jefferson Pierce, a.k.a Black Lightning, the hero soon to be joining the Berlanti family of superhero series, including “Arrow,” “The Flash,” “Legends of Tomorrow,” and “Supergirl.” The drama is currently shooting in Atlanta.
“Resurrecting him at a time in our society when a sense of hope is lacking … Black Lightning will be that hope,” executive producer Salim Akil said. “And in updating the suit, it will signal to a new generation that it’s time to harness and release our power, and become our own superheroes.”
The series will follow Pierce — now retired from his crime-fighting days — who’s pulled back into vigilante life as one daughter is hell-bent on justice and the other is being recruited by a local gang.
Black Lightning was created by Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eeden, and first appeared in the comic book “Black Lightning #1” in 1977. The character was the first African-American DC Comics hero to have his own standalone comic title.
“Comics were a great way for me to escape,” writer-director Akil added. “I was about 13 when ‘Black Lightning’ was created, and finally there was a black superhero that gave a damn about our neighborhood and our lives.”
