Earlier this month, the CW officially gave a series order to the “Black Lightning” superhero drama from Greg Berlanti, Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil.
One key question about the upcoming series that fans of the CW superhero universe have had is whether Black Lightning’s world will be interconnected with the so-called Arrowverse – the shared fictional universe that is centered on television series airing on The CW, based on characters appearing in publications by DC Comics, which includes Green Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, Vixen, and Legends of Tomorrow.
The answer is no.
During a conference call with reporters ahead of the network’s upfront presentation today, CW chief Mark Pedowitz said that the Black Lightning series will not be connected to the Arrowverse, so fans shouldn’t expect any crossover. Black Lightning will essentially be a standalone series, which actually may be a good thing. Time will tell…
“We do not aim to do a five-way crossover… Black Lightning, at this time, is not part of the Arrowverse. It is a separate situation,” Pedowitz said.
So while there are no plans for “at this time, as the CW chief said, it could still happen some time in the future. It may be a case of wait-and-see, as the network waits to see how “Black Lightning” initially performs during its first season to determine whether any crossover will be necessary to maybe stimulate interest at a later date, if it’s not the ratings hit that they likely hope for.
Also revealed today by the CW is an extended summary of the upcoming series: “Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) is a man wrestling with a secret. As the father of two daughters and principal of a charter high school that also serves as a safe haven for young people in a New Orleans neighborhood overrun by gang violence, he is a hero to his community. Nine years ago, Pierce was a hero of a different sort. Gifted with the superhuman power to harness and control electricity, he used those powers to keep his hometown streets safe as the masked vigilante Black Lightning. However, after too many nights with his life on the line, and seeing the effects of the damage and loss that his alter ego was inflicting on his family, he left his Super Hero days behind and settled into being a principal and a dad. Choosing to help his city without using his superpowers, he watched his daughters Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain) grow into strong young women, even though his marriage to their mother, Lynn (Christine Adams), suffered. Almost a decade later, Pierce’s crime-fighting days are long behind him…or so he thought. But with crime and corruption spreading like wildfire, and those he cares about in the crosshairs of the menacing local gang The One Hundred, Black Lightning returns — to save not only his family, but also the soul of his community.”
According to the DC Comics wiki: “The One Hundred, formerly known as El Ciento (the one hundred), was founded by 71 men and women from all over Europe who came together in Aragon, Spain 1462, and named themselves El Ciento in order to honor their 29 dead allies. The surviving members of El Ciento combined various scientific, arcane and alchemical methods of life extension in order to render themselves immortal. They later discovered that the only way they could stay alive was to own the land they lived on, and to feed off the despair and negative emotions of the human tenants on their lands; they also learned how to become immaterial and possess human bodies. They later seem to have spread, with branches operating in other cities. They have also made enemies of many heroes, including Rose and Thorn (whose father they murdered), Halo (whom they murdered as well as her parents), and Superman himself. As the 100, they fought foes like Black Lightning at the behest of the Metropolis section leader Tobias Whale.”
Cress Williams stars as Black Lightning, a.k.a. Jefferson Pierce. He is joined by Christine Adams, Nafessa Williams and China Anne McClain.
According to DC Comics Universe lore, Black Lightning – created by Tony Isabella and Trevor von Eeden, first appearing in “Black Lightning #1” (1977) – is a superhero with the ability to generate and control lightning. Originally he was a high school principal and Olympic-level athlete who became a vigilante to take down organized crime in Metropolis’ Suicide Slum. Eventually he would become a member of Batman’s team of Outsiders for many years, although he retired briefly to become secretary of education underneath president Lex Luthor. Returning to crime-fighting, he has also been a member of the Justice League. His two daughters operate as the super-heroes Thunder and Lightning.
Salim Akil and Mara Brock Akil will write and executive produce the series with Berlanti Prods’ Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter, for Warner Bros. TV. Recall the Akils inked a 3-year deal with Warner Bros. TV after exiting BET in 2015. “Black Lightning” will be their second project under the new deal; the other is a comedy series titled “Documenting Love” which will center on a modern-day power couple navigating life, love and family.
A first trailer for “Black Lightning” has premiered and is embedded below:
