Lightning’s Back: A solid new superhero

Srishti Agarwal, Class of 2019

The CW’s latest outing with DCTV, Black Lightning, premiered on January 16, 2018. It was their highest rated original series premiere in the last two years. On-campus viewers can catch it on Netflix, where new episodes will be available for streaming every week. Despite being from the same production team as the shows in the Arrowverse, this DCTV show is currently intended as being separate from them — a move to let it organically grow as a standalone show.

The show begins, impactfully, with an unapologetic and realistic portrayal of the injustice of racial profiling. Jefferson Pierce, a pillar of the community, has been working as the Principal of Garfield High School for the last seven years, and has been a retired superhero for the last nine. That’s right: unlike all the superhero shows currently on television, whether Marvel or DC, this show doesn’t glorify being young and reckless as the trademarks of a superhero. By focusing on the arc of a retired superhero living a family life, Black Lightning gives more of a The Incredibles vibe (sequel coming out this June; twelve years too late, but nonetheless). Pierce seems to believe that he can do more good as someone who takes care of his family and community than someone roaming the streets — a realisation that most superheroes seem to come to sooner or later in the DC Universe, *cough* Mayor Queen *cough*.

The show is set at a time when the rising terror of a gang, called The 100, demands the mask Pierce thought he had forgone. By beginning with this storyline, instead of leading up to it in a linear narrative, Black Lightning presents both an origin and a re-origin arc. The presentation adds to Pierce’s arc as it explores the storyline of a reluctant hero, which DC hasn’t done with its Arrowverse shows. Moreover, this allows the show to explore the pitfalls of being a superhero from the very beginning and skip the glorification montage. The first episode sets up a lot of interesting questions on the manifestations of violence — whether it is in the form of police brutality, activism, gang violence, or superheroism through vigilantism. The last question in particular seems to be one that the hero will be struggling with. Posing these questions in a city where violence is the truest, commonest factor in everyone’s lives elevates their importance and impact. These questions are raised and viewed in lieu of the supervillain this season, Tobias Whale, who is Black Lightning’s archenemy in the comics. The show employs the standard “personal enmity” trope along with a “does horrible things to the community” trope to establish this big bad. The cliche-ness of the villain seems to be one of the worst sins the premiere commits, but it’s too early to tell whether this indicates another Vandal Savage disaster.

The performances of all the cast were realistic and greatly contributed to the impact of the premiere. The highlight, for me, was Nafessa Williams as Anissa Pierce, Jefferson’s daughter; she carried out the badass and softer elements of her role with conviction. The background score was quite catchy, though there were times when it felt forced. The cinematography struck a nice balance between the darkness that shrouds the activities of Black Lightning and the brightness of Pierce’s day-to-day life. The special effects felt a little unpolished, but, for better or worse, they didn’t appear too often. The overall feel of the show ends up being as dark as early episodes of Arrow, though the familial elements are reminiscent of The Flash.

We are in a time of change, where diversity seems to be a key factor in the popularity of new superhero content, whether it’s in terms of moving away from the white male as a superhero or the stoic standard that superhero stories try to hold themselves to. Black Lightning taps into the audience’s demand for something new while still holding onto the elements that make superhero stories compelling throughout the ages. Overall, while there is much development to be done on the plot points that have begun to be established, I’d give the premiere a solid 4 out of 5 for its ability to evoke emotions and grapple with a different brand of superhero.