Despite a couple of stumbles along the way, The CW deserves some serious kudos for their superhero TV shows. Each one improves on what came before and feels a little bit more ambitious and adventurous than the last. This new trailer summarizes their output, showing us the comic book and DCAU influences on the creative team and giving us another peek into what’s to come in the upcoming Black Lightning.
Cards on the table, I know very little about the character despite (I think) having a pretty good handle on superheroes in general. Almost everything I know comes from the Grant Morrison penned Final Crisis tie-in that features him trying to protect his family from Darkseid’s anti-life minions.
It seems as if this familial focus is to continue in the new series as well. The first trailer explained how the show is skipping over the origin and discovering new powers schtick (that’s gotten a teeny bit tired) and instead giving us an older Black Lightning/Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams). The character is principal of a high school for disadvantaged children in New Orleans and has quit the superhero life after realizing the danger it was putting his family in. But now, with crime increasingly out of control, it’s time for one last rodeo.
The idea of an experienced retired superhero donning the costume for one last adventure is reminiscent of The Dark Knight Returns, but Black Lightning should hopefully prove a lighter take on the material than Frank Miller’s pervy fascism. We expect to get a second full trailer at some point during Comic-Con but for now, this teaser definitely whets our appetites for what sounds like a fine addition to The CW superhero stable.
