Again, Black Lightning is not a dark and dour show, but manages a smart mixture of serious issues with bombastic action and fun characters.
Such touching scenes are earned by how the characters are portrayed and developed.īlack Lightning has a surprising edge to it, not only with sometimes brutal scenes – Tobias once rips out Painkiller’s spine – but how the characters cope with such events, and debate the morality of their actions. This includes Jennifer’s frustrations about her parents coddling her newfound powers, or Jefferson having a minor break-down in the Season 2 finale, telling his family how he “worries all the time” about their safety. Jefferson begins Black Lightning as a dad, and the weight and responsibilities of family are baked into the show. Although Green Arrow (Stephen Amell) is revealed to have children in Arrow, and the Flash (Grant Gustin) becomes a father through time-travel, both instances are unexpected twists design to shake up later seasons. After hearing of Black Lightning’s return, he even harpoons Lala and rhetorically asks him if he “believes in The Resurrection.” Tobias’ actor has a commanding presence that makes him always captivating to watch, especially when combined with Tobias’ superior attitude towards Freeland stemming from the discrimination he’s faced as an African-American albino.īlack Lightning’s status as a middle-aged father sets him apart from other CW Superhero shows (with the exception of the recent Superman & Lois). But often the lack of introductions and explanations makes minor henchmen – such as enforcer Syonide (Charlbi Dean) – that much more mysterious and memorable.īlack Lightning forgoes a “villain of the week” formula, instead focusing on the villain’s long-term schemes develop over time, with episodes often constructed as three-episode long “Books.” A major antagonist pulling the strings is Tobias Whale (Marvin "Krondon" Jones III), an albino crime lord who killed Jefferson’s father and is ruthless at every step. Black Lightning may grapple with realistic societal issues, but the show also throws in strange sci-fi elements and characters with little fanfare. Lala is currently back in charge of the 100, but he has also become a quasi-immortal variation of the Tattooed Man ( a minor DC supervillain). Many of these early music choices are courtesy of “Lala” (Will Catlett), a high-ranking member of the 100, who undergoes grueling and unexpected changes throughout the four seasons. Plus, such diversity extends to the show’s spectacular soundtrack, scoring scenes to gems like “Release the Beast,” “Rescue Me,” “Let’s Straighten It Out,” and Billy Paul’s “Am I Black Enough For You?”. It’s simply that the immediacy of its issues creates an authentic core for the characters to build off of, making you increasingly invested in them over the course of the show. There’s plenty of laughter, stylish action, and emotional storytelling to be found. So Black Lightning tackles some heavy themes, but it is not a heavy show. experimenting on Freeland’s population to create “metahumans” with the real-world Tuskegee Experiments, drawing attention to important historical injustices. It even explicitly compares the shady governmental A.S.A. But Black Lightning shows how gangs and drugs can become entwined with “legitimate” business, and empathizes with the struggles of working-class communities caught up in them. It can be tempting to view crime and violence as reductively binary, especially in Superhero stories.
And the city of Freeland is complicated in Black Lightning.
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