Black Lightning on the CW

[CliffHanger2]

My only nitpick is how didn't anyone see BL standing on top of the hotel when he was lit up like a bigass christmas tree.lol

[Jim Kelly]

My only nitpick is how didn't anyone see BL standing on top of the hotel when he was lit up like a bigass christmas tree.lol

Is that a nitpick? BL was shown on top of the motel from the vantage point of the camera which is something people would not have noticed right away unless they were looking up there and he powered down right away, so the light went out on his suit. Which is why I think they bothered to show us that on screen. They could have chose a different camera angle, but it's deliberate to show us that he can power down the suit and, when he does, it becomes dark.

[CliffHanger2]

Is that a nitpick? BL was shown on top of the motel from the vantage point of the camera which is something people would not have noticed right away unless they were looking up there and he powered down right away, so the light went out on his suit. Which is why I think they bothered to show us that on screen. They could have chose a different camera angle, but it's deliberate to show us that he can power down the suit and, when he does, it becomes dark.

Okay cool makes sense. I just remember him standing in some sort of light not shadowed or anything. Maybe gotta watch again.

[alton]

I don't know if I want to see Black Lightning's powers increased to that extent where he can convert his whole body into electrical energy. If that does happen, that's the point where a crossover seems reasonable, because the difference between Jefferson's world and the rest of the Arrowverse will not seem so significant anymore.

However, just as ARROW proved to be the starting point for the Arrowverse, I could see BLACK LIGHTNING spawning a Lightningverse. CW might want to build on its success, if it can maintain audience interest. Right now, BL feels truer to the comics than those other shows have been--and it might be a better place to develop more DC characters.

Lightningverse yes! Arrowverse no! At least not till much later. Of course I did postulate awhile back that when meta's were first introduced on Arrow that BL would be a logical choice. I think that if Jax remains depowered for awhile that he show up as a shop/mechanical arts teacher and Citizen Steel as a history teacher. Basically though I want a fully developed Lightningverse first and foremost.

[steve2275]

http://www.cwtv.com/shows/black-lightning
looks like i got a superhero saturday date

i enjoyed this episode much

[90'sCartoonMan]

Really strong pilot. I was cautiously optimistic that having an older hero with an ex-wife and daughters would be enough to set Black Lightning apart from the other half dozen DC shows out there, and it looks like it paid off. If this were standard CW, Anissa would be the hero learning about her powers, her supporting cast would be her age, and Jeff would be the J'onn-like figure only occasionally stepping in to help. Not the case when we've got an already established hero coming out of retirement as the focus. The only thing I worry about (aside from Gambi making movie references) is will there be enough variety in the bad guys he fights?

I wonder if Gambi does anything on the side. I refuse to believe a simple tailor will be in procession of that Hi-Tech display and advancements in Jeff's current suit.

He does part-time work for Kingsman.

However, just as ARROW proved to be the starting point for the Arrowverse, I could see BLACK LIGHTNING spawning a Lightningverse. CW might want to build on its success, if it can maintain audience interest. Right now, BL feels truer to the comics than those other shows have been--and it might be a better place to develop more DC characters.

Milestone characters are off the table, and the Outsiders have been mentioned, but who else is there? With Supergirl mining the aliens and the other Arrowverse shows having 6 years of DC characters, that means Black Lighting would be scraping the bottom of the barrel. Which actually might not be a bad thing if they can do some interesting stuff with characters no one has ever heard of (and don't have to worry about any preconceived notions from the audience).

[PyroTwilight]

The Outsiders would be fun to see. Of course Katana is a big part of that. Should be interesting to see if they use her if they try to make the Outsiders especially with her established already in the Arrowverse.

If not I suppose they could use another female Asian character instead like Judomaster.

[Jim Kelly]

I don't understand why the Milestone characters are off the table, but not Static Shock. Up until very recently, I didn't dare hope that Black Lightning would appear in anything, let alone get his own series because DC was so determined to deny Tony Isabella any rights. Yet here we are.

It's hard for me to know what characters the CW can use--because of legal arrangements and WB wanting them for the movies. However, there are literally thousands of DC characters. And CW has shown that they can turn third rate characters into major league players. They can also create their own characters that are some of the best on the CW--like John Diggle.

And it's not like every character spun off from BLACK LIGHTNING would have to be Afican-American. There are lots of possibilities. Just at random, I could envision down the line these characters getting a chance:

Deadman, Blue Devil, Metamorpho, the Spectre, Jason Bard, the Spider, Stanley & His Monster, Angel & the Ape, Starman, Roy Raymond TV Detective, Pow Wow Smith, Jonny Double, Tim Trent, Nemesis, Rex the Wonder Dog, Detective Chimp, Captain Comet, Sargon the Sorceror, the Shiing Knight, the Crimson Avenger, Bulleteer, the Demon, Kobra, Josiah Power, Skyrocket, the Manhunter, the Black Condor, Bloodwynd, John Henry Irons, Captain Atom, Nighthshade, Peacemaker, Bumblebee, Dr. Midnight, the Thorn, Dr. Light, Juice, Black Vulcan, Mal Duncan, Lilith, Mr. Bones, Congo Bill, Jason's Quest, the Phantom Stranger, Dr. Thirteen, Cave Carson, the Sea Devils, Lady Cop, the House of Mystery, Challengers of the Unknown, Binky & His Buddies, Animal Man, April O'Day, the Creeper.

[Marvel-Studios Rep]

Decent pilot.Never knew jack about black until this show. Will watch episode 2.
The younger dughter is hot.

Ps; He shouldn't have blown up that cop car. Seemed pointless and just a shot for the camera aka Rule of cool.

PSS: Trump's Fake news is everywhere.

[Jim Kelly]

I think that Jefferson had a lot of built up rage that he needed to get out. And looking at it another way, he probably needs to release the electric energy from his body. So, if he had this extra energy, he had to get it out. And putting it all into the cop car satisfied that need. And by electrifying the car, he would have erased any dashcam recording or other evidence gathered about his identity.

I'm so angry with BLACK LIGHTNING for having such a good pilot. This was a show I thought I could ignore--maybe binge watch next summer. I didn't want to get into yet another DC CW TV show--four is enoough. But BL had to be so darned good that I have to keep watching it. I might need to drop ARROW or SUPERGIRL instead.

[Marvel-Studios Rep]

I forgot about camera's. That's a decent excuse, I guess.

I don't see the issue with the white guy getting a small zap. There's prostitution with independent girls and prostitution with pimped girls. The latter is the only thing going on at that motel. Lighting gave the dude a "do better zap", which was deserved. And being called probably saved the guy's life, since he probably would have tried to flee and caught a bullet.

[Frontier]

Really strong pilot. I was cautiously optimistic that having an older hero with an ex-wife and daughters would be enough to set Black Lightning apart from the other half dozen DC shows out there, and it looks like it paid off. If this were standard CW, Anissa would be the hero learning about her powers, her supporting cast would be her age, and Jeff would be the J'onn-like figure only occasionally stepping in to help. Not the case when we've got an already established hero coming out of retirement as the focus. The only thing I worry about (aside from Gambi making movie references) is will there be enough variety in the bad guys he fights?

I'm curious to see how they'll handle the threats given it doesn't look like Black Lightning will be fighting more then common criminals or thugs.

Whale and his enforcers might be the closest thing to more traditional Supervillains that we'll get.

Though I guess they made a point that Jefferson isn't bulletproof, even though his current suit can tank bullets, but he's still got injuries from his earlier career that appear to be acting up so it might not be as easy for him to keep going out there to be Black Lightning now.

But Thunder and Lightning will probably make things a little easier.

Milestone characters are off the table, and the Outsiders have been mentioned, but who else is there? With Supergirl mining the aliens and the other Arrowverse shows having 6 years of DC characters, that means Black Lighting would be scraping the bottom of the barrel. Which actually might not be a bad thing if they can do some interesting stuff with characters no one has ever heard of (and don't have to worry about any preconceived notions from the audience).

Supergirl and Flash seem to have carte blanche onto any and all minor and obscure Supervillains, so I'm curious to see who this show might pick up on if they ever try and build on more villains after Tobias.

[Jackalope89]

I'm curious to see how they'll handle the threats given it doesn't look like Black Lightning will be fighting more then common criminals or thugs.

Whale and his enforcers might be the closest thing to more traditional Supervillains that we'll get.

Though I guess they made a point that Jefferson isn't bulletproof, even though his current suit can tank bullets, but he's still got injuries from his earlier career that appear to be acting up so it might not be as easy for him to keep going out there to be Black Lightning now.

But Thunder and Lightning will probably make things a little easier.

Supergirl and Flash seem to have carte blanche onto any and all minor and obscure Supervillains, so I'm curious to see who this show might pick up on if they ever try and build on more villains after Tobias.

Well, Flash has pretty well stuck to Flash villains, considering his rogue's gallery rivals Batman's in terms of size.

[alton]

I don't understand why the Milestone characters are off the table, but not Static Shock. Up until very recently, I didn't dare hope that Black Lightning would appear in anything, let alone get his own series because DC was so determined to deny Tony Isabella any rights. Yet here we are.

It's hard for me to know what characters the CW can use--because of legal arrangements and WB wanting them for the movies. However, there are literally thousands of DC characters. And CW has shown that they can turn third rate characters into major league players. They can also create their own characters that are some of the best on the CW--like John Diggle.

And it's not like every character spun off from BLACK LIGHTNING would have to be Afican-American. There are lots of possibilities. Just at random, I could envision down the line these characters getting a chance:

Deadman, Blue Devil, Metamorpho, the Spectre, Jason Bard, the Spider, Stanley & His Monster, Angel & the Ape, Starman, Roy Raymond TV Detective, Pow Wow Smith, Jonny Double, Tim Trent, Nemesis, Rex the Wonder Dog, Detective Chimp, Captain Comet, Sargon the Sorceror, the Shiing Knight, the Crimson Avenger, Bulleteer, the Demon, Kobra, Josiah Power, Skyrocket, the Manhunter, the Black Condor, Bloodwynd, John Henry Irons, Captain Atom, Nighthshade, Peacemaker, Bumblebee, Dr. Midnight, the Thorn, Dr. Light, Juice, Black Vulcan, Mal Duncan, Lilith, Mr. Bones, Congo Bill, Jason's Quest, the Phantom Stranger, Dr. Thirteen, Cave Carson, the Sea Devils, Lady Cop, the House of Mystery, Challengers of the Unknown, Binky & His Buddies, Animal Man, April O'Day, the Creeper.

"It's not like every character would have to be African American". Dude at least initially that's like the whole point. I would like to see Chaykin's version of Challengers show up somewhere but most of your list is irrelevant to the main thrust of the show the Black American experience. Peacemaker is a possibility if it still exists as an organization where there could be multiple Peacemakers one of which gets sent to Cleveland to quell what they think is a Vigilante uprising initially. This show cannot be another Smallville where every episode becomes another costumed walk on and walk off. That's Legends. In fact are you serious about Detective Chimp and Angel and Ape after the Obama as a monkey signs at the Republican convention and caucuses? Pow Wow Smith too?

[AnakinFlair]

I thought the pilot was okay, if a bit rushed. I have the same problem with Jefferson looking for Lala as I had with Luke searching for Han in carbonite- you know where he's going to be, so if you want him, just go THERE. Luke should go to Tattooine, BL should go back to the restaurant.

Watching the pilot, I felt like maybe they felt they were boxed in to that sizzle reel they shot months before they even got the green light. Like they had to take those scenes, and then create a story around most of them. I look forward to the next few episodes to see where they take things.