Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Comics
ComicsEntertainmentTelevisionTV

‘Black Lightning’ Blasts On Screen and Twitter Users Are Rightfully Freaking Out

Posted byBy Kiersten Willis | Published on: CommentsComments (0)
black lightning

Cress Williams as “Black Lighting” in CW’s first Black superhero show. (CW)

Another Black superhero has snagged his own TV series. “Black Lightning,” debuted on the CW Tuesday, Jan. 16 becoming the first Black-led show on the network’s DC Comics lineup. The series focuses on Jefferson Pierce, an estranged husband and father of two who hung up his lightning suit to become a principal at the local high school.

However, spoiler, once his teen girls are abducted by Metropolis’s biggest threat, a gang called the 100, he’s forced out of retirement to save them. By the end of the episode, a new development emerges for one of his daughters promising an interesting story ahead.

There are sure to be other adventures as the series unfolds, but the appearance of a Black superhero on network television — joining Netflix’s “Luke Cage” and premiering ahead of February’s “Black Panther,” which are both Marvel properties — is major.

One viewer tweeted, “I literally cannot believe this show is on the CW. #BlackLightning. Wow. In every way, wow.”

Another simply said, “#BlackLightning is AMAZING.”

Roland Martin, the former “NewsOne Now” host who appeared on the pilot episode, tweeted, “Damn skippy! Had to #BringTheFunk on @blacklightning.”

And something not lost on attentive fans was the dedication of late veteran Atlanta anchor Amanda Davis. She died in December after a massive stroke.

“Want to pay homage to our @blackLightning news anchor, the late great #AmandaDavis,” tweeted the official “Black Lightning” writers account, “who will be missed but whose immense contributions to journalism and #BlackLightning will not be forgotten.”

The premiere episode was dedicated to Davis and she’ll be popping up in future episodes, too.

https://twitter.com/TLsixseven/status/953451856121954310

Still independent.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top