Black Lightning Premiere Synopsis Revealed

Black Lightning will strike down in just two short weeks, and The CW has teased us with what will happen when the hero does. 

Courtesy of ComicBook.com, the network has unveiled the official synopsis for the premiere episode of Black Lightning. 

The Cress Williams-led series follows former superhero Jefferson Pierce as he returns to a life of crime fighting after a local gang threatens to destroy his community and his family. Jefferson dons the Black Lightning mantle once more, utilizing his powers of harnessing and controlling electricity to take down The One Hundred coalition, led by Marvin Jones III's Tobias Whale. Salim Akil wrote the premiere's script and directed the episode.

The premiere episode's synopsis reads in full: "Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) is a man wrestling with a secret. As the father of Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Ann McClain), and principal of a charter high school that also serves as a safe-haven for young people in a neighborhood overrun by gang violence, he is a hero in his community. Nine years ago, Pierce was a hero of a different sort. Gifted with the superhuman power to harness and control electricity, he used those powers to keep his hometown streets safe as the masked vigilante Black Lightning, but he left the Superhero days behind. Almost a decade later, Pierce's crime-fighting days are long behind him... or so he thought."

Black Lightning also stars Christine Adams as Jefferson's ex-wife Lynn Pierce, James Remar as Jefferson's dear friend Peter Gambi; Damon Gupton as the detective inspector Henderson, Kyanna Simone Simpson as Henderon's daughter Kiesha, Edwina Findley as Tobias Whale's sister Tori Whale, Chantal Thuy as a bartender named Grace Choi, and Jill Scott as the mysterious funeral parlor owner Lady Eve. 

For now, the series is a separate entity from the thriving Arrowverse television universe, which includes Arrow, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and The Flash. This means that Black Lightning won't crossover with any of the aforementioned series, though that could change further down the line if the show proves successful. 

Produced by Berlanti Productions and Akil Productions, and executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Salim Akil, Mara Brock, and Sarah Schechter, Black Lightning will premiere on January 16 at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.