Jefferson Pierce Strikes Down In New Black Lightning Teaser

You'd be quite the fool to cross Black Lightning.

The CW has rolled out a high-octane new teaser trailer for the upcoming superhero series Black Lightning, which features the titular vigilante Jefferson Pierce charging up his electric powers and zapping his enemies left and right.

While the footage is, admittedly, too short to gather any substantial information about plot or characters beyond Black Lightning himself, it does prove that action is the name of the game in the new series, and that there will be no shortage of bad guy-busting when it premieres in January.

Take a look in the video above.

Black Lightning opens on the post-superhero life of Jefferson Pierce, played by Cress Williams, a man who ditched his Black Lightning moniker years ago. But when a terrifying local gang known as The One Hundred, led by Marvin Jones III's Tobias Whale, threatens the safety of Jefferson's family and community, he knows he must turn to face his former days of crime fighting to protect the ones he loves.

In addition to this new 10-second teaser, the CW released the full synopsis for the premiere episode of Black Lightning, which was written and directed by Salim Akil. "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," the synopsis reads. "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."

The series also features Christine Adams as Lynn Pierce, Jefferson's ex-wife; James Remar as Peter Gambi, Jefferson's best friend; Edwina Findley as Tori Whale, Tobias Whale's sister; Damon Gupton as Henderson, a detective inspector with the police department; Kyanna Simone Simpson as Kiesha, Henderson's daughter; Chantal Thuy as Grace Choi, a bartender; and Jill Scott as Lady Eve, a mysterious woman who owns a funeral parlor. 

Black Lightning is executive produced by Greg Berlanti, Salim Akil, Mara Brock Akil, and Sarah Schechter–all DC Television royals–but isn't a part of the Arrowverse. There are currently no plans for the series to crossover with the other DC Comics-based shows Arrow, Supergirl, Legends of Tomorrow, and The Flash, which comprise the shared television universe.

The show is set to premiere on January 16 at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.