Jefferson Pierce (Arrowverse)
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Jefferson Michael "Jeff" Pierce, also known by his alter ego Black Lightning, is a
fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...
al character in
The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...
's
Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American Superhero fiction, superhero media franchise and shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series ...
franchise, first introduced in the 2018 episode " The Resurrection" of the television series ''Black Lightning''. The character is based on the
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
character of the same name, created by
Tony Isabella Jenny Blake Isabella (born December 22, 1951), who writes under the names Tony Isabella and Jenny Blake, is an Americans, American comic book writer, editor, actor, artist and critic. She is the creator of Marvel Comics superhero Bill Foster (com ...
and
Trevor Von Eeden Trevor Von Eeden (born July 24, 1959) is a Guyanese-American comics artist, actor and writer known for his work on such titles as ''Black Lightning'', ''Batman'', ''Green Arrow'', ''Power Man and Iron Fist'', and the biographical series ''The Orig ...
, and was adapted for television in 2018 by Salim Akil. Jefferson Pierce has been continually portrayed by
Cress Williams Cress Williams (born July 26, 1970) is an American actor, known for his roles in ''Prison Break'' and ''Close to Home (2005 TV series), Close to Home''. His most recent roles include Mayor Lavon Hayes on The CW Television Network, The CW series ' ...
, with Kaden Washington Lewis portraying a young Jefferson. In the series, Jefferson, is the principal of the Garfield High School, and a retired vigilante, who lives in Freeland. His powers are many, with electrokinesis,
energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...
absorption and superhuman strength being a few. During the first season he has to return to his superhero life, and help his daughter, Anissa handle her powers, while also stopping his nemesis, Tobias Whale. In the following seasons he has to deal with new threats, like A.S.A. and Markovia. He is a friend of fellow superhero, Central City-based superhero
The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...
, who is also the leader of the Justice League. Williams has appeared as Jefferson Pierce and his vigilante persona in two crossovers of the
Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American Superhero fiction, superhero media franchise and shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series ...
, the
Crisis on Infinite Earths ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' is a 1985 to 1986 American comic book fictional crossover, crossover series published by DC Comics. Written by Marv Wolfman and penciller, pencilled by George Pérez, it was first released as a 12-issue limited ser ...
and
Armageddon Armageddon ( ; ; ; from ) is the prophesied gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, according to the Book of Revelation in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Armageddon is variously interpreted as either a literal or a ...
.


Fictional character biography


Early life

Jefferson Michael Pierce was born on September 12, 1974, to Alvin Pierce and an unnamed mother. At one point Jefferson was given a vaccine by his father, which Alvin later found out was tainted, this would eventually be how Jefferson would get his powers. Alvin was a reporter who was after Tobias Whale. One night, Jefferson watched as Tobias murdered his father. When Jefferson was twelve, he took part in a riot, which he was chased down an alley by two SWAT officers and accidentally set off his powers for the first time, knocking out both of the officers. He was then found in the alley by Peter Gambi, who discovered Jefferson's powers and then began raising Jefferson.


Stopping Martin Proctor's plans

Jefferson is living in Freeland and works as Principal of the Garfield High School. He has retired from superhero life years ago, and is divorced with Lynn Stewart, and also has two daughters, Anissa and
Jennifer Jennifer or Jenifer may refer to: People *Jennifer (given name) * Jenifer (singer), French pop singer *Jennifer Warnes, American singer who formerly used the stage name Jennifer * Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer * Daniel Jenifer Film and televisi ...
. When he lears that Anissa is in danger, he saves her using his powers in the process for the first time in a long time. After some consideration, and some conversations with his friend Peter Gambi, he decides to talk up the mental of
Black Lightning Black Lightning (Jefferson Michael "Jeff" Pierce) is a superhero who appears in American comic book published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Jenny Blake Isabella with artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' ...
again, acting as a superhero during the night and principal and parent during the day. Jefferson learns about the existence of a new
drug A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via insufflation (medicine), inhalation, drug i ...
, called "green light", that is distributed by a criminal group called "The 100", headed by Tobias Whale. After The 100 killed two civilians, the local community march on the streets of Freeland, without police protection as requested. The 100 attacked the marching, but with only one casualty, as Jefferson was there and protected them. Following a fight with Anissa, who has superpowers like her father and is acting as a vigilante, he injures her and calls Gambi to take care of her, and she learns that Jefferson is the Black Lightning. Jefferson began training Anissa, to learn to control her powers. She eventually adapts the alias of "Thunder", and works on operations with her father. His younger daughter, Jennifer, learns that he is Black Lightning, and that she also has superpowers. Jefferson later learns that a government organization called A.S.A. is behind the creation of green light drug, and wants to use it to create metahumans. It is headed by Martin Proctor, who is acting independently. Eventually Gambi kills him and Black Lightning exposes A.S.A. operations in Freeland.


Training his daughters


War with Markovia


Helping to stop the Crisis

After
The Flash The Flash is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Harry Lampert, the original Flash first appeared in ''Flash Comics'' #1 (cover date, cover-dated Jan ...
, Nash Wells,
Frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...
, Earth-90 Flash and
Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...
fail to stop the
Anti-Monitor The Anti-Monitor is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He served as the main antagonist of the 1985 DC Comics miniseries ''Crisis on Infinite Earths'' and later appears as an enemy to the Green Lantern Corps ...
's weapon, Nash brings Jefferson to Earth-1 to help contain the energy of the anti-matter weapon. He does so, but Earth-90 Flash sacrifices himself and saves the universe from total destruction. Nash teleported them back to the
Waverider A waverider is a hypersonic aircraft design that improves its supersonic lift-to-drag ratio by using the shock waves being generated by its own flight as a lifting surface, a phenomenon known as compression lift. The waverider remains a w ...
, where Jefferson meets Clark Kent / Superman and the other superheroes. Unfortunately, the Anti-Monitor appears and destroys the rest of the universe, killing Jefferson too. After Oliver Queen / Spectre sacrifices himself to restart the
Multiverse The multiverse is the hypothetical set of all universes. Together, these universes are presumed to comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describ ...
and merge other Earths including Jefferson's, he saves
Frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor that deposits onto a freezing surface. Frost forms when the air contains more water vapor than it can normally hold at a specific temperature. The process is simila ...
and Mick Rory from a shadow demon. Afterwards, he joins Kara Danvers / Supergirl, Sara Lance / White Canary, Clark Kent / Superman, J'onn J'onzz / Martian Manhunter, Barry Allen / The Flash and Kate Kane / Batwoman to form the
Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...
. Following their meeting, he returns to Freeland.


Defeating Tobias Whale once and for all

Following the dissolution of the A.S.A. and the War for Freeland, Jefferson began to mourn Henderson's death during the conflict. After doing so he decides to put an end on
Tobias Tobias is the transliteration of the , which is a Graecisation of the Hebrew biblical name . With the biblical Book of Tobit being present in the Deuterocanonical books and Biblical apocrypha, Tobias is a popular male given name for both Chri ...
, now Mayor of Freeland, ambitions. He eventually fights him and kills him. He finally decides to go back to retirement from the superhero life.


Helping Barry Allen

In compliance with the Injustice Protocols,
Barry Allen Bartholomew Henry "Barry" Allen is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the second character known as the Flash, following Flash (Jay Garrick), Jay Garrick. The character first appeared in ''Showcase (comic ...
asks Jefferson to permanently remove his powers. He begins to, but stops when Barry mentions
Despero Despero () is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''Justice League of America'' #1 (October 1960), and was created by Gardner Fox and Mike Sekowsky. Debuting in the Silver Age of Comic ...
. Barry angrily lashes out at Jefferson, but is eventually convinced to stand down. Despero learns where Barry is and travels there, but is held off by Jefferson.


Alternate versions

* In the episode ''The Book of Resistance: Chapter Four: Earth Crisis'' of season 3, a version of Jefferson who became the Secretary of Education appears, from Earth-1, who is shot and killed by Agent Percy Odell. * In the same episode we see another version of him, from Earth-2, in which
Jennifer Jennifer or Jenifer may refer to: People *Jennifer (given name) * Jenifer (singer), French pop singer *Jennifer Warnes, American singer who formerly used the stage name Jennifer * Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer * Daniel Jenifer Film and televisi ...
kills him and the rest of her family.


Appearances

Cress Williams has portrayed Black Lightning in three out of seven
Arrowverse The Arrowverse is an American Superhero fiction, superhero media franchise and shared universe that is centered on various interconnected television series based on DC Comics superhero characters, primarily airing on The CW as well as web series ...
TV series, with these being: * ''Black Lightning'', as the protagonist and lead character. * ''The Flash'', as a guest in season 6 and season 8. * ''
Legends of Tomorrow ''DC's Legends of Tomorrow'', or simply ''Legends of Tomorrow'', is an American Time travel in fiction, time travel superhero fiction, superhero television series developed by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, and Phil Klemmer, ...
'', as a guest in season 5. * He is mentioned in the ''Supergirl'' episode Blind Spots of season 6.


Characterization

Akil described Jefferson and his family as "the Obamas of the superhero world" and compared the duality of Jefferson Pierce and his
alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...
Black Lightning to the duality of
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
and
Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...
. Williams said that "it was a dream come true" when he was cast as
Black Lightning Black Lightning (Jefferson Michael "Jeff" Pierce) is a superhero who appears in American comic book published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Jenny Blake Isabella with artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in ''Black Lightning'' ...
and it was hard, at first, portraying him, but loved it in the process. Williams also stated that "I always saw a parallel between Black Lightning and
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
..Before Batman becomes part of the
Justice League The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived the ...
, he's essentially the savior of Gotham. I think that's what Black Lightning is about." When asked if it was stressful to portray the character he said "It's not so much pressure as it is an honor.", while also saying that "The physical part of it as the biggest challenge in taking on this role.


Reception

On February 24, 2017,
Cress Williams Cress Williams (born July 26, 1970) is an American actor, known for his roles in ''Prison Break'' and ''Close to Home (2005 TV series), Close to Home''. His most recent roles include Mayor Lavon Hayes on The CW Television Network, The CW series ' ...
was announced in the lead role of Jefferson Pierce / Black Lightning. One user of
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
wrote "''Jefferson Pierce isn't just a superhero. He's a social justice warrior. He quotes Martin Luther King Jr. and beats up bad guys. This instantly makes him one of the most interesting heroes on television.''" Reviewing for ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'', Dana Schwartz gave the series premiere an "A−" grade, writing, "The Pierce family dynamic is so compelling that even if Jefferson Pierce had no powers beyond great motivational speeches, this show would be a worthwhile watch. ''
The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...
'''s Pilot Viruet wrote, "There's an authenticity to the series—it's neither too pulpy nor too preachy—that's heightened by the strong performances from its predominantly Black cast, particularly from ressWilliams, who anchors the show's many conflicts." The success of Williams version resulted in placing the character at the 73rd place of the list of the 100 greatest superheroes In the history of comic books. Williams has received positive reviews by both fans and critics.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pierce, Jefferson American male characters in television Arrowverse characters Black Lightning (TV series) DC Comics characters who can move at superhuman speeds DC Comics characters with accelerated healing Fictional characters with electric or magnetic abilities DC Comics characters with superhuman strength Superheroes who are adopted Television characters introduced in 2018 African-American superheroes