Jefferson Pierce, aka Black Lightning, has always occupied an interesting place in the DC Universe. It’s a character that seems to be about to break through to the A-list at all points, yet is never quite put on the same level as Batman, Superman, or Wonder Woman. That is until DC Comics‘s new Black Lightning #1, which is so good it might finally be the title that helps JD break through to the mainstream.
The way writer Brandon Thomas and artist Fico Ossio do this is smartly laid out through the first issue. We get a reminder of who Black Lightning is, his history, and his ties to his family… Particularly his daughters. After the emotionally (no pun intended) charged opening sequence, we also get his new status quo as part of the expanded, DCU-wide Justice League… Like many others, he’s working on a way of helping the wild powers that have gotten mixed up and spread around at the end of the Absolute Power event. He’s also, most importantly, working with his daughter, who desperately wants to prove herself to her father, and the Justice League at large.
Not to cross the streams, but there’s a little bit of the feel of X-Men going on this issue in terms of Black Lightning leading a team to help kids with uncontrollable new powers. Add in some complicated family dynamics with his two kids and ex-wife, and he might as well be Cyclops. But to be clear, he’s not, and this isn’t some X-Men clone stuck in the DC Universe… Jefferson Pierce is a very different character. And the Pierce family is not the Summers family. Thomas uses some of these tropes liberally, but they feel fresh, new, and emotionally (no pun intended) grounded.
Fico Ossio also draws the hell out of the character. BL is an imposing presence, and the use of his lightning powers throughout could get messy in the wrong hands. That never happens here. Instead, the action is clear and dynamic. The characters’ expressions are nuanced. Ossio is as adept at drawing the Justice League Watchtower as he is at an urban landscape. It’s just a well-drawn and put-together comic book.
Look, are there very uncomfortable reasons Black Lightning hasn’t quite made the A-tier? Sure. Read the excellent The Other History of the DC Universe for more on that. And Thomas doesn’t ignore these undertones, particularly with the gentrification of “Suicide Slum,” and a pointed conversation between Superman and Black Lightning. But it’s part of a nuanced, layered book that is juggling a lot of balls and misses none of them. If this is ultimately the book that rockets Black Lightning to the A-list? It should have happened years ago, but fingers crossed this is the one that does it. If not, I’ll be (pun intended) shocked.
Black Lightning #1 Rating:
Black Lightning #1 Official Synopsis:
BLACK LIGHTNING IS BACK, AND THIS TIME, IT’S A FAMILY AFFAIR! Jefferson Pierce leads the Justice League’s new metahuman outreach initiative, helping those with powers before they can cause harm to themselves or others — but everything changes when its his own daughter, Anissa Pierce, who comes to him for help. With Thunder’s dangerous new powers and the new Masters of Disaster jeopardizing the coexistence between humans and Metas, Black Lightning is on the front lines of a culture war brewing in the suburbs of Metropolis!
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