Black Lightning

BLACK LIGHTNING

Real Name: Jefferson Pierce

Class: Human mutate

Occupation: Superhero, formerly high school English teacher, Secretary of Education

Group Affiliation: formerly Outsiders, Justice League of America II

Known Relatives: Joana (niece, deceased), Anissa Pierce (Thunder, daughter), Lynn Stewart (ex-wife), unnamed parents (deceased)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Gotham City

First Appearance: Black Lightning I #1 (April, 1977)

Powers: Originally Black Lightning's power belt enabled him to surround himself with a protective electromagnetic field, throw bolts of electricity, and augmented his strength. These powers became internalized over time, he possessed them with or without his power belt. He was an Olympic-level athlete, and had been trained in fighting by Batman.

History: Jefferson grew up in Metropolis' Suicide Slum, watching his family struggle to make ends meet. When his father died in a crossfire, Jefferson and his mother were taken in by a man named Peter Gambi. Determined to get out of the slum, he trained himself non-stop and won fame as he competed in the Montreal Olympics and earned a gold medal for the decathlon. He then earned a teaching degree at Kent State and started teaching high school English in the city of New Carthage. He returned to Suicide Slum to attend his mother's funeral, but decided to stay to teach the youth of his old neighborhood. He was disgusted by a local gang called the 100 that were peddling drugs to his students. Peter Gambi saw his frustration and designed a costume and power belt that Jefferson could use to clean up the neighborhood. Jefferson became Black Lightning, crimefighter and role model.

(DC Comics Presents #16) - Black Lightning foiled a subway mugging, but the robber’s stray bullets hit a passenger and the subway’s controls. Superman appeared and put the train back on track, but then flew off to attend to other pressing business. Black Lightning recognized the girl who was shot as Trina, one of his students. Another one of his students, Hugh Bryan, was cradling her lifeless form, and made it clear that he blamed Black Lightning for her death. That night Black Lightning returned to his civilian identity and decided to check in on Hugh, who was one of his ace students. Pierce was met at Hugh’s apartment by a Neanderthal, who attacked him and escaped. He sought Superman’s help as Black Lightning, and after fighting a pterosaur at Hugh’s apartment Superman pieced together that Hugh was an alien, and that he was de-volving through several of his previous incarnations. The heroes were confronted by Hugh, who was in his original alien form of a sentient magnetic field. Hugh revealed that he’d arrived on Earth eons ago, and was lonely until he met Trina. He promised to make Lightning pay, and attacked the heroes, but Black Lightning generated an electrical field that cancelled out his abilities. Superman offered Hugh a chance to return to the stars, and the alien jumped at it, telling Superman that Earth’s high gravity had kept him a prisoner. Superman flew Hugh into space, and the formerly hostile alien thanked him.

After many months Black Lightning finally toppled the 100 and put their leader Tobias Whale behind bars. He remained active as a superhero until a young girl was accidentally killed as a result of his actions. Jefferson then retired his Black Lightning identity and went into seclusion.

He resumed his Black Lightning identity several years later at the direct request of Batman II for the formation of the Outsiders.

(Green Arrow III #16 (fb)) - Black Lightning attended Oliver Queen's funeral in his civilian identity.

(Green Lantern III #81) - Coast City; Black Lightning was among the heroes who attended a memorial service for Green Lantern Hal Jordan.

(DCU Holiday Bash #2) - Lightning and Detective Colavito saved Adelbert’ family from the Royal Family who were holding them hostage to punish Adelbert for quitting their gang they retaliated. Del and his family stayed with Colavito, who invited Jefferson Pierce over to celebrate Kwanzaa.

(JLA #27) - Lightning was called in as a JLA reservist to battle Amazo. Amazo was programmed to acquire the powers of the JLA, so when Lightning and a number of other heroes temporarily joined the JLA to battle him it just made Amazo more powerful. Amazo decimated the JLA reservists, and was only defeated when Superman officially disbanded the JLA, leaving Amazo powerless.

(Day of Judgment #4) - Black Lightning and the Outsiders battled an army of demons unleashed on Markova when Asmodel brought Hell to Earth.

(JLA #41) - Lighting was among the legion of heroes summoned by the JLA to quell worldwide outbreaks of warfare that were incited by Mageddon. Wonder Woman, Blue Beetle and Steel built the anti-war ray, a device that gave all of humanity the ability to resist Mageddon’s urgings for them to destroy each other, as well as temporary superpowers so that they could all help fight Mageddon, and Black Lightning provided the power source to keep the anti-war ray running.

(Action Comics #781) - On President Luthor's request Black Lightning and the Titans went to Zaire, Africa to battle an Imperiex Probe that had landed on Earth to hollow out the planet, but the battle went badly for the heroes. More Probes arrived and the heroes were only saved by Superman, who destroyed the Probes. Lightning then joined the fight in Washington to save the White House from Imperiex Probes.

(JSA #33, 34, 36, 37) - The Ultra-Humanite used Johnny Thunder’s Thunderbolt to conquer the world, and imprisoned Black Lightning and virtually every superhuman on Earth in stasis tubes, only reviving them when he needed mind-controlled slaves to serve in his personal guard the Thunderfront. Lightning served as a member of the Thunderguard when they attacked the JSA, the only heroes not under the Humanite’s control. The JSA used a device that disrupted the braincaps Humanite used to control the Thunderfront, leaving them unconscious but freed from Humanite’s mental domination. When Lightning and the other heroes awoke they aided the JSA in defeating the Humanite.

(JLA / JSA: Virtue and Vice) - Moscow, Black Lightning and the Outsiders battled citizens under the control of the Seven Deadly Sins. The Sins were defeated by the JLA and JSA, and their influence over the people of Moscow ended.

(Outsiders III #0) - On the night of his daughter Anissa’s college graduation Jefferson found her in her room in superhero attire. He made her promise long ago that she wouldn’t consider following in his footsteps until after she graduated college, but now that she was a graduate she was dead-set on becoming a superheroine. Jefferson told her he strongly disapproved; he wanted her to help people by being a doctor, not by risking her life.

(Green Arrow III #26) - Jefferson dropped in on Green Arrow in Star City. Over dinner he mentioned that he was agitated because his daughter Anissa was determined to become a superheroine. He introduced Arrow to his niece Joanna and asked Arrow to back her financially in her lawsuit against Elevast, a corporation that intended to build strip malls and hotels in Star City at the cost of evicting the tenants of over thirty buildings. Green Arrow jumped at the opportunity to help Joanna’s fight against corporate fat cats.

(Green Arrow III #31) - Jefferson learned that Drako, an assassin hired by Elevast, had killed his niece. In retaliation Jefferson killed Martin Somers, the CEO of Elevast, with a bolt of lightning. Somers death was ruled accidental, but Jefferson confided what he had done to Green Arrow.

(Outsiders III #3) - Jefferson Pierce helped Thunder and her new team the Outsiders locate President Luthor, who was being held hostage by the Joker in the presidential safe haven Eagle's Den. After Luthor was rescued he pleaded with Thunder to quit the Outsiders and quit heroics. She refused, so he asked her to move out of his house.

(Superman / Batman #1, 3, 4) - President Luthor informed Black Lightning and his other super-powered aides that a kryptonite asteroid was on a collision course with Earth. Luthor told them Superman was at fault and sent them to place Superman in federal custody. They battled, but Katana and Power Girl switched sides against their teammates. The fight led to Tokyo, which was nearly destroyed when Major Force exploded, and the explosion knocked out Luthor's team.

(Outsiders III #9, 10) - Jefferson Pierce showed up at Outsiders hq and tried to get Thunder to come home with him. When she refused he suited up as Black Lightning and aided the Outsiders in defeating Sabbac and the Soldiers of Dietec. President Ross didn't want the Secretary of Education running around as a superhero, and forced Pierce to resign his post. He also told Pierce he knew he was responsible for the murder of Martin Somers. Pierce wanted to turn himself in, but Ross said the last thing the White House needed was another scandal, and told Pierce to be quiet about it.

(Flash II #209) - Black Lightning and the rest of the world forgot Flash’s secret identity thanks to the Spectre. Flash wanted the heroes he knew and trusted to know his identity, so he unmasked for Lightning.

(Identity Crisis #1) - Jefferson and Katana went out for dinner to discuss old times. They learned of Sue Dibny’s murder and attended her funeral.

(Identity Crisis #7) - Lightning and Katana had dinner and discussed their return to the superhero life.

(Green Arrow III #52, 54-59) - The Society blew up Green Arrow’s house and he was convinced that Dr. Light was involved. He asked Black Lightning for his help in finishing his business with the villain. They used a GPS to track Dr. Light’s energy signature, hoping that by staying low-tech they’d surprise him. Black Lightning revealed that as Secretary of Education he’d gotten his hands on D.O.D. wiretaps of supervillains talking about the JLA lobotomizing Dr. Light. He wanted Arrow to know that despite that he still trusted him. Light hospitalized the heroic Dr. Light, and when Arrow and Lightning visited her in the hospital they were ambushed by Mirror Master and Killer Frost of the Society. Arrow and Lightning defeated the villains but learned that they were only a distraction, put in place so Dr. Light could target Arrow’s family. Green Arrow and Black Lightning returned to Arrow’s house in time to save Connor and Mia. Light defeated the heroes and teleported Green Arrow away from the house and sealed its exits with light. Light was then joined by fellow Society member Merlyn, who’d rigged a bomb to Arrow’s new house, and they forced Arrow to watch as they blew up his new home with his family inside Lightning protected Mia and Connor as best he could and when paramedics arrived he helped dig the injured Connor from the wreckage. Lightning had flashbacks of Joanna’s fate and didn’t want Arrow to suffer a loss as great as his. Despite having a collapsed lung he refused to stop looking for Mia.

(Villains United: Infinite Crisis Special #1) - When the Society broke out virtually every incarcerated supervillain around the world Oracle sent Black Lightning and every available hero in Gotham to quell the breakout at Arkham. He then joined a losing battle to return escaped Blackgate prisoners to their cells. The Society massed in Metropolis, and Lightning and an army of virtually every hero on Earth confronted the villains and engaged in an epic battle with them.

(52 / WWIII Part Four: United We Stand #1) - <Week 50, Day 7> Black Adam arrived in China, and prepared to destroy the entire country. He defeated China's superhero team the Great Ten before China allowed Black Lightning and the American superhero community to square off against him. Black Adam was a god with nothing left to lose, and each punch he threw was intended to kill. His savagery was winning the day until Martian Manhunter reappeared and flooded his brain with his own loss, the death of the entire Martian species. Black Adam was distracted long enough for Captain Marvel to hurl a Shazam bolt at him. Theo Adam was powerless, and left with amnesia. He staggered away unnoticed from the end of WWIII.

(Justice League of America II #1-6) - Jefferson Pierce's role in President Luthor's administration gave him a foothold in the underworld community. He fostered the notion that he still had ties to Luthor, and super villains were willing to act as informants for him. Tao Jones gave him Ultra-Humanites new identity, allowing Pierce's superhero friends to apprehend him. Signalman told him villains were going missing from the community, and everyone was getting nervous. Lightning went to St. Roch to find out what had happened to the Bomb Squad, and learned from Cavalier that their last job was a hit on Senator Godfrey, and to get past his security's power scanners they needed to temporarily lose their powers. They saw Parasite, who'd gone into business to provide just such a service. Lightning arranged a meeting with Parasite, but he recognized Lightning's energy signature, and knew he wasn't there for his services. Before a fight broke out two other villains who'd recently disappeared, Trident and Dr. Impossible, teleported in to tell Parasite their boss was unhappy with them. Dr. Impossible kidnapped Parasite, but Lightning managed to defeat Trident. He noticed a Starro on his neck, controlling him, and found the Justice League of America, telling them they had an emergency to deal with. Solomon Grundy was using Starros to create a group on unquestioning supervillain henchmen to assemble a new Amazo that would serve as Grundy's new immortal body. The heroes went to the Rocky Mountains and confronted Grundy and Professor Ivo, who had transformed Red Tornado's android body into the new Amazo. Grundy allowed Amazo to fly off, and told the heroes they needed his help to beat Amazo, and proposed that after helping them defeat the android they should fight over who got possession of him. Amazo still retained vestiges of Red Tornado's memories, and going on pure instinct he went to the house of Tornado's wife Kathy and his daughter Traya. He frightened them, and the heroes caught up to him and attacked. Amazo used his Parasite powers to drain the League of their powers, but they still managed to rupture the control rods that kept his powers in check. His body self-destructed, and after destroying Grundy the League stripped out the Amazo software and returned Red Tornado to his proper body.

(Justice League of America II #7) - Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman decided to form their new Justice League of America from Black Lightning and the other heroes present during their battle with Solomon Grundy. They built a Hall of Justice in Washington, D.C. on the former site of JSA hq. The Hall also had a teleport to the new JLA Satellite. The new members all accepted their invitations, and the group took a team photo. Black Lightning met with Geo-Force, who was proud of him for graduating to the big leagues, and confided in him that he'd acquired Terra's powers, and was losing his sanity. Black Lightning and Batman furthur examined Trident's body, and discovered that he was really Karate Kid from the 31st Century Legion of Super-Heroes.

(Green Lantern IV #15-17) - Black Lightning and the Justice League traveled to Russia to bring Green Lantern Hal Jordan back to America. Hal had violated the Freedom of Powers Act, which forbid superheroes from operating outside American soil, so they told Hal he was coming with them for his own good. Alan Scott was also present, and demanded an explanation, so Hal told him that his friend Cowgirl had been captured by Chechnyan terrorists. The League held off the Rocket Red Brigade, who wanted to arrest Hal, while Hal finished his rescue mission. Alan Scott used his Checkmate connections to clear Hal, but Russia demanded a formal apology from the League to the Rocket Red Brigade.

(Green Arrow III #75) - Black Lightning and the Justice League arrived in Star City in time to save Green Arrow and his family from being killed by Deathstroke and Drakon. The villains set off an explosive filled with kryptonite, making the decision to run away and fight another day. The league watched as Mayor Ollie Queen (Green Arrow) resigned from office.

(Green Lantern: Sinestro Corps Special #1) - Green Lantern was investigating the newly formed Sinestro Corps, and recruited Lightning and the JlofA to help him track down leads. They confronted Zoom, a former Society teammate of Sinestro, but he had no information for them and managed to flee. Green Lantern admitted that there was little evidence of the Corps presence on Earth at the present.

(Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Cyborg-Superman #1) - The Sinestro Corps planned their invasion of Earth, and intended to take out the JlofA. Cyborg-Superman and his Manhunters disabled the JlofA satellite’s defense systems, rendering the satellite inoperable, and the Sinestro Corps battered Black Lightning and the League, allowing their Warworld to enter Earth’s orbit.

(Green Lantern IV #24) - The Sinestro Corps invaded Earth, intending to conquer the planet, making it a symbol of the Sinestro Corp’s power and their ability to control any planet. Black Lightning and the Justice Leage were among the heroes who helped stave off the invasion.

(Tales of the Sinestro Corps: Superman-Prime #1) - An army of Earth’s heroes, including Black Lightning and the Justice League appeared to take Superboy down during the Sinestro Corps invasion of Earth. The heroes focused on wrecking his armor, because after a year on Oa, and away from a yellow sun his Kryptonian body still wasn’t at full strength, and his armor collected sunlight. Superboy bragged that once the sun rose on Earth he’d be at full power. Superboy was battered by Wonder Girl and Wonder Woman, who blamed him for Superboy’s death, as well as Supergirl and Power Girl, who blamed him for the death of the Superman of Earth-2. As the fight went against him, Superboy broke down in tears. He tried to wipe them away, saying that it was impossible for boys to cry, and then whining that no one ever thanked him for sacrificing his Earth to save the multiverse. The battle lasted until dawn, and he flew into the sunrise. As he achieved full power he declared himself the one, true Superman. The Guardians arrived with Sodam Yat, the new Ion, and pitted him against Superboy-Prime.

(Green Lantern IV #25) - The Sinestro Corps War raged on Earth, and while Black Lightning and an army of superheroes battled the Corps the Anti-Monitor prepared to unleash an anti-matter wave to destroy Earth. With Earth’s destruction, the entire 52 would fall, and he would once again rule all that was. The GLC ruptured the heart of Anti-Monitor’s Warworld, the Sinestro Corps central power battery, and created a shield around Warworld and the Monitor. The ensuing blast nearly destroyed the Anti-Monitor, and he was finished off by Superman-Prime, who betrayed him for having destroyed his home, Earth-Prime. GL Hal Jordan defeated Sinestro in personal combat, and the Sinestro Corps, lacking any leadership, fled Earth. The heroes rejoiced and began rebuilding the damage the Sinestro Corps did.

(Batman & The Outsiders Special #1, Outsiders IV #15) - Black Lightning let lightning strike him, and still tried to process the events of the Final Crisis. Alfred Pennyworth visited him to recruit him for the new Outsiders. Alfred assembled the Outsiders and explained Batman's vision, that they all represented aspects of his personality, and that there would always be a 'Batman' outside Gotham. He required them to go off the grid, cutting off contact with everyone in their lives and becoming true Outsiders. They'd be a frontline group, constantly in the line-of-fire and constantly risking their lives. Black Lightning disliked the idea, and snapped at Katana, telling her the choice was easy when you had no one to lose. Alfred dismissed them to consider his offer, and Lightning visited Anissa in the hospital. He told her comatose form he was going to be an Outsider because he wanted a better world for her. The next day all of Alfred's recruits rejoined the team. Alfred told them they'd be confronting the Outsiders greatest enemy, who'd been behind their conflicts with such former antagonists as Bad Samaritan, the Duke of Oil, and the Force of July, even though they'd never met face-to-face.

Comments: Created by Tony Isabella & Trevor von Eeden.

Black Lightning received a profile in Who’s Who: the Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #3. He received profiles in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #17 and Who's Who Update '87 #4 under the Outsiders entry. Jefferson Pierce received a profile in Secret Files President Luthor #1 under The Presidential Cabinet entry.

In Bizarro Comics #1 Mr. Mxyzptlk beamed information about all of Earth’s superheroes into Bizarro-Superman’s mind, hoping to teach him how to be a proper hero. Afterwards Bizarro had images of various heroes, including Black Lightning, wandering through his head.