Black Lightning Season 1, Episode 1: "The Resurrection"

[MurkeNyou]

Really liked it myself.

 

[FeedOnATreeFrog]

I am definitely pleasantly surprised. The trailers were cheesy, but the execution was pretty well done.

Positives:
+An older superhero with kids and a high school is a nice change of pace from any other superhero show.
+There's a believable sense of danger.
+They did more with the lightning powers than I expected, affecting the lights around him, etc.
+Significantly less cringe from the cast here compared to the other CW shows.

Negatives:
-The lead is weak at times.
-"...darker and darker in a night devoid of stars"...I don't think a single one of these CW shows has pulled off a noirish line about 'darkness'. It never fits.

 

[Mani-Man]

I really loved the first episode...felt pretty good.
It has a different feeling than the rest of the DC shows, which i really like.

Could see this going for while, the concept is pretty cool and they did a fantastic job on this first episode.

 

[Thome216]

I wonder if both daughters have gained some of his powers, or versions of such.

The costume though, I'll have to get to like. It looks like that is where the most 'cheese' went for me.

And that's saying a lot, cause there was hardly any cheese...

 

[eon001]

Great start so far. All the spectacle of Flash with the social commentary and substance of Luke Cage.

I want to see Milestone characters in this so bad, but I don't just want it to be labelled as the "Black hero show". I think Icon and Rocket could make good reoccurring characters.

Maybe hold off on Static. Jefferson and his daughters are already going to have lighting powers. Give us some variety in power representation.

 

[ironman29758]

Great start so far. All the spectacle of Flash with the social commentary and substance of Luke Cage.?

I want to see Milestone characters in this so bad, but I don't just want it to be labelled as the "Black hero show". I think Icon and Rocket could make good reoccurring characters.

Maybe hold off on Static. Jefferson and his daughters are already going to have lighting powers. Give us some variety in power representation.

Agreed, Icon and Rocket would be fantastic characters to be playing off the Black Lightning character( maybe hold off Buck Wild though lol)

This was an amazing way to start off the series for sure. I liked the old costume they were using as well.

 

[Sithborg]

That was a great way to start the series.

 

[DrCosmic]

Pleasantly surprised.

It does seem very hood-ish, and I'm not sure how that sits with me yet.

It's good to see China Anne McClaine acting like a irrational human being instead of a cartoon character.

The powers were quite weak, but they also managed to craft a plot that doesn't feel slow when the powers aren't flying. This puts it above all the other CW DC stuff.

I don't know how much milestone I would want. Static can get in, maybe...

 

[Lencho01]

I thought this was great and I have a feeling it won't disappoint like Luke Cage did. And it certainly doesn't feel like the other Arrowverse shows.

Still wish we had the old suit. The new googles color change is cool though.

 

[SPO2 Dalisay]

I didn't make it through the hour. Perhaps the side effects of medication

 

[Guard82]

Very impressive debut. Black Lightning is firing on all cylinders right out of the gate.

 

[Patchwork Man]

Holy crap, I didn't know James Remar was on this show or that he'd be playing Peter Gambi. Now the Berlanti DC CW world really does have its own Alfred!

Same here. When his name appeared on the screen, I went "Well, dang." I'm glad he has such a cool role.

 

[Patchwork Man]

I am definitely pleasantly surprised. The trailers were cheesy, but the execution was pretty well done.

Positives:
+An older superhero with kids and a high school is a nice change of pace from any other superhero show.
+There's a believable sense of danger.
+They did more with the lightning powers than I expected, affecting the lights around him, etc.
+Significantly less cringe from the cast here compared to the other CW shows.

Negatives:
-The lead is weak at times.
-"...darker and darker in a night devoid of stars"...I don't think a single one of these CW shows has pulled off a noirish line about 'darkness'. It never fits.

You think Cress is weak at times? IMO, he handled everything well enough.

Ditto on exhibition of powers. There's a lot more to 'em than Zap! Zap! Zap! Very well done.

 

[eon001]

I thought this was great and I have a feeling it won't disappoint like Luke Cage did. And it certainly doesn't feel like the other Arrowverse shows.

Still wish we had the old suit. The new googles color change is cool though.

I jumped out my seat when I saw the classic suit. I hope they evolve the current design. I looks so stiff and robotic.

 

[2kt09]

I thought this was great and I have a feeling it won't disappoint like Luke Cage did. And it certainly doesn't feel like the other Arrowverse shows.

Still wish we had the old suit. The new googles color change is cool though.

That OG suit was surprisingly already one of the best Berlanti costumes.

I've braced myself for the worst. James Remar's character as backup comms and Jennifer Pierce will be full of sass and geeky puns.
God dang, she should be in a whole lot worse since this entire string of events is because of going to the one place that should obviously get people in trouble.

 

[Melpardus]

I only recently got into Marvel and MCU stuff and know next to nothing about any of DC's characters outside than the few really big names. As such, being an uninitiated viewer to anything not Batman/Superman/Wonder Woman, I thought the Black Lightning pilot was interesting and well enough written to bother following along with. The trailers seemed kinda cheesy -- and felt like a bite off of Luke Cage, which I've still yet to watch -- but the actors give pretty good performances and I like the overall moody atmosphere. It should be interesting seeing a black vigilante pitted against gangs and a corrupt police force. The writing for Lala seems like he'll be a good, complex villain, and Tobias Whale's actor cuts an impressive figure.

Question I have though, and it's really the only thing that genuinely bothered me (aside from his daughters not recognizing him in-suit): was Black Lightning's suit ever mechanized in the way it is on the show? It just looks bad to me, and I'm wondering why they didn't give him something closer to the simple jumpsuit-type of outfit I've seen when scanning through the character's Wikipedia page.

 

[chamber-music]

Love how conflicted it shows a superhero dealing with the hood mentality all over the place would really be.

I liked that even though he was a superhero there really wasn't a easy solution to the 'hood problems'.

Certain elements reminded me of Luke Cage as they are both shows about black principled superheroes trying to live ordinary lives that face mob bosses and gangs in urban settings. Tobias Whale bible quoting remained me of Diamondback as well.

 

[Chance Jackson]

Love it

 

[BH/HHH]

I liked the first episode a lot, it didn’t feel much like a CW show to me either. Not that I have an issue with that but it’s nice for the show to have its own feel. I feel like the cast of actors seems better than your typical CW cast aswell. Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce aka Black Lightning is fantastic and I was reall happy to see James Remar too. I can see his character Gambi becoming one of my favourites. Nafessa Williams and Christine Adams were great as his daughters
Anissa and Lynn too. I also found William Catlett as Lala really belieavable in his role too. Marvin ‘Krondon’ Jones III still has to go some way to convince me as Tobias Whale though.

On the negative side I didn’t care much for the Rap music and I feel like that’s a little bit of a cliche route to go down with the racial stereotypes personally. Another thing I wasn’t wholly keen on was the suit, I thought the classic suit (briefly seen) looked much better and I’m hoping we see him in that again. Lastly on the negatives, the scene where he saved his girls as Black Lightning, how the hell did they not recognise him?

Ending on a positive note though I love the angle of the story, a retired superhero resurrected. I get the feeling aswell with him unable to defeat Tobias Whale in the past that the key to finally defeating him will be his girls also discovering their superpowers. Here’s hoping the show continues as it is and doesn’t get bogged down with CW relationship dramas down the line. All in all a solid 7.5/10 from me.

 

[Astro13Zombie]

I really liked what we saw of Whale myself.
It was short and there was barely anything but it left me wanting more.
I think he’ll end up being really cool and one of the better CW villains.

 

[Quasar]

Wasn't really planning on checking this out as the trailers were so cheesy, but after I saw all the raves it was getting, I watched the rerun on Friday. Have to say, I really enjoyed it. No goofiness to be found. I'm familiar with the character, but not too sure of his powers. I definitely didn't know he could shoot lightning, or levitate people with lightning, or control all electrical power around him. Will be watching more.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Just finished Black Lightning's pilot episode and wow, I wasn't expecting anything so mature and hard hitting from The CW. That was some good stuff. The action bits weren't all that impressive and the costume felt a bit out of place but the rest of the show was great. I hope BL can follow up the pilot with more great episodes. I'm hyped.

Edit : Anissa and Jeniffer. Hot damn. Anissa is reason enough to see BL again and again. What a cutie.

 

[Mister J]

This came out of the game pretty strong. I love the tone and to echo some earlier sentiments, it felt less like a CW show (which is good if, for nothing else, than variety). I bought Cress' portrayal, the character's conflict and ultimate resolution.

On a related note, I'm hoping the fact that Jefferson is older and already has some life experience means they'll spare us of the usual poorly-handled relationship tripe that plague most of these offerings. OK, so Jeff, his ex and the other chick at the school have some drama brewing? Fine. Just let them act like adults rather than confused teenagers.

I knew James Remar was in this show, then I forgot, then I was happy as **** when he appeared.

I wasn't expecting the Thunder (or Lightning for that matter) tease until much later; maybe the end of the season, but Anissa coming to grips with it and into her own might play as an interesting side story against the BL/100 stuff.

 

[Dark Raven]

The end of it with Anissa breaking a sink reminded me of Molly Hayes discovering her powers in Runaways.

Overall it was enjoyable. There were some oddities in the episode though which could be somewhat laughable:

1) BL just electrocuted that random dude as he walked past that balcony motel for no apparent reason other than he felt like it, and that the dude was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

2) James Remar had already been working on an upgrade to the BL suit even though BL had been retired for years. What if he never came back? Then what was that suit for? Was it in the hope that he would come back? And what if the measurements were based on what Jefferson was like before, but he had since put on weight? Would Remar find that the suit doesn't fit him now?

 

[Sithborg]

1. I don't particularly feel bad for a random John in a hotel with prostitutes of dubious willingness.

2. I mean, Jefferson likely gets his fine suits from Gambi, so he had his measurements already.