With the CW’s latest DC-based superhero series, Black Lightning, set to premiere on January 16th at 9 pm immediately following the midseason premiere of The Flash, the network has released a publicity photo of Nafeesa Williams as the hero’s oldest daughter, Anissa a.k.a. Thunder.
The synopsis released by the CW describes the pilot episode, “The Resurrection”:
“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. 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. Christine Adams, James Remar, Damon Gupton and Marvin Jones III also star.”
Anissa first appeared as Thunder in 2003’s relaunch of The Outsiders, possessed of the ability to increase her body density to the point where she is both superhumanly strong and nearly immovable. Jefferson would only sanction his daughter to join the crime fighting business on the condition that she earn her degree in college first. Up until the book’s cancellation, Thunder served proudly on The Outsiders, coincidentally the team her father had served on under Batman’s leadership.
