Black Lightning will soon dim the lights on his suit.
Producers have announced that the superhero family drama will conclude its run with its fourth season, set to begin this spring. Created in January 2018, the series followed main protagonist High School Principal Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) as he balanced work and family with his resurrected superhero identity as Black Lightning. His daughters, Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain), later developed metahuman abilities of their own and became Thunder and Lightning, respectively. Together, they battled not only local crime lord Tobias Whale but the overarching NSA, responsible for weaponizing metahumans for their own agenda.
“Black Lightning” Will End, But What Does He Leave Behind?
Taking place in a separate reality initally from The Arrowverse, the events of Crisis On Infinite Earths saw Jefferson meet The Flash, Superman, and other heroes to battle The Anti-Monitor. Like Supergirl’s Earth-38 and Earth-01, Jefferson’s world was merged with them to create Earth-Prime, thus making future team-ups more easier. Lastly, and most importantly, Pierce became one of the founding members of the yet-to-be-named Justice League.
Black Lightning, as previously mentioned, becomes the second CW superhero show to announce its conclusion. Supergirl showrunners announced a few months ago that its fifth season will be its last. This leaves The Flash and DC’s Legends of Tomorrow as the remaining first spinoffs of the now-defunct Arrow to remain on the air. However, The CW has commissioned the development of a backdoor pilot for a Black Lightning antagonist on the redemptive path, Painkiller, played by Jordan Calloway. Arrow did the same with Oliver Queen’s (Stephen Amell) daughter Mia Queen (Kat McNamara). The backdoor pilot aired during its eighth and final season post-crisis entitled “Green Arrow And The Canaries. The attempt saw Mia taking her father’s mantle in 2040 alongside time-displaced Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) and Dinah Drake (Juliana Harkavy) to deal out justice once more. The series is still waiting its green light.
The season premiere of Black Lightning will air February 21, 2021 on The CW.