Another costumed superhero is making the leap from the pages of a comic book to the world of the CW: Black Lightning. Coming this fall, Black Lightning will be the sixth show based on DC characters for the network, joining Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, and iZombie (which is published by Vertigo, a DC imprint).
The new show stars Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce, a retired superhero who has given up fighting on the streets to do good as the principal of a high school. With two daughters and a desire to help his community, he is drawn back into the superhero game as violence erupts once more. The show's full synopsis was released earlier this month, along with the full trailer for the upcoming freshman season. The show looks like a phenomenal addition to the network's comic book programming, but fans were surprised to hear that Black Lightning would not be part of the larger Arrowverse according to network president Mark Pedowitz:
Black Lightning at this time is not part of the Arrowverse. It is a separate situation. But there will be a big fourth quarter crossover with all four shows on in the fall.
This may not have been what fans were expecting, but it could actually be good news for the show.
The Arrowverse So Far
Since Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) first shot his way onto the small screen in 2012, the CW's DC universe has grown to span four main shows (and a few lesser-known inclusions), multiple cities, more than one Earth, and a few different timelines.
First, Arrow introduced us to Star City (then Starling City), and the CW's slew of archers. Then, in 2014, The Flash spun off from Arrow, after Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) popped up in season 2. Barry returned to Central City after helping Team Arrow, the particle accelerator exploded, and a whole slew of metahumans were introduced to this world. The number of major super-powered characters grew on both shows until eventually, a whole group of them banded together under the leadership of Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) to spin off into their own show: Legends of Tomorrow. At around the same time, Supergirl premiered on CBS, and after season 1 failed to land, the CW welcomed Kara (Melissa Benoist) into the fold for season 2. All four shows now cross over on a somewhat regular basis, despite Supergirl existing on an alternate Earth, and the Legends wandering throughout time on their adventures.
In addition to the four main shows of the Arrowverse, Constantine has also been joined to the main universe despite starting life on another network. The series launched on NBC but was canceled after the first season. While the CW didn't pick up the entire show, they have scooped up Matt Ryan's character, who has since shown up in the Arrowverse several times. All of this leaves us with a fully-functioning multiverse, several timelines (thanks to both the Legends and Barry's habit of going back to fix his mistakes), and two shows connected from other networks. As if that wasn't enough for the CW and DC, the Arrowverse has their own line of comics to continue the story, as well as shorter animated series like Vixen, which also includes the same characters.
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A Different Kind Of Superhero Show
Like Constantine and Supergirl, Black Lightning wasn't conceived as a CW show. The series was originally intended for Fox (the home of Gotham), but was shopped around after the network decided not to go to pilot on the show. It may have landed at the CW, but it's definitely not your average CW show, and it's certainly a big departure from the other Arrowverse offerings.
Although both Black Lightning and the Arrowverse feature costumed superheroes, the overall tone of Black Lightning feels very different - at least, from what the trailer shows. This is a street-level hero that deals with real-world problems. The big bad of season 1 isn't set up as a mystically trained assassin, a metahuman, an alien or a group of time masters. It's a street gang known as the 100. It's also not an origin story about a stunningly attractive twenty-something (ok, Amell was just past thirty at the start of Arrow!). Instead, this is a show about a man in his late forties with grown children, who is so far past his origin story that he has been retired for many years. Williams' Jefferson Pierce has more in common with Joe West (Jesse L Martin) than Barry Allen, or Cat Grant (Calista Flockhart) rather than Supergirl.
In addition to the artistic issues that would come from trying to force a Black Lightning-style show into the Arrowverse, there are some practical issues to deal with as well. Black Lightning is filmed in Atlanta, while the rest of the Arrowverse films in Vancouver, Canada. That's a pretty big distance to cover for crossovers, especially when filming on a tight schedule. It's not insurmountable, but it's certainly not easy.
Room To Grow
Black Lightning isn't as well known to comic fans as Green Arrow, The Flash, or Supergirl, so giving him space in his own universe is a great way to make sure that the characters grow on their own. Introducing him as part of the Arrowverse could easily slip him into a mentor role - partly because of his similar age to the parent-figures in that universe, but also because a retired hero might want to hand things over to these other super-powered people if he could. Holding off on an Arrowverse inclusion makes more sense when it comes to his decision to put the suit back on.
In addition, from the trailer it looks like the show will be focusing on his daughters (and their powers) as well - as the only powered people in that world, Black Lightning is going to be forced to train his daughters. That's a far more interesting dynamic than being able to pass them off on the other heroes for their training. On his own, Black Lightning and his daughters can grow into heroes in their own way, and on their own time, before having to become part of a larger super-team.
Over-Extending The DC TV Universe
Keeping Black Lightning separate may be the best thing for that show, but it's also a better move for the sake of the Arrowverse as a whole. Realistically, with multiple shows, timelines, and Earths, the Arrowverse is getting pretty complicated. It's also becoming a huge commitment for fans - there's an Arrowverse show on most nights of the week, and while most of the crossovers can be watched without keeping up with every show, it certainly helps. Adding yet another series to the universe at this point in time could easily become a little overwhelming, especially for new fans, and every show would suffer as a result.
In addition, a connected universe means continuity considerations. Making sure that Black Lightning explains where everyone was during every major apocalyptic event of the Arrowverse could be complicated and make the show a little unwieldy. Keeping them separate allows the writers a lot more freedom, which often means a better show. There's also the possibility that the CW has other plans for Arrowverse and future super-additions. There have been a huge number of Green Lantern Easter Eggs across Arrow and The Flash, leading fans to speculate that some kind of Green Lantern series is in the works. Because Black Lightning wasn't originally intended for this universe, it might just not fit with future plans for the CW schedule or story line.
Is A Crossover In Black Lightning's Future?
It's not a bad thing that Black Lightning won't be joining the Arrowverse right now, but what about in future? If the series bombs, it's easy enough to cancel as a stand-alone series, but the CW has a solid track record with superheroes. If it's a success will Jefferson Pierce run into Oliver Queen & Co down the line? The chances of a future crossover at some point are pretty good, especially if the show does well.
The easy route to take would be to include Black Lightning on a different Earth. It worked for Supergirl, and it goes a long way to mitigating the need to explain continuity errors. This route would also allow the show to keep doing its own thing, but pop up for occasional big events. The Arrowverse has also made it clear that other powered characters exist in the world, so Black Lightning could simply live on the other side of the country. The new Black Canary was flying largely under the radar until Team Arrow recruited her, Constantine is kicking around somewhere (as are Hawkman and Hawkgirl), and Rip Hunter has even alluded to Superman and Batman existing as well. With plenty of heroes on Earth-1 that haven't joined the Arrowverse yet, there is still plenty of room for Black Lightning to appear down the line - after he has established himself in a stand alone series.