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Black Lightning
Jefferson Pierce / Black Lightning
Black Lightning
The original Electric Black Guy
Alter Ego: Jefferson Michael Pierce
First Appearance: Black Lightning #1 (April, 1977)
DC's first headlining black hero, Jefferson Pierce was an Olympic athlete turned high school teacher who was dismayed by the extent to which his neighbourhood was being devastated by drug traffickers. Devising a costume that allowed him to discharge electricity, Jefferson took to the streets as Black Lightning, dispensing justice to the 100 gang and their boss, Tobias Whale. He later gained the power to control electricity without the use of his costume, and became a member of the Justice League, though he has never abandoned his connections to his home in Suicide Slum. His daughters Anissa and Jennifer are superheroes in their own right, and follow in their father's footsteps as Thunder and Lightning.
- Afro Asskicker: Invoked. Black Lightning's original mask had a fake Afro attached to it. It was a part of his effort to conceal his identity as a straitlaced high school teacher.
- Arch-Enemy: Tobias Whale, whose bid for control of Suicide Slum pushed Jefferson into heroism in the first place, and who has come back again and again to menace Black Lightning and his family.
- Badass Teacher: High school teacher, Olympic athlete, superhero, and all around badass, with or without his powers.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Rivals Superman as one of the nicest guys at DC. Hurt someone he cares about and you will spend months recovering.
- Chain Lightning: He can produce this effect to shock an entire room's worth of villains.
- Clothes Make the Superman: At first he needed his suit to disguise himself and his belt was a generator that produced electricity. These days he produces the electricity by himself; if his costume does anything it is to isolate himself from his own raw power and the belt now regulates it.
- Color Character: Black Lightning. At the time of his introduction, it was more or less expected that African-American characters would have "black" in their names. These days he's often portrayed as having chosen the name to make a deliberate point about civil rights.
- Electric Black Guy: The source of the trope.
- Empowered Badass Normal: He was originally an Olympic athlete who wore a costume that let him discharge electricity. He later gained the power to produce and control electricity for real.
- Goggles Do Nothing: Originally, Black Lightning's goggles protected his eyes and concealed his identity. These days he's immune to electricity and his identity is public, yet he continues to wear the goggles anyway.
- Harmless Electrocution: Often portrayed as capable of shocking an enemy unconscious without causing any permanent damage.
- Internal Reformist: Joined the Luthor administration as Secretary of Education hoping to do some good, or at least mitigate the damage that Lex was doing to the country. He caught a lot of flak from his fellow heroes for this, although his daughter, Anissa, and her girlfriend, Grace, both understood.
- In the Blood: His daughters inherited his powers.
- It's Personal: With Tobias Whale and the 100, whose activities killed a number of his students.
- Jive Turkey: Invoked. In his early appearances Black Lightning spoke in black slang...but high school teacher Jefferson Pierce did not.
- The One Who Made It Out: Jefferson Pierce used his athletic success to escape Suicide Slum. He then came back to teach the next generation how to do the same.
- Parental Favouritism: Anissa has occasionally accused him of favouring Jennifer over her, though only mildly.
- Politically Incorrect Hero: Shortly before Flashpoint, while on the Outsiders, Jeff expressed discomfort about Anissa being a lesbian.
- Shock and Awe: His primary power.
- Took a Level in Badass: Black Lighting originally had the output of a powerful taser. He's now capable of generating more power than a thunderstorm, incinerating enemies with lightning bolts, strengthening himself by absorbing electricity, and even transforming himself into electricity, becoming near invulnerable in the process. Then during the tail end of the 2019 run of Batman and the Outsiders, Jefferson became strong enough to one-shot Ra's al Ghul who at the time was basically a Physical God. Even Batman himself claims that at this stage, Jeff has reached a level of power that he could stand shoulder to shoulder with other heavy hitters in DC like Clark and Diana.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: When he's around Katana during their Outsider days, he's often had a thing for her. But with carrying around her husband's soul in her sword, he tends to feel like she's still married to her deceased husband.
- Yellow Lightning, Blue Lightning: What colour his lightning is seems to vary from artist to artist. In the early days it was usually yellow; now it's most often blue.
The Jefferson Family
Anissa Pierce / Thunder
Thunder
Anissa in her modern outfit
Alter Ego: Anissa Pierce
First Appearance: Outsiders (Vol. 3) #1 (August, 2003)
Jefferson Pierce's oldest daughter, Anissa's relationship with her father was strained by her decision to follow in his footsteps as a costumed hero. Possessed of the power to alter her density, Anissa can become too heavy to move and virtually impervious to harm, and can unleash shockwaves that blow her opponents off their feet. Serving in several incarnations of her father's old team, the Outsiders, Anissa struck up a relationship with fellow Outsider, Grace, becoming one of DC's most prominent (and most powerful!) lesbian couples. She has meant to retire from action on more than one occasion, but has always been pulled back into action.
- Action Girl: Every bit as much of a badass as her dad.
- Battle Couple: She and Grace form a lesbian variant, both on the Outsiders and independently.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Grace before they got together.
- Lipstick Lesbian: She's the femme lesbian while her partner Grace is the butch.
- Mighty Glacier: Anissa slows down somewhat after raising her density but becomes practically invulnerable. She'd qualify as a Stone Wall but her Shockwave Stomp grants her notable offensive prowess
- Nigh-Invulnerability: Capable of increasing her density to the point of being Immune to Bullets and causing a mobster to break his fist on her face.
- Shockwave Stomp: When super dense Anissa can create shockwaves by stomping her feet. Her "Thunder" codename stems from this.
- Stripperriffic: Her costume from the mid-2000s
◊ which exposed most of her chest and stomach and could charitably be described as "impractical." - The Un-Favourite: Sometimes sees herself this way, as opposed to her little sister, Lightning.
Jennifer Pierce / Lightning
Lightning
Alter Ego: Jennifer Pierce
First Appearance: Justice Society of America (Vol. 3) #12 (March, 2008)
Jefferson's youngest daughter who, like her father, is capable of controlling electricity.
- Action Girl: Just as much a badass as her dad and her big sister.
- Blessed with Suck: Has massive electrical powers, but can't touch any modern tech without shutting down everything within 100 feet, so she can't use TV, computers, or cars.
- Electric Black Guy: Female variant. Lightning is a black woman with control over electricity.
- In the Blood: Inherited her father's powerset.
- Legacy Character: To Black Lightning. Though this thirty-year-old (as a concept) character has never been described as having a second daughter before her debut.
- Remember the New Guy?: Retroactively introduced as Black Lightning's daughter who'd been growing up and adjusting to her powers.
- Satellite Character: Thanks to the massive team roster, Jennifer just kind of ends up hanging around with Stargirl and Cyclone in group shots, and rarely with anyone else. Being so hard to draw, she was stuck in background shots at-best, and rarely says or does much of anything.
- This is mostly true until the most recent issues of the series, where Lightning is responsible for stopping Scythe. Writer Marc Guggenheim has stated his intention to do more with the character.
- Shock and Awe: Like her father, Lightning is capable of controlling electricity.
- Walking Techbane: Justified. Lightning's control over her powers isn't perfect yet, and she often shorts out electrical equipment when she touches it.
- Yellow Lightning, Blue Lightning: Often depicted with yellow lightning, as distinct from her father's blue lightning.
Lynn Stewart
Lynn Stewart
First Appearance: Black Lightning #3 (July, 1977)
Jefferson's Ex-Wife.
Black Lightning's Rogues Gallery
The 100
The 100
Other Aliases: The 10, The 1000, The Centipede of Crime
First Appearance: Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #105 (October, 1970)
A massive criminal organization with global reach, The 100 keep a lower profile than groups like Intergang, mostly working through local intermediaries and street level gangs. Operating out of Suicide Slum, the Metropolis branch is headed by Black Lightning's archnemesis Tobias Whale, and controls most of the city's drug traffic.
- Gangbangers: The 100's leadership might be sophisticated and global, but its foot soldiers are typically young, poor, and drawn from local street gangs.
- Generic Ethnic Crime Gang: The Metropolis branch of the 100 is primarily African-American, with Gangbangers as foot troops and classier "black mafioso" types like Tobias Whale at the top.
- Greater-Scope Villain: The 100's immortal founders and true leaders, who remain almost entirely offscreen, allowing local cell leaders to make their own decisions.
- Nebulous Criminal Conspiracy: The 100 is thoroughly decentralized, with operatives that include everyone from local Gangbangers on up through mafiosi. The seldom seen leadership have been implied, at various points, to be vampires or other mystical beings, though they rarely take a direct hand in events, preferring to let regional bosses like Tobias Whale handle their problems for them.
- The Syndicate: The 100 have a lower profile than Intergang or their own parent organization, The 1000, but they're still a huge, if decentralized group, with the ability to deploy agents all over the world.
Andrew Henderson
Andrew Henderson
First Appearance: Black Lightning #3 (July, 1977)
The son of of Metropolis chief inspector Bill Henderson and an enforcer of The 100.- Like Father, Unlike Son: He's a criminal working for a dangerous syndicate, while his father is an inspector and strong ally of Superman and Black Lightning.
- Ret-Gone: He hasn't reappeared since before Crisis on Infinite Earths, making it very unlikely he even exists any more.
Cyclotronic Man
Cyclotronic Man
Alter Ego: Ned Creegan
Other Aliases: Bag O'Bones, Cyclotronic Man
First Appearance: Batman #195 (September, 1967)
"So help me, all I wanna do is go free! But if you come any closer...she’ll need a real halo!"
Ned Creegan was originally just a small-time jewel thief who gained powers after being accidentally exposed to radioactive material. His body started to change and his skeleton was exposed during a fight with Batman and Robin. Ironically, the nickname Bag O'Bones was given to him by the Boy Wonder. Because of the nature of his condition, his life-span was shortened every second he spent as Bag O'Bones and he surrendered in order to find a cure. Creegan was cured momentarily and he was subsequently convicted to prison. His powers eventually evolved, and he adopted the names Cyclotronic Man (fighting Black Lightning and Superman) and One Man Meltdown (against the Outsiders). He was unsuccessful on both occasions, and agreed to undergo treatment to undo the radiation damage.
- Cast from Hit Points: Creegan's original electric powers shortened his lifespan every time he used them. His later radiation powers didn't have this issue...but did irradiate his body and eventually send him into meltdown.
- Deflector Shields: Creegan could harness "free atoms" in the air to create a repulsing shield.
- Dumb Muscle: Creegan's intellect was what limited him most as a villain.
- Flight: Can fly at least as fast as a common helicopter.
- Hand Blast: Creegan could project "electron blasts" to damage his enemies.
- One-Man Army: As One-Man Meltdown, Creegan was a match for the entire Outsiders roster.
- Playing with Fire: Can his body burn hot enough to melt steel, and shoot beams of heat from his hands.
- Radiation-Induced Superpowers: Creegan gained his powers after being exposed to an experimental "purple light ray".
- Red and Black and Evil All Over: His costume is black and red and he's a very persistent foe of the Outsiders.
- Rogues' Gallery Transplant: Originally an extremely minor Batman villain as Bag O'Bones he went on to menace Black Lightning as Cyclotronic Man in his original series. Fittingly, his last appearance as One-Man Meltdown saw him battling both Batman and Black Lightning when they served together in the original Outsiders.
- Selective Magnetism: Creegan could cause his body to retain a negative charge and positively charge his opponents to drag them closer to him or do the reverse and send them flying.
- Shock and Awe: As Bag O'Bones, Creegan could shoot electrical blasts however this ability cost him months of his life with each use.
- Took a Level in Badass: Creegan took one between each of his appearances, going from someone who could match Batman, to someone who could defeat Black Lightning and deal some minor damage to Superman, to a threat to the entire team of Outsiders.
- Tragic Villain: As the One-Man Meltdown, Creegan didn't want to hurt anybody or even break the law. He just wanted treatment for his condition so that he could serve out his prison sentence without dying.
- Unwitting Pawn: Of Tobias Whale and the 100, who knew perfectly well what their radiation experiment would do to Creegan but could not possibly have cared less.
Demolition
Demolition
Alter Ego: Steven Kernahan
First Appearance: Black Lightning (Vol. 2) #9 (October, 1995)
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Only appears in one issue and dies in it.
Ishmael
Ishmael
First Appearance: Black Lightning (Vol. 2) #6 (July, 1995)
A shapeshifting agent of Tobias Whale's, sent to murder one of Jefferson Pierce's friends. Confronted by Black Lightning and the second Gangbuster, Ishmael was soundly defeated and has not been seen since.
- Bald of Evil: His default appearance features no hair, though given that he's a shapeshifter this may not mean much.
- Fangs Are Evil: Depicted with a mouthful of razor sharp fangs, and undoubtedly evil.
- Hired Guns: One of several characters contracted by Tobias Whale to kill Black Lightning, although his codename and references to Whale being his "master" do hint at a closer relationship between he and his boss.
- Moby Schtick: Reinforces Whale's Moby Dick theme. His first words to Black Lightning are even "call me Ishmael" and he makes a few other references to the book during their battle.
- One-Shot Character: Ishmael appeared in a single issue of Black Lightning as an agent of the 100 sent to kill Black Lightning by Whale.
- Professional Killer: Retained by Whale as an assassin.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Depicted with red eyes not dissimilar from those of his boss.
- Rubber Man: His size and shapeshifting powers also allowed him to expand or stretch his body at will.
- Sizeshifter: Could alter his size at will.
- Voluntary Shape Shifting: Could change his size and shape effectively enough to require both Black Lightning and Gangbuster II to defeat.
Joey Toledo
Joey Toledo
First Appearance: Black Lightning #1 (April, 1977)
Lamar Henderson
Lamar Henderson
First Appearance: Black Lightning (Vol. 2) #1 (February, 1995)
Miss Pequod
Miss Pequod
First Appearance: Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands #1 (January, 2018)
The enigmatic secretary of Tobias Whale. Painkiller
Painkiller
Prepare to be anesthetized
First Appearance: Black Lightning (Vol. 2) #2 (March, 1995)
A high level mob enforcer in the employ of the Brothers Who Rule, Painkiller has the body of a professional wrestler, the mannerisms of an anal retentive professor, and the power to shut down his victims' senses and nervous systems, leaving them blind and paralyzed. Ordered to take down Black Lightning, Painkiller gave the hero a serious fight but nevertheless failed and has not been seen again.
- Ax-Crazy: It's hidden well by his erudite manner but Painkiller's a homicidal maniac.
- Badass Bandolier: Wears an ammunition belt across his torso.
- Bad Boss: Uses the younger members of the Brothers Who Rule as bait and expendable muscle in his trap for Black Lightning and the police, fully intending that they die alongside the operation's targets.
- Blade Below the Shoulder: Painkiller has blades on his wrists and built into the palms of his forearm bracers.
- Blade Enthusiast: Carries multiple knives on his person and wears them braided into his hair.
- The Chessmaster: Manipulated Black Lightning, the police, and several second string Brothers Who Rule into a confrontation that was meant to eliminate all three.
- Dreadlock Warrior: Exaggerated. A gigantic mob enforcer who wears his hair in dreadlocks and weaves knives into said hair.
- Fights Like a Normal: Painkiller can psychically maim his victims with his powers, but he has to finish them off the same way any other mobster would—with guns and knives.
- Frame-Up: Aims to kill off Black Lightning and the youngest members of the Brothers Who Rule during a shootout with the police. Since none of the police will be able to recall what happened, courtesy of Painkiller's powers, it will look like the cops slaughtered defenseless teenagers and preteens for no reason.
- Genius Bruiser: Painkiller looks like The Brute, talks like The Spock, and plans like The Chessmaster.
- Manipulative Bastard: Endeared himself to the young rank and file of the BWR while setting them up as pawns in his plan.
- One-Shot Character: Like most Black Lightning villains not named "Tobias Whale", Painkiller hasn't been seen since his original appearance.
- People Puppets: Downplayed. Painkiller's powers allow him to shut down a person's senses or their control over their own limbs, but he does not gain control over their movements himself.
- Power Fist: His heavy forearm bracers, which can catch an opponent's attacks or open up their face with a punch.
- Power Palms: The blades built into the palms of his forearm bracers.
- Psycho for Hire: He might claim otherwise, but it's obvious that Painkiller is in it for the violence at least as much as he is the money.
- Sadist: Painkiller enjoys every moment of watching his victims' terror.
- Scary Black Man: He's a six foot nine African-American with dreadlocks, the fashion sense of a stereotypical gang banger, and the attitude of a homicidal sadist.
- Sensory Overload: Painkiller can go one better and simply switch a target's sense to "off", without exposing them to any other stimuli.
- Slasher Smile: Sports a truly impressive one when gloating to the kids he's about to murder.
- The Sociopath: Made pretty clear by his willingness to butcher an entire street gang to get to Black Lightning.
- Spock Speak: Affects the mannerisms and speech patterns of a detached upper class snob. It's a cover to keep his psychopathy from becoming too obvious.
- Unstoppable Rage: Subverted. Painkiller's rages make him stronger and harder to put down, but prevent him from thinking clearly.
- Unusual Euphemism: "Anesthetized", which he uses as a shorthand for the way his powers effect the target's body.
- Wicked Cultured: Painkiller tries to present as a well-rounded intellectual, despite his brutish physical appearance.
- Would Hurt a Child: Uses teenagers and preteens as bait in his trap for Black Lightning, planning to kill them off and then blame the police for their deaths.
Queequeg
Queequeg
First Appearance: Black Lightning (Vol. 2) #8 (September, 1995)
Sick Nick
Sick Nick
Alter Ego: Adrian Wentworth
First Appearance: Black Lightning (Vol. 2) #9 (October, 1995)
Syonide
Syonide I
Syonide I
First Appearance: Black Lightning #3 (July, 1977)
- Master Poisoner: Syonide is an expert in toxicology and uses anything involved with it in his work
- Navel-Deep Neckline: His costume is open all the way to his midsection.
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: An attempt to give a 'cool' spelling to 'cyanide'.
Syonide II
Syonide II
First Appearance: Batman and the Outsiders #19 (March, 1985)
- Navel-Deep Neckline: Just like her predecessor, her costume has a wide opening for her cleavage that plunges almost to her navel.
- No Name Given: Her real name was never revealed.
Tobias Whale
Tobias Whale
The Great White Whale
Alter Ego: Tobias Whale
Other Aliases: Whale, The Great White Whale
First Appearance: Black Lightning #1 (April, 1977)
An albino gang boss with an imposing physique and an eye for profit, Tobias Whale was the uncrowned—and unchallenged—king of Suicide Slum before Black Lightning arrived on the scene. The undisputed leader of Metropolis' 100, Whale has frequently tried to expand his operations outside of the city's slums, making plays for control of The 1000 and Intergang, and even trying to horn in on Gotham City's drug trade, precipitating a mob war with the Penguin in the process. Prone to warring with other gangsters and vigilantes like Batman alike, Whale nonetheless holds a special hatred in his heart for Black Lightning and counts the hero as his worst and most persistent and personal enemy.
- Alternate Company Equivalent: As a grossly overweight mobster who walks the line between supervillainy and more traditional organized crime he's DC's equivalent of the Kingpin, though differentiated by virtue of his race and albinism.
- Animal Motif: "Whale", of course. His surname is "Whale", his nickname is "The Great White Whale", and he wears a Moby Dick inspired signet ring. Even his weapon of choice, when he chooses to carry one, is a harpoon, a weapon most associated with whalers and whaling.
- Arch-Enemy: By far the most well known enemy of Jefferson Pierce and certainly the most personal.
- Badass Normal: Whale has no superpowers, but his bulk and brilliant criminal intellect still make him Black Lightning's worst enemy and a force to be reckoned with in the Metropolis underworld.
- Bald of Evil: Rarely, if ever, depicted with hair.
- Big Bad: Of the original Black Lightning run, the Black Lightning/Blue Devil team up, and much of "Gotham Underground" prior to the arrival of Intergang.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: The conclusion of his war with Intergang saw Intergang buy out Tobias' Gotham enterprises and set him up as their figurehead CEO of Kord Industries.
- Depending on the Artist: How disfigured Tobias is seems entirely up to artist discretion. Sometimes he's portrayed as a normal looking (if huge) man with albinism, other times he's deformed to the point of resembling a humanoid whale.
- The Don: Of the Metropolis branch of The 100, one of DC's largest criminal gangs. "Gotham Underground" saw him try to expand into Gotham City following the death of Black Mask, where he aimed to become that city's new "Boss of Bosses".
- Eviler than Thou: Whale attempt at becoming Gotham's new Boss of Bosses saw him go to war with both the Penguin's mob outfit and a branch of Intergang in order to determine who was going to be the real Big Bad of the story.
- Fat Bastard: Whale is built like the proverbial brick outhouse, tipping the scales at a morbidly obese four hundred pounds.
- Foil: To Black Lightning. Jefferson Pierce is a star athlete and civil rights activist who came home to make a difference, while Whale is an obese gangster who downplays his racial origins and oppresses his old neighborhood.
- Man of Wealth and Taste: Whale always dresses expensively, in the best clothes his drug money can buy.
- Mob War: Whale has warred with numerous other gangs in Metropolis and Gotham alike, and following the death of Black Mask was one of the key players in the mob violence that consumed Gotham. He took over several major crime families and was moving on the Penguin's turf when he was bought out by Intergang.
- Moby Schtick: Whale's name, nickname, weapon of choice, and appearance all make him a walking reference to Moby Dick's titular whale.
- No-Sell: During the early Black Lightning stories, Tobias' sheer bulk made him invulnerable to Jefferson's electric powers—since Black Lightning could only put out as much energy as an average taser, and Whale was far larger than most men, he was unfazed by the shock, which forced Jefferson's to face him hand-to-hand.
- Purple Is Powerful: Tobias' suits are almost always one shade of purple or another.
- Red Baron: "The Great White Whale".
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: One of the few consistent features in artistic depictions of Whale is that his albinism has given him red, or at least red-tinged, eyes.
- Red Right Hand: Whale's albinism marks him as evil to audiences, though ironically, it often shields him from prosecution in-universe (since he looks white to Metropolis' racially biased police). Some artists, missing this point, have exaggerated his deformity, drawing him as resembling a humanoid white whale rather than a person.
- Rogues' Gallery Transplant: He's set up shop in Gotham and tangled with Batman, though he always returns to Metropolis and Black Lightning in the end.
- Scary Black Man: As a huge, physically intimidating African-American gang boss, Whale certainly has aspects of this trope, especially when put up against "model minority" Jefferson Pierce, though his albinism gives it a different feel.
- Stout Strength: Four hundred pounds. Immensely strong.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Whale lacks Jefferson's athletic training, but at four hundred pounds and six foot five he doesn't really need it.
- Villain Team-Up: His mob has worked with The 1000 and Intergang in the past, and Whale has concluded personal alliances with a number of other figures in the Metropolis and Gotham underworlds.
- White Hair, Black Heart: For the majority of his publication history, Whale's white hair and pale skin has been portrayed as the result of albinism. Unlike many examples it acts not only as a signifier of his evil, but an enabler, since his skin tone allows him to pass as white and therefore benefit from white privilege and racist power structures.
Warhog
Warhog
First Appearance: Black Lightning (Vol. 2) #12 (January, 1996)
- Gatling Good: Carried a massive Gatling gun.
- Hired Guns: Hired by Tobias Whale to kill Black Lightning.
- One-Shot Character: Only appears in Issue Twelve of the Black Lightning series.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: He's only ever known as Warhog.
White Thunder
White Thunder
Alter Ego: Sssearr
First Appearance: Black Lightning: Cold Dead Hands #3 (March, 2018)
- Color Character: White Thunder.
- Evil Counterpart: Of Black Lightning, literally due to his codename and opposite powers.
- Flight: White Thunder's costume allows him to fly.
- Make Me Wanna Shout: White Thunder's costume him sonic attack powers.
