Image: Black Lightning art from Justice League of America Vol 2 #17 by Ethan Van Sciver and Moose Baumann. Cress Williams photographed by Frederick M. Brown Getty

Say hello to the latest DC hero to land on the CW: Cress Williams has been cast at Jefferson Pierce, the star of Black Lightning.




The Hollywood Reporter reports that Williams—not unknown to the CW for his role on Hart of Dixie on the channel—will headline the series, which recently made a leap over from Fox to the CW for a pilot order. THR describes the show’s version of Pierce (first created by Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eeden in the ‘70s) as a man who chose to cast aside his superhero identity years ago, only to be pulled back into action as Black Lightning once more when a student of his is embroiled in gang warfare. It’s a description that matches up with the recent casting calls we saw, but interestingly, it sets Black Lightning apart from many of its fellow DC superhero shows. Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, and to a certain extent Legends of Tomorrow have all been about young heroes making the first steps in their journeys to superheroism.

If Black Lightning is set in that same universe as those shows, getting to see someone who’s a bit older, and already has the experience of being a hero—and specifically choosing to put that experience aside and live a private life again—is really intriguing. Hopefully some day, we’ll get to see Black Lightning rubbing shoulders with the rest of the DC/CW-niverse to see how that contrast plays out.