The CW is adding yet another DC Comics-based property to its lineup with Black Lightning, the new series which chronicles the exploits of Jefferson Pierce, a middle-aged metahuman trying to raise two daughters and make his city a safer place. (Read our review of the first episode of Black Lightning here .) Even with his electricity powers, that task will be easier said than done.

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The Basics

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Powers and Abilities

Let's break down everything you need to know about this rising star in the DCU...Black Lightning is among DC's first African American superheroes. A resident of Metropolis' Suicide Slum, Jefferson fights to keep his family and his community safe from gangs like The 100 and crime lords like Tobias Whale, and his innate electric powers make him a serious force to be reckoned with. Jefferson tends to have a unique perspective on crime and evil relative to the heroes of the Justice League. He'd prefer to remain on the street and try to enact change on a local level rather than spend his time high above the world in the JLA Watchtower.That's not to say the Black Lightning hasn't served with teams like the Justice League and the Outsiders from time to time, but he's more of a loner (which is a good thing given the news that the TV series apparently won't be crossing over with the Arrow-verse). That lone wolf quality stems partly from his desire to keep his powers hidden for much of his early life.Thanks to an innate metahuman gene, Black Lightning has the ability to create electromagnetic distortions by manipulating his body's bio-electric field. Generally, he uses that ability to fire electrical blasts at his enemies. But through concentration, he can also use his control over electricity for more defensive purposes. He can also create impenetrable force fields around his body and even levitate himself.Jefferson is also in peak physical condition. He's a former Olympic decathlete who was trained in martial arts by Batman himself. Even without his powers, Jefferson is not a foe to be taken lightly.

Origin and Background

Jefferson Pierce made his debut in 1977's Black Lightning #1, making him the first African American character to headline a comic at the company. Writer Tony Isabella has said that Black Lightning was an original creation he was developing at the time, one he chose to bring to DC after being mortified at a work-in-progress African American hero called Black Bomber . Isabella has often quarreled with DC over his belief that he deserves sole credit for the creation of Black Lightning. But the two parties came to an agreement earlier this year, with artist Trevor Von Eeden also receiving credit for his contribution.

Beyond the Comics

A Black Lightning by any other name...

The character's first solo series lasted about a year, until it was canceled as part of wider cutbacks at DC (the late '70s being a pretty troubled time for the industry). Black Lightning then became a recurring player in Batman and the Outsiders during the '80s. A second Black Lightning series was commissioned in 1995, though it only wound up lasting a few months longer than the first. Since then, the character has tended to play a supporting role in various other books. He even became Secretary of Education during an extended storyline where Lex Luthor was elected President of the United States. He also finally joined the Justice League proper when writer Brad Meltzer and artist Ed Benes took on DC's relaunched Justice League of America in 2006.Apart from being a major stepping stone towards a more diverse DC Universe, Black Lightning is also notable for being the rare superhero who's also a father. His daughters, Anissa and Jennifer, have become increasingly important in their own right over the years. They've even carried on the family's superhero legacy, with Anissa becoming Thunder and Jennifer Lightning.Black Lightning's most famous non-comics appearance doesn't actually involve Jefferson himself. Most seasons of the Super Friends cartoon feature a character called Black Vulcan, a hero with a costume and powers similar to that of Black Lightning. Black Vulcan was created specifically for the show because Isabella's disputes with DC prevented Black Lightning himself from being included.Black Lightning has appeared in more recent animated DC projects, however. He's played a role in Batman: The Brave and the Bold , Young Justice: Invasion and the direct-to-DVD animated movie Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (which adapts the aforementioned President Luthor storyline).Jefferson's daughters have also been in the spotlight recently, as they starred in a series of Thunder and Lightning-themed animated shorts for Cartoon Network's DC Nation block. Of course, where the character goes in his live-action debut on The CW remains to be seen...

Jesse is a mild-mannered writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter , or Kicksplode on MyIGN