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Overanalyzing Anime
Blog Owner & Lead Writer
Black Lightning tells the story of Jefferson Pierce - a former superhero who, years later, has become the Principal at a local High School. However, when the 100 Gang begins terrorizing his community, he must don the mask once again & dish out justice as Black Lightning!
There’s so much that I really enjoyed from the first episode of Black Lightning. Firstly, I appreciate the unique approach this show is taking. Television based superhero shows have a pension for starting the heroes journey from their origin, & moving forward from there. BL takes a different approach, showing us a hero who has retired from the life of heroism - a man who has moved on, had a family, & established a life for himself making a difference in his community without wearing a mask.
The other aspect that I appreciate is the fact that the show is that it is unapologetically black. While black actors are often injected into other Arrowverse shows, they’re often no different from their white counterparts - unless, of course, the episode calls for their #race to be at the forefront of some sort of conflict. While there’s nothing inherently malicious about that, it is refreshing to see a superhero show fully embrace the black culture in a way that I, personally, have not seen done before on network television. This shows’ willingness to embrace the #culture - both the good & bad aspects of it - is a genuine treat.
I’m also very impressed with how they’re choosing to display the heroes abilities; BL really seems like the perfect blend between the abundance of CGI used in The CW's The Flash, & the minimalistic approach of Arrow.
Before this show premiered I was worried that it would be a misfire on the part of The CW - a mess of a show that wouldn’t connect to many people & would pander to audiences, as opposed to providing anything meaningful. (That, & I *really* wanted a Static Shock show.) But, thankfully, I was wrong in my assumption. BL is an excellent addition to the CW line-up, & I’m excited to see where the show will go from here.
My rating 10/10
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