This weekend’s escapist and light-hearted superhero post from Balladeer’s Blog looks at the early adventures of the DC character Black Lightning.
BLACK LIGHTNING Vol 1 #1 (April 1977)
Title: Black Lightning
Villains: The 100
Synopsis: This first appearance of Black Lightning does things the way I like – it shows the hero in action for a while, and THEN reveals his origin through a flashback. After his latest victory over the drug dealers of Suicide Slums, the ghetto section of Metropolis, Black Lightning switches to his secret identity and recalls his origin.
Jefferson Pierce was a gifted athlete from high school on up and even won medals in the Olympics. Disdaining celebrity, he became a teacher and ultimately moved back to the slums where he grew up and taught at Garfield High.
Pierce and a scientist named Peter Gambi grew to hate the 100, an organized crime gang who ran Suicide Slums. Gambi created a costume and high-tech belt that let Pierce deliver lightning-charged punches and generate a force field for personal protection. He decided to fight crime as Black Lightning. Continue reading
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