The CW’s superhero television offerings are about to expand again, and a new sizzle reel looks to welcome the channel’s latest addition, Black Lightning, to DC Comics' television offerings. The sizzle reel touches on several shows in the CW’s Arrowverse and their comic book inspirations, ending with an extended teaser for Black Lightning, a series about a former superhero looking for redemption that will not be incorporated into the Arrowverse.

The CW’s Black Lightning stars Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce, an ex-superhero who left his crimefighting ways behind nearly a decade ago before taking up the mantle of Black Lightning again. The catalyst for Jefferson’s lapsed retirement is the One Hundred, a local gang that has turned Jefferson’s life upside down in the wake of a crime wave. The One Hundred gang is a reference to another DC Comics’ crime organization that terrorized 15th-century Spain and, later, ruled over much of Metropolis’ Suicide Slum area.

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Created by Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eeden, Black Lightning first debuted in Black Lightning #1 in 1977. The character was the first major African-American superhero at DC Comics. Isabella was tasked with creating the character due to his work with the Luke Cage character at Marvel Comics. The first season of Black Lightning will see Jefferson going up against a character named Tobias, which is likely a reference to Tobias Whale, a mobster who heads up the One Hundred in the comics.

Debuting on the CW in 2018, Black Lightning is a production of Akil Productions starring Cress Williams, China Anne McClain, Nafessa Williams and Christine Adams