With the rollout of its 2017-2018 television schedule, The CW has unveiled an expanded synopsis for its upcoming superhero drama Black Lightning.

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Based on the DC Comics character created by Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eeden, the new series centers on Jefferson Pierce, a former costumed vigilante who's drawn out of retirement when his community, and his own daughters, are put in danger. The new synopsis fleshes out the show's setting and backstory, and reveals another connection to DC Comics lore:

Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) is a man wrestling with a secret. As the father of two daughters and principal of a charter high school that also serves as a safe haven for young people in a New Orleans neighborhood overrun by gang violence, he is a hero to his community. Nine years ago, Pierce was a hero of a different sort. Gifted with the superhuman power to harness and control electricity, he used those powers to keep his hometown streets safe as the masked vigilante Black Lightning. However, after too many nights with his life on the line, and seeing the effects of the damage and loss that his alter ego was inflicting on his family, he left his Super Hero days behind and settled into being a principal and a dad. Choosing to help his city without using his superpowers, he watched his daughters Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain) grow into strong young women, even though his marriage to their mother, Lynn (Christine Adams), suffered. Almost a decade later, Pierce’s crime-fighting days are long behind him…or so he thought. But with crime and corruption spreading like wildfire, and those he cares about in the crosshairs of the menacing local gang The One Hundred, Black Lightning returns — to save not only his family, but also the soul of his community. Based on the characters from DC, BLACK LIGHTNING is from Berlanti Productions and Akil Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, with executive producers Greg Berlanti (“Arrow,” “The Flash”), Salim Akil & Mara Brock Akil (“Being Mary Jane,” “The Game,” “Girlfriends”), and Sarah Schechter (“Arrow,” “The Flash”). The Black Lightning character was created by Tony Isabella with Trevor Von Eeden.

While the synopsis refers to The One Hundred as a "menacing local gang," in classic DC continuity that was the name of a criminal organization with roots in 15th-century Spain that, in far more recent times, held Metropolis' infamous Suicide Slum area in its grip. Led at one point by Tobias Whale, the group has come into conflict with the likes of Superman, Halo and, yes, Black Lightning. If we didn't already assume Black Lightning's classic foe would crop up on the TV series, we can now count him as a safe bet.

Premiering as part of The CW's midseason lineup, Black Lightning stars Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce, China Anne McClain as Jennifer Pierce, Christine Adams as Lynn and Nafessa Williams as Anissa Pierce.