Get ready to dive even deeper into the DC universe: Greg Berlanti, the benevolent guardian of all things DC at the CW (The Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, and soon, Supergirl) is developing a new show* based on the comic-book character Black Lightning, according to Deadline. The series is being written by The Game and Being Mary Jane creator Mara Brock Akil and her husband Salim Akil, and it will follow Jefferson Pierce (the titular hero) as he comes out of super retirement to protect his upstanding daughter from criminal elements that want to bring her into their ranks. Lightning, who has the ability to generate and control, yes, lightning, first came to be in 1977. His original incarnation was as a high-school principal turned vigilante fighting against organized crime in Metropolis, the home of Superman, and he’s been affiliated with Batman’s Outsiders group as well as with the Justice League. (He also, apparently, once served as the secretary of education under one President Lex Luthor.) In the books, Pierce has a pair of daughters, Anissa and Jennifer, who went into the family business as Thunder and Lightning, but the report from Deadline only mentions one so far, who is “hell-bent on justice and a star student.†Certainly, there will be much more to come.
*Â This post has been corrected to reflect that the project is reportedly being pitched to networks, and is not currently in development at the CW.