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| As a result of the New 52 in 2011, the entire line of DC characters was relaunched, incorporating properties belonging to the company's imprints: Wildstorm, Milestone, and Vertigo. As such, elements of this character's history have been altered in some way from the previous incarnation's. For a complete list of all versions of this character, see our disambiguation page. |
History
Jefferson Pierce is a high school teacher, and the vigilante known as Black Lightning.
At first, Black Lightning operated in Los Angeles where he developed a partnership with Blue Devil.[3] He valued this partnership so strongly that he did not want to join the Justice League without Blue Devil.[4]
He retired from being a vigilante and moved back to Cleveland, where he grew up, with his father so his father can spend his last years surrounded by friends and family. After his father's death, he resumed his Black Lightning identity.[2]
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Powers and Abilities
Powers
- Electrokinesis: Jefferson is able to generate and manipulate electricity that is black in color.
- Electro-Blast: Jefferson is capable of projecting the electricity he produces from his hands, as arcs and blasts.[1]
- Force Field: Jefferson is able to create an electric force field capable of deflect bullets.[5]
- Magnetic Manipulation
- Super-Leaping: Black Lightning can push use an electro-magnetic push against a metal object to throw himself incredibly far distances. While escaping the police Jefferson used their police car to shoot himself a dozen blocks in the air.[5]
- Superhuman Reflexes: Jefferson possesses superhuman reflexes, as he has shown himself capable of dodging gunfire at close range.[6]
Abilities
- Pedagogy: While not patrolling the streets of Metropolis, Black Lightning teaches in a school.[5]
- Acrobatics[1]
- Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced): Before becoming a superhero, Jefferson was made to train by his father so he could be prepared for his role as a vigilante. Jefferson was trained by former super-villain Amberjack in hand-to-hand combat.[5]
- Stealth: Jefferson was trained by Batman in stealth.[7]
Notes
- Black Lightning (Jefferson Pierce) was created by Tony Isabella and Trevor von Eeden, first appearing in Black Lightning #1. However, in the rebooted Prime Earth continuity his first appearance as part of the DC Universe is in Marc Andreyko and Robson Rocha's New 52 DC Universe Presents series.
Recommended Reading
Related
- 35 Appearances of Jefferson Pierce (Prime Earth)
- 20 Images featuring Jefferson Pierce (Prime Earth)
- 1 Quotations by or about Jefferson Pierce (Prime Earth)
- Character Gallery: Jefferson Pierce (Prime Earth)
Links
Footnotes
 This character is or was primarily a member of the super-hero team known as the Outsiders, in any of its various incarnations. They are a black ops team dedicated to fighting evil and taking the fall in public opinion that bigger groups like the Justice League cannot, started by Batman to avoid being crippled by public relations needs. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Outsiders members" category. |
