Black Lightning
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Real Identity: Jefferson Pierce
Affiliation(s): The Outsiders and United States of America
Powers/Skills: Electromagnetism and Boxing
Voiced By: LeVar Burton
Jefferson Pierce grew up in Metropolis' Suicide Slums, a notoriously impoverished community. Pierce's father was killed by mistake during an attempted mob assassination. A month later, he was befriended by Peter Gambi, an Italian tailor. Gambi soon filled the role of father to Pierce. At 18 years old, he won at the Olympics and was given scholarships for college.
He eventually took a teaching job in upstate New York but returned to the Slums after his mother's death. Pierce was disgusted that little had changed and took matters into his own hands. Armed with a force field belt, Pierce had the power of electromagnetism and could generate bolts of electricity. He became Black Lightning and cleaned up the criminal elements that ran unchecked for years. Black Lightning even won the respect of Superman.
Over time, Pierce's body began to absorb the force belt and internalize the electromagnetism. In retaliation for their defeat, the gang named the 100 tried to kill him. Gambi took the bullet and died in Lightning's arms. In a fit of rage, Lightning's electromagnetic powers manifested. Though he refected the offer to join the Justice League of America, Black Lightning continued to work alongside affiliated members. Batman later recruited him to the Outsiders, a group of heroes who took proactive measures against evil.
When Lex Luthor became President, Pierce briefly retired to become Secretary of Education. He also served Luthor as Black Lightning on a squad of superheroes who volunteered to coordinate with the government. Three years later, Luthor returned to his campaign against Superman and issued a modest $1 Billion bounty on the hero. Superman was forced to go underground and several super villains tried to capture him. Luthor then assembled a government task force made up of super heroes to arrest Superman on a federal warrant. Black Lightning was among the heroes selected.
Black Lightning and the others ended their assault when Major Force was impacted by Powergirl. Black Lightning used his power to generate a force field around Force and contain his radiation. Captain Atom then absorbed the radiation safely and rendered Force inert. They allowed Batman, Powergirl, and Superman to continue on to gather intelligence on the approaching Kryptonite meteor.