Unlike Batman, The Flash, Spider-Man or even Superman, most superheroes don’t have much in the way of a Rogues Gallery. Just look at ‘Supergirl’ which lifts most of its villains and supporting characters from Superman and other DC Comic books. Black Lightning— despite being DC’s first headlining black superhero– has never had a series that has lasted very long, but at least he has one archenemy, gangster boss Tobias Whale.
And Whale will be featured on the upcoming ‘Black Lightning’ TV series coming to The CW this fall and the producers have found the right man to portray this brute– rapper Krondon.
Krondon is a member of the California-based rap group Strong Arm Steady. You may not be familiar with Krondon himself, but you probably have heard of former SAS member Xzibit, who has had several crossover hits. Krondon has also worked with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.
Krondon (real name Marvin Jones III) is an albino, as is the character he will be portraying Tobias Whale. Whale is known for being quite humongous and super humanly powerful. It’s unclear if the show will attempt to bulk up Krondon or if they will simply tweak the live action version.
Salim and Mara Brock Akil will serve as executive producers and showrunners.
Salim Akil stated:
“I was excited about Krondon when I saw his audition. He’s going to make a great Tobias. His authentic street sensibility along with an insightful intelligence is perfect for the Tobias character arc. Not to mention his regal physical bearing will be additive to making our show exciting and different.”
Despite airing on The CW, ‘Black Lightning’ won’t be part of the Arrowverse. At least for now. It’s natural that the creators want the show to blossom on its own, but then again, ‘Supergirl’ started off on CBS before moving over to The CW and joining that continuity, even though on a parallel Earth. And ‘Constantine’ aired on NBC, but the character surfaced on ‘Arrow’ after its original cancellation. Who knows what the future holds?
Cress Williams stars as the title character, a retired superhero, also known as Jefferson Pierce. Christine Adams plays his (ex?) wife Lynn with Nafessa Williams as their older daughter Anissa and China Anne McClain as younger daughter Jennifer. In the comics, Anissa became the seismic controlling Thunder, while Jennifer gained the power to short out electronic devices and goes by the code name Lightning. Black Lightning, Thunder and Lightning have appeared in numerous animated projects.
Are you familiar with Krondon? How do you think he’ll make a believable crime boss on ‘Black Lightning’?
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
