Just days ago, The CW released a trailer for its upcoming superhero series ‘Black Lightning’ which first showed that being metahuman is a family affair, with both of the hero’s daughters, Anissa (played by Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain) will also exhibit superpowers. Now it seems that not only will they have incredible abilities, like their father (Cress Williams), they’ll adopt their own super identities.
In the comics, Anissa serves as Thunder and she has the ability to create seismic shock waves. Jennifer is known as Lighting and her powers are more similar to her father’s. She can generate and manipulate electricity.
The CW has unleashed the first glimpse of Nafessa Williams in her official Thunder costume:
You can compare her suit to that of Black Lightning’s below:
Black Lightning’s costume is bulkier and more armor-like with added electrical light-up elements. Thunder’s costume has some armored padding but isn’t as chunky. What’s interesting is that her goggles actually look like those that Black Lightning wears in the comics. Jefferson’s goggles/visor looks completely different from the ones he wears as part of his comic book costume.
Thunder has had two main costumes in the comics. The first was rather inexplicably purple and fuschia an impractical V cut-out in front that exposed a bit too much of her bosom. She also wore a long blonde wig at this time. Pretty much the only element of this costume, that we can see on the TV outfit are the chunky gauntlets.
Her second suit appears to more-closely reflect her father’s. Even though her powers in the comics have nothing to do with electricity, she bore a lightning motif on her chest. She also sported golden shoulder pads, which are replicated on the TV outfit.
The TV suit has a rather unusual zig-zag pattern that looks glittery, running up the front of her top and on the belt. It appears that this is a seismograph-like design meant to reflect her vibrational powers.
‘Black Lightning’ executive producer Salim Akil stated:
“It’s hard for any parent to see their children grow out of the nest. That’s how Jefferson will react to seeing his daughters get their powers. In a way, he’ll be a little fearful, because he understands what having powers is and what it means. The same way when parents see their children go off into the world without them, they’re a little fearful because they understand what the world has in store for them. But you can’t stop that. You have to let them grow.”
Stay tuned as The CW is likely to reveal Lightning’s super suit any time now.
‘Black Lightning’ premiers on January 16, 2018 at 9pm EST on The CW, after ‘The Flash’.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
