Black Lightning has been the odd man out in regard to The CW’s Arrowverse for the past two seasons. The show was hyped as its own thing upon arrival, and beyond some passing remarks about Supergirl and the Flash in the inaugural season, there’ve been no other links to its fellow DC superhero shows that air alongside it.
And while that’s worked for the series so far, giving it the chance to focus on personal, more family driven storylines without having to worry about the broader contexts of interconnectivity, that’s all set to change as Black Lightning will be a part of the upcoming crossover event, “Crisis on Infinite Earths.”
Recently, during an interview with EW, the titular hero himself, Cress Williams, discussed his character’s role in the team-up special, stating:
We feel isolated a bit being in Atlanta, but I socialize with a lot of the other shows when we’re doing press together. They all are really cool people, so I’m excited to play with them. I feel like being Black Lightning and Stephen Amell’s Arrow character, they have that kind of vigilante quality that’s similar and a grittiness that’s similar. That will be a lot of fun.
But I’ve interacted with The Flash cast quite a bit just in random places, and I really enjoy being around them. I’m just starting to get to know [Supergirl’s] Melissa [Benoist]. She’s legitimately one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. I really look forward to playing with all of them and acting alongside all of them and swapping stories with all of them. I think it’ll be really fun.
It’s good to hear that Williams is ready and willing to step up and be a bigger part of the small screen comics universe. Many fans have been wanting more established links between Black Lightning and the rest of the Arrowverse and this crossover may be the start of the show being more fully integrated. And given that Arrow is coming to an end after its upcoming season, now seems like the right time to bring the series further into the mix.
Not to mention that “Crisis” is going to see the heroes take on their biggest threat yet in the Anti-Monitor. Knowing the near limitless power that character has in the comics, a little extra fire power, or lightning power, as it were, certainly couldn’t hurt.