Black Lightning

Black Lightning (2018–2021) is an American superhero television series, based on the DC Comics character Black Lightning. The series sees the retired Black Lightning return to the hero life and its effects on his family life. It is the 5th entry of the Arrowverse, a series based on DC Comics that includes Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow.

Season 1

The Resurrection [1.01]

Jefferson Pierce: Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.

Anissa Pierce: Dr. King. And I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Jefferson: Fannie Lou Hamer.

---

Jefferson: Where's the future?

Students: Right here.

Jefferson: And whose life is this?

Students: Mine.

Jefferson: And what are you gonna do with it?

Students: Live it by any means necessary.

---

Lynn Stewart: Heard your daughter got arrested tonight. It's not a good look, Jeff.

Jefferson: My daughter? Oh, you're funny. We have joint custody, which means half of her attitude is your responsibility.

Lynn: Jeff, Anissa has not been in our custody for quite some time now. Now, I know it's hard for you to swallow, but she's not a child anymore. She's a grown woman.

Jefferson: Yeah, legally true. But, emotionally and financially, she is still in my care, and always in my wallet.

---

Peter Gambi: Do you remember why you became Black Lightning? You wanted to give the people hope. You wanted the evil that's out there to have something to fear. Right now, there's nothing to fear, and evil's running rampant like a plague through this city! Hell, through this world!

Jefferson: Okay, you know what? Let's cut through the poetry, and just talk real. Now, the purpose of Black Lightning was to kill Tobias, for literally shoving my father's articles down his throat until he died. Then it was because of crime bosses, crooked politicians, every small-time street thug that had snatched a purse or robbed a store! You see, there's no end, Gambi. There's no bottom for Black Lightning. And the only loser in all of it is... me. I feel like Lynn and I are making room for a possibility of a reconciliation. Do you hear me? I have a shot at putting my family back together. Black Lightning is not going to jeopardize that.

Gambi: I love Lynn and those girls, but we knew this day would come. Jefferson, I've known you since you were 12-years-old, you're like my son. So I have to tell you the truth. The promise you made Lynn was well intentioned, but it always had an expiration date.

---

Kara Fowdy: Jefferson, it's not about the metal detectors. It's about the safety of the students.

Jefferson: The safety of the students?

Kara: Yes!

Jefferson: Is that what they told you? Look, I will not treat my students like criminals. Do you realize almost all of these kids know someone in prison? Yeah, their mothers or fathers, or aunties, uncles. Now, I will not turn my school into another jail, Kara.

LaWanda: The Book of Hope [1.02]

Jefferson: You know, I heard someone say that "if there's a war for the streets of Freeland, The 100 are winning." But here at Garfield, we are not fighting for the streets. No, we are fighting for the minds, the hopes, and the dreams of our children.

Parent: Them some really pretty words, Mr. Pierce, but pretty words ain't gonna stop The 100.

Jefferson: Dr. King said "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice," and I believe–

Parent: And they shot Dr. King in the head, Mr. Pierce!

---

Jefferson: [watching the news about LaWanda's death] What good did it do, Lynn? She was my student. Now, I had a fantasy, that when they leave me, their lives are better. That they could transcend this neighborhood, this city, world. Yeah, I save more lives as the principal of Garfield High than I ever did as Black Lightning.

Lynn: It's true.

Jefferson: It's a lie! LaWanda is dead!

Lynn: She is, I know. I know, and it hurts, and I understand. I feel it too!

Jefferson: But I could've saved her. I could save so many. I've been living a lie, living in the hopes that you and me and the girls could somehow live behind a white picket fence. A normal life. I'm not normal. Never have been! Never will be!

Lynn: Jeff, listen to! This is the addiction talking.

Jefferson: THERE IS NO DAMN ADDICTION! Do you remember what you said? When we discovered my powers? You said "it was a gift, a blessing from God." It's still a gift, it's still a blessing from God. And I intend to use it. Not just for the girls, but for all the other people out there, who need me.

Lynn: Jefferson, please, we are so close to putting the pieces of our lives back together.

Jefferson: Yeah, we are. Maybe. No more maybes for me, Lynn. It is time that people know that Black Lightning is back.

---

Jennifer Pierce: Hi.

Khalil Payne: You, wha'chu doing here?

Jennifer: YOLO.

Khalil: What?

Jennifer: You only live once. [pulls a bottle of alcohol out of her bag and starts drinking]

Khalil: What, so you're drinking now? At school? [takes the bottle from her] It's not cool, J. [throws the bottle away]

Jennifer: Khalil, calm down. I just wanted to ask you something.

Khalil: Look, I'm not going to calm down. Look, you saw and went through some craziness, I get it. But that is not the way to deal with it. I've seen it all, J. Brother shot and killed, father in jail, momma working her damn ass off, just to provide. Yeah, I live the life that rappers talk about, and ain't none of it cute. None of it. But you know what? God gave me a gift. I can run fast. So I'm gonna run my black ass straight up outta here, and I ain't looking back. But I want you to come with me. But not like this. No, that is going backwards, and I can't do that.

Jennifer: I just see the world completely different now.

Khalil: Oh, I got'chu. Really, I do. That's just growing up. Come here, J.

---

Lynn: You know how this ends, right?

Gambi: The same way it always ends for everyone, Lynn. None of us get out of here alive.

Lynn: He was happy!

Gambi: But what kind of happy? Happy like a lion in a cage? King of the zoo, not of the jungle?

Lynn: Happy like a man who was at peace just being Jefferson Pierce.

Gambi: But he isn't just Jefferson Pierce. He's so much more than that.

Lynn: I do. And that's why I want you to stop him before he gets addicted again.

Gambi: We have a difference of opinion on that. I don't believe Jefferson was ever addicted to his powers. He was in a war to save this city and its people. And he was winning! Then he suddenly stopped, because he was addicted to you. And now look at the condition of this city and its people. It's complete chaos.

Lynn: It sounds like you're blaming me for the chaos.

Gambi: A little. Just like you blame me, then and now. But ultimately, it's Jefferson's choice what he does with his powers.

---

[Police on his payroll let Tobias and Syonide into Lala's cell]

Tobias Whale: Lala. You shot somebody's mama? [removes his sunglasses and hands them to Syonide] Any man that'd do that has no morals, no principles to live by, which means there's nothing you're not capable of, including becoming a rat. [grabs Lala by the throat and starts strangling him until he dies]

LaWanda: The Book of Burial [1.03]

Reverend Jeremiah Holt: What, those crooked cops send you down here like the overseer? Put the slaves in check? Huh?

Inspector Billy Henderson: While you're up in the pulpit with a $25,000 watch on, wiping your forehead with a silk handkerchief, I'm scraping young black men's bodies off the concrete. The street IS my pulpit. I wear work shoes, what kind of shoes you wear, Reverend?

---

Henderson: Only one squad car can work the march.

Jefferson: What? But that's almost guaranteed that someone's gonna get killed. Where did these orders come from?

Henderson: No one will say. I asked my commander, and then the chief, and eventually I tapped out at the deputy mayor's office when she wouldn't return my phone call.

Jefferson: Somebody's setting him up.

Henderson: Jeff, you gotta talk to him, try and convince him to cancel, reschedule, take a vacation.

Jefferson: No, I tried, after you walked out. He won't do it. He's... he's been inspired.

Henderson: By what?

Jefferson: Black Lightning.

Henderson: Black Lightning. Like I don't have enough damn problems. He's gonna get us all killed.

---

Jennifer: Then that means you can go to the march with me. Because I've never been to one, and you're the pro here.

Anissa: Hmm, I don't think I want to go to the Reverend's march.

Jennifer: The girl with the marching shoes? And the frequent marches card doesn't want to go to the march? What's going on with 'chu?

Anissa: I'm just tired of walking around with a sign, trying to change people's hearts. I want to do more.

Jennifer: Fine, well don't think of it as marching. Think of it as being with your sister, something you've forgotten how to do.

Anissa: Okay. I'll go with you.

---

Gambi: Now, if they just want to kill Holt, it'll likely be a single gunman, waiting to taking him out at his most public moment. But that's not what I'd do.

Jefferson: I hate it when you play the "most not likely scenario game".

Gambi: The 100 doesn't want to be in the martyr-making business. They want to be in the fear business.

Jefferson: So kill marchers.

Gambi: Exactly. If you put poison in aspirin, people stop buying aspirin. If you make it deadly to protest...

Jefferson: People live with their misery rather than dying trying to change it.

---

Tobias: [seeing Black Lightning with the protestors as they sing "Amazing Grace"] No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO! He's supposed to be dead! He's supposed to be dead! Are they singing? They are singing! That's why I hate these church going Negros, always singing and praying, praying and singing! They all want to go to heaven, but don't none of them want to die!

Black Jesus [1.04]

Lady Eve: [while embalming a body] Tobias, did you know that, in Africa, some people believe that albinos are magical? These people would actually kidnap random albinos, cut them up, grind their bones and sell it as magic dust.

Tobias: Yes, I'm aware of that.

Eve: I admire how you reinvented yourself after you lost your career as a politician. You went underground, built a whole new career with us and when we rewarded you with The 100, you did a good job.

Tobias: But?

Eve: But, ever since Black Lightning returned to Freeland, my partners have become less confident in your ability to lead The 100. [Tobias starts bristling] Is there something you would like to say?

Tobias: I've literally made you millions of dollars and you're given me a hard time over one mistake.

Eve: But it isn't one mistake. It's your reputation. Your entire criminal career was built on the belief that you killed Black Lightning nine years ago when nobody else could. It's like you lied on your resume. Black Lightning's death was your calling card, and now people are beginning to feel like they've been deceived. And that's messing with my bottom line.

Tobias: I got people paying up on protection and that's offsetting any lost revenue. And I'm gonna take Black Lightning out, once and for all.

Eve: How am I supposed to believe that you can take out Black Lightning now when you couldn't take him out then? And, on top of that, you're making a lot of noise! Your men shot a reverend and paralyzed a kid. They were talking about that kid going to the Olympics!

Tobias: He wasn't going to no Olympics.

Eve: Well, he isn't now! And that's for sure. You need to take Black Lightning out and button this thing up quick. I'm not gonna tell you how to run your crew, but, if I were you, I would use some of that albino magic to get it done. Because if you don't, my partners are gonna turn you into dust.

---

Kara: The Board will never let Bernard stay at Garfield.

Jefferson: The by-laws clearly state that it's my decision. You know, you seem a bit more concerned about what the Board wants than what's good for these kids. Tell the Board that it's my decision and my decision alone.

Kara: I care about Garfield as much as you. And I'm the vice-principal, not your secretary. So if you want the Board to know something, you should tell them yourself.

---

Gambi: This stuff is like crack and PCP got together and had a baby. You should keep an eye on that student of yours. The way this stuff attaches to your neural receptors, you take it once and you're hooked.

Jefferson: That's why the first taste is free.

Gambi: Since Green Light hit, there've been 36 overdoses, 6 of them fatal. You'd think it'd be on the news.

Jefferson: Yeah, black kids ODing has never been newsworthy.

---

Frank 'Two-Bits' Tanner: [after Black Lightning has just taken down his men] Wait, wait, wait, wait! Hey, the streets are talkin', man. I heard what you did to Block.

Black Lightning: What'd you hear?

Two-Bits: I heard you lit his ass up.

Black Lightning: Good, that should save us some time. Tell me about Green Light.

Two-Bits: I know your MO. After I tell you what you wanna know, you just gonna knock me out and call the cops. That'd be my third strike. I get thirty years, man.

Black Lightning: Maybe you should have thought of that before you started dealing.

Two-Bits: You think I deserve thirty years?

Black Lightning: You deserve something.

Two-Bits: Okay, but thirty years? I mean, come on, man! They throwin' brothers in jail forever, like it ain't nothin'.

Black Lightning: Alright, I won't call the cops if you tell me what I need to know and you stop selling drugs. Now, I hear you dealing again, I'm a-come find you.

Two-Bits: OK, deal. So, I leave the money in the drop spot. I go pick up the product at the warehouse on 389 Hart Avenue. Re-up is every Thursday at noon. [Black Lightning starts to rear back his fist] Hey, real quick, before you knock me out, you think I can get a pic? [Wraps his arm around Black Lightning and holds up his smartphone to take a selfie] And can you make sure you light up?

Black Lightning: What? No! [knocks Two-Bits out]

---

Tobias: How'd you like the gifts? [Khalil stretches towards the light switch] You mind keeping the lights off? They hurt my eyes. My name is Tobias Whale.

Khalil: What are you doing in my room?

Tobias: I wanted to see how you were doing.

Khalil: Why'd you give me all those gifts?

Tobias: I understand what you're going through. Black Lightning messed my life up too. I wanted you to have some nice things to keep your mind off your troubles. I know it's hard to see now, but in time you will. Black Lightning's the reason you're lying here paralyzed. There were many times when I was younger I needed help, but no one showed up. I don't want to have to see you go through the same thing.

Khalil: Why?

Tobias: Well, I followed your athletic career a long time and it hurt me to see you hurt. But what I've learned about pain is pain makes you stronger, pain makes you tougher. Eventually you get to a point where you don't even feel it. If you'd like, I can show you how to cure your pain.

And Then the Devil Brought the Plague: The Book of Green Light [1.05]

Black Lightning: You sure about this?

Gambi: In theory.

Black Lightning: That's not exactly the vote of confidence I was looking for. [jumps from the roof to test his suit's new hover function]

Gambi: So?

Black Lightning: One hell of a view.

Gambi: Okay, ready to give this thing a little juice?

Black Lightning: I thought you'd never ask.

Gambi: Really, really, really good.

Black Lightning: I just found my new favorite thing.

---

[Gambi sees Tobias and Syonide in the shop on his monitor. He grabs a gun and heads up into the shop with some fabric]

Tobias: Been a long time, Gambi.

Gambi: Not long enough. We had a deal. You're not supposed to be here. You're supposed to be gone - forever. [walks behind the counter]

Tobias: I need a new suit.

Gambi: Only thing I'm gonna measure you for is a coffin.

Tobias: Oh, I'll be here long after you're gone.

Gambi: Just 'cause you got that serum pumping through your veins that's keeping you from aging doesn't mean you and your sister are gonna have a happy ending. You think they told you everything before they gave it to you?

Tobias: What they didn't tell me, I already figured out. Another thing I figured out is you're still working for the A.S.A., which makes you privy to all kinds of information. What I need from you is a name. Who is Black Lightning?

Gambi: I can't help you.

Tobias: Oh, I think you can.

Gambi: Knowing things about Black Lightning gets men killed. I do my best to avoid knowing things that can get me killed.

Tobias: Not telling me what I need to know can get you killed, too. I'll admit, Black Lightning has become a personal problem. I'm guessing his presence in Freeland is a problem for you, as well.

Gambi: [Removes his glasses and reveals his gun under the fabric while Syonide draws hers] Only problem I have is you.

Tobias: [looks Gambi up and down] Gambi... I'll see you later. [leaves the shop with Syonide]

---

Lana: Uh, you gonna need a lot more than lip gloss to help that face.

Jennifer: Lana. Damn, girl, you still mad I dusted you on your track in front of the entire school?

Teala: You really think you all that?

Jennifer: Oh, honey, I know I'm all that.

Lana: Oh, okay. Well, I guess Khalil and his days of dusting fools are over, though, with his crippled ass.

Jennifer: Oh, okay. You still pissed he dumped you? [stands up] Well, maybe, instead of worrying about Khalil, you should worry about putting some lotion on those dusty-ass knees. [attempts to walk away, but Teala shoves her]

Lana: Oh, you know what? I've been wanting to knock you out since the sixth grade.

[Both Lana and Teala take a swing at Jennifer, who dodges both. Lana then tears the sleeve on the jacket Jennifer is wearing. Jennifer blocks a punch from Lana, sweeps Teala off her feet, then twists Lana's arm back, forcing her to her knees. Then Jennifer breaks Lana's wrist]

---

Jefferson: Jennifer, how do you expect us to feel when someone shows up to tell us you were involved in a fight, that we didn't know about?

Jennifer: There were two girls. They both wanted to book my teeth.

Jefferson: Two girls? Lana didn't tell us that part. You... and you weren't hurt at all?

Jennifer: No, you taught us how to defend ourselves.

Lynn: Jeff! This is not a good thing!

Jefferson: Right, right. Yeah, that's no excuse for hurting someone.

Jennifer: I barely touched them.

Lynn: Jennifer, her wrist is broken! And since grounding seems to have no effect on you...

Jennifer: Wait, so I'm not being grounded?

Lynn: Oh, you are.

Jennifer: Why am I getting in trouble for defending myself?

Lynn: You're grounded for lying!

Jennifer: I didn't lie. I just didn't tell you guys about it.

Lynn: Do you really want to play with me right now, little girl?

Jefferson: Mm mm, you don't.

Lynn: Exactly! And you need to figure out how to resolve conflict without fighting or losing your temper. And as your father taught you how to fight, he can be a big help, because, believe it or not, not everyone solves their problems with their fists! [storms off]

Jefferson: Two girls?

Jennifer: Two.

---

[Anissa checks out some snazzy red-and-black clothes]

Salesperson: Well, whoever he is, he's gonna think he died and went to heaven.

Anissa: Huh, she, and there's probably gonna be a room full of them.

Three Sevens: The Book of Thunder [1.06]

[a battered and bloody Joey limps into Tobias' office]

Tobias: What the hell happened to you?

Joey Toledo: I just fought Black Lightning. I mean, one more minute and I would have killed him, I swear. I mean, something's wrong with his head. He looked half-dead.

Tobias: So, why didn't you finish him? [grabs Joey by the throat and lifts him up in the air]

Joey: I tried, but I was all on my own. He... he trashed my gun and I... I couldn't take him. I tipped our guy in the department.

Tobias: [drops him] There was a time you could depend on white folks to be professional. Nowadays, white boys just as lazy and shiftless as the brothers.

Syonide: Tori's protection team checked in on schedule.

Tobias: Hmm...

Syonide: All is well.

Joey: Tori's under protection?

Tobias: Lady Eve sent me powder from ground albino bones, trying to mess with my head.

Joey: Or issue a warning.

Tobias: Hmm. Yeah, and you're bleeding on my floor.

Joey: Sorry, boss.

Tobias: Make sure we got a crew in lockup on standby and let me know as soon as the cops get him. Black Lightning doesn't live out the night.

---

Deputy Chief Zeke Cayman: I don't get it. We roll in the cavalry and he's gone. Disappears.

Henderson: Eyewitnesses saw him get into a van.

Cayman: You get a plate? A description of the van?

Henderson: They were fans, sir. It was willful amnesia.

Cayman: How does a criminal and a freak have fans?

Henderson: [pause] Where'd you say you got that tip, sir?

Cayman: I didn't. [sees Joey calling him] I gotta check this.

---

Jefferson: Look, I know I should've waited, but Joey Toledo tried to kill me over and over again and he was Tobias' right-hand man. I couldn't miss the chance to go after him. I didn't get him, though. [Lynn examines an MRI of Jefferson's brain] What's that?

Lynn: Brought a portable. Took a brain scan while you were out.

Jefferson: And?

Lynn: Anomalous but normal for you. If you did have a brain bleed, it's gone by now. Your powers turbocharged your recovery system. May not heal as fast as you used to, but it's still twice as fast as normal. [checks his heartbeat]

Jefferson: Well, it doesn't feel twice as fast. [gently touches her hands] It's good to be in your hands.

Lynn: [pulls away] Stop it, Jefferson! You're pulling me back into this mess and I don't like it! I hate this! I hate having to stitch you back together! Living in fear of turning on the news and somebody finding your body dead in the gutter!

Jefferson: I watched Tobias murder my father. He's here in Freeland, so what do you expect me to do?

Lynn: I don't give a damn, Jefferson! Your father is dead and nothing you can do is gonna bring him back!

Jefferson: Wow.

Lynn: You have no idea what this does to me every time I see you like this. It's too much. It's just too much. [walks out]

---

Jefferson: Let me ask you a question. Should I have you committed? 'Cause you've obviously lost your damn mind!

Anissa: That statue, dad, is an insult to black people, glorifying an actual traitor.

Jefferson: You broke the law, Anissa. That gives the police an excuse to hurt you. And on top of that, you used guns! Guns!

Anissa: They were water guns.

Jefferson: They looked enough like real guns to be the end of you. [pauses as two officers walk by] All it takes is for one cop, one cop, to see your color instead of your humanity and decide better dead than sorry. Look, you're a black woman. You don't have the luxury of being naive.

---

[Jefferson prepares to kill Tobias and Joey]

Gambi: Jefferson, I'm putting you through to Lynn.

Lynn: June 28th, 1994 and October 7th, 2001. Your daughters came into this world on those days. You're an amazing dad, their anchor in this world, but you can't be if you let the air out of your soul. And that's exactly what will happen if you commit murder, Jeff, shred your soul.

Jefferson: It's already shredded. Goodbye, Lynn.

Lynn: No, you think I don't understand. But I had some real talk with Anissa, and I've been thinking. I realize I was mad about not always being first in your life. But Black Lightning is part of you, and I can't deny that just because I want Jefferson Pierce all to myself. This isn't me fighting with you anymore, I accept who and what you are. This is about me reminding you that you're a hero, not a murderer.

Equinox: The Book of Fate [1.07]

Jefferson: That box, you gave your mother, the box my father's research. Where'd you get it?

Anissa: I got it from your father's editor, David Poe.

Jefferson: Why?

Anissa: Dad, when I first got my powers I didn't know what was going on with me. So I started doing some digging on the internet and I saw that grandpa was doing research on missing kids and enhanced abilities. So, I reached out to his editor and he gave me what he had. I did what I could, but it was so over my head that I had to give it to mom.

Jefferson: It was selfish and reckless to give that box to your mother without giving her all the details. Your grandfather was murdered. You don't think he was researching anything else that may have been dangerous?

Anissa: So you think the box was the reason for the break-in?

Jefferson: I don't know, but if there's a chance that it is, you have to warn David Poe. No powers, just you!

---

Gambi: We need to have a conversation.

Eve: I already told you, the Stewart situation is being cleaned up.

Gambi: I'm not here about Lynn. I'm here about Tobias. The man is a problem.

Eve: [chuckling] He is a retail outlet who makes a 300% profit. That kind of financial asset... it's almost impossible to replace.

Gambi: Evelyn, the man is wanted. He's supposed to be underground! His head's gotten to big! Ever since his little visit to my shop, I've been keeping tabs on him. Whatever message you thought you sent, he didn't receive. He's been strutting around this city like he owns it. He's about to open a night club for God's sakes! It's only a matter of time before he's caught by the cops, or even worse Black Lighting. If he talks, he could dismantle the whole ecosystem we have created over the years. We need to clip his wings.

Eve: I am aware that Tobias has been somewhat of a habitual line stepper lately, but Gambi, you and I both know the ecosystem's a tricky one. Taking Tobias out would throw that balance off... but... you could have Joey Toledo. Toledo is Tobias's right hand. If you remove him from the equation, maybe Tobias will get the hint and start being more careful.

Gambi: And if Tobias doesn't fall in line?

Eve: I'll throw him off that bridge when I get to it.

---

Lynn: I just want you to have a normal life, free of the trials and tribulations your father and I had to go through. When he put on that suit and walked out the door, I never knew if he was gonna walk back through it again. Is that what you want for your life? Is that how you want the people who love you to live their lives?

Anissa: Wait, is Dad being Black Lightning why you two broke up?

Lynn: Yeah. This life is hard, baby. That's what I'm telling you, and if you're not careful, you could lose yourself in it. When's the last time you had a conversation with anyone besides your family? When's the last time when you were on a date? When you do what your father does, what you want to do, everybody gets a happy ending but you.

Anissa: The community, they fell apart mom without Black Lightning. But the people are starting to believe that they can get up from The 100 again, up from the crooked police. Look, I can finally help dad free Freeland, and I'm willing to sacrifice my happiness so that other people can have theirs.

[Lynn nods]

---

Jefferson: I came as soon as you called. What is it? You okay?

Lynn: Remember when Anissa was 10-months-old and she kept trying to walk?

Jefferson: Yeah, of course I remember. She'd fall, then she'd cry, she'd fall, and then she'd cry. She did it over and over again. A week later she was walking.

Lynn: Ever since the day she was born, she's been stubborn. She never stops. She will keep falling until she walks. You have to help her, Jefferson.

Jefferson: Are you kidding?

Lynn: Eventually she will go back out there, whether we like it or not. And if she doesn't have someone to look after her, she will get hurt, or worse. Training her is the right thing to do.

Jefferson: Okay, what happened to "powers are the drug that destroys lives, and I'm an addict"? Do you want that for Anissa? To destroy her life?

Lynn: I'm not talking about destroying her life. I'm asking you to protect it.

---

[Gambi starts making a suit for Anissa at Lynn's request]

Lynn: Anissa, you think I don't get it, but I do. Ever since you were a little girl, you were always protective of others. Whether it was Jen or someone being bullied on the playground, you always stood up for them. And now you want to stand up for Freeland. Just be careful, ok?

Anissa: I love you mom.

Lynn: I love you too.

The Book of Revelations [1.08]

[Jefferson and Anissa are training with holograms and Anissa attacks a man wearing a shirt with a Confederate flag]

Jefferson: Freeze.

Anissa: [surprised] Freeze?

Jefferson: He might be racist, but he wasn't a threat. You probably broke his ankle and maybe gave him a concussion.

Anissa: The flag on the t-shirt?

Jefferson: No, I know why it happened. You looked and you assumed he was a threat. So you didn't actually see that he wasn't. [Anissa sighs and starts walks away] Look, our goal is to stop crime and violence with no harm to civilians, even if we don't appreciate their world view.

---

[Anissa prepares to break through a wall]

Jefferson: Woah! How much force do you need?

Anissa: Enough to get through the wall.

Jefferson: And how much is that?

Anissa: I don't know.

Jefferson: Tap it with your finger.

Anissa: [Taps the wall with her finger and makes fractures] Okay, clearly that wasn't it.

Jefferson: Then whatever you think.

Anissa: [Blasts through the wall with her palm] Okay, maybe I could've used a little less.

Jefferson: You think?

---

Anissa: Let's go Dad.

Jefferson: Wait, when you power up, are you susceptible to radiation?

Anissa: I don't know.

Jefferson: Chemicals?

Anissa: I don't know.

Jefferson: Okay, what about water? Are you like a witch? Do you sink or can you swim?

Anissa: I don't know!

Jefferson: You don't know a lot.

---

Lynn: Gambi, it's Lynn. Take your time. I was hoping you could help me with something.

Gambi: I hope your help involves a suit damask, because my supplier accidentally left me 2 bolts of it.

Lynn: I'm afraid not.

Gambi: Well then, let's pray purple suits come back into fashion.

---

Anissa: Okay, I've finally realized the most important part of a stakeout.

Jefferson: Go to the bathroom first?

Anissa: That would've helped a lot more than all of your "you're gonna die" talk.

The Book of Little Black Lies [1.09]

Henderson: I got some vacation days stored up. I'll use them to do some investigating. Just do me one favor.

Jefferson: And what's that?

Henderson: If I end up dead, in some alley somewhere, and they say I was dirty, make sure my wife and my family know the truth.

Jefferson: I'm not gonna let that happen.

---

Jefferson: I'll never let anything happen to those girls. You know that, right?

Lynn: Is that a promise you can really make?

Jefferson: You know I will lay down my life for them, for all three of you.

Lynn: You really think the thought of you having to lay your life down makes me feel any better?

---

Lynn: I know exactly what you're going through.

Jennifer: Well, not unless you came in here to tell me you're Vixen. You didn't right?

Lynn: Busted. [off Jennifer's look] No, I'm kidding.

Jennifer: It's not funny.

Lynn: I'm sorry. No, I'm not Vixen, or Supergirl. Just mom. And you're right, I can't go what you're going through, but I can be here for you, and I am. So when you're ready to talk, you know where to find me, okay? [leaves the room and turns around at the door] Hey, I love you.

---

Gambi: Thanks for coming.

Anissa: You said it was an emergency.

Gambi: It is. Your father know you're here?

Anissa: No, he said we can't trust you.

Gambi: That's fair. So why'd you come?

Anissa: Because I wanted to determine that for myself. What happened between you two?

Gambi: I did something very bad a long time ago, and there was stuff I should've told your father before now. He doesn't trust me because I held out on him for so long. I can't blame him, but I just want to make things right. Not just with him, but...

Anissa: With your conscience.

Gambi: But also because people are in danger. I used to work as a sort of a scout

Anissa: Scout? A scout for who?

Gambi: For some people I now know are very bad. I helped them find young people with abilities.

Anissa: You mean young people, like me, with powers?

Gambi: Yes. And I just saw the body of one the boys that I helped find 30 years ago.

Anissa: Oh my God!

Gambi: Along with several others. Please, don't tell your father just yet. Listen, Anissa, I told your father that people I used to work for are hunting Black Lightning. I don't think it's safe for either of you to be out. I have seen a dozen terrible things in my life, but I can't get out of my head what I saw in that lab. Black Lightning's the only one who can expose what's been done and bring these people to justice. Will you please tell him?

Anissa: Yes. [gets up to leave]

Gambi: Anissa, regardless of what you all may think of me, I will always care about you and your family, and I would do anything to protect you.

---

[Jefferson and Anissa are running surveillance]

Jefferson: I wish I knew what he was saying.

Anissa: No, no, I've got it. He says "something's wrong, I can't reset it, move the lab tonight, get the last batch out." C'mon, we gotta go, let's go follow him.

Jefferson: How the hell did you hear that?

Anissa: I didn't. So a bunch of us took a lip-reading class so we could know what the police were saying in the homicidal protest.

Jefferson: You know you're not bad at this?

Anissa: Really?

Jefferson: Don't get a big head. I said "not bad".

Sins of the Father: The Book of Redemption [1.10]

Jefferson: Thirty years ago, Gambi worked for a clandestine government agency, called the A.S.A.

Anissa: With that secret room of his, it had to be something like that.

Jefferson: And after all the political uprisings around the country, the A.S.A. put Gambi here, to report on their illegal experiment that was supposed to make black folks in neighborhoods like Freeland, docile, so they could control them. They put something in the water supply and in the vaccines.

Anissa: And they called us paranoid.

Jefferson: But the vaccines inadvertently gave a few kids powers. Gambi reported kids who displayed abilities, and those kids were kidnapped.

Anissa: Look, Dad, I know. He told me. And he also told me that he was extremely naive. He thought he was being a good soldier, but when he realized what was actually happening, he leveraged his knowledge of the program to make them stop.

Jefferson: So that makes everything he did okay?

Anissa: No, it doesn't make it okay, but Dad, he saved you and he's protected you all those years. He cares! C'mon, you know he does. And he did everything he could to make things right.

Jefferson: Yeah, well there are some things you can't make right.

---

Jennifer: This is all just too much, being like this has already ruined my life!

Anissa: Woah, you need to calm down, seriously.

Jennifer: Why's nobody listening to me? I don't want to have powers, I don't want to save the world, okay?

Anissa: Okay, I hear you. But you're rejecting something you don't fully understand, Jen. Like I told you, this is a gift, a blessing from God.

Jennifer: In your opinion. It doesn't make it the truth. What if this is a curse from the devil?

Anissa: You don't even know what you can do. I mean you could be–

Jennifer: You know what? I don't want to know. I don't want to know.

Anissa: Oh, so you're just gonna walk away?

Jennifer: Yes.

Anissa: That's what you do when things get tough, you walk away. Go ahead, quit.

Jennifer: Girl, bye.

Anissa: Jennifer, look at me. This is real. It's real. People are out there dying. And we have powers, powers that we have a responsibility to help save people.

Jennifer: No! You have a responsibility to help save people! I don't have a responsibility to do anything.

Anissa: Okay, yup, you're right, you don't. And you know what? It's probably best that you don't find out what you can do because you just might quit. Just like you quit track, you'll probably quit on me, Mom, and Dad when we need you the most, and let's not forget that you quit on Khalil too. [off Jennifer's look] Yup, I said it.

[Jennifer's powers activate]

---

Jefferson: Anissa told me what happened. Are you okay?

Jennifer: Yeah. [pause] No.

Jefferson: Look, I promise you, you will be, okay? You will live the life that you want to live. Not the one Anissa, or me, or... or your mother, or anyone else wants you to live. The life you want. But you have to learn to control your powers. Someone could get hurt.

Jennifer: I didn't ask for this.

Jefferson: I know. Believe me, I know. But you still have to deal with it.

---

Anissa: Alright, whatchu see?

Lynn: It's not a malfunction.

Anissa: Okay, do Dad's scans look like this?

Lynn: No they don't. Jefferson's like a battery. He takes electricity from the source and channels it through his body. According to this MRI, Jennifer's a generator.

Anissa: What are you saying?

Lynn: Her cells are creating pure energy.

---

Blake: Where's everyone else at?

Jefferson: Behind that preposition.

Blake: What?

Jefferson: Look, it is bad English to end a sentence with a preposition.

Blake: Oh. Where's everyone else at, bruh?

Black Jesus: The Book of Crucifixion [1.11]

Anissa: So, he says the A.S.A. is gonna be looking to kill us.

Jefferson: They are.

Anissa: So then, I don't know, shouldn't we all just get along?

Jefferson: Can we all just get along.

Anissa: What?

Jefferson: Rodney King asked "can we all get along". It's an existential question, rather than a directive.

Anissa: Okay, so can we?

Jefferson: I don't know.

---

[police officers are searching Jefferson's office]

Jefferson: Deputy Chief Cayman, I would be happy to follow you to the police station to straighten out whatever misunderstanding there seems to be.

Cayman: We're almost done.

Jefferson: Look, if you could tell me what you're looking for...

Cayman: We found Green Lightning in your car.

Jefferson: What? No, that's impossible!

Detective Glennon: [finds a packet of Green Lightning] Oh! You got that Green Light, cuz?

Jefferson: That is not mine.

Cayman: Mr. Pierce, you're under arrest. Turn around, put your hands behind your back.

Jefferson: This is ridiculous!

Cayman: Are you resisting?

Jefferson: You can't come in here and– [Glennon pulls out his pistol and after a pause Jefferson raises his hands] I am not resisting, I am complying. [an officer handcuffs him]

---

Gambi: The order came to move Jefferson. We're out of time.

Anissa: Okay, we go with your plan.

Gambi: Anissa, I want to save your dad as much as you, but you need to understand: the tech we're using is a prototype, put together in half a day with parts I cannibalized from the sanctum.

Anissa: And?

Gambi: It's untested, it may not work.

Anissa: But it might. Look, I can't lose my dad, and at this point, we're the only hope he's got.

Gambi: You have to do exactly as I tell you. One misstep–

Anissa: There ain't gonna be no missteps. Just walk me through it. I got this.

---

Jennifer: [regarding Jefferson's arrest] Why can't he just Black Lightning his way out?

Lynn: You know, you're gonna have to learn that you can't punch or superpower your way out of every problem. I know you're scared. It's okay to be scared.

Jennifer: I'm not. Dad told me to be strong for you.

Lynn: It's okay to be strong and scared at the same time. It's called "having sense".

---

Jefferson: I don't know how things are gonna be, moving forward.

Gambi: I don't expect you to forgive me.

Jefferson: Well, I might not be able to. But I still can't forget what you've done for me, for my family. I want to find a new balance, somehow.

Gambi: Okay. Just let me know what you need from me.

Jefferson: I need you to help me save those children.

The Resurrection and the Light: The Book of Pain [1.12]

Tobias: Dwayne!

Dwayne: Mr. Whale.

Tobias: I just wanted to thank you for saving my life. [hugs him] In the chaos of the night you were brave enough to pull me to safety and I can appreciate that.

Dwayne: You're welcome, sir.

Tobias: But you left my sister. And left Tory to die.

Dwayne: If I went back, they would've gotten you to.

Tobias: [holds Dwayne up in a choke-hold] And left her to die. [pushes him off and Syonide shoots him dead on the floor]

---

Lynn: Having enhanced abilities doesn't have to change anything.

Jennifer: Oh really? So I should join a team, but not try to hard because the competition might light me on fire.

Lynn: Okay, maybe not a team.

Jennifer: Well, what about debate? There's nothing more calming than alternative views on abortion and social services.

Lynn: Well, there's always needlepoint.

Jennifer: Hey, right. I can make a pillow that says "my parents had sex and all I got was superpowers" [Lynn chuckles] It's not funny.

Lynn: It's a little bit funny. Look, we just need to figure out how to help you to control them. And if it makes you feel any better, I have made a little progress in isolating the gene that I think is responsible for your enhanced abilities. Suppressing it is the first step.

Jennifer: Thank God I was born to such a smart woman, and not some slacker who would just try and make me feel better by making me a cake.

Lynn: Do you want me to bake you a cake?

Jennifer: Yes, please. Chocolate, with cream frost.

Lynn: Chocolate it is.

---

Jefferson: Are you trying to isolate Jennifer's meta-gene?

Lynn: I've done some preliminary research to understand what's happening.

Jefferson: So you could suppress the mutation.

Lynn: She's conflicted about her powers. I don't see any reason not to explore the options.

Jefferson: It's who she is!

Lynn: Jeff, I'm not the enemy.

Jefferson: You're trying to change her! And treating her like she's sick! Ok, so is Anissa sick? Am I?

Lynn: No, that's not–

Jefferson: How could you this without talking to me? [pause] You know, I think it's really good that we didn't tell the girls we're getting back together.

---

Tobias: There's part of you, I know, that wants his old life back. I even heard you tried to get your old girlfriend back. [laughs] You made a deal, son. Legs for loyalty. So Garfield, that girl, they belong to the past now. I want you to remember what they did to you, hold onto that anger, then go do what I need.

Khalil: Aye, yeah.

Tobias: What was that?

Khalil: Yes, sir.

Tobias: Screw up, and I'll rip that spinal implant out and shove it down your throat.

---

Jennifer: So tell me about this procedure you're developing.

Lynn: Did you tell your father I was trying to fix you?

Jennifer: Isn't that what you're trying to do?

Lynn: No! Because there's nothing wrong with you. I just want to understand what's happening and give you the options. The procedures and the treatments I've been talking about, they're all theory and hypothesis. [starts frosting the cake] There's no telling how long it'll take to develop them or even if they'd be safe.

Jennifer: Mum, you can stop frosting. Could you please just cut me a piece? Because all my options are horrible.

Shadow of Death: The Book of War [1.13]

[Jennifer is alone on the front porch. Gambi comes out]

Gambi: Hey. Are you alright?

Jennifer: Sure. I'm a freak from a family of freaks and my Dad's got one foot in the grave. I'm fine.

Gambi: Oh. When you say it like that. All right, not funny. I'm sorry.

Jennifer: Who were those people with Khalil? Are they like us? Metahumans?

Gambi: Not exactly. Metahumans have organic powers, which means they come from within. Theirs are artificial. That albino man? He's their leader. His name is Tobias Whale. He takes a kind of a serum which is like a super-steroid. It makes him age slower and get stronger over time. At this point, he's got the strength of three men. My guess is he's the one who turned your ex-boyfriend.

Jennifer: Why?

Gambi: That's what he does. That man has a gift for seeing the worst in people and bringing it out. That spooky looking woman with him? She's called Syonide. She was found in a dumpster as an infant with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck.

Jennifer: Oh, my God.

Gambi: Tobias pulled her out of an orphanage when she was eight years old. She was malnourished and abused. He clothed her, he fed her and he trained her to become an assassin. When she was fully grown, he had carbon fiber body armor implanted under her skin and, if she wasn't crazy before the procedure, the pain did the rest.

Jennifer: What did they do to Khalil?

Gambi: I'm not altogether sure, but it looks like he's gotten an implant with a synthetic liquid metal. It's bracing his spine, but it's also causing Khalil's body to produce a neurotoxin like a snake's venom. Causes instant paralysis, so they weaponized him by giving him darts as a delivery method.

Jennifer: They made him into a weapon, but he's not like that.

Gambi: Yes, he is. That young man had a choice and he made it. He is with Tobias Whale, the worst of the worst. Sweetheart, whatever you may remember, he is not your Khalil, anymore. If you want to stay out here for a while, okay. I'm going back in.

---

Khalil: Mr. Tobias, I'm sorry. I know you said not to kill Black Lightning, I couldn't help it.

Tobias: So this is what? An apology?

Khalil: Yes, sir.

Tobias: Sy, what do you think? Should we accept Painkiller's apology?

Syonide: [pulls a pistol on Khalil] Good question. I have one too. Can you put a dart in me before I shoot you full of holes?

Tobias: I know the answer to that one. [laughs with Syonide] Have a seat. [Syonide holsters her pistol and Khalil sits] I am unlike other men. The laws of convention and morality do not apply to me. That's Napoleon, and he was a weak-ass Frenchman. You're Painkiller. Never apologize. So you killed Black Lightning when Proctor wanted him alive, I'm not mad. Martin Proctor was down with Lady Eve, I always knew sooner or later he had to go. Just gonna have to be sooner, that's all. Real soon.

---

[Syonide takes the blindfold off of Lala]

Tobias: Lala, I know you thinking, "Why's this funny looking Negro always messing with me?" [laughs] I love it, though. Something about your Velour tracksuit wearing ass I just like dragging. Anyway... [Lala leaps to his feet and charges towards Tobias, growling. Tobias punches him in the face, sending him flying back and laughs] Now, that's what they mean when they say "leveling up".

Lala: [rises to his feet] You hit like a bitch.

Tobias: Hmm. [Lala tries to charge him again] The Devil deals the cards. [Lala stops and freezes] That's a corny ass line too, but it's effective. I took your life in order to make my purpose your purpose. I spent a cool mil on the reanimation program. It's time for you to pay that back.

Lala: Is Lawanda and Will alive, too?

Tobias: No. Just side-effects of the reanimation. Eventually, everyone you killed is gonna come back to haunt your black ass, tattooing themselves on your body until there's no skin left. "Tattoo Man". It's time to get back to work.

---

Gambi: Jeff, even if you win, the ASA isn't gonna disappear. If they think there's some kind of meta-human arms race, they are gonna keep coming after you. Your best option would be to take off, make a life somewhere with your family.

Anissa: Whoa, and turn our back on the people? On Freeland?

Jennifer: Let them make us leave? Nuh-uh, they don't know us.

Lynn: I'll help in any way I can.

Jefferson: So that's it, then. High-low tactics.

Anissa: Let's do this.

---

Martin Proctor: So, family affair? I knew it was you.

Black Lightning: Yeah, and that's gonna be a problem.

Proctor: I am a federal agent. You will bring the weight of the United States government down on your heads.

Gambi: That's bull. I suspected when you didn't call in reinforcements after your Green Light lab was destroyed that this was a rogue operation, which means we're not up against the ASA. We're just up against you.

Proctor: Thank political correctness. It's ruining the country.

Gambi: The first Freeland experiment killed a lot of kids! And you thought it was a good idea to do a sequel?

Proctor: They would've wound up on welfare or in prison, anyway.

Taglines

• He chose family... every choice has a cost.
• A retired hero will rise again.
• Justice walks like thunder, strikes like lightning, and runs in the family. =
• Let there be lightning.
• Get lit.

Cast

• Cress Williams - Jefferson Pierce (seasons 1–3)
• Nafessa Williams - Anissa Pierce (seasons 1–3)
• China Anne McClain - Jennifer Pierce (seasons 1–3)
• Christine Adams - Lynn Stewart (seasons 1–3)
• James Remar - Peter Gambi (seasons 1–3)
• Damon Gupton - Billy Henderson (seasons 1–3)
• Marvin "Krondon" Jones III - Tobias Whale (seasons 1–3)
• Jordan Calloway - Khalil Payne (seasons 1–3)

External links

• Black Lightning at IMDb
• Black Lightning at TV Guide