Jefferson Pierce is a high school principal in the city of Freeland. He’s tough, compassionate, opinionated and has a non-aggression pact with the local gangs. But Jefferson Pierce has a past and that past, and his heroic alter-ego Black Lightning, have unfinished business…

The fifth Berlanti produced superhero show is not, currently, part of the Arrowverse. There’s nothing in this first episode that confirms it isn’t either but the issue, as it should be, is cleverly shunted off to one side. Because, much like Supergirl, this is a series defined by a unique identity: the struggles not just of being a black superhero, but a black educator and father in a city which is very far from peaceful.

Cress Williams is instantly both likeable and intimidating as Jefferson. Intimidating not because of his size but because of his presence. Williams is one of the most physically clever actors I’ve seen and he uses the tuxedo and suit he spends most of the episode wearing with real intelligence. This is a man who is intelligent, physical, and struggles to close the circuit on both those things. It’s something I recognise, as a 6’2 former Rugby player: balancing the two sides of your presence are a constant struggle. Williams shows us that struggle so subtly we barely notice he’s doing it until the Black Lightning reveal in the third act. There, his entire gait changes. The suit bulks him out even more but it also speeds him up. This is a man freed of restraint, free to cut loose and channel every frustration, every problem into his task. He likes wearing the suit, that much is clear, and his arc this episode sees him begin to realise that.

But the episode works because it takes this brilliant concept and runs with it in a manner that never fails to stay true to the characters. The two standout scenes embody this: a traffic stop and a clash with gang boss Lala. The traffic stop is drawn from life; Jefferson is a black man in charge of a car, that’s the only reason he’s pulled over. It’s mundane, and terrifying. Evil and isolated. A moment of bigotry that rises up, derails three lives and disappears again. It’s also for far too many people and far too long a time, a reality.

The scene with Lala comes an act or so later and is the heart of the show. When a member of Lala’s crew threatens Jefferson’s daughters on school grounds, he goes to see the man. A young boy comes in and Lala berates him for a perceived mistake to the extent that he grabs and yells at the kid. Jefferson pulls him away, Lala draws on him and demands he say his name. When Jefferson does, he relaxes and says ‘You teach them your way and I teach them mine.’

That’s the show, right there. More than Jefferson’s return to superheroics or the challenges his daughters (China Anne McClain and Nafessa Williams, both excellent) face. The challenge of trying to build a culture and community that allows young men and women to thrive rather than survive, to lead rather than conquer. On one side of that divide is Lala and his mysterious boss, glimpsed only in the closing minutes. On the other, is Jefferson and his family. It’s going to be a hell of a fight. And it’s already a hell of a show.

Verdict: Blisteringly intelligent, fiercely paced and massively well acted this is a different string for the Berlanti shows. It’s going to change the conversation in a way that’s as overdue as it is needed and if it’s going to do so with work this consistently strong then so much the better. Brilliant stuff. 10/10

Alasdair Stuart