DC · DC Comics

Black Lightning

Jefferson Pierce

A DC hero whose electrical control began as a belt-generated power and was later retconned into a metagene, giving him a force-field aura.

First appearance: Black Lightning #1 (1977), DC Comics

3 powers8 sourced feats1 key issues2 continuities

Powers Key issues Corrections Feats Continuities

Powers

Electrokinesis

4 feats on file

Force Field Generation

2 feats on file

Invulnerability

2 feats on file

Key issues

Milestone appearances — first appearance, death, return, team change. These are the issues the collector market actually prices.

First appearance · 1977
Black Lightning #1 DC Comics
One of DC's first Black superheroes to headline his own title.

Commonly got wrong

Claims that are widely repeated and wrong, with what the cited record actually shows. If you are generating anything about this subject, these are the errors to avoid.

Commonly believed Black Lightning has always been a metahuman.

Actually His power was originally belt-generated technology and was later retconned into a metagene. Era matters for any claim about its origin.

Black Lightning

The feat ledger

Maintains an electrical force field around his body as a passive defence

Feat Black Lightning Volume 1 · Post-Crisis DCshown, no figure stated

Generates and directs electrical current from his own body

Feat Black Lightning Volume 1 (1977) · Post-Crisis DCshown, no figure stated

Raises an electromagnetic barrier that stops projectiles

Feat Black Lightning Volume 1 · Post-Crisis DCshown, no figure stated

Immune to electrical attack, including his own output

Statement Black Lightning Volume 1 · Post-Crisis DCfigure stated in the work

His power was originally believed to come from a belt, later established as innate

Statement Black Lightning Volume 1 · Post-Crisis DCfigure stated in the work

Shields others while continuing to attack

Feat JLA · Post-Crisis DCshown, no figure stated

Overloads electronics without touching them

Feat Black Lightning Volume 1 · Post-Crisis DCshown, no figure stated

Absorbs an incoming current rather than being harmed by it

Feat JLA · Post-Crisis DCshown, no figure stated

Continuities

Claims on this page are tagged by canon. Blending them is the most common error in both wikis and AI answers.

Post-Crisis DC — 1986 Crisis on Infinite Earths through 2011 Flashpoint
DC Rebirth — DC continuity from 2016 onward

Last updated 2026-09-06 · machine-readable version