Jefferson Pierce is set to fulfill his vendetta against Tobias Whale, during the episode “The Book of Thunder” as teased in the trailer. Since Black Lightning began, the relationship between Jefferson and Tobias Whale has remained a mystery. Whale believed he killed Black Lightning before the series began and Jefferson has exhibited an intense hatred of the albino gangster. Now everything is falling into place and Jefferson is ready for some bloody revenge. The synopsis for the episode makes it sound as if it will be all hands on deck to stop Jefferson from a making a huge mistake.

Of course, Black Lightning won’t be the the only hero on a mission in “The Book of Thunder.” As the title of the episode makes obvious, there will be a big focus on Jefferson’s daughter, Anissa. Though Anissa has just discovered her powers on the show, she’s destined to become a hero in her own right. In the comics, Anissa fights alongside her father as Thunder. It’s a road that Black Lightning is clearly intending to follow and not just because photos of Anissa were released in her full supersuit before the series even premiered. As Anissa takes another step towards being a hero in “The Book of Thunder” her father will be walking on the dark side.

It appears that “The Book of Thunder” will follow the the typical Black Lightning format. While Anissa is on her own adventure, Jefferson, his ex-wife Lynn and mentor Gambi will be tackling their own vigilante problems. Jefferson and Lynn’s youngest daughter, Jennifer, is also thrown into the mix with some tangential tale. However, according to the synopsis, which can be read below, the highlight will be Jefferson’s increasingly erratic behavior.

Jefferson trying to get revenge for his murdered father, Alvin, is a rather popular story for the comics, belonging to the arc Black Lightning: Year One. In the television adaptation, Black Lightning has changed things. In the original story, Alvin Pierce was an investigative journalist who was killed for his writings, as has been implied by the series. It was Peter Gambi’s brother, Peter, who killed Alvin. The trailer for “The Book of Thunder” seemingly confirms that on the show, it was a group led by Tobias Whale who killed Alvin.

TO RIGHT THE WRONGS – Jefferson (Cress Williams) is on the hunt for his father’s killer, while Anissa (Nafessa Williams) uses her new powers to rectify a wrong after a protest fails. Jennifer (China Anne McClain) grapples with some difficult choices. Elsewhere, Gambi (James Remar) begs for help from Lynn (Christine Adams). Damon Gupton and Marvin Jones III also star. The episode was written by Charles Holland and directed by Benny Boom (#106).

Interestingly, the trailer shows that Tobias is much older than fans might’ve previously assumed. Black Lightning revealed that Whale has taken a serum that prevents him from aging but it was unclear when that serum was taken. It appears to have been injected at least before Jefferson came of age. A childhood Jefferson evidently watched Alvin be murdered by a fully grown and adult Tobias Whale. Jefferson has been waiting for his revenge for a long time. It appears that Gambi and Lynn will try to work together to prevent it, and stop Jefferson from becoming the very type of man he hates.

It’s odd that there are very few glimpses of Anissa in the trailer. She is briefly seen in her new proto-superhero outfit (which has deep comic roots).  Yet for the most part, both of Jefferson’s daughters are barely present in the trailer. However, given how family-focused Black Lightning has been, it’s very doubtful they’ll be so invisible in the episode.

More: Black Lightning Doesn’t Need The Arrowverse

Black Lightning will return with “Three Sevens: The Book of Thunder” on Tuesday, February 27 at 9/8c on The CW.

Source: The CW