The Women Of 'Black Lightning' On Being Badass, Embracing Their Powers In The 'High Stakes' Season 2

The second season of The CW’s impactful superhero series, Black Lightning is well underway. This season, the women who have stood behind, Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) as he reluctantly resumed his role as the vigilante, Black Lightning, are about to be front and center. During Season 1, the audience watched as Jefferson’s ex-wife Lynn (Christine Adams) voiced her concern and disdain about Jeff putting his superhero suit back on. Now, Lynn is ready to take matters into her own hands, using her own superpowers – her role as a doctor and scientist—to save the children of Freeland who have succumbed to the volatile Green Light drug. 

Jeff and Lynn’s daughters Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain) are also finding their footing as superheroes in their own right. During Black Lightning's inaugural season we watched the young women grapple with the knowledge of their father’s true identity, as well as the revelation of their own powers. While Anissa is keen to work alongside her father as the superhero Thunder, Jennifer is uncomfortable with her new abilities and her inability to control them. 

Reluctant as they may have been, as Salim Akil, Black Lightning's creator/showrunner, told Shadow and Act, the women of Black Lightning will spend season 2 following in Jeff's footsteps and coming into their own. 

Shadow and Act recently traveled to Decatur, Georgia, where Black Lightning is filmed to speak with Christine Adams, Nafessa Williams, and China Anne McClain about Season 2 and why their characters will be the focal points as we move forward. 

"I think I've been so lucky to play this kind of character in this kind of show," Adams said of Lynn, who is the only person in the Pierce household without superhuman abilities. "There was always the discussion of her not having superpowers --how that feels, and how she would navigate this chapter. Lynn has evolved. She's a protective mother, that's always first and foremost. But also at the end of season one, she killed someone. There's no going back from that," she said. "In season two, she goes on this unbelievable journey, which is not just about the family but it's about her as a doctor, as a mother, a woman, and a wife. Killing someone has tapped into something very primal to Lynn." 

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Review: 'Ant-Man' Pleasantly Surprised This Marvel Non-Enthusiast

Marvel’s "Ant-Man" is a superhero film for the underdog. The film follows ex-con man Scott Lang, who finds himself down on his luck after being released from San Quentin prison. Comedian Paul Rudd plays Scott flawlessly, who after being fired from Baskin-Robbins gets himself roped into one last big score in an effort to get back into his young daughter’s life. Instead of finding money or jewels, Scott and his rag tag group of friends; Luis (Michael Peña), Dave (TI) and Kurt (David Dastmalchian) come across a peculiar looking leather suit. Things quickly spiral out of control when the gang inadvertently finds themselves involved in a power struggle and corporate espionage between major conglomerates, PYM Industries and Cross Technologies.Admittedly I’m not a huge Marvel enthusiast, so when I first heard about Ant-Man, I thought it sounded like a retelling of "A Bug's Life" for adults. Nonetheless, the film really surprised me. First and foremost, Rudd and Peña are comedic gold. Peña's genius is consistently overlooked and underrated, so it was a ton of fun to watch him in his element.  Throughout the film, Rudd and Peña ebbed and flowed with the same witty, dark, humor that director Peyton Reed has captured perfectly in some of his prior films. Coming from the same team that produced last year's "Guardians of the Galaxy," "Ant-Man" had a familiar feeling to it because there was no Asgard, nor any other mythical place to serve as a distraction.

"Ant-Man’s" special effects are jaw dropping. I'm certainly not a gal who loves insects, but even in the film’s most absurd moments, the ants feel real and look extremely life-like. The most visually arresting component of the film is the way it captures Scott's point of view when he’s shrunken in size. There is one bathroom scene in particular that was simply, visually delicious.

Michael Douglas is fine as Dr. Hank Pym (the man who Scott steals from) but the real talent on camera is Corey Stoll as Dr. Darren Cross. Stoll is able to really embody the crazed, maniacal, instability of his villainous character. As I watched him, I found myself wishing that DC Comics had chosen him to play Lex Luther in "Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice."

The one thing that disappointed me a great deal about "Ant-Man" was the thin romance between Scott and Dr. Pym's daughter, Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly). Their relationship felt forced and jumbled.  I was annoyed that Marvel reduced Lily’s character to simply Scott’s love interest. It was wholly unnecessary, trite and frankly quite dull. Speaking of women, why does Judy Greer (who plays Scott’s ex-wife) play the same role in every film? I just saw her in "Jurassic World" and frankly her character was a bit one-dimensional for my taste.

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Image: Marvel/Ant-Man