A few weeks ago, Black Lightning name dropped two heroes from the Arrowverse: Supergirl and Vixen. Jennifer and Lynn first mentioned these heroes in the ninth episode of the season, “The Book of Little Black Lies.” Jennifer asked her mother if she was Vixen, after she found out that her father was Black Lightning and that her sister was Thunder.
The mention of these characters sent fans into a frenzy, but what does it mean for the show? Are Supergirl and Vixen heroes in the Black Lightning universe? Are Detroit and National City sister cities to Freeland? Is Black Lightning one of many heroes in this universe?
While all of these questions are valid, Black Lightning showrunner Salim Akil set the record straight at WonderCon.
Supergirl, Earth-38, & Vixen
Speaking with FANDOM, he explained that “We are creating our own universe.”
When asked if Black Lightning took place on a different Earth, like Supergirl’s Earth-38, he said, “There is no Earth-1, there is no Earth-23 for us. It’s Freeland right now.” If there is no Earth-38, then there is no Supergirl, so how does Lynn know about her? And how does Jennifer know about Vixen?
Akil said, “We slipped that in because you could take it like they know that they exist, or you can take it like they’ve been reading the comics.” Hold up — does that mean DC Comics exist in the Black Lightning-verse? Check out the video above to hear all of Akil’s comments on the Arrowverse name drops and DC Comics references.
Future Crossovers?
So far no other characters from the Arrowverse have been mentioned and no official crossovers have been planned. However, writer Lamont Magee also said at WonderCon that “Right now we’re off in our own universe doing the Pierce family story, but name drops like that make me happy and it keeps doors open. ”
Magee also added that if he could bring one family over onto Black Lighting, that it would be the West family from The Flash. “I would have Joe, Iris and Wally come over. You have Jefferson and Joe, Iris and Anissa, Wally and Jen. You would get to see how they would relate and that would be amazing.”
Black Lightning currently stars Cress Williams as Jefferson Pierce, a father who spends his days as a high school principal and his nights as local superhero Black Lightning. The series airs on The CW Tuesdays at 9PM, after The Flash.
