Black Lightning, created by Tony Isabella and Trevor Von Eeden, made his first appearance in 1977’s Black Lightning #1. Beneath the mask of Black Lightning is Jefferson Pierce, a former Olympian, who was secretly born with the ability to create and manipulate electromagnetic fields. Although he had abandoned his hometown in Metropolis’ Suicide Slum after the murder of his father, Pierce returns there with his wife and daughter, taking a job as a high school principal. It is after losing one of his students to the gang violence that threatens the city that Pierce decides to take advantage of his powers by becoming a superhero.