Black Lightning lost me because:
a) The lead actor doesn't look like the comics AT ALL
b) They had him in some homemade suit while the electricity came from Black Lightning's body in the comics
c) Whenever there's a black male hero, black chicks aren't far behind because the black man can't have shit to himself, see: Black Panther
d) They ghettoized him from the Arrow/Flash/Supergirl-verse
I never even saw the show
Ha! Black Lightning never had me despite the early great reviews. I was keeping an eye on the show since its greenlighting, keeping up with casting, directors, trailers, etc. Here's what turned me off:
1 - The showrunners, the ones who came up with the idea of this character being the lead of a show, were husband-wife team Mara Brock Akil & Salim Akil. I doubt the geek/comic book credentials of both of them considering what they did before. But even if I was wrong on one or both of them regarding that, I don't trust a black woman being at the forefront of a drama/adventure/hour show in which a black male is the lead. "Power" is a perfect example of why. A black male lead character will never get the social freedom (whom he associates with, romances, sleeps with) that is necessary for true fully realized character with a black woman at the helm in my opinion. And this husband-wife team were well known for producing shows specifically geared for a black audience and I had little doubt Black Lightning would be any different.
2 - Cress Williams is a very good TV actor who was overdue for a high profile show of his own. But his casting as BL confirmed the rumors that the show was looking to make BL a middle age dad. Why? CW is about putting young, hot bodies in front of the screen for people to idolize and lust after. The ONE time the network doesn't go down this route is the first time they have a black superhero lead? Just shows the discomfort for black male sexuality (by that I mean allowing heterosexual black men to be virile, studly dudes who are attracted to a number of women and a number of young, gorgeous women are attracted to them) that still exists in Hollywood whether it comes from white producers, black ones, brown ones, etc.
3- Not only was Black Lightning gonna be a dad but his children would be daughters who fall more closely around the ages that people typically expect CW main characters to be. That was a key revelation to me. It didn't matter that these characters were relative new heroes in the comic books; the fact that these daughters were being brought to the screen suggested to me that THEY were the motivation for the show, not Black Lightning. This was the reason why Mara Akil was so determined to do the show (again, don't trust black women). And based upon the reactions on Woke Twitter, the girls (who had existed in the comics for like ten minutes) were the characters generating the most buzz. This turned me off almost as much as the idea of a show based upon Blade's daughter that had been floated around a couple of years earlier. Blade's daughter? He had one? How typical. Bypass a rare leading opportunity for a black male character so we can put the focus on younger black females.
4 - The casting. Every time news appeared about the casting of female characters the actress was black. Even the recurring roles. Yep, this show was going to put the black man in a box of having only black women as love interest possibilities. That's a no for me these days because I'm beyond sick of that shit, having black men limited in a manner that no other demographic is. I won't even watch TV series in which the black guy is saddled with a black love interest unless that show is getting some out-of-this-world reviews or if at least the time and place of the story dictates such a pairing. This is why I have no interest in a season three of Luke Cage unless Jessica Jones makes a visit. This is why I don't watch "Snowfall". A black male lead with a basic redbone black girlfriend from the hood. Zzzzzzzzzz. At least thrown in a Latino girl (and I DON''T mean an Afro-Latina) and I may give that show more of a shot. But the story itself didn't impress me enough to keep up with it without a non-black love interest. And for people who think that is too extreme I say fuck you and then point out how black female leads are not limited to black men. Also the casting of the women of BL meant that even if all these ladies weren't potential love interests, our lead would exist in a world in which the only women he would interact with were going to be black (like on fuckin' Luke Cage!). But not surprisingly the casting of supporting male characters were more open to diverse selections. Oh, wait. An Asian woman was selected. Hold up. She's the lesbian girlfriend of one of his daughters. Black women are allowed romantic opportunities outside of their race on a black male show but black dudes are not.
5- When the show made its debut Woke Twitter took it over and championed it as the blackest show ever. Saying such a stupid thing was a huge turnoff.
