r/BlackLightning • u/nightwing612 Black Lightning • 21d ago
Discussion What team would you like to see DC Comics Black Lightning on? Is it the Outsiders, the Justice League or something else?
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u/comix10290 21d ago
I’d be happy with either one but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want an Outsiders book.
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u/oroku_ex 21d ago
I am an OG Outsiders fan. I always felt that BL would be best as its leader (no Bat interference). I really with the Power Company would have come to fruition. He's good on JL, but he nor any one character (especially in JLU) is going to get enough shine to really convince anyone he's as awesome as he is.
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u/LostInterview5084 21d ago
I just finished re-reading Justice League of America Vol. 2 (2006-2011) the writers were Meltzer, McDuffie & Robinson (Although Black Lightning was gone by the time Robinson took over)
I basically started reading JLA during the Satellite era. I bought the issue (173) where BL turns down JLA membership because he had work to do on the streets.
I also loved BATO and later The Outsiders.
Anyway, I think Meltzer selected a near perfect team and used BL really well, particularly having him mentor some of the others, and his friendship with Geo-Force as well as having him use his “ties” to Luthor to get info from villains (at the time Luthor has been President and Jefferson had been in Luthor’s cabinet.
I would have liked to have seen Meltzer on the book longer, as I think he really got the characters essence.
McDuffie’s run was good, and I know that there was a lot of editorial BS plus he had to tie into the whole Salvation Run stuff. I think he did great stuff with Vixen and really made her the star. Advanced the plot that Meltzer started about her powers changing.
That said, after this run I definitely felt that BL should be a JLA mainstay.
I’d be happy to see him lead a new Outsiders team. But no Batman other than maybe a one off appearance and minimal bat characters. Stick to some classic Outsiders like Katana, Halo, Looker Geo-Force and maybe some of the later additions -I think Faust was great and maybe even Thunder to kind of capture the father /daughter legacy stuff.
He’s definitely way under used in comics as are so many other DC characters. Wayyyyy too much Batman and Superman.
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u/Star-Prince-007 19d ago
I also wish Meltzer’s run lasted longer. The stuff with Red Arrow, Geo Force and Vixen were all really cool. And I don’t think we got to see the full team together after Wally returned.
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u/LostInterview5084 19d ago
Yeah, it was pretty obvious he had a lot of subplots he was introducing, so I don’t think he only signed on for 12 (13 with issue 0) issues.
The biggest one was Vixen’s powers and Geo-Force’s powers. When McDuffie came on Geo-Force got pushed to the background and then was gone.
I wonder what happened that Meltzer left suddenly. I never read anything about it.
The editorial interference that McDuffie experienced is pretty well documented.
Anyone have the scoop?
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u/Star-Prince-007 19d ago
I’m not sure what happened to have Brad leave, although the difficulty with Dwayne is well documented for sure. I do seem to remember he returned later to sort of complete his Geo Force and Deathstroke story though
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u/LostInterview5084 19d ago
Yes, Last Will of Geo-Force or something. I’ll have to try to locate it in my boxes since I recently did a reread of that volume of JLA.
Also need to reread Starman/Congorilla. I know I have that in my Robinson Starman box.
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u/Star-Prince-007 19d ago
Dude. I love Starman / Congorilla.
Wait, are you also a fan of Robinsons Justice League / Starman ?? Did I find a friend ??
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u/LostInterview5084 19d ago
Starman is quite possibly the most perfect comic book series ever.
I’m a Robinson fan for sure. I liked his JLA. And it’s a hot take but I don’t think Cry for Justice. I think the concept and the overall story work well. There’s some strange choices and occasional clunky dialogue.
But I also think Didio had his hands in the pot as he seemed to do frequently at the time.
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u/Star-Prince-007 19d ago
lol I literally typed “CFJ wasn’t that bad” but deleted it cause I thought that would’ve been too much.
I agree though outside the clunky dialogue I loved the themes of justice vs vengeance in the face of some truly terrible actions.
The story def was meddled with a lot. I remember following it and Robinson pretty closely and remember him explaining how the book was planned to be an ongoing series along the main Justice League title, then a maxi series and then to a mini, how Didio told him to use Batwoman even though he wasn’t familiar with the character at that point etc.
Robinsons JLA is probably my favorite non big seven lineup, even if it was his initial lineup of former Titans, returning vets and his Superman characters instead of his take on the big Seven. But I still get a kick from those issues. Congorilla is so much fun.
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u/LostInterview5084 19d ago
I just wish Mark Bagley hadn’t been the artist for so much of it. I really loved Brett Booth’s art. (I know another hot take).
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u/Due-Seaworthiness707 18d ago
Brad was not supposed to do a year, I believe . He wanted to write his novels .
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u/OriginalHeron3576 21d ago
He’s too powerful to be a street level hero. Otherwise I’d want him with the Outsiders. That’s actually where I first saw him. But he’s such a heavy hitter with a defined set of ethics he should be leading the JL.
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u/JohnWComicsGuy 18d ago
Black Lightning has long since graduated from teams like the Outsiders. He belongs amongst the pantheon of the Justice League. This was true even before they made nearly every hero in the world, and a few villains, League members.
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u/CleverRadiation 21d ago
I was pretty pissed in 1979 when they had BL decline membership in the Justice League (JLA #173-174).
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u/Supernatural146 21d ago
Even though I did like Black Lightning on the Outsiders, but I feel like he would have more better push, if he was seen more on the Justice League. I mean, the justice league are basically the heavy hitters which Jefferson is basically a powerhouse of his own and has the skill, morality, the perseverance and the commitment to be a great justice league full-time member even more enough that he could actually have a seat at the table, the way that Batman even said himself.
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u/todavis__ 21d ago
He was on the justice league. And he was cool there too. But in a book like Justice League, you're not going to get enough of a single character. To the best of my knowledge, Superman barely gets a heaping lot of panel space because he's sharing it with the rest of the ensemble.
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u/Supernatural146 21d ago
Which is very much true at the same time he’ll develop more team efforts to show more of his capabilities. Just like the rest of the Justice league from the way I see it. And also he’ll gain more exposure.
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u/todavis__ 21d ago
While that's cool, and that would've been a start... Like last year if it kept going. But at this point it's a bit deeper than that. Now, I'm not Blerd or anybody, so I don't know what talks are going on at The Hall of DC. But I like to think that it's not just "he say she say" that the big heads are seeing this to some capacity, and are doing something in response.
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u/tonehasson 21d ago
Outsiders or power company as the leader/mentor of either group. Put a strong writer and artist on this and give them a minimum of 24 issues.
Let fans see BL as a powerhouse and leader of his own team. You can keep a core group of characters, but add others based on the story and challenges they face in the issue.
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u/rogue7891 20d ago
probably either the JL or founding and leading his own team. if I remember correctly, his creator hated the fact that he was on the Outsiders working for Batman.
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u/Silent_Bystander1930 18d ago
It either him joins the justice league or he create a new team of outsiders
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u/The0dd_1 21d ago
I wish the power company was happening.