Black Lightning's China Ann McClain & Nafessa Williams on Family, Action, & Fidelity to the Comics

It's not easy being the (probably also super) daughters of a superhero.When Black Lightning debuts [...]

By Russ Burlingame

It's not easy being the (probably also super) daughters of a superhero.

When Black Lightning debuts next year on The CW, audiences will get their first look at a family of superheroes since The Incredibles, and the first mainstream look at a superhero family of color. The family dynamic is a big part of what makes the show tick, and that includes the title superhero's two daughters, played by China Ann McClain and Nafessa Williams

ComicBook.com spoke with McClain and Williams on the red carpet at The CW's upfront presentations last week about family, heroics, and how much of the comics will carry over into the show.

"It's insane," McClain said. "It's really exciting. I'm a big DC fan, and when I first got the audition, I freaked out, so to be here…!"

"The dream for me was always to play a superhero," Williams added. "So to be here, and to be doing it with Greg Berlanti, the king of superhero, and Mara and Salim Akil — they're just great, I've always been a fan — I'm just excited and honored to join the family."

The pair couldn't talk about much -- they wouldn't reveal whether their characters would get powers in the first season (something certainly hinted at in the trailer) or if Anissa, Williams's character, would be a lesbian, as she is in the comics.

"We'll have to wait and see," Williams said apologetically, explaining that all would be revealed at midseason.

McClain teased a little more, adding, "I think that side of the story is beautiful, so I can't wait — if we do explore it," with a wink to the camera.

Williams said that she was sure comic book fans wouldn't be disappointed in the result, "whatever you know her to be."

You can check out the full interview above, and the official series synopsis below.

More Black Lightning news:

Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) is a man wrestling with a secret. As the father of two daughters and principal of a charter high school that also serves as a safe haven for young people in a New Orleans neighborhood overrun by gang violence, he is a hero to his community. Nine years ago, Pierce was a hero of a different sort. Gifted with the superhuman power to harness and control electricity, he used those powers to keep his hometown streets safe as the masked vigilante Black Lightning. However, after too many nights with his life on the line, and seeing the effects of the damage and loss that his alter ego was inflicting on his family, he left his Super Hero days behind and settled into being a principal and a dad.

Choosing to help his city without using his superpowers, he watched his daughters Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain) grow into strong young women, even though his marriage to their mother, Lynn (Christine Adams), suffered. Almost a decade later, Pierce's crime-fighting days are long behind him…or so he thought. But with crime and corruption spreading like wildfire, and those he cares about in the crosshairs of the menacing local gang The One Hundred, Black Lightning returns — to save not only his family, but also the soul of his community.

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