“The Resurrection” begins with Jefferson and Jennifer Pierce sitting in the waiting room at a police precinct. As they wait, a news report comes across the television that reveals a crime scene. It’s a homicide caused by the 100 Gang.
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The news report continues on as they show rioting has begun elsewhere in town.
Jennifer’s phone buzzes as she gets a text asking her where she’s at, and Jennifer responds by saying that they’re at the police station because her sister Anissa was arrested while trying to “act like Harriet Tubman.”
Jennifer looks at the most wanted board in the police station, and a crude drawing of Black Lightning is posted there. He’s wanted for vigilantism.
Anissa walks out, and an upset Jefferson walks away from her. In the car ride from the police station, Jefferson is upset that Anissa chose to protest the gang violence instead of attending a fundraiser for the school he’s principal at.
In the midst of their argument, cop lights flash behind them, and they’re pulled over. When the cops arrive to the driver’s side window, the cops ask him to step out of the car, and a tense situation unfolds when the cops pull their guns on the family.
The cop asks a woman in the back of the cop car if Jefferson is the suspect, and we find out that a local liquor store was robbed, and the cops racially profiled Jefferson to pull him over.
An upset Jefferson begins to channel his powers, which shuts off the lights to the cop car for a quick moment before they’re restored.
The Pierce family get to the school fundraiser, and Anissa catches Jennifer skipping out to go to a small house party. She warns her younger sister to stay out of trouble and to be home by the time the fundraiser is over.
At the fundraiser, Jefferson takes the podium and begins his speech.
We see that Jennifer lied to her older sister, and instead of going to a small house party, she went to a club with her friend. While there, she’s approached by a flirtatious man, and they take a seat at a booth away from the dance floor.
Jefferson’s speech is done, and he’s now networking with the people at the fundraiser. After small talk with two different people, he’s approached by Lynn Pierce, his ex-wife. They talk about Anissa’s arrest earlier in the day before parting ways.
Jefferson arrives home to find that Jennifer hasn’t returned yet. He calls Anissa, who tells him the truth about where Jennifer is. A furious Jefferson begins to track Jennifer’s phone while Anissa texts her warning her that her dad is trying to find her whereabouts.
Back at the club, two men surround Jennifer and her new acquaintance in the booth, and they soon take the pair into a back room, where Jennifer’s friend is questioned about missing drugs.
The man in the back room slaps Jennifer’s friend and threatens Jennifer into peddling drugs for him.
Jefferson shows up and tries to enter the room, but is stopped by a security guard. The lights start flickering and eventually go out, and Jefferson takes out the security guard and all of the henchmen one by one, allowing Jennifer to escape.
Jefferson leaves the club and is soon stopped by cops in an alley outside. They approach him with their tazers drawn, and when one of the cops tells him to “get his black ass on the ground,” he knocks them out and zaps their car on fire.
Peter Gambi is walking down the street and enters his clothing shop, he finds an unconscious Jefferson on the floor with a bullet wound.
Back at the Pierce household, the Pierce daughters are arguing about Jennifer’s actions that almost got her shot at the club. A frustrated Anissa turns on the TV and sees a news report of the police being attacked at Club 100. While the news reporter questions the detective about Black Lightning potentially being involved, the detective quickly dismisses the vigilante’s involvement.
Jefferson and Gambi are talking about the former using his powers again. Jefferson reassures Gambi that he won’t let the Black Lightning persona take hold of his life again. Jefferson tells Gambi that he’s trying to get his family back together.
Jefferson gets back to his house, where Lynn’s waiting for him. She tells her ex-husband that she came over to comfort Jennifer after the Club 100 incident. She says she’s taken away Jennifer’s social media for the next month and informs Jefferson that she’s been watching the news. She asks him whether or not Black Lightning is back, and Jefferson denies the claims.
After Lynn leaves, we see a flashback where a young Anissa finds her dad badly beaten in the bathroom. Lynn runs in to shield her daughter from seeing her dad like that, and we find out the couple divorced over Jefferson’s role as the Black Lightning.
We get our first look at Black Lightning’s archenemy Tobias Whale as he watches the news reports of Black Lightning reportedly returning.
At school, Jefferson is having a heated discussion with an assistant on whether to purchase metal detectors for the school’s entrances. Jeff refuses to agree to purchase the metal detectors, saying it’d make the students feel like prisoners.
Jennifer’s walking to school and is met by the guy that approached her at the club. He becomes overaggressive. Anissa steps in and tells him to leave, and the two eventually get in a physical fight with Anissa getting the upper hand.
The gang member stands back up and almost pulls a gun out before Jefferson runs out to stop him, reminding that if he does that, he’ll be in violation of his parole and will go to prison for the rest of his life. The man then walks away, warning Jefferson that he hasn’t seen the last of him.
Jefferson meets up with the guy we saw in the back room of Club 100 — Latavius — and we find out he’s a former student at Garfield. We find out Latavius’ cousin is Will, the man that’s been harassing Jefferson’s daughters. Latavius then pulls a gun out and points it at Jefferson, and tells him to call him by his real name, Lala.
Back at Garfield, we see Will and two of his friends walk into Anissa’s room and take her and Jennifer away at gunpoint.
Detective Henderson has arrived and is talking to Jefferson and Lynn about the abduction of their daughters. After Henderson tells Jefferson to let him handle it, Jeff walks out of his office upset. When asked where he’s going, he tells Lynn that he’s going to get their girls back, and she tells him to bring them back safe.
Jefferson goes to Gambi’s store and tells the tailor that the 100 have taken his daughters. Gambi directs Jefferson to his basement, where Jeff suits up in a new creation Gambi created.
Jeff then converges on the Seahorse Hotel where the girls are being held, taking out various members of the 100. He then finds the room his daughters are being held, and after Will shoots him once, Jeff promptly knocks him out by dropping him on his car from a second-story balcony.
Cops promptly arrive and begin asking the girls questions while Black Lighting’s on the roof brooding.
Lala is at a stoplight and is approached by two of Tobias Whale’s confidants. They take him to their boss for questioning. Tobias shoots Lala with a harpoon and threatens to kill him.
Back at the Pierce residence, Jeff and Lynn hug their girls after they return home. Jeff washes up from the fight earlier in the night.
Lynn’s in the kitchen having a drink, and as Jefferson walks in, she thanks him. He promptly tells her that “it’s not over yet,” and she nods in understanding.
Anissa wakes up from a nightmare and rushes to the bathroom. While hovering over the sink, her hands starting glowing, and she crushes the sink, revealing she’s a metahuman.
