The CW has released a preview for the upcoming seventh episode of the fourth and final season of Black Lightning. The episode, which also serves as a backdoor pilot for a potential Painkiller spinoff series, is set to debut on Monday, April 12th. From the looks of things in the preview, the episode will see Khalil Payne/Painkiller (Jordan Calloway) encounter Anissa Pierce (Nafessa Williams) and Grace Choi (Chantal Thuy) while on their honeymoon, though it won’t be a fond reunion. Painkiller appears to be determined to kill the Pierce family in a bid to ease his own suffering.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The Painkiller spinoff was announced last November and, if it goes to series, will follow Khalil as he attempts to find peace and a new life far from Freeland. You can check out the official spinoff description below.
“Based on characters created for DC by Tony Isabella with Eddie Newell, Painkiller follows Khalil Payne (Jordan Calloway), a young man ridden with the guilt of his troubled past from his former life in Freeland City. As a super-enhanced killing machine known as Painkiller, he was both a member of Tobias Whale’s gang and a weapon of Agent Odell and the shadowy ASA. After attempting to bury the darker, devastatingly lethal Painkiller part of his persona, Khalil has distanced himself away from everyone he knows and loves in a new city, Akashic Valley, in order to find peace. But peace never comes easy for men with pasts like his. As his violent, destructive history crashes his idyllic new beginning, Khalil is thrust back into action with a new mission – bring justice where he once gave out punishment – but to do that, he will first have to deal with and harness his darker side.”
This week’s Black Lightning, “The Book of Ruin: Chapter Two: Theseus’s Ship”, lightly set the stage for the Painkiller spinoff by having Anissa suggest Akashic Valley as one of the honeymoon destinations she could choose from. The episode also had nods to the Black Lives Matter movement, a movement that Calloway credits for setting Painkiller into motion.
“If I’m being honest, I think Black Lives Matter is probably one of the reasons why we got the spinoff,” Calloway said. “It’s what ignited this drive for more shows of color.”
Calloway also expressed his excitement for Painkiller, praising Black Lightning showrunner Salim Akil for creating a world that explores different cultures and ethnic backgrounds within the Black community.
“I’m excited about the whole world that Salim has created and how he wants to show different cultures,” Calloway said. “He also wants to show different ethnic backgrounds. Also, different colors of Black, not just that Black is all the same, but all of the different, other aspects of what makes Black.”
Black Lightning airs Mondays at 9/8c on The CW. The Painkiller backdoor pilot is set to air April 12th.
