Last week, news surfaced that Black Lightning would expand its cast to include another member of the Outsiders, Looker. Now we know who will be playing the role — and it’s a face familiar to Supergirl fans.
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According to TV Line, Sofia Vassilieva is joining Black Lightning as the hero Looker for The CW show’s second season. Vassilieva previously appeared as Olivia, a member of Thomas Coville’s Cult of Rao last season on Supergirl. As Black Lightning is not a part of the network’s Arrowverse — despite being a DC Comics-inspired superhero show — the two characters are not expected to be connected.
Originally introduced in Batman and The Outsiders #25 back in 1985, Emily Briggs/Looker has had an interesting history. Kidnapped by an underground civilization called Abyssia, Emily was exposed to cosmic rays when Halley’s Comet passed by Earth, revealing her heritage and unlocking her metahuman powers that made her incredibly beautiful and powerful. She joined up with The Outsiders heroically and later, was turned into a vampire, though her metahuman abilities spared her many traditional vampire weaknesses.
While it’s not clear exactly how Black Lightning will portray their version of Looker, the character has been mentioned on the series. Early on in the first season, Grace Choi (Chantal Thuy) — herself a member of The Outsiders in comics — directly mentions the character, asking Anissa Pierce/Thunder (Nafessa Williams) if she wanted to cosplay Looker or Supergirl. Showrunner Salim Akil didn’t elaborate on any details about Looker at this time, though he did say that the show would take an “interesting” approach.
“It’s really going to be interesting, the way we approach that story… I think people will enjoy it, but also be challenged by it,” Akil said.
The addition of Looker also connects with comments Akil made to reporters at San Diego Comic-Con last month in which he revealed that there would be more metahumans coming to Freeland in season two — even if some are villains.
“You know, one of the things I was saying about the upcoming season is that we’re doing is I want to give a nod to comic books in a stronger way,” Akil said. The first four episodes are called ‘The Book of Consequences: The Rise of the Greenlight Babies.’”
What do you think of this latest Black Lightning casting? Let us know in the comments below!
The second season of Black Lightning will debut on Tuesday, Oct. 9th, at 9 p.m. ET on The CW.
