‘Black Lightning’ Drops Several Batman Easter Eggs in Season 2 Finale

Black Lightning‘s sophomore season came to a close tonight, wrapping up some season-long plotlines while dropping some major teases of what’s to come. And in the process, the series weaved in two references to another DC Comics adaptation.

The episode saw the Pierce family working to stop the latest sl uprising in Freeland, which Tobias Whale (Marvin “Krondon” Jones III) was at the center of. After fighting off both Jennifer Pierce (China Anne McClain) and Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams), Tobias was knocked out in the fight, with it not being clear whether or not he had survived the altercation.

Several scenes later, Tobias was shown to be apprehended by some sort of authorities, who were putting him away in a prison that he wouldn’t be able to get out of for a long while. The prison’s name probably jogged the memory of quite a few DC fans, as it was called “The Pit”.

In the pages of DC Comics, “The Pit” is a shorthand occasionally used for the Lazarus Pit, the magical waters that have brought characters back to life in plenty of different stories. But in the world of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, The Pit is the name of an ancient prison which factors into The Dark Knight Rises.

The prison takes on a well-shaped structure, which people attempt – and largely fail – to climb out of. A young Talia Al Ghul escaped the prison with the help of Bane, who was severely beaten because of it. Bane later bought the pit himself and threw Bruce Wayne inside it, where the vigilante stayed for several months before escaping.

Black Lightning‘s version of The Pit takes on a decidedly different design from the Nolan version, as the little that we saw looks like a very high-tech, minimalist prison. But the notion that the show is borrowing a name from another unique DC Comics adaptation is certainly interesting, even as it puts a drastically different (and sans-Batman) spin on it.

This, combined with the fact that Tobias channeled The Dark Knight‘s Joker by saying that “all it needs is a little push” to make Freeland erupt into a conflict, proved to be the most prominent homages to the dark knight almost since the show’s inception.

“I know this show is topical and it has some political merit to it, but we also want to entertain and make people laugh and get them excited about the fight sequences, and the characters that are coming in, as well as the villains that are coming in,” showrunner Salim Akil said in a 2018 interview. “We hope it will be a well-rounded experience so yes, we’d love to see other superheroes come through.”

Black Lightning has been renewed for a third season.