Every Change To Black Lightning After Crisis On Infinite Earths

Warning: The following feature contains SPOILERS for Black Lightning, season 3, episode 10, “The Book of Markovia: Chapter One: Blessings and Curses Reborn.”

Many things changed in the reality of Black Lightning following Crisis on Infinite Earths. This was to be expected, given that the world of Freeland, Georgia was so strongly held apart from the other superhero shows on The CW that it was not clear until Crisis on Infinite Earths that Black Lightning was a part of the Arrowverse.

Jefferson Pierce’s role in Crisis was brief but memorable, as he helped the Flashes of two worlds destroy the anti-matter cannon that was dissolving the multiverse. Later, after the multiverse was rebuilt, he aided in the defense of STAR Labs during the Anti-Monitor’s final attack on Earth. Finally, Jefferson accepted a place among the World’s Finest heroes on a new team that would defend the newly reborn Earth from global threats.

Jefferson’s place in a larger world was assured, but it was uncertain how his hometown of Freeland might have changed as it was added into the new Earth-Prime. Would it still be under martial law, as it had been when he had left it? Would the Freeland Resistance still be waging a rag-tag war against the ASA? Here’s a rundown of all the major changes revealed in Black Lightning, season 3, episode 10, “The Book of Markovia: Chapter One: Blessings and Curses Reborn.”

Only Jefferson and Jennifer Remember The Crisis

As Jefferson flew across the country and tried to make radio contact with his foster-father Peter Gambi, Jennifer Pierce faced a different journey. Trapped inside what she thought was the psychic safe-space she had created while learning how to control her powers, Jennifer was left falling through the void after encountering two versions of herself from other Earths. She materialized on the balcony of her sister Anissa’s apartment, just as Jefferson landed there searching for his family. The two located Gambi and quickly determined that he had no memory of either of them having vanished or the strange storms that rocked Freeland before they disappeared. So far, it seems that only Jefferson and Jennifer remember the world as it was.

Lady Eve Is Alive And Well

One mystery not touched upon since Black Lightning season 2 came back in a big way, as TC (a teenage boy with the power to talk to computers) sought shelter with Peter Gambi, who had helped him out once before. After learning that Gambi had faked his death following an attempt on his life, TC offered to use his powers to follow the Bitcoin-based money trail from the assassin to the person who ordered the hit. TC passed out after several hours of digging, but he triumphed in the end, pulling up a picture of Evelyn Stillwater-Ferguson, a.k.a. Lady Eve, a high ranking member of The 100 Gang and, like Gambi, a former ASA agent.

What made this interesting was that Lady Eve had been killed off in Black Lightning, season 1, episode 7, “Equinox: The Book of Fate.”  She was murdered by her underling Tobias Whale, as he made a power-play to improve his position among The 100. If Lady Eve is still alive, the power structure of the criminal underworld in Freeland should be radically different, if only because Whale’s position will be more precarious than it already is with him imprisoned by the ASA.

The Freeland Resistance Is Larger and Better Organized

The biggest change in post-Crisis Freeland seems to be that the Resistance is larger and better organized than they were before. It is mentioned during an ASA planning session that the Resistance have managed to seize and maintain control of several city blocks and key buildings, including Garfield High School.  When Anissa Pierce is seen rallying the Resistance in her Blackbird persona, the crowd seems to be larger than it was the last time we saw her leading a mission and the group is made up of more ordinary civilians than the police officers and career criminals who were running the Resistance pre-Crisis. Finally, it is revealed at one point that the Resistance has managed to disable 15% of the ASA’s vehicles and 25% of their soldiers. Even allowing for how many soldiers were electrocuted by Black Lightning, that is still impressive for a largely untrained volunteer army.

About The Author

Matt Morrison
(1835 Articles Published)

Matt Morrison has been writing about comics since before the word
“blogging” was coined. He got his start writing for the
legendary DC Comics digital fanzine Fanzing,
before receiving his own column, The Mount. Since then he has gone on
to write for over a dozen websites, including 411
Mania, Comics
Nexus and The Cult of Nobody. He holds both an MS in Information
Science from the University of North Texas and a BFA from the
University of Texas at Arlington. Known as a font of comic book
history trivia, he has delivered lectures on the history of American
Comic Books, Japanese Manga, Doctor Who, and Cosplay at over a dozen conventions
and served as an Expert In-Residence for a course on Graphic Novels
for Librarians at the University of North Texas. In addition to his
work for Screen Rant, Matt is currently the Editor In Chief of
Kabooooom.com and writes reviews for No
Flying, No Tights – a graphic literature and anime review site
aimed at teachers and librarians. He also maintains a personal blog –
My Geeky Geeky Ways –
which hosts his extensive episode guide for the television series
making up The Arrowverse as well as his
comedic Let’s Play videos. What little spare time he has is
devoted towards acting, role-playing, movie-riffing and sarcasm. You
can follow his adventures on Twitter, @GeekyGeekyWays.

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