As principal of a high school in a neighbourhood overrun by gang violence, Jefferson Pierce is a pillar of his community. Nine years ago, Pierce was a hero of a different sort. Gifted with the power to harness electricity, he kept Freeland safe as the masked vigilante Black Lightning. After seeing the damage this inflicted upon his family, Pierce retired his Super Hero persona in order to be there for his daughters, Anissa and Jennifer, though his marriage to their mother, Lynn, suffered. Almost a decade later, Pierce's crime-fighting days are over...or so he thinks. When a menacing local gang, the One Hundred, targets his loved ones, Black Lightning charges into action to protect his family and save the soul of Freeland.