Black Lightning Reading Order

This reading order is designed to give an outline of major storylines featuring Black Lightning (Jefferson Pierce) throughout DC Comics. It may not encompass every one of his appearances but is an outline of the major ones and the stories that affect them.

The continuity details relating to each specific storyline are explained in the “Review” of each storyline. Every “Review” link will provide a detailed continuity breakdown of that story and will explain any reference the story makes to other aspects of the DC Universe. All of this can be found under the “Continuity” section of each link.

Jump to: New 52 – Rebirth – Universe

New 52

At the beginning of the New 52, the DC Universe was reset. In this new continuity, Black Lightning’s history was mostly wiped clean and he was reintroduced to the DC Universe.

In this era, Black Lightning makes his first few appearances in the DC Universe Presents series. In these issues, he is a main character for a single story arc, alongside Blue Devil. After this arc, he makes a few quick appearances alongside the Justice League (Reading Order).

Justice League issues are from the Vol. 2 series
Aquaman issues are from the Vol. 7 series

Rebirth

The transition from the New 52 to the Rebirth does not appear to alter anything when it comes to Black Lightning's history. His adventures here even directly reference his exploits in the DC Universe Presents series.

In this era, Black Lightning initially appears in a quick cameo during the Dark Nights: Metal (Reading Order) prelude. Then he goes on to star in the Black Lighting: Cold Dead Hands series. This series is the main source of Black Lightning's adventures for this era. Finally, his quick appearance at the end of the Justice League: No Justice (Reading Order) event serves as a prelude to his role in the next era.

Notes

1. Black Lightning only appears through a quick cameo in this issue. However, it reveals a previously unrevealed connection with Batman. This connection is referenced a lot from this point forward.

Universe

The Universe era is essentially an extension of the Rebirth era, as it maintains the same continuity. In this way, Black Lightning's story picks up right where it left off at the conclusion of Justice League: No Justice (Reading Order).

In this era, Black Lightning's narrative mostly revolves around his connection to the Outsiders team-up. This starts in the Detective Comics series before directly continuing in the Batman and the Outsiders series. These comics form the bulk of Black Lighting's important appearances in this era.

Outside of these comics, Black Lighting also makes brief appearances alongside the Justice League (Reading Order). He is briefly with them in the "Justice/Doom War" story arc and in the Dark Nights: Death Metal (Reading Order) event. Later, he has a slightly more significant appearance with them in the Justice League: Endless Winter event.

BatO = Batman and the Outisders
Detective Comics issues are from the Vol. 1 series
Justice League issues are from the Vol. 4 series

Notes

1. Only the "Mercy Killing" story from this issue is relevant to this reading order. This story features Black Lighting and Katana in a way that preludes their friendship in the Batman and the Outsiders series. However, their appearance here is pretty brief and can be skipped if necessary.
2. Heroes in Crisis features tons of DC heroes making emotional confessions to a camera. Black Lighting only appears for a single panel here but it may be interesting for fans really interested in learning everything about his feelings.
3. Black Lighting appears as a very minor character in these issues of Justice League and this issue of Dark Nights: Death Metal (Reading Order). His role here is extremely small but we've included these appearances to show that he played a part in these big storylines.
4. It is also worth noting that a change in Black Lighting's history is seen in this issue. Though not specifically clarified, this change may be due to the continuity-altering impact of the Death Metal event.

 All DC Comics Reading Orders