In this review of Black Lightning #5, the puzzle pieces fall into place, and we get both an ending and a new beginning. So, let’s dive into this!
BLACK LIGHTNING #5
Written by BRANDON THOMAS
Art and Main Cover by FICO OSSIO
Variant Cover: TOM RANEY
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: March 12, 2025
This review contains spoilers
Black Lightning #5 opens up on Anissa in the holding area at the Watchtower. She knows her family needs her help, lets Batman know this, and is ready to fight if he doesn’t let her go help. As soon as he does, she contacts Grace for backup.
Meanwhile, it’s back into the fray between Jeff, Jen, and the Sons of Liberty. Things are intense, Jeff’s having a hard time seeing straight and the Sons seem to have the upper hand. Jen’s guiding him through the fight by calling instructions out to him. And then Anissa shows up.
Finally, we get the full new power-set Anissa’s got at her disposal, including the concussive blast that she uses to stop the Sons. The MCPD arrives, tries to get her to power down. Grace arrives right after, and successfully gets her to power down without any issue. The power nullifier’s effects are wearing off, and then comes the reveal that the device itself was handed to the Sons by Volcana.
Volcana, meanwhile, is getting the rest of her group (along with Isaac and his mother) to another location, and she’s getting annoyed at how questioning Isaac is of everything. That’s when the Pierces, Grace, and Windfall catch up to them. The fact that Volcana set this up is immediately revealed, causing Groundswell to turn against her. At which point, it’s basically all of them against Volcana (and Groundswell, who’s only really there for the cause but knows Volcana’s utterly snapped).
The dust settles, things are wrapping up nicely, and then Jeff catches up to Harriman (who happens to be mid-speech). He pulls him aside, informs him that he knows. He knows that Harriman was the one pulling the strings in the attacks, with his son and a former campaign volunteer of his, all to further push the “Waller Was Right” ideaology.
Of course, Harriman feels that he’s the ultimate winner, here (not that Jeff’s about to back down anytime soon). Anissa’s now in charge of the Intervention Team. Black Lightning #5 ends as Jeff drops by the barber shop to meet with J.Power and discuss just how best to deal with Harriman.
Thus opening the door for the next chapter of this story… and the return of THE POWER COMPANY.
As usual, the artwork in Black Lightning #5 was well-done. Of particular note for me would be a panel during the fight between Jeff, Jen, and the Sons, where the reader is put smack-dab into Jeff’s POV, where much of it’s blurred (right down to the speech bubbles). It gives a definite sense of disorientation. That whole fight is intense. Plus, two people against a whole group armed with melee weapons, a power-dampener, and a massive chip on their shoulder…things could have gone a lot worse for the Pierces.
The panel compositions during these fights in Black Lightning #5 are dynamic, especially with the spread where Anissa joins the fight. The reveal of her new concussive force ability is given the best possible spotlight in that spread, taking down the full group. There’s been all this build-up over four issues, Anissa feeling uncertain about her new set of powers, and then we get this sort of payoff.
Story-wise, most of the threads for this first arc are wrapped up nicely by the time Black Lightning #5 ends. Jeff and his ex-wife may be open to rekindling their relationship, Anissa and her family are officially back on good terms with each other, with her still wanting to learn more about her new abilities (but having a strong support system to do so, between her family and Grace).
But then we have Harriman and just how shady of a guy he really is. Since he’s a problem that can’t be dealt with via punching (no matter how satisfying that might be), it only makes sense that dealing with him would be the driving force for the next installment of the storyline. They’ve already dealt with the first step in solving a problem: identification.
Volcana, the Sons of Liberty, and Harriman all being in league of each other makes sense. A lot of times, you see some of the worst people working together, mainly to further the goals of the one in charge. It makes me wonder if he’d promised Volcana some level of mercy for selling out other Metas.
Another thing I’m looking forward to in the future: seeing how Isaac adjusts to being part of the Intervention Team, and how things with The Power Company pan out in this next installment. Josiah and Jeff already seem to have the seeds for a plan in mind, when it comes to dealing with the Harriman problem, and the next installment promises to bring that to fruition. Definitely looking forward to seeing how that goes.
Final Thoughts
Black Lightning #5 is a solid conclusion to the current arc, with some pretty big reveals and a promise for the future.
