Although Black Lightning will be ending with Season 4, the CW have also announced plans for a spin-off series featuring Khalil Payne (Jordan Calloway), aka “Painkiller.” Black Lightning boasts impressive longform storytelling, persistently relevant social commentary, and a killer soundtrack. But another major appeal has been its compelling characters.
Black Lightning primarily focuses on the Pierce family, beginning with Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) coming out of his “retirement” as Garfield High’s principal to resume his double-life as Black Lightning. He protects his home city of Freeland from threats like “The 100” gang, led by the sinister albino Tobias Whale (Marvin “Krondon” Jones III), or the corrupt government A.S.A. secretly preying on the majority-African American population. Throughout the show, Jefferson’s daughters Anissa (Nafessa Williams) and Jennifer (China Anne McClain) discover his double-life and super-powers of their own.
Khalil is not in the Pierce family, but closely adjacent to it. Despite his elder brother having died during the 100’s gang warfare, Khalil was an exemplary student of Jefferson’s in Garfield High and a promising track-star athlete. He also developed a tender high-school romance with Jennifer. But during “Lawanda: The Book of Burial”, Khalil and Jennifer attended a protest march against the 100. Despite Black Lightning protecting the crowd from would-be attackers, Tobias’ enforcer Syonide (Charlbi Dean) shoots the march’s leader and wounds Khalil’s spine in the process. As a result, Khalil is left paralyzed.
Khalil is obviously devastated by this and his future as an athlete is ruined. He is only more resentful when Jennifer breaks up with him (undergoing her own adolescent problems and being a target of the 100), and begins lashing out against his cruel misfortune. Meanwhile, Tobias uses this opportunity to pay for Khalil’s hospital bills and give him presents, while telling Khalil how Black Lightning was to blame for failing to protect him. Tobias offers Khalil a procedure to make him walk again, and implants a metal spinal cord that produces a paralyzing snake venom (the hormones also growing out Khalil’s dreadlocks), remaking Khalil as his enforcer Painkiller.
In the comics, Painkiller is a very minor villain. After debuting in 1995’s Black Lightning #2, Painkiller is given no backstory or even real name, and is defeated by Black Lightning two issues later. Like Black Lightning’s version, the comics counterpart has paralyzing super-powers, but otherwise they bear little resemblance. This is not uncommon for Black Lightning, which frequently repurposes obscure villains. For instance, the 100’s leader La La (William Catlett) becomes a variation of “the Tattooed Man”, but is mostly developed as his own original character.
After his recovery, Khalil becomes Tobias’ henchman and even attacks Garfield High to fight Black Lightning upon Tobias’ orders. At the end of Season 1, he follows Tobias into hiding. However, by Season 2, Khalil has started to show regrets. Tobias proves to be an abusive and cruel boss, which pushes Khalil to reach back out to Jennifer. Jennifer has by now learnt of her own powers and her father’s history as Black Lightning, and is feeling betrayed by her family and self-conscious as a “freak.” Therefore, the two slowly and secretly re-establish contact with one another. Things continue to sour between Khalil and Tobias, who admits it was him who originally injured Khalil’s spine. After Khalil refuses to kill someone for Tobias, he meets up with Jennifer and the two run away together.
Khalil and Jennifer are fugitives for a bit, being hunted by both Jennifer’s family and Tobias’ henchmen. Eventually Jennifer’s family find their hideout, and Khalil concedes that Jennifer should return home and apologizes to the family. Although they come to an understanding, Khalil is ambushed by Tobias’ forces and brought back to him. Tobias brutally rips out Khalil’s implanted spine, and leaves Khalil to die, passing away at the hospital with Jennifer by his side.
However, death is not that permanent in Black Lightning, with minor character Lazarus Prime (Michael Wright) frequently, and painfully, bringing back villains from the dead. For Season 3, Khalil is revived by the A.S.A. with a new bionic spine, additional poisonous abilities, and an obedience chip brain-implant. This implant brainwashes Khalil to educate him in military tactics and assassination (including “over 23 different martial arts”) and creates a ruthless separate “Painkiller” personality that is completely obedient to the A.S.A., including killing his own mother for them. Season 3 features a tense alliance between the A.S.A. and Black Lightning over a potential Markovian invasion, but after it breaks down in “The Book of Markovia: Chapter Two”, the A.S.A. send in Painkiller to eliminate the Pierce family. Although startled by Khalil’s return and homicidal demeanor, Jennifer manages to subdue him.
He is then taken back to Black Lightning’s base. Recent recruit TC (Christopher A’mmannuel) – whose metahuman power is communicating with technology – identifies the obedience chip in his head. TC, with assistance from Jennifer’s electrical powers, manage to create a “firewall” inside Khalil’s chip that cordons off the killer Painkiller personality and allows his original self to return. However, Khalil retains Painkiller’s memories and actions and is distraught over them, especially knowing the personality still exists inside him. Indeed, Painkiller briefly manages to slip out again and resume control. However, in Season 3’s finale, Khalil manages to defeat his internal Painkiller personality, and abandons Freeland for good.
This tragic backstory gives Khalil a perfect premise for his own spin-off, having to contend with his brainwashed past and use his enhanced abilities for good. Jordan Calloway does a fantastic job of conveying both Painkiller’s cool-headed ruthless efficiency, and the torment and pain of Khalil’s ultimately good soul. Painkiller appears very reminiscent of Angel, wherein after three seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the “vampire with a soul” Angel (David Boreanaz) starts a new life while reckoning with his past deeds as the evil Angelus.
Khalil will likely appear in Black Lightning’s final season, if for no other reason than to feature in his backdoor pilot. Although one would assume Painkiller would further the romance between Khalil and Jennifer, her actress China Anne McClain revealed she was planning to exit the CW anyway. Painkiller will have to figure out who Khalil is on his own, without Jennifer by his side or Tobias and the A.S.A. controlling him, searching for an identity now that his past life is ruined and his future is all his own.
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