Lynn Stewart
44 years ago - Lynn Stewart is born in Cleveland.
26 years ago - 18-year-old Lynn Stewart starts college, where she first meets Jefferson Pierce.
22 years ago - 22-year-old Lynn Stewart graduates college and begins law school. She marries Jefferson Pierce, and they have their first daughter Anissa Pierce.
20 years ago - 24-year-old Lynn Stewart's husband Jefferson Pierce becomes a high school principal, establishing his reputation for turning around schools and communities.
18 years ago - 26-year-old Lynn Stewart graduates Law School and begins working as a public defender.
15 years ago - 29-year-old Lynn Stewart, seeing how restless Jefferson Pierce is, suggests that they take the grant from the Thomas Wayne Foundation and they move back to Southside Metropolis, where she begins working as a criminal defense attorney. She sees Jefferson using his powers as a vigilante, and suggests that he do so in full view of the people, so they have someone to look up to. She is framed for corruption, and when the 100 attack her and her family she is only saved by the intervention of Peter Gambi and Talia al Ghul. As Jefferson plans to stay in Metropolis and battle the 100, they stage a falling out, and she takes Anissa Pierce and their newborn daughter Jennifer Pierce and returns to Cleveland.
10 years ago - 34-year-old Lynn moves back to Metropolis when Jefferson Pierce retires as Black Lightning.
8 years ago - 36-year-old Lynn protests Jefferson Pierce becoming Black Lightning again and joining Batman's Outsiders. Anissa Pierce manifests her powers, but she agrees not to become a superhero until she finishes high school.
7 years ago - 37-year-old Lynn and Jefferson Pierce are divorced, unable to stay married while he continues as Black Lightning.
6 years ago - 38-year-old Lynn moves back to Metropolis when Jefferson Pierce retires, but they choose to remain separated. She becomes a partner in her law firm.
4 years ago - 40-year-old Lynn's daughter Anissa Pierce, upon graduating high school and starting college, starts using her powers as Thunder.
3 years ago - 41-year-old Lynn's daughter Jennifer Pierce's metagene activates. She makes the same promise as her big sister Anissa Pierce to put off any superheroics until after she graduates high school.
Lots of classic superheroes have their love interest, but most of them were created back in the gold and silver ages of comics, which meant there was a lot of weird stuff going on, with all the hidden secrets and lies upon lies. Black Lightning, who was created in 1977, also had a love interest, but it took a very different shape than what we were used to...
Lynn Stewart's Comic HistoryLynn appeared for the first time in Black Lightning #3 in 1977. She was introduced to Jefferson as a new member of the faculty of the school where he taught, but he immediately knew who she was, and stormed away with an obvious flimsy excuse. We had no idea what was going on, but the brief scene lingered for a moment on Lynn. This was basically Lynn's role for a few issues, lingering in the background and creating an odd mystery as to just what had happened between these two, before she revealed to Principal Chapin that she was, in fact, Jefferson's EX-WIFE!?!?!!?!!?! WHAAAAAT?
Joking aside, this was actually kind of a big deal at the time. Not only was Black Lightning giving us the first ever black superhero to star in his own book, but we were seeing other types of relationships that never really came up in comics before. It became clear very quickly that she saw completely through his disguise, and while her total number of appearances was pretty low, she still presented us with a totally new take on a superhero's love interest. |
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Our Lynn Stewart StoryLike a lot of our timeline as it relates to Black Lightning, we're taking our cues from the 2009 miniseries Black Lightning: Year One by Jen Van Meter, which actually establishes that Jefferson and Lynn were still together, and in fact were already parents, when he first put on the costume. Later versions of Black Lightning are largely defined by his status as a father, and leader of his community, so it really works to begin the series with him surrounded by family.
The series also introduces a very interesting idea as to the nature of their separation: it suggests that it was actually a choice they made to keep the family safe, and was, in fact, staged. I like this a lot, but I also don't want to completely abandon the idea that they are in fact truly separated; it just feels like such a rarity to have a couple that ends their marriage but still remain amicable co-parents. His decision to keep being Black Lightning even after the fall of Tobias Whale seems like an ideal catalyst for that. I also really love the idea that she's a highly sought-after attorney. Lynn is absolutely great. |