Jefferson "Jeff" Pierce aka Black Lightning is one of the frontline heroes of the Arrowverse. A teacher by profession, Jefferson leads a double-life that sees him also fighting crime thanks to his ability to harness and manipulate electricity. Jefferson is also an activist in his hometown of Freeland thus earning the nickname "Black Jesus."
Though not as popular as other CW Arrowverse shows focussing on traditionally popular superheroes, Black Lightning has been well received by critics. It currently has a score of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. But in as much as the main character is intriguing, there are ways in which he has gotten worse. Here are some of them
Bias And Selfishness
Early on in the first season, Jefferson Pierce was unwilling to become Black Lightning once again and use his powers even when his town Freeland was being overrun by criminal elements—specifically the 100 street gang headed by Tobias. Even when racist cops harassed him, he still wouldn't use his powers.
However, when his daughter Jennifer gets captured by the 100 gangs, Jefferson suddenly became all-too-willing to use his powers to save them. Basically, all other lives in Freeland didn't matter except those of his family. Even when LaWanda's daughter was taken, he still resisted using his powers.
Too Much Trust
Jefferson has a habit of trusting people too much. When he and his family were approached by the villainous A.S.A. agent Odell, he didn't offer much of a resistance. Odell told them that he knew their true identities and made it look like he only wanted them to help the A.S.A. However, Odell only wanted to use them for his own selfish schemes.
Jefferson was placed in the Pit for 37 long days while the Markovians continued to turn Freeland into a damaged city. Jefferson also allowed himself to be experimented on when he had the power to do something about it.
Crisis On Infinite Earths
Jefferson is quite ive at times. For example, he really didn't do much after he was recruited by Pariah to assist the other Arrowverse heroes in putting an end to the anti-matter cannon. Instead, the Anti-Monitor managed to erase Jefferson's Earth.
Luckily, Jefferson and his family were bought back to life after Oliver Queen sacrificed himself in order to reboot the entire universe. Jefferson's Earth was thus merged with the other Earths to form "Earth-Prime." But in general, Jefferson was mostly a joyrider in the "League Of Heroes."
Inability To Defeat Villains
One thing that's worrying about Jefferson is that he never really defeats villains. Despite the fact that Tobias killed his father and has gone on to cause much damage in Freeland, Jefferson has never managed to put a stop to his activities.
Jefferson couldn't even punish Odell. It was Khalil who managed to do so. Then there was Gravedigger who Jefferson thought he had defeated only for him to appear in the final moments of the third season. As one of the Arrowverse's biggest heroes, it is surprising that Jefferson never really gets the job done
Absence During Crucial Times
One thing that's common among most superheroes is that they show up when their city is in trouble. No matter what they were doing, they always manage to show up, much to the euphoria of the citizens. That's why they are "heroes."
Sadly, the same can't be said of Black Lightning. Most of his battles with villains have occurred at times when there was no immediate threat to the citizens. It's cool that he adopts the "I'll deal with you later" mantra but it'll be lovely to see him stopping an ongoing attack for once.
Relationship With Lynn
Jefferson's relationship with Dr. Lynn Stewart has always been a complicated one. He has never quite managed to make her happy. When she wanted him to quit being Black Lightning, he did so despite the fact that this move would leave the people of Freeland in danger.
Lynn still divorced him before the two later reconciled. However, the arguments never ended. They have always disagreed on a number of issues and when she became addicted to Green Light, their relationship got worse. Jefferson has still refused to come up with a real solution like say... suggesting they see a marriage counselor?
Neglecting Jennifer And Favoring Anisa
Anisa (also known as Blackbird and Thunder) is clearly the more likable one of Jefferson's daughters. Unlike Jennifer, Anisa was never reluctant about helping her father after she discovered she had special abilities. However, Jefferson is openly biased towards her.
He has neglected Jennifer throughout the series run. The lack of guidance has caused her to make a series of questionable decisions. She always leaps first and looks later. She even allowed herself to be used as a weapon by Odell.
Demotion
At the start of the series, Jefferson was the well-liked principal of Garfield High School. He considered his school heaven in the hell that was Freeland. He even won a"Principal of the Year" accolade which could be seen on the trophy case at Garfield High School.
Sadly, after being absent when The 100 attacked the school, Jefferson was demoted to a junior teacher. This left Garfield at the hands of a harsh principal who was hated by students. Jefferson never even fought for his position. He simply accepted the new turn of events.
No Killing Policy
Like Batman, Black Lightning is totally against killing. Ironically, he has gone on to create perfect conditions for other people to kill when it suits him. For example, Jefferson offered Malik a mentorship program at Garfield High and when Malik came, their session was cut short by the raiding A.S.A. agents.
They threatened Jefferson's life so as to make Gambi reveal Black Lightning's true identity. Jefferson then used his powers to create a power outage that would make it possible for Gambi to kill the A.S.A. agents. Jefferson clearly wasn't against people getting killed when his identity was on the line.
Feud With Gambi
Jefferson wouldn't be the man he is without Gambi. When he was young, it was Gambi who found him unconscious after a protest and decided to raise him. At that time, Jefferson's dad had been killed by Tobias publishing an article about him. Gambi would later build a suit for Jefferson and help him harness his powers.
But when Lynn tried to turn Jefferson against Gambi by claiming he didn't tell them everything he should have, Jefferson almost destroyed his relationship with Gambi. After Gambi revealed his role in Jefferson's powers and his true name (Esposito), Jefferson threatened him and told him to stay away from his family.