November 15, 2018

NERDS OF PREY EXCLUSIVE: Getting Some (Pain)Killer Insight from Black Lightning’s Jordan Calloway!

With Jordan Calloway being upped to a series regular, we are delighted to dive more into Painkiller’s backstory on Black Lightning season 2. Nerds of Prey was on hand to get the scoop from Jordan himself about Khalil/Painkiller’s evolving relationship with Tobias Whale, his love for Jennifer and more!

This season we get to see the distinct transformation from Khalil to Painkiller, so will Painkiller get upgraded gauntlets this season? “Not too much of an upgrade. The upgrades this season will be more within him as an individual.” Jordan says.

And does Jennifer have anything to do with those changes? Will they be honest with each other about the secrets they’ve both been keeping? According to Jordan, in season 2, secrets are still heavily at play for these two. “Khalil has a heart of love and protection. Jennifer is just trying to figure herself out. Both of them are starting this season with identity crisis issues. They’re high schoolers. They are going through the teen angst. Except now you’re going to go ahead and throw in special abilities into that. That’s a whole other world.”

*Pictured (L-R): Jordan Calloway as Khalil/Painkiller and China Anne McClain as Jennifer — Photo: Bob Mahoney/The CW*

How do the two differ when it comes to managing these newfound abilities? “Here you have Jennifer, where she doesn’t even understand her powers. She doesn’t even understand what she’s capable of. She just sees the reaction of that, which is destruction which hurts people. Whereas with Khalil, he’s realizing these special abilities, he’s reacting with rage and it’s damaging other people.” So will they fully be a couple again this season? “The thing about it is that they both fight against their hearts desire for one another. And for my character, for Khalil, Jennifer is his grounding, his rock, his North Star, but she’s mad at him. She’s not talking to him. I mean that’s the love of his life. He can’t keep going on without knowing that they are on good terms at least. He may love her, he may want to be with her, but at the end of the day, he just wants her to be okay. You know?” He teases, “But he’s going to fight back for Jennifer. He’s not going to quit. He’s not going to give up. Like I said, that’s his foundation.”

With Tobias pulling all of the strings, will Khalil/Painkiller ever get a chance to choose his own path? Jordan assures us: “Tobias, his reach and his influence on Khalil’s life is only as much as Khalil allows.”

While this sounds like Khalil has all the control, don’t be fooled, he is very much still indebted to Tobias. “I owe this man everything because this man gave me back everything.” Tobias doesn’t let go easily. “Because, this is thing that he fought against, as you saw in season one. He came from this, he’s seen this. He’s lived the life that rappers rap about. Yet he’s found himself falling into that now because of that choice and trusting Tobias.”

So does Khalil fight back against Tobias? Will we see them go head to head this season? “You will see Khalil trying to fight against influence. You will see Khalil torn about getting out. He’s looking. He’s trying to navigate through the influences of Tobias, and of Cyanide. He knows it ain’t safe.”

With Tobias being his example, so to speak, will Painkiller cross the line and start to intentionally kill for Tobias? “ Khalil’s been pushed but he hasn’t gone past that threshold yet.” Is there a chance that Khalil turn to Black Lightning for help with his Tobias problem? “ Well Jefferson Pierce was the most influential man in his life. We have this young man that, like we said before, the one he thought was going to be his savior and save him, not so much. And now he’s realizing the consequences of his actions. And in that he has to work through that. But he doesn’t necessarily see Black Lightning as the hero for him. He might be the hero for other people, but he doesn’t see him being that same hero for him because, where was Black Lightning… when he needed him? A lot of that also has to do with why Tobias has such a heavy as well.”

*Pictured: Jordan Calloway as Khalil/Painkiller — Photo: Bob Mahoney/The CW*

So if Black Lightning isn’t an ally, is there potential for another run in between them? Jordan teases: “There is a possibility that Black Lightning and Painkiller may have an encounter. Maybe somebody oversteps bounds … You all saw season one, you all saw what happened to Black Lightning when he stepped up to Painkiller. I’m just sayin’.”

So when season two ends, what is Jordan’s ideal ending for Painkiller? “How about this: Painkiller becomes his own entity. If they fall into the canon of who Painkiller is. Again his only ties to his world are his mother, Jenn, and his father. So either one or two of them go. And we can’t lose one.”

Hmmm, interesting. Guess we have to see just how deep Into the comic lore Black Lightning goes with Painkiller in Season 2. Watch new episodes every Tuesday after The Flash, only on the CW!