BLACK LIGHTNING Casts Chantal Thuy as Grace Choi

Are the Outsiders coming to The CW?

Variety has revealed that the upcoming CW series Black Lightning, based on the DC Comics character, has cast Chantal Thuy as DC Comics superhero Grace Choi.  The role will be recurring.

According to the article, Grace Choi is described as "a bartender who becomes the love interest of Anissa Pierce (Nafessa Williams).  Grace is a comic book fan who befriends Anissa while she is coming to terms with her abilities and becomes Anissa’s first confidant about the struggles and challenges of having abilities."

Thuy is a Canadian actress who has appeared in episodes of Madam Secretary, Pretty Little Liars, Matador, and Fast Food Heights.  She also appeared as Kim Wong in the TV miniseries Crossing the Rubicon: The Journey.

Created in 2003 by Judd Winick and Tom Raney, Grace Choi first appeared in Outsiders (vol.3) #1 as the daughter of a Bana Amazon, which accounted for her strength and resilience.  Headstrong and opinionated, Grace was one of the surviving victims of a prostitution ring that exploited abducted and runaway children as its "merchandise".  Upon reaching puberty, Grace used her emerging metahuman powers to escape, and spent the next several years living independently.

Grace became the bouncer for the metahuman nightclub Chaney's in Metropolis, where Arsenal recruited her for the newly-formed Outsiders.  Despite being old friends with Arsenal, she wasn't very keen on joining until he told her the Outsiders job would pay her three times more than her bouncer job.  Her relationship with the other Outsiders was a difficult one from the start, with her constant chastising of the others, most notably the android Indigo.  She continually questioned the team's effectiveness and their role as superheroes, which caused her to be on the outs with leader Nightwing at times.  Her casual attitudes towards sexuality also led to insults by others, most notably Thunder/Annisa Pierce.  Nonetheless, she earned the group's respect and in return respected each of the other members' capabilities, sometimes even pushing them farther than they thought they could go.

One year later, it was revealed that Grace had entered into a romantic relationship with Thunder.  Following the apparent death of Bruce Wayne, the Outsiders fell into a trap set by Simon Hurt, and most of the team members were severely injured.  The group disbanded shortly thereafter, and was replaced by a new team of Outsiders.  Many months after her departure from the Outsiders, Grace was shown in a live-in relationship with Anissa, with both women now in a state of semi-retirement following Anissa's recovery.  When Black Lightning arrived at Grace and Anissa's apartment with his small band of fugitive heroes, Grace came to his aid and helped fight off the attacking members of the Justice Society of America.  In the ensuing battle, Grace rendered Stargirl and Mister America unconscious, telling them not to threaten her "in-law".  After the battle with the JSA, both Grace and Thunder agreed to join up with Black Lightning's small team of Outsiders, who were tasked by Amanda Waller with capturing Geo-Force and his rogue faction of the team in Markovia.  Following a massive battle, both teams of Outsiders were disbanded by Batman, and the individual heroes returned home.

Black Lightning is expected to debut on The CW sometime in early 2018.