'Black Lightning' Season 3's Painkiller is a supersoldier on par with Marvel's Winter Soldier and could prove to be Odell's downfall
'Black Lightning' Season 3's second episode revealed that Khalil Payne / Painkiller (Jordan Calloway) is still alive and working for the A.S.A as an assassin. Unfortunately, this is not the Khalil we all know and love. In fact, he's basically had his mind wiped clean and he's being controlled by Agent Odell (Bill Duke) using a brain chip.
Though Painkiller may have lost his humanity it has only made him even more deadly as a weapon. We saw how merciless he can be in Episode 2 when he killed his own mother on Odell's orders and in Episode 3, we get some more information on Painkiller's true capabilities.
The new Painkiller has trained himself in 23 different martial arts styles and he's more than capable of taking on entire armies on his own. He can now kill with a touch and he also reveals that his martial arts training has given him the ability to break bones and even stop someone's heart with just a single blow.
He's also received an extensive education in classical literature, world history, and different military tactics and he doesn't seem to care which historical figures he draws inspiration from. In the episode, we see him quote Pol Pot to the A.S.A's computer and he seems completely unfazed when the A.I. points out that he's quoting a man who committed genocide.
Any man who's deadly enough to scare a computer is clearly a force to be reckoned with and his new upgrades make Painkiller a supersoldier on par with characters like Marvel's Winter Soldier and DC's own Deathstroke. What makes him even more deadly than other assassins like him is the fact that there is nothing of his previous identity left in Painkiller anymore, only a cold-blooded desire to kill.
The A.S.A's mind control chip is currently keeping Painkiller firmly under Agent Odell's thumb but that could change as the season progresses. The technology that's being used to control him is largely untested and if the real Khalil were to regain control, he could potentially rip the A.S.A apart with his bare hands.
Odell might believe that he has a loyal attack dog in Painkiller but he's going to have to be very careful not to allow complacency to set in. All it would take is the slightest bit of leeway and Odell's greatest weapon could lead to his own doom.
'Black Lightning' Season 3 Episode 4 will air on The CW October 28.