Thunder and Lightning (comics)

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Caption	Thunder (left) and Lightning (right) as depicted in Who's Who: The Definitive Directory of the DC Universe #23 (January 1987).
Character Name	Thunder and Lightning
Real Name	Gan and Tavis Williams
Publisher	DC Comics
Debut	New Teen Titans #32 (1983)
Creators	Marv Wolfman George Pérez
Alliances	Teen Titans
Powers	Electrokinesis Psychic link

Publication history

Thunder and Lightning first appeared in New Teen Titans #32 and was created by Marv Wolfman and George Pérez.

Fictional character biography

Gan and Tavis Williams are twin brothers and the sons of an unnamed Vietnamese woman and American soldier Walter Williams. Originally conjoined twins, they were separated with magic. As children, the two manifest superpowers, but are unable to control them and quickly burn themselves out without regular infusions of their father's blood. They take the aliases Thunder and Lightning, respectively, and set off to America to search for their father. The two cause major disturbances in St. Louis and engage in battle against the Teen Titans. After their motives are revealed, the Titans decided to help the pair.

Months later, the Teen Titans and S.T.A.R. Labs are working on a cure for Thunder and Lightning's powers. At the same time, Raven discovers that Walter Williams is an alien and has been captured by H.I.V.E. When the Titans locate Walter, H.I.V.E. controls Walter's mind and forces him to attack Thunder and Lightning, who kill him. S.T.A.R. Labs takes blood from Walter's body and uses it to create a cure that allows Thunder and Lightning to control their powers. Thunder and Lightning relocate to San Francisco, where they work as security guards at S.T.A.R. Labs.

During the Salvation Run storyline, Thunder and Lightning are seen as prisoners on the planet Cygnus 4019. When they give food to Martian Manhunter, he asks why they are on the planet. Thunder and Lightning offer to help Martian Manhunter, but are attacked by Bane. Lex Luthor keeps the two alive and uses them as power sources for his teleporter device. Thunder and Lightning are seemingly killed when the teleporter self-destructs.

In The New 52 continuity reboot, Thunder and Lightning (renamed Alexei and Alya) are reintroduced as members of the Ravagers.

Powers and abilities

Thunder and Lightning are able to control their namesakes and possess a psychic link that allows them to communicate with each other.

Other versions

In other media

• Thunder and Lightning appear in Teen Titans, voiced by S. Scott Bullock and Quinton Flynn respectively. This version of the two wear samurai-like armor and initially disregard the safety of others in pursuit of fun. Additionally, they are both capable of flight, with Thunder conjuring a cloud-like platform while Lightning can transmute his lower body into a lightning bolt. Introduced in the episode "Forces of Nature", Thunder and Lightning clash with the Teen Titans, during which Beast Boy convinces Thunder to see the error of his ways. Slade tricks Thunder and Lightning into creating a fire monster to attack Jump City, but Thunder convinces Lightning to reform as well and they create a rain storm to stop the monster. In the fifth season, Thunder and Lightning appear as honorary members of the Teen Titans.
• The Teen Titans animated series incarnations of Thunder and Lightning appear in Teen Titans Go!.

References

• Cowsill, Alan, Irvine, Alex, Korte, Steve, Manning, Matt, Wiacek, Win, Wilson, Sven, The DC Comics Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Characters of the DC Universe, 2016, DK Publishing
• Misiroglu, Gina, The Supervillain Book: The Evil Side of Comics and Hollywood, Eury, Michael, August 6, 2006, Omnigraphics, Inc., Thunder and Lightning, telepathically linked Vietnamese-American brothers Gan and Tavis with unmanageable weather powers, stormed into the Teen Titans' lives in the early 1980s, and in the 2000s were seen on the Titans' animated TV show.
• June 1983, The New Teen Titans, Thunder and Lightning!, 32, 1, DC Comics, Wolfman, Marv, Pérez, George, Tanghal, Romeo, Roy, Adrienne
• November 1983, The New Teen Titans, Feedback!, 36, 1, DC Comics, Wolfman, Marv, Pollard, Keith, Tanghal, Romeo, Roy, Adrienne
• November 1987, Teen Titans Spotlight, Second Thoughts, 16, 1, DC Comics, Isabella, Jenny Blake, Patton, Chuck, Vey, Al, Eiber, Shelley
• June 2008, Salvation Run, Burning Down The World, 6, 1, DC Comics, Sturges, Lilah, Chen, Sean, Wong, Walden, Kalisz, John
• July 2008, Salvation Run, We Gotta Get Out of this Planet, 7, 1, DC Comics, Sturges, Lilah, Chen, Sean, Wong, Walden; Faucher, Wayne, Kalisz, John, ; Chu, Tom S.
• July 2012, Ravagers, Children of Destiny, 1, 1, DC Comics, Mackie, Howard, Churchill, Ian, Rapmund, Norm, ; Churchill, Ian, Sollazzo, Alex
• Salvatore, Brian, June 1, 2012, Review: The Ravagers #1, live, June 7, 2012, October 24, 2025, Multiversity Comics, en, Thunder and Lightning, sibling captured by N.O.W.H.E.R.E., show inescapable signs of Post-Traumatic-Stress-Disorder. Their moral compasses are askew, loyalties in question, and allegiance is to each other and no one else.
• Meylikhov, Matthew, February 23, 2012, DC Dyes Beast Boy, Drops The Boob Window And More For May, October 24, 2025, Multiversity Comics, en, Spinning out of Scott Lobdell's work on Superboy, the Ravagers will see release on May 30th by Howard Mackie and Ian Churchill, with a line-up consisting of "Caitlin Fairchild, a brother and sister named Thunder and Lightning, the "monstrous" Ridge, a red Beast Boy and a new version of Terra" (as revealed in an interview at Newsarama).
• September 1976, Superman, When Lightning Strikes... Thunder Kills!, 303, 1, DC Comics, Conway, Gerry, Swan, Curt, Oksner, Bob
• Thunder Voice - , Teen Titans, (TV Show), July 19, 2024, Behind The Voice Actors
• Lightning Voice - , Teen Titans, (TV Show), July 19, 2024, Behind The Voice Actors
• Teen Titans Go!, #6 - Storm (Issue), July 19, 2024, Comic Vine, en

External links

• Thunder and Lightning at Titans Tower