Thunder and Lightning are a duo of superpowered brothers published by DC Comics that had encounters with the Teen Titans.

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 are separated via magic. As children, they manifest superpowers, but possess little control over them and will burn themselves out without regular transfusions of their father's blood. Thunder and Lightning battle the Teen Titans while seeking a permanent cure for their condition. Raven discovers that Williams is a centuries-old alien and is currently being held prisoner by H.I.V.E.. They mind-control Williams to battle the Teen Titans, who are forced to kill him. However, S.T.A.R. Labs employees use Williams' blood to create a cure. Subsequently, Thunder and Lightning become allies of the Teen Titans. In Salvation Run, Lex Luthor uses the two as power sources for his teleporter, and they are seemingly killed when it self-destructs. In September 2011, The New 52 reboots DC's continuity. Thunder and Lightning (renamed Alexei and Alya) are reintroduced as part 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

An unrelated Thunder and Lightning appear in Superman #303 (September 1976), and were created by Elliot S. Maggin and Curt Swan. They are androids created by the supervillain Whirlicane.

In other media