you probably remember static shock like this
i better get frequent flyer miles for this rather than remember him for this
that's right like most other superheroes static was a comic and then through the vast rich
history of the character itself and milestone comics the rise of a new character in the 90s
that got so popular that dc started fully embracing the character within
the fast rising popularity of static dc has to decide where does static fit in
so about a year ago i made the same static shock video you're watching right now i wanted to rework
a few things with the edit and since some information actually has been updated based
on said info from last year i figured adding some new 2021 info about static shock in here as well
would be a bit fun okay back to 2020 jordan there are two very different versions of this
iconic character for me static was this awesome animated tv show from my childhood the character
was so cool and made me wish that i was able to stand up and make a difference in my hometown
you know just without all the uh superhero parts like i'm just gonna go out there and
punch someone for no reason no i i like help old lady across the street
recycle but this iteration of static isn't the only version in fact this isn't even the original
iteration either static actually was first a comic book series in the 90s that dealt with
a lot more adult more cultural and more impactful themes ain't that right comic drake so static is a
character that comes from milestone comics they're a company that had an exclusive publishing deal
with dc and they focused more on african-american characters since the mainstream superhero industry
really didn't have all that many and even though their superman parallel icon could be considered
to be the face of milestone static ended up being way more popular and ended up getting that spot
for himself static was such a unique character even though he was touted as a spider-man-like
hero due to him having some similarities he still stood tall above a lot of others for
me carving his own right not to just be compared to spider-man i also love the character of virgil
hawkins not him just as his superhero persona static virgil himself is a very smart kind and
caring kid navigating high school dealing with stuff the average everyday teenager would have
to be dealing with at that time and on top of that outside of school having to grow up without his
mother and listen to his dad who wants to make sure he focuses on his education and never ends
up being involved with any gangs the show never shied away from jumping into deeper topics of race
class and experiences that not everyone can relate to but was important to educate yourself on and in
the early 2000s there weren't many shows focusing on bringing these stories these ideas all to light
and i'm glad i was able to grow up with a show like this now the show obviously was toned down
compared to the comics because the show was made for a kid audience and to connect static to the
broader dcau or the dc animated universe from 1992 to 2006 this 14-year span saw the coolest
of crossover series starting with batman the animated series then superman the animated series
and then lots more batman of course the new batman adventures batman beyond and skipping ahead ending
with justice league unlimited but smack dab in the middle was a show that captured my attention over
most others and yes that was static shock his involvement was great how they used him as both
being this big important hero but also keeping him as this protector of dakota city and all of these
shows would cross over into each other i mean look how many crossovers happen in static shock alone
oh wait is is that shaq they even got steel himself in this and little romeo
romeo neat the show lasted for four seasons ultimately ending its animated run in 2004. but
let's talk about the origins of the character starting with the show and in the show virgil
gets mixed up in this sketchy situation with some gang bangers leading to a big
fight in a chemical storage facility yeah that is a lot for a kid who is just going to school
but the police come in and start tear gassing the area and a series of chemical explosions
went off affecting a large area dubbed the big bang and that's just a theory
ow anyone affected by these chemical explosions started to develop weird and unique powers they
were known as the bang babies and virgil himself wakes up to find that he's staticky okay to be
more specific electromagnetism so the static in the original comics is a little bit different from
his cartoon counterpart like he was anti-semitic although he did learn his lesson at the end of
the issue but what fascinates me the most is the reason that virgil was at the big bang in
the first place was because he got a gun and was trying to shoot his high school bully in revenge
and the explosion happens he got his powers and yeah i don't remember that in the original cartoon
oh man since then static has become the most popular character that milestone has
ever created and one thing that i really like is that they really focus on virgil's intelligence
as he has to find a lot of unique ways to defeat his enemies it's something that you really don't
see all that often in characters especially black characters so we have two different but similar
origins as well as an interesting lineage of crossovers throughout the show and the comics
it was honestly amazing to see such an awesome character like static be a part of some big
experiences with other iconic superheroes i love that as the show went on we get to see virgil's
best friend richie not only being involved as the gadget man to help out behind the scenes
for static but later on to join him as overtime exposure from the chemical blast in the big bang
gave him the super intelligence allowing him to create his own superhero gear to help him fight
and call himself gear but what does the future hold for static shock well in the case of the
show's universe he becomes one of earth's greatest heroes and is a part of the justice league in the
season 4 premiere episode future shock static in this episode is taken to the future to help
the future batman aka terry mcginnis aka batman beyond as they race to rescue the future adult
version of static it was story lines like this that helped set static shock apart from other
similar superhero shows it played around in so many other shows story lines that it felt like
it was a look behind the curtain of what else is happening in this universe and how static plays
a bigger role in it all than let on and that's how static was actually fitting into this big
puzzle he may not be the character that you're looking at at the justice league our
assembly but the role he plays is much more important than what you see on the surface
static has proved himself smart useful and a valuable member of any team he's on or even if
he just needs to handle a situation in dakota by himself so like the cherry on top of a milkshake
static actually feels like he's completing the full package here he can weave in and out of all
these different heroes story lines or even his own and can compliment anything going on there's no
wonder why this character blew up for milestone and how popular he once was and well still is
even if we don't see him around as often as of late additionally static was at the forefront
of the milestone dc crossover and when the two universes ended up actually fusing together later
on down the road they brought him into the teen titans and of course you know this kind of led
into where we saw him in the young justice cartoon he's really become a big part of the dc universe
and then he just went away we did get to see a static solo series when the dc universe
rebooted with the new 52 but that was pretty short-lived and he was gone pretty soon after
however the milestone universe is going to get its own reboot in 2021 and i imagine that static
is going to be at the forefront of all of that so thankfully there's a lot to look forward to 2021
jordan back again so that milestone revival well yeah it happened earlier this year in june the
new static comic series came out and funny enough comic drake from this exact video has some content
related to it if you'd like to check it out it's set to be a six issue series and it sets itself
as a new reintroduction to who static or virgil is as far as static and any other medium outside of
the comics there really hasn't been anything and something i found surprising is actually the video
games there is a substantial lack of static shock video games when you think of popular cartoons or
comic book characters you think oh there's probably a few games for that and yeah there
is literally a few games and that's exaggerating a bit the one true game is the game boy advance game
which is fine it's nothing too crazy it's pretty cool you know take static shock on the go why is
it always midway you can also take him on the go in the mobile version of injustice gods among us
and hey if that's your thing well congratulations i guess and then of course there's an old browser
flash game of static and it's it's something to waste some time with back in the day so there
wasn't a lot of static shock video games out there weird thanks to a recent dc event this year called
dc fandom filmmaker reginald hudlin confirmed to fans of static shock that right now there have
been serious conversations regarding a live-action static shock movie going on to say when we spoke
to jim about reviving the milestone line we said look we all know this has been a hit comic book
and a hit animated series it's time to expand back into all those areas and then some so we're in
serious conversations about developing the static shock movie that will be a theatrical feature
film i think my heart just stopped well the future does seem to be looking pretty bright for such an
awesome character who i hold dear to my childhood and while re-watching the show and starting to
really dig deeper into the comics i found myself re-falling in love with the series of static shock
the same way i did growing up and i cannot wait well i i have to wait but i'm really excited
i'm still waiting i want to give a huge thank you to comic drake for coming on the show i appreciate
it thanks a lot for having me i really enjoy talking about comics which is exactly what i do on
my channel comic drake plug plug plug if you like comic books well i'm your guy like and subscribe
please go over and check out his never-ending comic book wisdom links to his channel are down
below in the description this was a shockingly fun video to make i hope you guys did enjoy it
please hit that like button hit subscribe i'll catch you in the next video until then bye-bye
i got the power of village