Static Shock

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Static Shock

Virgil Hawkins goes into action as Static in a scene from Static Shock.
Genre Animated series
Running time 22 minutes
Creator(s) Dwayne McDuffie
Starring Phil LaMarr
Jason Marsden
Danica McKellar
Kevin Michael Richardson
Michele Morgan
Country of origin United States
Original channel The WB
Original run September 23, 2000–May 22, 2004
No. of episodes 52

Static Shock is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Television. It premiered in September 2000 on Kids WB, and ran for four seasons, with a total of 52 half-hour episodes. It was later picked up for rebroadcast by Cartoon Network, and aired on the Miguzi block, and now airs on on weekdays during the 6:00-6:30 a.m. timeslot.

Contents

[edit] Background

The basic characters and setting of Static Shock are drawn from the Static comic book series, and many of the episodes adapt story elements from the comic books. But, the series varies from that continuity in many details, including Static's costume and his friends. There are also elements drawn from other Milestone comic books, most notably Blood Syndicate, from which several of the "Bang Babies" are taken. Recurring adversary Edwin Alva is based on a character from Hardware, and the Freeman Community Center is named after one of the central characters of Icon.

Dwayne McDuffie, the founder of Milestone and Static's co-creator, retained a substantial amount of control over the series' plot and characterization, and wrote several episodes.

Early in the series, similarly to the comics, the setting was explicitly not in the DC Animated Universe (DCAU), and DC superheroes such as Superman were treated as fictional characters, most notably when Virgil once remarked that "even Clark Kent had a day job." However, it later featured guest appearances by characters from other DC animated series, including Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Justice League, establishing itself as part of the DCAU. An older version of Static was later featured in a two-part episode of Justice League Unlimited.

Other guest characters have included real-world individuals (voiced by themselves) such as basketball player Shaquille O'Neal, A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys, and recording artist Lil Romeo, who also performed the theme song used in the final two seasons of the show.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Hawkins family

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
  • Virgil Ovid Hawkins/Static Shock (voiced by Phil LaMarr) – The main character of the series, he is an African American high school student in the fictional city of Dakota. As a result of accidental exposure to an experimental mutagen in an event known as the Big Bang, he gained the ability to control and manipulate electromagnetism, and uses these powers to become a superhero named "Static." which was similiar differences the powers of American Dragon: Jake Long and Danny Phantom. Countless others who were also exposed gained a wide variety of mutations and abilities, and Static spends much of his time dealing with these "Bang Babies", many of whom use their abilities in selfish, harmful, and even criminal ways. He is named after the first African-American to go to law school (who was himself named for the Roman poets Virgil and Ovid).
  • Robert Hawkins (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) – A social worker who runs the Freeman Community Center as head counselor. A widower and the father of two teenagers (it should be noted that in the Static comics, Robert's wife, Jean, was alive and well; the idea to make Robert a widower was the brainchild of Kids' WB!, and creator Dwayne McDuffie fought to keep Jean alive on the show, to no avail), Robert is a caring, understanding, but strict parent. He dislikes gangs and the destructive attitudes of most Bang Babies, and his work at the community center is motivated by a desire to counteract their bad influence on young people. In the episode "Static Shaq", it is mentioned that Robert has also been in the Marines and a camp counselor. In the episode "Blast from the Past", Robert states that when he was a kid, he was a fan of Soul Power, and still is a fan. In the episode "Linked", it is revealed that Robert played football in college, and he was nicknamed "Streak." At first, Robert disliked Static, believing that Static would one day go bad; his open opinion about Static in the episode "Aftershock" left Virgil worried that the Big Bang might have aftereffects. Robert remained unaware of his son's secret identity through most of the series, although part of him had suspicions about Virgil's behavior. In the episode "Kidnapped", Robert acknowledged the truth that had been right under his nose: his son, Virgil, was Static. In the end, Robert keeps his son's superhero identity along with Richie/Gear's secret.
  • Sharon Hawkins (voiced by Michelle Morgan) – Virgil's older sister, a strong-willed, annoying, but caring young woman. Sharon attends college, but still lives at home. She also volunteers at a hospital, and counsels young people at the Freeman Community Center, like her father. Sharon has always been a big fan of Static. Although deep down she and her brother love each other, they frequently argue, challenge, and tease each other, mainly about things such as the household chores, his studying, and her cooking. Sharon has been dating Adam Evans AKA The Rubber-Band Man since the episode "Bent Out of Shape." In the episode "Brother-Sister Act", Sharon notices how similar Static and Virgil are, and tries to pin him down with proof of her suspicions, but is later convinced/tricked into thinking that her suspicions were wrong. At the end of the fourth season, Sharon continues to be in the dark about her brother's superhero secret.
  • Trina Jessup (voiced by Sheryl Lee Ralph) - Robert's new girlfriend, Trina is a policewoman at Dakota Police Department, she is like a second mother for Virgil and Sharon, even if the latter has no initial affinity towards her. She didn't discover that Virgil is Static, but indirectly she helps him and Gear solve the crimes around Dakota.

[edit] Other heroes

  • Richard "Richie" Osgood Foley/Gear (voiced by Jason Marsden) – Virgil's best friend and confidant. The first person to learn of Virgil's powers and a fan of superhero comics, Richie persuades Virgil to become a superhero. At first, he merely provides support for his friend, making gadgets for him and helping to cover for Virgil to protect his secret identity. In the third season, it is revealed that Richie is also a "Bang Baby"; his powers just took a longer time to come into effect as his exposure to the mutagen was secondhand. His power is super-intelligence, which enables him to invent rocket-powered boots and "Backpack", an intelligent multipurpose device he wears on his back capable of surveillance and other semi-independent activity. With this equipment, he adopts the superhero identity "Gear" and becomes Static's sidekick (though he prefers the term "partner"). Richie did not appear in the Static comics, but is an amalgam of two of Virgil's best friends in that series: Richard 'Rick' Stone (who was also blond and wore glasses) and Frieda Goren (with whom Virgil shared his secret identity as Static).
  • Adam Evans/Rubberband Man (voiced by Kadeem Hardison) – A living and stretching mass, Adam can reshape himself into anything. The alias he uses in one episode, "Stringer", is his real last name of his comic version, first used in Static #34. He was defeated by Static, and in the cartoon, subsequently reformed, occasionally helping out Static and the police, after doing his time in jail for taking vindictive actions against a record producer who stole his music and denied Adam the money and credit he was owed. It is public knowledge that Adam is the Rubberband Man. Adam is also a talented musician, and is currently dating Virgil's sister, Sharon. Rubberband Man's brother is Ebon; before the Big Bang, Adam use to roll with his brother's crew before he took a stock-clerk job at a music store called Stonegas Records; Adam describes himself as his music. In the episode "Where the Rubber Meets the Road", he is seen to have struggled through a reading disorder. The name "Adam Evans" is derived from the names of former Milestone writers Adam Blaustein and Yves Fezzani, who created the character.
  • Shenice Vale/She-Bang (voiced by Rosslynn Taylor Jordan) – A girl who was genetically engineered in a lab to have enhanced strength and agility, able to jump up buildings and leap from rooftop to rooftop. The two brilliant scientists who created her, Drs. Jonathan and Dolores Vale, fell in love with her and took her home from the lab; although Dolores didn't give birth to her, she and her husband created her and considered her their baby. Throughout her life, Shenice is pursued by agents from the lab who want to recapture her (her jaunts as Shebang proving that she's worth reclaiming and cloning). In her first appearance in the episode "She-Bang", she hopes to fit in and be mistaken as a Bang Baby in Dakota because it was frustrating for her to pretend to be a quiet wallflower of a girl. In her three appearances, she shows up Static and Gear nearly every time they face-off against rogue Meta-Humans; personality-wise, Shenice is not very modest or humble, her showing off as She-Bang tended to get on Static's nerves to the point where it caused tension on their always-shaky friendship.
  • Anansi the Spider (voiced by Carl Lumbly) – A superhero native to Ghana, and the greatest hero in West Africa. Anansi has the power to create visible, realistic illusions; people see what he wants them to see. He was granted this power by an ancient small golden spider. Anansi is named after the trickster spider of African folklore. In both his appearances, references to Marvel Comics' Spider-Man are subtly made, to which he good-naturedly replies "I get that a lot."
  • Morris Grant/Soul Power (voiced by Brock Peters) – An elderly superhero with powers similar to Static's; he now lives in a retirement home, but back in the 1960s, he protected Dakota from criminals. He gained his powers in an accident at Hoover Dam. He had a Batcave-like headquarters hidden underground in/near Dakota's rapid transit system called the Power Pad, and drove a car called the Soulmobile. Back then, he also had a sidekick, Sparky. He, Sparky, and Static teamed up in order to defeat Soul Power's greatest foe, Professor Menace. Soul Power was similar to the DC Comics superhero Black Lightning.
  • Phillip Rollins/Sparky (voiced by Rodney Saulsberry) – He was Soul Power's sidekick back in the 1960s but he is now a meteorologist. Rollins took on the guise of Sparky one more time in order to help Static and Soul Power fight Professor Menace. His powers were derived from a suit he originally invented and wore so he could be like his idol, Soul Power, and fight alongside him. He too is like Black Lightning and like Batman's sidekick, Robin.

[edit] Villains

  • Francis "F-Stop" Stone/Hot-Streak/Hotspot (voiced by Danny Cooksey) – A pyrokinetic Bang Baby and Static's first enemy, indirectly responsible for Virgil getting superpowers. He was a vicious bully who repeatedly tormented Virgil, and it was Virgil's desire to shoot him in the confusion of the Big Bang (Hot-Streak was the leader of one of the gangs) that led to Virgil's exposure to the mutagenic effects that gave him his powers. After being picked up by the police at the docks after the Big Bang, Hot-Streak and the other gang-bangers were taken to the hospital. The next day, he developed a high fever, burst into flames, and blasted out of the hospital. Hot-Streak was arrested but went back to school on parole, though his anger management lessons proved ineffective. Later, Hot-Streak and other bang babies discovered that they had been exposed to the cure for the mutagen, and were reverting to normal. In an effort to retain their powers, Hot-Streak and Ebon planned to steal what was left of the gas that was used in making the cure, but they ended up fused together and were presumably stopped by Static.
  • Ivan Evans/Ebon (voiced by Gary Sturgis) – One of Static's most persistent adversaries. A mass of living shadow, Ebon called himself "the master of shadows and darkness", with the ability to use shadows to his liking: he could slide on wall surfaces, go under doors, and through cracks. He could also become an interdimensional shadow portal, able to take others with him (similar to the Shadow Cabinet comics, which only worked in total darkness). Ebon was weakened by intense bright light. The leader of the Meta-Breed gang, he had a personal grudge against Static for foiling so many of his plans. Ebon had also worked with Hot-Streak and Madelyn Spaulding. He also got his powers from the Big Bang. Ebon's real name is Ivan Evans, and he is the older brother of Adam Evans, the Rubber-Band Man.
  • Teresa/Talon (voiced by Tia Texada) – A teenage girl who was transformed into a half-human/half-avian creature and is bitter about it. Talon was covered in orange feathers, had claws and talons, and could fly; plus, she could emit a destructive hyper-sonic shriek from her mouth, like a harpy. She was a member of the Meta-Breed, and a frequent opponent of Static. Talon was restored to normal by a cure made by scientists from Big Bang gas; she agreed to help Static and Gear stop Ebon from becoming a metahuman again. At the hospital, Talon told Static and Gear that Ebon was using the Big Bang gas to create the Bang Babies again. One night at the hospital, Teresa got kidnapped by Ebon, who took her to the docks, but she was saved from being altered again by Static and Gear.
  • Shiv (voiced by Brian Tochi) – He is the jokester in the Meta-Breed. Can generate "light energy", which he could blast at opponents, and fashion into weapons which he could hold, throw, or fashion around his arms and hands. Shiv was returned to normal at the end of the series.
  • Carmen-Dillo (voiced by Matt Ballard and Jason Marsden) – A human mutated into an armadillo-like form similar to Armadillo, Carmen-Dillo possessed a bulletproof hide and could be launched like a projectile. He lived in garbage cans and stole food. At one point, Carmen-Dillo was accompanied by a dog-like Bang Baby (similar to the Blood Syndicate character Dogg). Carmen-Dillo had worked with the Meta-Breed and the Meta-Men, but mostly operated by himself, serving pretty much as a comic relief. In every episode he appeared, he only acts at the beginning and is quickly defeated properly, sometimes without interfering with the central plot.
  • Specs and Trapper (voiced by Patton Oswalt and Michael Rosenbaum) – Two young geniuses funded by Edwin Alva to capture Static for study. As upper-class students at the Vanmoor Charter School for Science, they use Virgil (then a student) to build equipment for monitoring and tracking Static. After their attempts to capture Static fail, Alva fires them; they returns several times to attempt revenge on both Alva and Static.
  • Edwin Alva Jr./Omnifarious (voiced by Matt Ballard) – The son of Edwin Alva, he uses stolen Big Bang mutagen gas to give himself a variety of temporary metahuman powers and called himself "Omnifarious." Alva, Jr. combined all the samples of his altered/refined mutagenic gas, intending to use all those powers to destroy the main Alva Industries building, but instead turned into stone. He was the first villain to learn Static's real identity. His father later restored him to normal with the help of Static, Gear, and Hot-Streak.
  • Slip-Stream (voiced by Bumper Robinson) – Also called "Heavy-C", he could generate powerful winds and twisters to keep himself and items aloft in mid-air, and used this ability for theft. Slip-Stream was eventually returned to normal.
  • Puff (voiced by Kimberly Brooks) – Although she was a mass of living gases, Puff was a bounty hunter capable of retaining her normal form or turning fully gaseous. She could blast gas from her hands, dissolve objects with acidic breath, or exhale knock-out gas.
  • Onyx (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) – A young man made of living stone, with strength and durability. He was Puff's partner, generally following her orders.
  • Johnny Morrow/Replay (voiced by Neil Patrick Harris) – A former child actor who used his ability to generate energy clones to commit crimes. He created a clone of Static which got the real Static in trouble with the police. These clones vanished when Static shocked Replay. The character was based on Reprise, a superhuman mercenary from the comic book series Hardware.
  • Byron Reginalds/Boom (voiced by Rickey D'Shon Collins) – Real name Byron Reginalds, though his last name is speculated to be so. He has the ability to generate and direct high-decibel sound from a speaker on his chest, strong enough to shatter targets to dust. His younger sister is Mirage, and they live with their grandmother following their parents' death. Boom bullied and dragged his sister along for the ride as his back-up, stealing money to get them a better place to live than his grandmother's old apartment. He became greedy, and was captured by Static with help from his sister. Boom was eventually returned to normal. The character was based on Boom-Box, a spurned rapper from the original Static comic book series.
  • Hyde (voiced by Tone Lōc) – He was featured only in the episode "Static Shaq", and led a Bang Baby gang called the Ruff-Pack. Hyde is physically mutated with thick folded skin, making him tougher and stronger (like the Rhino from Marvel Comics' Spider-Man). He managed to grab a piece of Static's coat, had Ferrett track down Static for some payback for foiling his moves, and nearly discovered his identity. The character is entirely based on The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.
  • Ferrett (voiced by Chick Vennera) – First seen in the episode "Static Shaq" and once a member of the Ruff-Pack, Ferrett was physically mutated: his jaw stuck out and he had an enhanced sense of smell and taste; he was always thinking of food. The Joker attempted unsuccessfully to recruit him into a gang of Meta-Humans he was forming. Ferrett was returned to normal.
  • Kangorr (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson) – Also first seen in "Static Shaq" and once a member of the Ruff-Pack, he was physically mutated; the bone and muscle mass in his legs had increased. With these, Kangorr had super-developed legs; as such, he could stomp through the ground or floors, and leap great distances. After the Ruff-Pack, he was in the Joker's Bang Baby gang, then joined the Meta-Breed, having known Ebon before the Big Bang. Kangorr was returned to normal. He spoke with a Jamaican accent, and was the straight man of the group.
  • Aqua-Maria (voiced by Erika Velez and Yeni Alvarez) – A Latina girl transformed into living water by the Big Bang. Aqua-Maria shorted out Static, but was captured by Rubber-Band Man. She was broken out of jail by Ebon, but Static stopped her using electrolysis. Aqua-Maria later teamed up with Hot-Streak, but was frozen by Static and Gear. Later, a team of scientists offered her the chance to be the first to try their antidote for the Big Bang mutagen, and despite an attempt by Hot-Streak to sabotage the treatment, Aqua-Maria was eventually returned to normal. She was based on a character from Blood Syndicate.
  • Madelyn Spaulding/Unipsycho (voiced by Kimberly Brooks) – Had the ability of mind control, which she used to win the election for Class President, but when she tried to take control of Virgil's mind, he shocked her, and she was expelled. Her abilities were later altered as she developed telekinetic powers (possibly as a result of the shock she received from Static). Madelyn donned a multi-colored outfit and broke Ebon, Talon, and Hot-Streak out of jail. She was the second villain to learn Static's real identity, but the shock he gave her resulted in amnesia, and she forgot, leaving Virgil again in the clear.
  • Rag-Tag (voiced by Richard Libertini) – An old homeless man who was in an alley near the docks during the Big Bang, Rag-Tag had the power to grant superpowers to normal people and to remove them. He tried to completely drain Static's powers and was hit back by Richie. While chasing Richie around the rooftop he lived on, Rag-Tag fell off the rooftop and into a dumpster.
  • Run and Jump (voiced by Philip Tanzini and Kenny Blank) – This pair were given their powers by Ragtag. Run had super-speed, and Jump had teleportation. They stole valuables for Ragtag in exchange for their powers, and continued to steal for more recharges.
  • Marvin Roper/Replikon (voiced by Coolio) – He is a metamorph, allowing him to transform into anyone but will always be their mirror image), or to change his atomic structure into any organic or inorganic compound (similar to the morphing prowess of Marvel Comics villainess Mystique). Replikon wanted to write music, but his music was terrible, so he tried to ruin Adam Evans' music career by kidnapping and imitating A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys to steal a music deal.
  • Brandon Willers/Starburst (voiced by David Faustino) – Used his background knowledge in physics to build tools to absorb energy attacks to ruin a show produced by his boss because the man would not read his screenplay. Static and Gear figured out that he was not a Bang Baby, and cut off his power supply.
  • Dennis Dhuron/Professor Menace (voiced by Terence Stamp) – An evil genius and Soul Power's greatest foe. Professor Menace invented robots that could drain the electrical powers of Soul Power (and therefore Static). He reappeared, still appearing to be his youthful self from the 1960s, claiming that he cryogenically froze himself. Professor Menace tried to hold Dakota ransom by threatening the city with his Weather Machine, but Soul Power and Sparky teamed up with Static to defeat him. When he was finally beaten by them, it was discovered that Professor Menace's youthful appearance was holographically aided and he is actually a resident at the same retirement home that Morris/Soul Power lives in.
  • Leech (voiced by David Arquette) – Had the power to absorb the powers of other Bang Babies (along with their weaknesses) by using "suckers" (which resembled leech mouths) on the palms of his hands. Leech kidnapped Ebon, Hot-Streak, and Talon to steal their powers, and also tried to steal Static's and Gear's powers, but didn't think much of Gear's super-intelligence. Leech cannot keep any powers he absorbs for long, so he needs to keep absorbing them, like DC Comics villain Parasite.
  • Dr. Valmont Koenig/The Heavyman (voiced by Ron Perlman) – When his experiments on absorbing energy went wrong, Dr. Valmont Koenig transformed into a living rock, able to absorb anything, gaining mass and energy. He kidnapped She-Bang's parents, forcing them to work on a cure for his condition. When the cure didn't work, he tried to kill them but eventually absorbed too much mass and was rendered immobile.
  • Eddie Felson/Speedwarp (voiced by James Arnold Taylor) – Had a costume similiar to Flash.He worked as an intern for Dr. McDonald, from whom he stole a device that could speed up or slow down the movement of the wearer. Moving at such speeds, Speed-Warp could steal anything easily and not be caught, seen only as a blur. He was the third villain to learn Static's real identity, but is currently stuck moving slower than everything else. His real name is a reference to fictional pool shark "Fast Eddie" Felson, and the character Dr. McDonald is a reference to John D. MacDonald, the author of The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything.
  • Troy Claudes/Chainlink (voiced by Bumper Robinson) – Troy was climbing a chainlink fence when he was exposed to the Bang Baby gas. The gas was absorbed into his body, resulting in metal tentacles growing from his back; he could use these tentacles to absorb other metals. Troy is a former friend of Dule Jones, whom he blackmails when his friend, also a Bang Baby, becomes a professional football player.
  • Karen Roberts/Omnara (voiced by Wendie Malick) – Karen Roberts worked for Edwin Alva, trying to discover Static's real identity, and took the name "Omnara" when she was fired. Omnara paid Puff and Onyx to kidnap Robert Hawkins so she could force Static to steal components she needs for another project of hers, Project Omni. Omnara was the fourth villain to learn Static's real identity.
  • Gigacerberus - Static and Gear's final enemy at the end of the series. Gigacerberus is a massive beast with both powers of fire and shadows, originated from the body fusion of Ebon and Hot-Streak. After a long, hard battle Gigacerberus fell into Dakota Bay and was never seen again, the same regarding Hot-Streak and Ebon, who remain missing and unnoticed until this day.

[edit] Other Bang Babies

  • Tamara Lawrence/Monster (voiced by Ariyan A. Johnson (Tamara)/Dee Bradley Baker (the monster)) – A young woman who can turn into a large, super-strong beast, but her eyes and ears are sensitive to light and sound. Tamara is accidentally caught in the Big Bang while looking for her boyfriend, Marcus Reed. After the Big Bang, she attacks certain people as a monster to put Marcus under suspicion. Tamara's monstrous transformation is a possible reference to Icon/Shadow Cabinet character Kevin Franklin/Payback. She is one of the Bang Babies that returned to normal.
  • Nina Crocker/Time-Zone (voiced by Rachael MacFarlane) – A Bang Baby with the ability to warp time, allowing her to travel into the past; during her time with her powers, she was one of the most powerful metahumans on the planet. After history was almost changed by Ebon, Nina decided that her powers were too dangerous to keep, and went back in time to stop her past self from being present at the night of the Big Bang. Nina is now a happy, ordinary girl, and has no memory of her life in the original timeline as Time-Zone. Time-Zone's powers were based on Flashback's from Blood Syndicate.
  • Kellie Reginalds/Mirage (voiced by Gavin Turek) – A young girl with special photokinetic powers, which allowed her to generate visible, realistic illusions by manipulating light into anything she could imagine or remember. Her older brother was Boom, and they lived with their grandmother following their parents' death. Their powers came from stepping in a spill of the chemicals from the Big Bang. Mirage agreed to help Boom steal money to buy a new place for them to live (only because he's her brother, a relationship where he usually bosses her around), but after talking with Static, she sees how having powers has corrupted her brother and helps Static stop Boom. Mirage was then taken in by the Dakota City Department of Social Services, but not before she generated an illusion of Static flying into the distance, as a favor to Static (Static/Virgil needed to convince his sister that he wasn't Static).
  • Derek Barnett/D-Struct (voiced by Bumper Robinson) – A track athlete who could generate ionic energy around himself, which could protect him from harm or be directed at targets. Derek was coerced by Ebon into joining the Meta-Breed, and was given the name "D-Struct." Static persuaded him to quit the gang, and he then volunteered himself as a research subject for Bang Baby research. He is based on a character who appeared in the Static and Hardware comics.
  • Dwayne McCall (voiced by Blayne Barbosda) – Has vast reality manipulating powers, allowing him to change things into anything else he can clearly imagine (he has to know what they/it looks, smells, or sounds like, etc). Dwayne liked to conjure characters from his favorite comic books, computer games, and TV shows, bringing them to life with his powers. His stepbrother, Aaron Price, finds out about his powers and talks him into doing things for him, finally manipulating him into robbing a bank. Static stops this by showing Dwayne that his stepbrother is just taking advantage of him. It has been suggested that the character is an homage to Dwayne McDuffie, who co-created the characters out of his imagination, and who (at the time) lived in a different state from the show's producers, and thus communicated with them only by phone.
  • Thomas Kim/Tantrum (voiced by John Cho) – A gifted student whose demanding father pushed him to over-achieve in school. After the Big Bang, Thomas' anger and pent-up stress caused him to transform into a large, purple-skinned, orange-haired creature with great strength and imperviousness to pain (similar to Marvel Comics'Incredible Hulk) and driven by anger and stress, causing him to seek out the object of his ire. His rampages were stopped by Static, who let one of these tantrums run its course, then told Thomas' parents about his condition so they can help him with his stress.
  • Maureen Connor/Permafrost (voiced by Hynden Walch) – Following her mother's death, Maureen Connor became a homeless girl, and developed psychiatric problems from the loneliness. After the Big Bang, she developed cryokinesis (the ability to generate and manipulate ice and snow, as well as imperviousness to cold), and her hair turned white and her skin light blue. Maureen turned to troublemaking, attracting Static's attention, who managed to calm her down and took her to a local church for help in their homeless program.
  • Allie Langford/Nails (voiced by T'Keyah Keymáh) – A Bang Baby with metallic skin and indestructible claws. When she discovers that she is changing, Allie tries to hide it and seeks out a treatment through a web site run by Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn as a lure for Bang Babies to help them with their criminal activities. Static tracks Allies to Gotham City, where he teams up with Batman to find her. Harley and Ivy betray and abandon Allie following a heist, but Batman and Static rescue her and with her help, capture Ivy and Harley. Allie is then returned home to her parents.
  • The Night-Breed – A group of Bang Babies recruited by Ebon. Its members are Bang Babies who have a fatal sensitivity to light, so they live underground.
    • Nightingale/Gail (voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey) – Generates a special dust called dark matter that she uses to protect herself from intense light. Nightingale lives underground along with other light-sensitive Bang Babies and is recruited by Ebon, who names them the Night-Breed, but she turns on Ebon during his attempt to blanket the entire city in "dark matter" (giving them free reign of it), absorbing it into herself.
    • Brickhouse (voiced by Dawnn Lewis) – Nightingale's best friend and was transformed by the Big Bang into living brick-like material. She turns against Ebon when he traps Static, Gear, and Nightingale, and helps them escape. Brickhouse is based on one of the central characters of Blood Syndicate.
    • Tech (voiced by Freddy Rodriguez) – Being super-intelligent, he builds a machine to cover the city in dark matter, and sides with Ebon when Nightingale and Brickhouse rebel and help Static and Gear to thwart it. Afterward, Tech decides to work on a cure for the Night-Breed's light sensitivity.
    • Fade (voiced by Freddy Rodriguez) – Fade is physically intangible, i.e. he has the ability to pass through anything (much like Shadowcat from X-Men). Fade sides with Ebon when Nightingale and Brickhouse rebel against him, and goes back into hiding after their attempted takeover of Dakota is thwarted. He is based on one of the central characters of Blood Syndicate.
  • Dule Jones (voiced by Marshall Jones) – A former gangbanger, he has metal tentacles which grow from his back (similar to Marvel Comics supervillain Doctor Octopus). Unlike fellow gang member Troy/Chainlink, Dule can retract his tentacles, and thus hide the fact that he is a Bang Baby. After the Big Bang, Dule gives up his gang lifestyle to play professional football, but Chainlink tries to blackmail him for money, threatening to reveal his secret. Dule goes public, defusing the threat and defeating Chainlink in a confrontation with help from Static, Gear, and other football players.

[edit] Episodes

Main article: List of Static Shock episodes

[edit] Static Shock/DCAU Crossovers

  • The Big Leagues - Dakota gets a real jolt when The Joker hits town, recruiting a band of metahumans to wreak his own special brand of havoc. Of course, with Joker on the loose, Batman and Robin can't be far behind. Static must put his hero worship in check as he teams up with the Dark Knight to put a shock to Joker's system.
  • Hard as Nails - Static travels to Gotham City to rescue Nails, a school girl friend of his who has fallen in with Harley and Ivy, who are promising to cure her of her Bang Baby affliction.
  • A League of Their Own, Parts 1 and 2 – When the Watchtower has a sudden power drain, the Justice League are forced to recruit Static to "jump-start" their station before it re-enters the atmosphere. Unbeknownst to either Static or Gear, the power drain also releases Brainiac from confinement.
    • This two parter was originally to feature the Teen Titans. The decision to use the Justice League was due to the Teen Titans being unfinished.[1]
  • Toys in the Hood - Static teams up with Superman when the Man of Steel’s old nemesis, Toy Man, appears in Dakota.
    • The original plan for Superman's guest appearance would have had him meeting Shaquille O'Neal, since he was a fan of The Man Of Steel. This didn't happen due since Shaq was unreachable.[2]
  • Future Shock – After helping Batman with a case, Static finds himself accidentally sent 40 years into the future, where he has to help the Batman of that era, Terry McGinnis, save a captured superhero: Static's future self.
  • Fallen Hero – Static faces off against his idol, Green Lantern, when he causes chaos all over town. This is an instance of a voice actor "talking to himself", as Phil LaMarr voices both Static and Green Lantern.
A future Static from the Justice League Unlimited series
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A future Static from the Justice League Unlimited series
  • The Once and Future Thing, Part 1: Weird Western Tales - Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern chase a time-traveling villain to the past, where they team up with the greatest heroes of the Old West. Static only appears at the end of this episode. (Note: This is a Justice League Unlimited episode.)
  • The Once and Future Thing, Part 2: Time, Warped – Batman, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern go to the future of Batman Beyond, where they meet a 65-year-old Static working for that period's Justice League. This older Static is wiser, but still jokes around a lot. (Note: This is a Justice League Unlimited episode.)

[edit] Video game

The series itself was the basis for a Game Boy Advance game of the same name, by Vicarious Visions.

[edit] External links

[edit] See also

The Bruce Timm DC animated universe
Television series: Batman: The Animated Series | Superman: The Animated Series | The New Batman Adventures | The New Batman/Superman Adventures | Batman Beyond | Static Shock | The Zeta Project | Justice League | Justice League Unlimited
Feature-length films: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm | Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero | Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker | Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman
Comic books: Batman Adventures | Superman Adventures | Justice League Adventures | Batman Beyond | Gotham Girls
Web cartoons: Gotham Girls
Video Games: DCAU Video Games
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