STATIC (Virgil Ovid Hawkins)
Created By: Dwayne McDuffie & John Paul Leon
First Appearance: Static #1 (June 1993)
Role: Peter Parker Hero, Electrical Blaster
PL 9 (147)
STRENGTH 1
STAMINA 3
AGILITY 4
FIGHTING 6
DEXTERITY 1
INTELLIGENCE 3
AWARENESS 2
PRESENCE 2
Skills:
Athletics 3 (+4)
Close Combat (Unarmed) 1 (+7)
Deception 3 (+5)
Expertise (Pop Culture) 7 (+10)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+7)
Insight 2 (+4)
Investigation 3 (+5)
Perception 2 (+4)
Persuasion 2 (+4)
Ranged Combat (Powers) 2 (+9)
Stealth 2 (+6)
Technology 4 (+8)
Vehicles 1 (+2)
Advantages:
Improved Aim, Improved Critical (Blast), Ranged Attack 6
Powers:
"Super-Conductor Electromagnetism"
"Electrical Cages & Nets" Blast 7 (Extras: Area- 30ft. Shapeable, Concentration) (Diminished Range -1) (27) -- [33]
- AE: Blast 9 (Feats: Split) (19)
- AE: Move Object 8 (Flaws: Limited to Metallic Objects) (8)
- AE: "Taser Punch" Affliction 9 (Fort; Dazed/Stunned/Incapacitated) (Extras: Cumulative) (18)
- AE: "Ball Lightning" Blast 9 (Extras: Area- 15ft. Burst +1/2) (Diminished Range -1) (23.5)
- AE: "Shockwave Force Field" Force Field 5 (5)
- AE: Communication (Radio) 2 (Extras: Area, Selective) (14)
"Static Cling" Affliction 5 (Strength; Impaired & Vulnerable/Immobile & Prone) (Extras: Extra Condition, Sustained +2) (Flaws: Limited Degree) [15]
"Magnetized Floating Saucer" Flight 5 (60 mph) (Flaws: Platform) (Quirks: Requires Metals -2) [3]
Senses 4 (Detect Electricity, Acute, Ranged, Radio) [4]
Immunity 10 (Mental Effects) (Flaws: Limited to Half-Effect) [5]
Offense:
Unarmed +7 (+1 Damage, DC 16)
Blast +9 (+9 Ranged Damage, DC 24)
Cages & Nets +9 Area (+7 Damage, DC 22)
Taser Punch +7 (+9 Affliction, DC 19)
Ball Lightning +9 Area (+9 Ranged Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +4
Defenses:
Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +3 (+8 Force Field), Fortitude +5, Will +7
Complications:
Power Loss/Side-Effect (Electrical Power)- If Static uses too much of his power at once, he will slowly fatigue himself, and drop in power.
Relationship (Father, Mother & Sister)
Relationship (Frieda Goren & Daisy Watkins)- Virgil likes both girls, but superhero stuff complicates his life.
Secret (Identity)
Enemy (Various "Bang-Babies")- Virgil fights many other people empowered by the same "Big Bang" that gave him his own powers.
Total: Abilities: 44 / Skills: 36--18 / Advantages: 8 / Powers: 60 / Defenses: 17 (147)
Milestone Comics- A Game Try:
-Milestone Media was an interesting thing. Basically, during the Comic Book Boom of the late '80s & early '90s, a group of Black Comic Book writers from the era got together and formed their own company, featuring a more ethnic-leaning (ie. "mostly non-white, specifically black") line-up of characters. It was a game try, and a worthy aspiration (there were very few non-white heroes, even back then, ESPECIALLY in solo books), and the line had a few beloved titles. It had some excellent creators (including future
JLU show-runner Dwayne McDuffie), and most of the issues I've read have been good. The art was very unique for the time as well, and it did some classic "Real-Life Issues" stuff, like Icon's teen sidekick getting Teen Pregnant.
-But alas, it was not to be, and the line died. Despite DC Comics backing them, they came out at a time when SEVERAL "New Universes" were being released (including Jim Shooter's Valiant Comics, and Image Comics), fans never quite took to a line of "black comics", it got little props in
Wizard Magazine (remember THAT?), and in 1997, the line ended producing comics, just keeping the licenses.
Static- Icon of Milestone:
-The biggest Milestone character is unquestionably Static. Originally supposed to be a Marvel character, McDuffie instead 'ported him over to the newer Milestone-verse, making him their "Peter Parker" hero, ie. the Teen Everyman With Real-Life Problems. Later, when Milestone died and DC integrated the characters into their own universe, he got a role on The Teen Titans, and we even had a
Static Shock TV SERIES for a few years back in the day! I only ever saw a couple episodes and found it pretty generic, but some people seemed to like it. He even got his own comic book series during the
52 DC relaunch, but it kind of blew- it wasn't BADLY written, but the first issue did precisely jack squat to inform readers just who the hell Static was, why a robot dude named Hardware talked to him, and how he got those powers. It was a giant failure since that was THE VERY FIRST ISSUE. And yeah, DC cancelled it as one of their six-lowest-selling books of the relaunch.
-In any case, Virgil Hawkins (named for a black student famously denied entry into a Florida University) was a geeky black kid in a rougher, inner-city neighborhood. He gained electromagnetic powers from exposure to a chemical produced during a gang war in his neck of the woods (later called the "Big Bang" for all the people empowered by the same event- much like Valiant and other companies, a "Shared Origin" was used)- he uses them to make a difference, becoming the superhero "Static". He engages in a handful of adventures before Milestone Comics closed, four years later.
DC's Static:
-A TV series lasting for 52 episodes started up in 2000, and it was linked to DC's
Justice League shows via a crossover (later, an aged Virgil shows up as part of a Future Justice League). As DC now owned the Milestone library, they eventually translated him to their universe, figuring (correctly, really) that he was the perfect Young Black Hero to showcase some diversity in their line. His interesting powers and established backstory helped, too. He made his DC debut in 2010, ending years of red tape (Geoff Johns wasn't even allowed to use him before then!). He is introduced to the DCU by way of the
Teen Titans line, being kidnapped and forced to fight in a knock-off of Roulette's "Fight Club" thing. He is freed by the Titans and joins them. Alas, this is the more disastrous era on the team, as editorial problems cause a lot of roster shifts, and so the character never finds his footing. He is separated from Dakota City for a while, as he was thought-dead after his abduction (I think the writers just didn't want to deal with his entire cast), and slowly reintroduces himself to them. He is de-powered by the end of continuity, reappearing in the "New 52" as a guy with a solo book... which quickly got cancelled after being one of the lowest-selling ones. He has only been seen a handful of times since, DC having long since ruined any chance of crossover appeal from the cartoon.
Static's Powers:
-Static actually has a pretty cool set of powers, from Shapeable Damage to Ball Lightning to Taser Punches. Electrical Powers are a pretty cool way to get a lot of unique Effects or Power Stunts, and he even sorta flies around on his little Metal Disc.