Let's see how much of a Static Fan you are! Here are One Dozen Static Facts!
2. A common misconception is that Virgil Hawkins' superhero name is "Static Shock". The character's comic book alias is simply "Static", but his show alias was "Static Shock". Due to more people seeing the cartoon than reading the comic series the latter name was often used by fans.
3. A framed copy of "Static #1" can be seen hanging on the pool house set of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air".
4. Virgil Hawkins was designed to be an African American version of Spider-Man. He dealt with high school problems, money issues, family matters, and was usually depicted as a talented young man. He was also depicted as a geek, often hanging out at comic book shops, playing video games, and playing tabletop RPGs. Virgil even collects Pokemon cards and claims Pikachu is his favorite Pokemon.
5. Static's comics were allowed to be very socially aware about race, gang violence, and sex. Static's cartoon was praised as being one of the only cartoons of it's time to sight similar social issues. In the first episode of his cartoon, Virgil is pressured into being part of a gang war and offered a gun by a gang member. Later on in the show it is revealed Virgil's best friend Ritchie has a father with racist views towards Black children. Though the cartoon never revealed it, the comic series would later reveal Ritchie to be a closeted homosexual.
6. In season three of "Static Shock", Ritchie gains super intelligence powers and begins creating technology. He names himself Gear and becomes Static's crime-fighting partner. Ritchie never did this in the comics and it was only done for the cartoons so that Phil LeMarr (the voice of Static) and Jason Marsden (voice of Ritchie) could have more chemistry together. It is also thought that Gear is a reference to another Milestone Media character named Hardware.
7. The characters Edwin Alva and Edwin Alva Jr. were brought onto "Static Shock" from Hardware's comic book series. In the cartoon, Edwin Jr would use the same gas that gave Static his powers to give himself random powers on the fly.
8. Virgil and many other Dekota youths got their powers by being doused in experimental chemicals by the Dakota police department during the big gang war. This event was inspired by the LA Riots of 1992 and the use of tear gas by the local authorities. In "Static Shock" it was established that Static's mother was a paramedic who was killed by a stray bullet during a riot.
9. Dwayne McDuffie got the name "Virgil Hawkins" from a Black man who was denied entrance into The University of Florida's law school in 1949.
10. Static had been a member of The Teen Titans from 2009 to 2011.
11. Static's cartoon is part of the DC Animated Universe. The Justice League show up in his show, and an elderly future version of Static appears in both "Batman Beyond" and "Justice League Unlimited".
12. It is widely believed the inspiration for Static was another DC Comics character named Black Lightning. Black Lightning was created in 1977 as DC Comic's first Black superhero and has stuck around in the DCU ever since. Black Lightning would also spawn the character Black Vulcan for "The Super Friends" cartoon in 1980. Black Lightning could not be used by the writers of that show and so Black Vulcan was created as a substitute.
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