Warning! Spoilers for Static: Season One #4
With the newest issue of Static: Season One, it’s safe to say that Static is officially back in comics. Following an extended origin story, Virgil Hawkins is becoming Dakota’s coolest superhero.
Throughout Static: Season One, readers have seen Virgil learn about his new electromagnetic powers he received during the Big Bang. Like many other teenagers in Dakota, Virgil attended a Black Lives Matter protest where an experimental tear gas created by Alva Industries was dispersed. Since then, he has played with his abilities and even used them in a fight with school bully, Francis Stone, who can now manifest fire from his hands. While Virgil’s character has qualified him as a hero from the beginning, he is now growing into his own as a full-fledged superhero in Static: Season One #4, written by Ayala Vita with art by Nikolas Draper-Ivey and ChrisCross.
As Virgil is searching for missing students, he has the opportunity to suit up in a prototype costume he previously received from Curtis Metcalf AKA Hardware. Utilizing a sleek hoverboard that morphs its shape to his will, Virgil flies off to look for kids that were likely kidnapped by a mysterious agency. Arriving at an abandoned steel factory, he meets up with his friends and receives the name “Static” from Darius, teasing him by calling him “Static Cling.” In an ambush by Virgil, Darius, Richie, and Frieda, they charge on the building where they believe the agency is hiding out. Francis AKA Hotstreak comes to the villainous group’s defense, showing off his powers in a rematch against Virgil — except now, he’s Static.
It’s possible that another variation of the costume is coming, as it’s been teased by covers. However, the stylish prototype suit, hover disc, name drop, and rematch with Hotstreak makes it feel like Static is truly back in comics, in a way that he hasn’t been since his 90s’ title. In an action sequence that feels like it’s animated, Static is more aware of what he can do than he was the first time he ran into Francis. When the high school bully turned bang baby showed up at his front door, Virgil protected his family and gained an idea of what his powers could do. While he still likely has much to learn, their latest fight feels like a rite of passage for Virgil’s official entry into his superhero career.
Static soars into the sky alongside Hotstreak in a battle that will continue into the next issue. Making quick jokes along the way, Virgil is establishing the sort of hero he wants to be. As the agency blasts their guns at his friends, Static quickly flies to their aid. It’s becoming clear that this take on Static doesn’t see his heroics as a solo mission.
