Why ‘Black Lightning’ Should Introduce Static Shock in Season 2

Ron Robbins
TV DC
TV DC

During last summer’s ATX Television Festival, Black Lightning showrunner Salim Brock Akil was quoted as saying, “I love the idea of Static Shock, and in success, hopefully, we’ll be able to pull other characters in that way. So I’m holding out hope because I love that character.”

Well, success has been achieved. The announcement of a second season of Black Lightning was made in early May, well before the first season was complete.  It would seem the time is right for Akil to get his wish. So let’s break it down.

Who Is Static Shock?

Originally named Static, he was created in 1993 by Milestone Media, an independent DC imprint focused on creating necessary diversity in the comic world. Nerdy teen Virgil Hawkins (heavily influenced by Marvel’s Peter Parker) was just trying to make it through the rough world of high school. He was picked on and bullied, and ended up in a bit of a gang war. He was given a gun to protect himself but he decided not to use it, tossing it into the water instead.

Cops showed up on the scene and used experimental tear gas tainted with Quantum Juice to get everyone under control. The only problem is, the tear gas wasn’t properly tested and had some drastic effects.

Those that managed to escape death couldn’t escape mutation. While Virgil initially believed he got away unscathed, he soon learned that he had developed the ability to manipulate electromagnetism. Thus, a new metahuman was born.

He gained tons of powers, including increased agility, electricity control, energy absorption, energy manipulation, levitation, and magnetism. Even technopathy, the ability to control and manipulate electronics with the mind. NBD!

Opting to use his powers for good, Virgil was now balancing the rigors of adolescence with his newfound secret identity as Static, a superhero who will put a shock to your system.  To be honest, he sounds like quite the amalgamation of the Pierce family, doesn’t he?

Static has already been a big hit on TV screens.  Some may remember the Static Shock cartoon by Warner Brothers Animation, which ran from 2000-2004.  The toon earned many rewards and was very well received, but was sadly canceled due to poor merchandise sales.  A primetime, live-action nostalgic return would surely give us goosebumps.

How would Static Shock slide through?

There are a few unanswered questions that Season 2 needs to answer. Among them, does Tobias Whale actually have the technology to turn the pod kids into metahuman foot soldiers? Just how many pod kids are there? (There were 43 missing kids, yet only 36 pods in the facility!) And just who does Lynn know who can help them?

We’d guess that somewhere in the exploration of this pod-kid mystery, an adorably awkward teenager named Virgil will rear his head. Perhaps, like in the comics, he’ll be the one artificial metahuman to go rogue for the side of good.

He should end up at Garfield High School, striving to be ordinary, where he could start crushing on Jennifer, also still unsettled about the appearance of new powers. And, don’t forget, she’s still hurting about things going south with Khalil/Painkiller, her last artificial metahuman boyfriend. Ugh, same.

This idea of a Jennifer/Virgil romance is so exciting. Is it possible to ship two characters, when one isn’t even on the canvas yet? Think about it; there’s no better family for Virgil to fall into while becoming closer to Jennifer. Eventually, after the inevitable dust settles, what better mentor than Black Lightning could Static hope to have?

And we already can’t wait for Jennifer and Virgil to discover each other’s abilities. The slow climb to this moment would be exhilarating. Does anyone remember when Buffy Summers met Riley Finn on her first day of UC Sunnydale? They danced around their growing feelings for each other while trying to keep their uniquely sinister night jobs a secret from each other. The truth came out nine episodes later and it made for fantastic TV.

We’re into it.  While Akil has made it pretty clear that Black Lightning isn’t necessarily part of the Arrowverse, it is still a part of the DC TV Universe. And if we’ve learned anything from that roster of shows, it’s that there’s no such thing as too many superheroes on one program. And we certainly can’t have too many examples of black superheroes on TV for our young POC communities to look up to. Black Lightning is the perfect home for this awesome character, and we hope to see him arrive in Season 2.

Ron Robbins
Ron is fascinated by Max Headroom. His top three favorite things of all time are macaroni & cheese, General Hospital, and Archie Comics. Ron is easily triggered and living in West Hollywood, CA.