The Warner Archive April 16, 2018 DVD release of the fourth and final season of the WB animated series "Static Shock" is music to the ears of fanboys everywhere. These typically timely Archive releases of series always are a treat.
This program about middle-class black teen Virgil Hawkins (Phil LaMarr) turned the titular DCU electricity-channeling superhero both provides his real-life non-meta counterparts a positive role model and offers the rest of us good humor and action. The review of the recent S3 release includes a recap of the events that lead to S4.
The aptly titled S4 season premiere "Future Shock" almost achieves the fan ideal in this series that has many parallels with "The Flash" (and the coming-of-age series "Smallville.") We get the always popular team up with Batman and Robin in the form of Static being on a field trip from his home turf of Dakota to Gotham when the Dynamic Duo show up to help finish off the villain du jour; this leads to time travel in the form of a wonky device transporting Static 40 years in the future where he teams up with Batman-in-training Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle) and an elderly Bruce Wayne. This caper for our caped team involves him rescuing his future self, who is being held hostage for an exchange for a very bad guy.
The icing on the cake is a two-part "Justice League Unlimited" episode that Archive adds as DVD special feature. This DCU take on the "Back to the Future" trilogy both closely ties in with the "Static" season premiere and offers a lesson regarding the well-known nature of karma.
The only missing element from "Static" S4 is a full team-up with the Justice League, such as the one that Static and best friend/guy in the chair/sidekick Richie/Gear (Jason Marsden) get in S3 when they tangle with Brainiac.
Another joining of forces is more of a pure team up in that it has Static and Gear work with their real-life basketball heroes/secret superheroes to defeat a supervillain. Fans of classic Saturday morning cartoons will note the parallels with the (reviewed) Hanna-Barbera series "The Super Globetrotters."
LaMarr does quadruple duty a few episodes later when JL member Green Lantern comes to town in an inadvertently timely episode. This outing involves this John Stewart apparently abandoning his superhero ways in favor of a life of crime. Watching this adventure coincides with receiving a notification of the conviction of a very hostile Bill Cosby on the infamous sex-based charges.
Virgil initially cannot accept that his hero has turned until he gets a painful reality check. Although a reason obviously exists for these events, "Static" being a modern series makes it possible that Stewart is not back in the fold at the end of the episode.
One S4 change is that "Static" largely abandons the early seasons practice of most episodes being "very special" ones that teach a lesson. One exception is an outing in which any viewers as young as eight should identify the general issue within the first few minutes of the beginning. Desperate times in terms of an imminent nuclear explosion lead to the desperate measure of a superhero facing his dyslexia. A highly amusing aspect of this is this literacy-challenged good guy and Static providing a thinly-disguised PSA as they converse while facing the camera.
The next outing (pun intended) is a largely disguised Gay Pride episode. The real reason that a meta-villain is targeting a high-profile friend of Static relates to that bad guy blackmailing this idol based on knowing his secret nature. This leads to a very public coming-out that leads to acceptance. This relates to a hope regarding four seasons and a movie that the latter involves Static and Gear admitting their true feelings for each other.
The final three episodes are so closely tied together and provide such a great end to "Static" that the wish here is that they were combined into an extended finale episode.
This adventure with strong overtones of "The X Men" begins with a scientist being on the brink of a cure for the cause of super-powered "Bang Babies," which include Static and Gear. The next episode features Wendie Mallick of "Just Shoot Me" and "Hot In Cleveland" fully embracing her voice-actor role as a mad in both senses of the word scientist who discovers the secret identity of our hero. The series finale hits a perfect note regarding Static struggling with deciding whether to keep up the good fight or return to being a regular teen.
As indicated above, "Static" is especially cool for all tweens and teens. These adolescents can see themselves in this nice kid who is not perfect and who faces the same challenges of trying to maintain a social life while keeping up with school, meeting responsibilities at home, and throwing in a grueling part-time job. The rest of us just enjoy the humor and the action and the adventure.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Static" is strongly encouraged to email me; you also can connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.
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