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'Static Shock': Worthy of the Silver Screen?

A Static origin story may be just what the doctor ordered for DC's wavering movie landscape.

By Herbert L. Seward IIIPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
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Soooooo... I'm a Static Shock stan. There... I said it. I've read a lot of comics and watched a ton of DC-based animated shows over the years, but Static's presence in DC via the Dakotaverse represents a specific type of diversity that DC really hadn't had until it absorbed those characters via a merger with Milestone Comics. We all know that the Static Shock character eventually made its way to the consciousness of DC comic heads everywhere over time. Static even had a pretty dope Saturday morning cartoon hustle going, where it quickly became a cult-classic among a generation of young viewers that were excited to see a bonafide superhero that looked like they did.

Now to be fair, DC has done an absolutely fabulous job of bringing many of their more visible comic book "A" and "B" teams to the smaller screen. Heck, DC animated movies are some of the best out there in that regard. DC's forays to the silver screen are another story though, especially in the shadow of the success that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has enjoyed for the better part of a decade. A Static origin story (with some convenient and periodic tie-ins to some of DC's heavy hitters) could be the shot in the arm that the DC cinematic landscape needs to jumpstart its visibility among fans that have been front and center for the MCU's decade of dominance. The rebooting of one of the more fun and charismatic superheroes in the DC landscape would not only give DC a potential crossover movie hit for universal audiences, but it could be the perfect medium to reintroduce more of the former Dakotaverse characters (i.e. Icon, Rocket, Hardware, etc.) into the main DC cinematic timeline. Anybody out there reading this article that's familiar with what Milestone Comics was prior to it being absorbed into DC already knows the creativity of the company and its vision. Its commitment to ensuring that the visibility of diversity in comic characters and storylines was at the forefront of the company's flagship titles was always there.

Static Shock being brought to the big screen the right way could send the exact same message to larger audiences that have "questions" about where DC is going with its movie franchises. The Saturday morning animated series was pretty smart, but its overall feel and character development would definitely need to be tweaked to appeal to larger, more general audiences. The version of Static that made a cameo appearance in the Young Justice animated TV series was definitely an alternate vision of the character. THAT character could definitely be tailored for a more adult edge that it would definitely need if it appeared in the extended DC Movie Universe. There had been rumblings around 2015 that a Static Shock live-action series was in the works, with Jaden Smith rumored to be the guy filling the role. While those rumors didn't bear any fruit, he'd still be a great option to portray Static on either the small or big screen.We may be waiting for a while for a Static Shock feature film, but it's worth thinking about if you're a fan of the character and the franchise. I guess we'll have to settle for Static Shock re-runs on the WB for the time being. It's good to dream though, isn't it? In the meantime, check out Variant Comics' historical review of the Static Shock character on youtube.

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About the Creator

Herbert L. Seward III

Sports & Culture Contributor, HBCU Digital Network.Host,The Black Techies Podcast,Sports Contributor, FanSided/Busting Brackets/Saturday Blitz... Breaker Of Chains. Lover of BBQ.

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