Static: Season One #1 – Vita Ayala, Writer; Chriscross, Artist; Nikolas Draper-Ivey, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: The Milestone Universe is finally making a comeback after many years and complex permutations, and this reboot is taking it back to its roots—as its own universe separate from the DCU. First out of the gate is Static, the character from Milestone to get the most mainstream success with its own animated series in the DC animated universe. Written by rising star Vita Ayala and drawn by veteran artist ChrisCross, it feels like a faithful recreation of the original—and very much its own thing. All the main characters are back, from Virgil, his parents, and his older sister, as well as his best friend Richie and his crush Frieda (who didn’t make the animated series). But the background here feels very current, with Virgil not getting his powers in a freak comic book explosion but in a deliberate release of toxic gas by a corrupt police force that was trying to drive off a group of teenage protestors—and anyone else in the way.
When we first meet Virgil, he’s still struggling to come to terms with how his sudden power boost has changed his life. This is one of the first properties to show some real angst alongside sudden superpower acquisition, and I like that his family knows about his powers from the get-go. That’s a rare dynamic that really adds a new feel to the story. Some of the other elements, like his high-school bully becoming a jacked-up fire-themed supervillain, feel a bit more like standard elements of the genre. This issue moves fast, with the villain Hotstreak escalating rapidly to attacking Virgil in a very personal way and possibly upending his whole life by the end of the issue. It’s a good first issue, although the foundation of Static is very strong and it doesn’t feel like this first issue breaks much new ground. I imagine the creators on Hardware and Static will have more room to reinvent the characters with more people rediscovering them.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
