Static Shock – 02aftershock

Static learns that the person responsible for the Big Bang is Edwin
Alva, the city’s philanthropic billionaire businessman, but his efforts to gain evidence are hampered by Hotstreak, the bully from the pilot, himself transformed by the gas mutagen.

Media by Bird Boy
Review by Matt Zimmer

Sketch: Hotstreak

Voices:
Phil LaMarr as Virgil Hawkins/Static
Jason Marsden as Richie Foley
Kerrigan Mahan as Edwin Alva
Kevin Michael Richardson as Robert Hawkins
CCH Pounder as Mayor
Adam Baldwin as York
Jeff Glen Bennett as Anchor
Maria Canals as Shelly Sandoval
Danny Cooksey as F-Stop / Hot Streak
Danica McKellar as Frieda
Melissa Disney as Nurse
Michele Morgan as Sharon Hawkins
Meshach Taylor as Doctor

The fall-out from the Big Bang brings Bang Babies out of the woodwork as
Static finds out who is responsible.

After a confrontation with F-Stop (now Hotstreak) Virgil learns he has fire based metahuman powers. During a showdown with him Static gets the upper hand but quickly loses it and has to be rescued by fire-fighters.
Meanwhile Robert Hawkins is concerned about the metahumans and worries
Virgil by saying that Static could potentially go off the deep end because of the psychological damage done by the gas. Virgil calls his doctor and tells him how he is going through changes. The doctor takes a blood sample. At city hall Robert pleads with the mayor of Dakota to do something about the Bang Babies who balks. Static and Richie follow her and see her meet with a man named Edwin Alva who it’s turns out was the manufacturer of the gas. After a tussle at Alva Industries the evidence against Alva is destroyed. Hotstreak escapes from the institute he is being held at and he and Static fight again, this time with Static the victor. At the end of the episode the doctor calls and tell Static he has higher than normal electrolytes but other than that he is normal.

I liked the episode and thought it was a good introduction for Edwin
Alva who we almost immediately want to know more about. I also liked the metaphor for puberty (which was first used in Spider-Man comics) about
Virgil’s body going through changes. (The doctor mistakenly thinking
Virgil was having sex was funny and eye-opening.) The fights were relatively well choreographed and I liked the animation used on
Hotstreak’s firebolts (although they DID use footge of Batman Beyond:
Return of the Joker’s explosions a wee bit too much but then again, so does Justice League.) A solid episode though a bit slow-moving in parts.

Story: ****
Animation: ***1/2
Average: ****