Static Shock – 43fallenhero Index2

Static is forced to fight his idol, Green Lantern, thinking that GL has gone renegade.

Media by Bird Boy
Review by Matt Zimmer

Voices:
Phil LaMarr as Virgil Hawkings / Static / Green Lantern
Jason Marsen as Richie Foley / Gear
Red Levine as Sinestro
Kevin Michael Richardson as Robert Hawkins
Michele Morgan as Sharon Hawkins

Static is devastated when it looks like his hero the Green Lantern has become a criminal.

Green Lantern appears to be robbing banks. Static tries to reason with him but the Lantern brushes him off and humiliates him on TV. Meanwhile a second John Stewart is seen riding the rails. He confronts the first
Lantern who turns out to be Sinestro who is trying to ruin John
Stewart's reputation. After another tangle with Static the real Lantern, who is running out of power, is mistaken for Sinestro and locked up, but not before slipping Static his ring.

Static finds the ring and decides to hear the imprisoned Lantern's story. John tells him how he was lured away from the Watchtower and how
Sinestro has stolen his Lantern. Static believes him and goes to the gas station and finds Richie captured there with Sinestro demanding Static return John Stewart's ring to him. After John gets out on parole he confronts Sinestro and fights him, his ring empowered by Static. He defeats Sinestro in front of a crowd, has his Lanten returned, his named is cleared and he thanks Static for his help.

I liked this episode a lot and thought it was a pretty neat character piece for Static. I seriously felt for Virgil when he thought the Green
Lantern had gone bad (he complained in Static in Africa about the shortage of black superheroes in the U.S.). I also thought it was interesting that they used Sinestro, because outside of a small part in
Justice League's Secret Society he had never really gone up against John
Stewart before (he confronted Kyle Rayner in Superman's In Brightest
Day). I thought it was interesting that he called John "Johnny" as that implied a more personal relationship than they had shared in Secret
Society and thought it was neat that we learned that John Stewart was one of the people who took him down the first time.

I've heard complaints that Static's powers should NOT have been able to recharge GL's but I personally think that not enough has been established about how the power rings work in the DCAU to contradict that. It may have different properties than the comic book version.

I liked the animation a lot in this episode. The Lantern effects were cool as were the Lantern to Sinestro morphs. As a DCAU crossover this is a neat episode and as a Static one it is really good as well.

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