Static Shock – 18frozenout

It’s Christmas time in Dakota, but our hero’s holiday spirit is put on ice by PERMAFROST, a female metahuman with cold powers. In dealing with her, Static discovers that Permafrost is a homeless teen, with a troubled past that has rocked her stability to the core. Static must overcome his grumpiness and find a way to help
Permafrost before it’s too late.

Media by Bird Boy
Review by Matt Zimmer

Voices:
Phil LaMarr as Virgil Hawkins/Static
Jason Marsden as Richie Foley
Kevin Michael Richardson as Robert Hawkins
Crystal Scales as Daisy Watkins
Hynden Walch as Permafrost
Matt Ballard as Spaced Out Customer
Jack Carter as Grandfather
Linda Dangcil as Homeless Woman
Michael Dorn as Reverend Anderson
Danica McKellar as Frieda
Michele Morgan as Mother

At Christmastime Virgil is annoyed with all of his responsibilities and obligations to other people both as himself and as Static. Static is alerted to a blizzard downtown that has started mysteriously. After
Static saves some people who were trapped a girl asks him for some change and Static ignores her. We see in flashbacks that the girl's mother has died and that foster care took her away when she was little.

At the mall the girl is asked to leave a store and gets upset and causes another ice storm. Static tries to stop her but she's gone. Static decides to track the girl who calls herself Permafrost down to the underground subway where a lot of homeless people live. He takes a picture of the girl and her mother and takes it to his pastor who identifies her as a girl named Maureen. Static has a conversation with his pastor about homeless people and the tragedies in their lives and how a lot of homeless people suffer from mental illness. He goes looking for Permafrost and when he finds her he sees she is upset he took her picture. He comforts her and says he knows how it feels to lose a mother and she collapses in his arms. Later Maureen is taken to the homeless shelter where Virgil's pastor offers to help her. At the end of the episode Virgil understands better what the true meaning of the season is about.

This was a really great episode. It's very touching when the show does things like this story that sets it apart from other superhero cartoons.
I'm sure a lot of information about the homeless is news to the kids who watch this cartoon. I was also gratified to see the inter-faith service which was notable for the cameo from Richie's dad which shows he's come a long way from Sons of the Fathers. That was a nice touch.

Hynden Walch (Teen Titans' Starfire) gives an emotional performance as
Permafrost. It was touching to hear her one-on-one with Virgil. This episode is basically about the decency of people and how we should all be a little more aware of people who are worse off than we are. This episode shows the kinds of things that Static Shock the series always aspires to.

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