Warning! Spoilers for Milestone Returns: Infinite Edition #0
As Milestone returns to comics after a long hiatus, Static Shock has been given his own Spider-Man 2 train moment. Before he even officially becomes a superhero, teenager Virgil Hawkins has the trust and support of his peers at school.
Milestone Media is making a resurgence in DC Comics with the recent digital-first release of Milestone Returns: Infinite Edition #0, which has given fans an extended preview for what’s to come in three upcoming series. The preview issue features glimpses of stories that seem to be taken from the first issues of Static: Season One, Icon and Rocket: Season One, and Hardware: Season One. Scenes from Static are written by Vita Ayala, featuring layouts by ChrisCross, and finishes by Niklas Draper-Ivey. The debut issue's cover was illustrated by Khary Randolph. The rebooted Static includes a modernized origin story, set during a Black Lives Matter protest, instead of a gang war like the first iteration. Many of those in attendance receive powers from a mysterious gas that is released by police, including Virgin Hawkins who is given electromagnetic abilities.
When Virgil gets picked on by another meta-human named Frank at their high school, he uses his powers for the first time in public as self-defense. Other students root for Virgil to finish the fight, but he realizes that he’ll become a bully too if he uses his powers as irresponsibly as Frank did. Suddenly, a police officer monitoring the hallway intervenes and asks the students standing around Virgil and Frank what is going on. It seems like there’s an unspoken rule of respect among them, as not even Frank tells the officer what happened. The scene draws a strong similarity to Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 in which Spider-Man’s face is revealed to civilians on a metro train, but they promise to keep his secret out of loyalty. Of course, Frank’s discretion might be more about unity against police, instead of support for Virgil.
At this point, Virgil hasn’t decided to become a superhero yet or give himself the name “Static,” even though his heroism clearly shines through this public display of his powers. Regardless, there are a few instances in this first issue preview that show how well-liked he is among the student body. This has strong potential to set a new and fascinating dynamic going forward if Virgil’s classmates are collectively aware of what he can do, and the superhero he becomes. Similar to Spider-Man, Static has always been a hero of the people, localized to the neighborhood where he lives. If everyone is in on his secret identity, that makes the relationship between Virgil and Dakota more personal than it’s ever been.
This moment also sets a precedent for how meta-humans’ powers are treated in the new Dakotaverse. Based on this preview, no one is hiding their abilities. It doesn’t seem far-fetched to wonder whether heroes like Static and villains like Hotstreak won’t take their alter egos very seriously down the line. With Static Shock, Milestone reminds readers that not every hero has a bad relationship with the public. Milestone Returns: Infinite Edition #0 is available digitally, and will be out in print on Tuesday, May 25.
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