"Static Shock: The Complete First Season" DVD Talkback (Spoilers)

[James Harvey]

The long-awaited home video release of the first season of Static Shock is here in a new two-disc DVD collection from Warner Archive!

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Static Shock: The Complete First Season
Studio: Warner Archive
Available to Order: March 28th, 2017

Synopsis: Based on characters from the DC Comics series, superhero Virgil Hawkins and his classmates confront real problems and issues faced by today's teens: peer pressure, gangs and growing up in an ethnically diverse, urban neighborhood.

Meet Virgil Hawkins, a mild-mannered teen in the wrong place at the wrong time when a chemical explosion rocks the streets of Dakota City- changing him from supergeek to super-hero. Based on the Milestone/DC Comics property, this animated series about the adventures of the first African-American teenage superhero follows quick-witted Virgil, who finds himself imbued with electromagnetic superpowers after being exposed to a mutagenic gas. Taking on the guise of Static, an urban hero of his own creation, he must learn to control his powers, figure out how to patrol the skies at night and still make it home in time to study for school. Virgil's greatest discovery becomes the real "charge" he gets out of helping people and making a positive difference as a super-hero in his community. The series confronts real problems and issues faced by today's kids, including peer pressure, gangs and growing up in an ethnically diverse urban neighborhood.

Discuss This DVD!

This thread is only for actual discussion of the DVD release. Please check out the The DC Animation Forum Talkback Collection Thread to access talkbacks for every episode of Static Shock, and also check out the related links below.

Related Discussion:
-Static Shock - Volume One: The New Kid DVD Talkback (Spoilers)
-Static Shock: The Complete First Season DVD Review (Spoilers)

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[Dallas Kinard]

I hope I get mine today. I ordered from Amazon just like Zeta Project Season 2, but that took days to arrive. I even have Prime free 2 day shipping. Do you think it could be because this is a MOD release?

 

[Spider-Man]

Perhaps they had a larger order than expected for this? I have to say this show holds up way better than I remember. Not every episode is a home run but the character work on the show is really great. Virgil and his family have a great dynamic and Virgil's friendship with Richie is adorable. It's a great show that I wish I gave a closer look at when I was younger. I caught all the episodes I could especially the crossover ones, but if I missed one I didn't mind. I'm glad I get to see these again.

 

[Yojimbo]

It was great to sit down and rewatch these first episodes of the series. Like Splinter said, not all were great but still the characters! Though I admit, the one thing that bugged me a little was the direction they took with Edwin Alva and taking his edge away with Junior. It was also nice to see both discs had subtitles whereas the TZP season 2 set didn't have any at all. Can't wait for them to announce the season 2 release officially.

 

[Dallas Kinard]

Here's hoping seasons 3-4 get released within the year!

 

[Fone Bone]

Static Shock: The Complete First Season

Finally! Season 1 of Static Shock is on DVD!

Or is it? This DVD release would be more aptly titled "Static Shock: The New Kid: Soccer Mom Rerelease Edition: With The Rest of the Episodes of the Season On a New Second Disc". I mean, really they just ported the entire single disc release, including trailers for DVDs that are now out of print. I might not have minded that so much, except The New Kid inexplicably used the second season theme song for the six episodes it contained, so you aren't really getting the original series as it originally aired.

Fortunately, the proper main titles are present for six of the seven episodes on the second disc (don't know WHAT the deal is with "Replay"). So you'll still have it on DVD.

How is the series and how does it hold up?

I have always liked this show, and I'm was always one of the few Timmverse purists back in the day who did. But in hindsight, the negative reaction from DC Animated Universe fans is even more unfair than I possibly could have suspected. The main gripe is that the show was never as well written as The New Batman Adventures, Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Justice League, which were the Kids WB! and Cartoon Network DC cartoons of the era. And while that is true, it strikes as the stupidest of complaints. Because NO other DC cartoons since then have been that good. And Static Shock is still better than almost all of them. It's better than Teen Titans, The Batman, Legion Of Superheroes, Krypto The Superdog, Batman: The Brave And The Bold, Young Justice, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, Teen Titans Go!, Batman Unlimited, DC Super Hero Girls, and Beware The Batman. Literally the ONLY non-DCAU cartoon that has aired since then that is better than this show is Justice League Action. It's literally the only one. And I hate to think that Static got all that hatred thrown at it while most of those cartoons I just mentioned (particularly the overrated Young Justice) got a total pass for their lousy writing. It's a bit infuriating to be honest.

I really hope this show gains a new following because of this DVD release. It is far better than its reputation suggests. It's probably also actually far better than Batman Beyond and The New Batman Adventures themselves, as long as I'm giving my unwanted opinion. This was a special show that deserved better treatment from both the Kids WB! network executives, and the DCAU fanboys who judged it solely by the underwhelming DCAU crossovers, without ever sampling another episode. It's a great show. ****.

Shock To The System:

Truthfully, this is not the strongest opening the show could have done, but that's very easy to say in hindsight. Static Shock is the first and so far ONLY DC Animated Universe series that didn't start off that way. It was folded into the continuity in the second season. Season 1 was its own thing, as seamlessly as it actually fits retroactively. Therefore, the first episode of this cartoon did not actually NEED to live up to "On Leather Wings", "Last Son Of Krypton", or "Rebirth". At the time this aired, this had nothing to do with any of them. What amazes me about the first episode is how few superheroics are in it. Static makes an (underwhelming) introduction in the beginning when he takes down some robbers, but then the episode flashes back to Virgil Hawkin's teenage life, and there are no more superheroics until the very end, and even then they only involve Static decorating a school. I suspect they used the flashback format to let the kids know that superhero stuff WAS coming, and this wasn't just an animated sitcom set in the 'hood. Interestingly, Frieda is the object of Virgil's affection here, and this is the only episode that 'ships those two. Virgil gravitates exclusively towards Daisy once she is introduced a few episodes from now. I actually prefer Daisy anyways, as she always seem much more down to Earth than Frieda. Unlike Frieda, she wouldn't be so excited to have to juggle three hot guys at once. I really regret this is the only time we see Wade. Dwayne McDuffie revealed he died during the Big Bang, but I like the energy he brought to the episode. When he tells Virgil that he won't always be there to pull his bacon out of the fire, I really admire Virgil for looking him in the eye and telling him he didn't ask him to do that. The rest of the crew is offended that he's dissing Wade, but I think it is such a great and genuine moment on Virgil's part. Rewatching the series, I was kind of going to try and give Richie Foley some slack, but I cannot do it. It's the white Ebonics that makes me hate him so much. And I sort of hate Virgil for tolerating it, and not finding it insulting to his culture. But putting up with annoying, insulting white people is something black people have to navigate everyday. I am just very unhappy the show was never able to say that is what is going on. Also, Richie saying F-Stop makes Norman Bates look like Mister Rogers shows that Richie cannot come up with a good line to save his life. There are various degrees to go in that simile between Norman Bates and Mr. Rogers. And it's the fact that Richie goes to those two stops first without any other consideration for something funnier and less obvious in between shows why Richie is the annoying white friend everybody hates. I also call b.s. on the idea that Virgil has a closet full of superhero costumes that he can try on in a fashion montage with Richie. Where exactly did he get the Black Vulcan outfit? What is remotely plausible about him owning something like that? I think the thing I really like about the first episode is kind of corny. But the family sitcom banter works SO well. I don't think Michelle Morgan actually got her dues as a voice actress for Sharon, but she is one of the very few things on the show that instantly works right off the bat. Her and Virgil argue like a real brother and sister would, even if their arguments are far more TV-Y7 than most kids that age would have. My biggest regret of the episode was that I think we should have seen more of the Big Bang than we did. The people melting at the end were truly horrific, but the Big Bang is SUCH a far reaching event on this series, that the Pilot made seem much smaller scale than it actually was. It's a kids show, so they can't show TOO much devastation, but considering how pivotal this became to the rest of the series (it almost seems like half the people in town were effected by the gas) we should have gotten a much better sense of that than we did here. ***.

Aftershock:

I love it. Even though Season 1 isn't connected to the DC Universe at large, animated or no, it is the first DC Animation project to EVER use the DC staple words "Metahumans". Ironically not even Superman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, or Justice League / Unlimited ever used those words. And considering how significant they are to both the Arrowverse and DC Extended Universe, that seems a bit surprising. Weirdly, Virgil acts like he coined the term here to Richie, but if that were true, Robert would never have heard of it when discussing it with Sharon. I like that it is Sharon who takes the pro-Static argument against her father. WB action toons were so low-budget in the early 2000's, that they all simply reused explosion shots from Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker. On the other hand, the cheaper reused animation means that the show decided to come up with an ultra cool transformation sequence for Static for the first couple of seasons, first seen in this episode. I've always sincerely hated Hotstreak, which is good, because that seems to be the reaction they are going for. Danny Cooksey. Ugh. This episode is the first to use the Season 1 trope of making the end of episode tag a drawing tutorial, this time on Hotstreak. Do you know who IS a good villain? Edwin Alva. I especially like him because of the creepy electronica theme music they created for him. This show (and episode) used many DC Animated Universe voice actors before they got their big breaks on JL/U like Maria "Hawkgirl" Canals as Shelly Sandoval, CCH "Amanda Waller" Pounder as the corrupt Mayor, and Phil "Green Lantern" Lamar himself as Static. I think my favorite thing in the episode is that this TV-Y7 kids cartoons somehow got across the idea that Virgil accidentally worried his doctor into believing he was having sex with multiple partners. It's kind of weird how light the dialogue is there, and only really an adult would get it, but I thought that was a very funny moment. ****.

The Breed:

I don't think this show gets enough credit for creating a villain as cool as Ebon. Gary Sturgis has an amazingly smooth and scary voice, the design is awesome, and the superpower is freaky. I sincerely do not get why Ebon doesn't regularly make the list of greatest DCAU villains of all time. This episode is also the first to show an essential gift that Static has, that no other DC hero (besides perhaps Flash and Terry McGuinnis) does: He has the ability to talk down his enemies, and get them to do the right thing at the end. Batman and Superman try to do this all the time, but with the exception of Superman and Bizarro, they never get anywhere, and often wind up accidently killing the villain instead. Virgil's empathy is something I think is an essential skill for a crime-fighter to have, so it amazes me that Virgil seems to be the only one who has it. I largely suspect Virgil's empathy and genuineness is the precise reason Batman revealed his secret identity to him in Season 3. Static actually does that part of his job better than freaking Batman, so I see why he engenders so much immediate trust, even with the Dark Knight. Virgil's Lois Lane comment is fun because it shows something else cool about Season 1. Even when the show proves it isn't connected to the DCAU, it connects itself to the DCAU. Over this air, this is Virgil being meta and referencing a comic book character. In hindsight, Virgil is making the comparison because Lois is that famous, and a good example of a real life female reporter to Frieda. I love that about Season 1. Talon is also a very interesting villain. She is outraged that Static seems to think he's better than the Breed, and she possibly thinks it's because his face didn't get messed up in the Big Bang, and he can pass for normal. Virgil later privately calling the Breed "freaks" with Richie, and saying that Derek is now his own nightlight, probably says that she has a better insight into Static's actual mindset than Virgil himself realizes. I also like that she looks down on Shiv for playing around too much. She's a criminal, but takes the reasons she is one very seriously, and doesn't think her deformity is any kind of joke. Which is interesting. Love that the train station is on Milestone Street. Another Easter Egg is Cowan Boulevard. That woman saying "I love my all-butter diet!" before the cop car smashes through the store is probably the randomest conversation interruption I have ever seen on a kids cartoon. Which is why it's funny. You might think it is implausible that a kid like Richie can invent a flying, Mylar disc that folds in on itself, but season 3 retconned the idea that Richie wasn't effected by the Big Bang, and said the gas made him super smart. It's possible this is just the early effects of that. Although in my mind, Virgil should have had more questions about his ability to create the disc than he did. Good episode. ****.

Grounded:

Oh my God! The animation was SO great this episode! Static Shock is the only DCAU show that sometimes has "rubbery" animation. Not only does that help in episodes where Static is fighting a giant amoeba, but it makes the characters' faces unusually expressive too. "Don't tell me we can't get out!", "Okay I won't tell you," is this show at its corny best. The fact that this show uses jokes that dumb means it is fearless in its comedy shamelessness. I kind of think Dwayne McDuffie should sometimes be embarrassed, but the show owns how dumb and cheesy it is. Carmen Dillo is one of the grodier looking Bang Babies. He doesn't ever tend to be the episode's main threat, but usually just a random metahuman Static winds up beating up at the beginning of a given episode. Why is the cleaner the janitor uses green? It looks like he's mopping slime on the floor. Speaking of mopping, I love that Static makes goofy Kung Fu noises as he's dueling the amoeba with a mop. That kid is so doofy and loves his job, and I love him for it. I kind of wish the animation as the amoeba comes out of the shower heads and drains had been animated more sinister. That could have been a great horror movie moment for Frieda. One of the rare things the rubbery animation hurt the episode with. When Richie snags the janitor's keys without him looking, I'm like "Way to go, Mr. Juvenile Offender." The "I caught a germ," line at the end was another groaner. Exactly why do I like this show so much? I don't get it. ***.

They're Playing My Song:

First episode written by Static co-creator and DCAU / JLU superstar Dwayne McDuffie. Rubberband Man is my favorite character, just because even when he's a straight up villain, you can tell he holds nothing against Static himself. He's all, "I got no beef with you," and right before he lands the deathblow, he says, "You aren't the enemy," before rolling off. My biggest complaint about the episode is that the rap isn't very good. I'm hardly an expert, and I don't listen to rap, but even I know, rap is supposed to, you know, sound GOOD. The beats the villains are all fighting over sound like a slow-motion nightmare, and something constructed by somebody on a bad LSD trip. Good rap should you get you pumped. This has none of that. I love the out-of-tune trumpets being played upon the reveal of The Abandoned Gas Station Of Solitude. Richie and Virgil actually have a pretty funny back and forth going about how awful it is. This is another DCAU connection that at first sounds like a comic book reference, but retroactively fits as a reality reference. I love that Sharon calls Virgil by his middle name "Albert", pronounced "All-burt", to which our hero replies his middle name is never to be spoken aloud. I like that Ice Pack is somewhat of a coward. He is all about not snitching, but the second he life is in the tiniest bit of danger, he pretty much gives up everything. He seems to be entirely too worried about losing street cred. You cannot lose what you never had. Later Rubberband Man episodes are better, but he is my favorite character, and this is a pretty good introduction. ****.

The New Kid:

This episode is boring. Specs and Trapper are so annoying, especially because they always call each other "Mr. Specs" and "Mr. Trapper" as if they've totally forgotten who they are. Another early DCAU connection is Justice League's Michael "Flash" Rosenbaum as Trapper, although he did do some earlier DCAU work in Batman Beyond and Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker too. On the upside, Static crashing Edwin Alva's house (and destroying it in the meantime) to lure the giant robot there was clever, and Daisy is a very appealing character and love interest for Static. I like that she is dressed so conservatively and old-fashioned, which is another thing that suggests she doesn't get out much. She's like Willow in the first episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer in having seen the softer side of Sears. The episode is still a bust though. *1/2.

Child's Play:

I didn't give this episode enough credit back in the day. It's below average, but this is an above average show, so it's still pretty good. Although I AM just waiting throughout the entire episode to see the red robot dinosaur from the main title show up. At first glance, Dwayne seems like a bit of a sucker to believe all of the nonsense his brother, excuse me, STEP-BROTHER, was filling his head with. And you know, that's one of the disadvantages of having an antagonist who is good, but being duped, especially on a kids show. They always seem far stupider than real-life people ever would be. But I forgive all that because at the end of the episode, Dwayne has the surprisingly insightful idea to "wait". His brother was rushing into dangerous nonsense, and maybe the lesson is that you might want to seriously consider your actions, and how they effect others before you do them. This isn't letting Dwayne off the hook for being dumb. It's him taking responsibility for being dumb. I love that the crazy preacher at the beginning cups a handful of cherry soda out of the fountain, slurps it, and then belches. What's most impressive about the preacher is that they somehow managed to get all of the beats down about the crazy end of the world guy, without once outright mentioning God, or the death of everyone on Earth. Dwayne McDuffie always knew the correct ways to get across what he wanted, without getting in trouble with the censors. And the humorous situation still plays. I like the design of the giant cartoon sumo wrestler, even his weirdly noticeable nipples. And they are WEIRDLY noticeable. It is the first thing your eye is drawn to in the design, which is kind of freaky on some level. I love Static saying that he didn't think people read comic books anymore. That's a meta moment, and a real life problem, and is one of the reasons this show, and other shows of the era like Justice League and Teen Titans, were created. It seems to me, especially with the advent of the terrible DC Universe Animated Original Movies and Teen Titans Go!, superhero cartoons don't try to get kids to read comics anymore. And that strikes me as a bit strange. I get that the shows and movies themselves are bigger moneymakers than a comic ever would be, but I still think it's a terrible idea to destroy the entire credibility of Dick Grayson the way Teen Titans Go! does every week. Modern superhero cartoons seem to either gear themselves towards adults, or make comics seem incredibly uncool to kids. Which strikes me as extremely shortsighted, especially since the industry, as noted here, has been in dire straights since this episode debuted, and things haven't improved any. We still have the same problem, only the people who read the comics have aged 20 years since then, and are actually starting to die off. We need more cartoons like Static Shock. Justice League Action is a good start, but we need more shows like it. I love the snarky one-liner that Shaq can't even hit a free throw. I love it because Shaq actually guest stars on the show later on, and it's kind of funny how big a pounding that insult is to an upcoming friend of the show. Speaking of funny basketball stuff, I love that the robot sticks out his tongue when he does a slam dunk that smashes through the wall. For the record, Static recording Dwayne's brother saying he didn't care about him, and that he meant nothing to him, was beyond cruel. Honestly, there had to be a better solution than that. Static says he feels incredibly guilty for doing this. And he SHOULD feel guilty. It is a horrible thing to do, for any reason. And I don't like that this episode pretended that was a reasonable solution. It was just plain mean. Still, this episode is better than I remembered otherwise. ***1/2.

Sons Of The Fathers:

Back in the day, this episode got all kinds of crap thrown at it for being so obvious and ham-fisted about such a "complicated" issue as race relations, and nothing more than a pretentious lecture to kids, but do you know what? GOOD! Kids NEED to be lectured about this! Racism is NOT a complex issue, and there is a right answer and a wrong one, and they are both simple. And our country has only moved in the wrong direction since then. If anything, this episode didn't go far enough. I sort of get Richie now. He is overcompensating. Big time. He's Stephen Colbert and Virgil is his One Black Friend. The fact that Virgil doesn't roll his eyes at how pathetic Richie always acts shows me Virgil is a far more decent person than most people his age are. For example, it was pretty clear exactly what Richie's father's entire problem was the second he looked at Virgil. But Virgil, even though he probably knows better deep down, makes excuses to Richie to keep the peace. It's only when the passive aggressiveness turns to actual aggression does Virgil split. And that is far more than the situation called for. Another thing that shows Virgil is awesome is that he instantly tries to get Richie to reconcile with his dad after that. His dad hurt him, yeah, but he's Richie's dad. And it's the fact that Virgil isn't trying to make Richie choose which is why he's an amazing kid. I can't imagine too many kids in the same situation who would be so selfless about something like that. I think the one part of the moral that does NOT hold up in my mind, are Robert's lectures to Dan himself. What he is saying about race is true, but he is making some awfully big assumptions about Dan's entire personality and relationship with his son that he doesn't actually know about. I think the fact that his observations were ultimately true seems almost incidental to me. Even if racism is always bad, and every racist sucks, not every racist became that way for the same reasons, or have the same kinds of relationships to their kids. I personally think Robert is making a few presumptions about Dan here too. Is this Chompers' only appearance? I don't recall ever seeing him before or since, and he is pretty lame as far as Bang Babies go. Ebon is great, because out of all of Static's main villains, he gets the closest to the secret ID. And this isn't the only episode he does it. He makes educated guesses based on hunches, based upon seeing things that most people couldn't without his specific powers. And he follows the leads. I personally think if Ebon was REALLY invested in it, he could have unmasked Static years ago. How does Richie not get that stating his exact street location and building is a totally obvious indication he is wearing a wire? He's the guy who gets shot first on The Wire. I love that Robert thinks Static is a show-off. I also love that Sharon is right that Richie hangs around their house too much, and Virgil hates that fact. When Richie gave him the "knowing" look upon saying "Sisters,", as if he actually knew, I knew Virgil saw there was something else going on that he never picked up on before. This is not normal. I love at the end that Virgil tries to bond with Robert at the end, forgets he's wearing his superhero costume, and Robert's all, "Young man, where ARE your parents?" Frankly, it stretches credibility Robert cannot tell this is Virgil this close up, especially since Static never modifies his voice, but the joke is funny enough for me to let it slide. My favorite moment is the old lady at the beginning huffily searching her purse, while Shiv has his hands out greedily, taking forever, saying "Found it!", and then spraying him in the face with mace. This show does NOT get enough credit for perfectly constructed jokes like that. That was great. ****1/2.

Winds Of Change:

Y'know, if the stuff with Richie and Virgil had occurred in an episode with ANY other villain, I'd give the episode a high grade. But I'm giving this episode a zero on principle. I am amazed at Slipstream for many reasons. Firstly, because he probably has the best character design of any villain besides Ebon and Omniferious, so it seems strange that they didn't bring this totally toyetic character back for more than just a cameo in the series finale. But I know why they didn't. He is an outrageously, offensive stereotype. I'm guessing it was initially supposed to be a bit ironically, but Dave Chappelle had a meltdown for this precise reason. And this is a show for kids that somehow thinks they'll recognize a reference to Fat Albert and Rerun from What's Happenin'!? It is SO freaking ugly, if you don't understand the reference, and even if you do, it's still almost exactly as ugly. I love the stuff with Richie and Virgil though, because it reminds me a bit of my favorite All In The Family episode. In that episode, Mike Stivic is gob smacked to realize that Lionel Jefferson resents him for ONLY talking to him about the civil rights struggle, and nothing else. Mike sarcastically says, "What, do you want me to talk about, the weather?" and Lionel hilariously says, "Black people got the weather!" Richie is Mike Stivic, which is ironic because even though he's acting exactly like him, and he and Mike are white, while Lionel and Virgil are black, the resentment is far easier to quantify and prove, and has nothing to do with race. I see why Virgil prefers spending time with Daisy. Because Daisy likes Virgil because Virgil is Virgil. And Richie likes Virgil because Virgil is Static. And if that's the ONLY thing Richie ever brings up nowadays, that's gotta be a bit soul-crushing for a kid like Virgil, especially if they were friends for other nerdier reasons before the Big Bang. My favorite moment in the episode occurs when Virgil accidentally says what he's thinking about Daisy's beauty out loud. I love that Daisy is SO freaking put together when he does this. She says, "Relax, Virgil. You are not in trouble for complimenting me." I love that because Daisy is pretty much letting Virgil know that she is calling the shots, and that he's okay with her. He has her permission to exist. And that is a fabulous female empowerment moment. I don't know how I missed that at first. Man, this episode had some cool stuff in it. But unfortunately it also had Slipstream. 0.

Bent Out Of Shape:

This is both really, really good. and really, really bad at the same time. I'm splitting the baby and giving it three stars. But it's a mess. A watchable, entertaining mess, granted, but this is the show at its goofiest. The animation from Slightly Off Beat Productions and Top Draw Animation is amazing. The show at its rubbery and most expressive best. The scene of Stringer on stage with the keytair looked absolutely amazing. Great stuff. I also love that Rubberband Man turns into a trash can with cartoon eyes who a dog is eyeing to pee on. Equally funny was him turning into a cartoon chair and saying perhaps Rubberband Man's greatest line ever, and perhaps the greatest line of the season: "Don't sit on me again." Kadeem Hardison absolutely killed that line reading. I'm rolling every time. On the not so great side, the episode doesn't really traffic in any sort of real-life credibility and it's all the worse for it. Puff and Onyx are sitting in a surveillance van that they supposedly "borrowed". Who exactly did they borrow that from? And who would lend it to people as shady as that? Did they steal it? Then why is it parked outside on the street where any cop can see it? The episode is dumb. Speaking of which, I hated Static's line, "The pretty ones are never very bright." I don't know if he realizes it or not, but he is totally insulting Daisy in that moment, whether he knows that or not. I laughed at the goofy expressions on Stringer's face as he listens into the phone with his giant ear and make innocent doe eyes at Sharon. I love the fact that Virgil seems a little appalled he made Sharon cry. And he should feel that way. It was outright appalling and one of the worst things I've seen Virgil do. It always sounds weird in hindsight to hear a gay kid like Richie say things like "Chicks, right?". Dwayne McDuffie's old message board somehow made this show even more interesting than it was at first glance. The episode? So-to-the-freaking-so. ***.

Junior:

Calling it: Omniferious may not have the ABSOLUTE best design on the show, but he definitely has the best costume. It is a shame the show only used him once. Him learning Virgil's identity is interesting, because when his life is later restored in season four, he must still obviously know it. I'm wondering why that didn't come up again. When Junior makes the flub at the opening about his father being charged, I am a little amused that everybody gasps. That is hardly the most offensive thing a snarky teenage kid could publicly say about their shady father. You'd think Junior was leveling accusations of child molestation with the reaction he got. Dakota is full of a bunch of uptight prigs. I love when Omniferious explains his name, Static says, "Latin's an elective". Snarky kid. What is interesting about Alva and Static is that even if Static sort of blames himself for what happened ("I never should have told you,"), I don't recall Alva actually blaming Static later on. He shouldn't, because everything that happened at the end was outside of both of their controls, but that usually isn't the case when a hero is present for a tragic event in their main villain's lives. The villain usually swears vengeance towards the hero at this point. I like that Alva is self-aware enough to get that this is more his fault than anyone else's. And it kind of is. Even if Junior is embracing his inner dirtbag in a way a genuinely good person never would, Alva has been treating him like utter s*** throughout the entire episode. Junior admits he wants attention. And considering Alva's reactions to his otherwise mild behavior at the beginning, you can't exactly blame Junior for learning the wrong lesson there. I love Sharon sticking up for Virgil with her father, and Robert finally telling Virgil the reason he's been flaking lately doesn't matter, because he ultimately trusts him. That was awesome. Speaking of Sharon, Virgil claims that Sharon will lose it if she misses another called from "Reginald". Excuse me?! Who the frak is Reginald?! And does Adam know about him? Sharon is two-timing Rubberband Man while he's in the clink! SHAAAME! The final mutant designs for Junior, despite being slightly too cartoony, were still quite freaky. Which is good. I think the one thing I disliked is how Static stopped Alva's security guards. I like the fact that the guards needed to be stop. Alva pays them, but clearly not enough to die for him. I like that idea. But while they are in their robot flying machines, Static causes a massive blackout, depowering the robot helicopters and having the pilots all have to eject. That is the worst plan I have ever seen. The fact that apparently nobody died from that idea amazes me. First off, eject buttons are not foolproof. They always work perfectly on kids cartoons, but in real life, people always get hurt when they use them. They have yet to develop an injury free seat ejector, even now. Secondly, seven several ton machines just fell from the sky onto a city block. It's interesting we didn't actually see them crash, because it real life, that much falling debris would cause massive casualties. I wouldn't necessarily have brought this up, because this is a kids show, and kids shows, particularly superhero shows, don't actually do realistic mayhem. But I mention it because the episode was written by Dwayne McDuffie, who is the kind of writer who DID usually do that on JLU. That's the only reason. This is probably the best episode of the season. *****.

Replay:

You know, if I were Neil Patrick Harris, I totally would have passed on playing Johnny Morrow. Yeah, this is before Harold and Kumar, and his career was in the doldrums, but Johnny is an attention starved, unattractive, pathetic, former child star. I would have been offended to be offered the role were I NPH. And yes, I know Harris has a sense of humor about himself (that's the entire point of Harold and Kumar) but the problem here is that Morrow isn't actually funny. The one funny thing he does is say in wonder at the end, "I'm on TV again?" Besides that, he's the second lamest villain of the season. Speaking of which, Replay makes the most unnecessary drawing tutorial ever. I don't know ANY kid (or adult for that matter) itching to draw him. I love that Richie jumps when he sees Static in his room. I like that when he asks Virgil why he should help him, and Virgil is canny enough to say "Well, if I really HAVE turned, you don't have much choice, do you?" Replay has interesting powers that are both good and bad. On the plus side, Johnny's rant at the beginning about how everyone wanted to look like, talk like, and BE him says something very interesting about metahumans and their powers, that is not only true of this show, but DC Comics in general. Superpowers seem to be a bit of wish fulfillment for whoever gets them. The specific powers a person get, usually involves the person's greatest desire or need. Johnny needs a bunch of people who look and act like him to affirm his confirmation bias that he is loved by the public. And that's how superheroes always seem to work. I just watched the first season of Netflix's Daredevil and thought the same thing. What are the odds that the specific gifts Matt Murdock was blessed with would hit a blind guy? When it comes to superhuman and metahuman powers, the Universe Seems To Provide. The bad thing is Replay's powers don't make sense when they replicate Static. I think if his power is sophisticated enough to completely copy Static's actual powers, they probably should have been able to replicate his entire actual body. There is no reason the mask could never be removed simply because Johnny didn't know what Virgil looks like under it. I laughed at Virgil and Richie fake crying to Daisy about their lost childhood. Just because it isn't actually funny. But I love it because teenagers that age aren't actually funny, would totally do a joke like this, and you'd probably laugh at it if you are a kid anyways. It's not that Virgil and Richie are likable and funny which is why I like that moment. I like it because it's realistic. For some reason the DVD release uses the second season theme song and end title. This isn't the worst episode of the season, but Johnny is probably the second worst villain of the season after Slipstream. *.

Tantrum:

Whoa! Tantrum was John Cho? I've been watching the dude far longer than I thought. Virgil should have suspected Thomas and Tantrum were the same immediately. They both have the same awful serial killer haircut. I like that Richie felt like the d*ck of the year for making Virgil sit through that home movie. It was super insensitive of him. When Daisy says about him to Virgil, "That's YOUR friend," and Virgil says "Tell me about it," I get the disgust behind those jokes. They were another thing about the show's dialogue that was surprisingly funny. I like that they used the gospel singers for a musical montage at the end title, and the DVD release is the first time we've seen that uninterrupted without Kids WB! squishing the credits, I assume since it originally aired. I was never able to get a recording with those credits uninterrupted before at any rate. At first glance, it sounds like the show is going the cheapskate route by having Michelle Morgan voice Jean, instead of paying a new actress, but I kind of like it, even if it's just this episode. It hints that Sharon is growing into Jean, and takes after her mother. The bad thing about the home movie is that they clearly couldn't get a baby to voice Virgil, and used an adult woman making completely fake-sounding baby noises. The animation on baby Virgil was unusually lousy too. Action cartoons don't usually have to do intimate scenes of baby movements, but you can tell this is a VERY early animation go of this, just based on how badly and unconvincingly they botched it. Also, Richie should NEVER be shown to do badly on a test, just based on what they retconned with him and the Big Bang for Gear later on. Blink and you'll miss it, but Richie's father actually attends the tribute to Jean at the black Church. I love that. I personally probably would have made "Junior" the season finale, but I like that the show did the unexpected thing, and ended with a quiet episode, instead of a mythology-heavy, action one. That's perfectly okay in my book. ****.

Map Of Dakota:

This makes it seem like the world of the TV show is far more planned out than it probably was. Interestingly, it points out the only good thing about the Abandoned Gas Station Of Solitude for a headquarters: Nobody would ever think the look for a superhero in it. Which is pretty much its only virtue. ****.

Static's Gadgets:

The Narrator of this feature seems to think Static's full name is "Static Shock", so it tells me whoever is making these kiddie featurettes is not actually involved with either the show or Milestone. *1/2.

Front Page Bios:

This got two things wrong, and told me something I didn't know. Richie WAS effected by the Big Bang (although this bio was made before that was revealed), and Derek's new name isn't Destruct but D-Struct. I didn't realize Frieda's last name was Goren. The only big character missing from the Bios is Robert. ***1/2.

Static Shock: Bad Guy Beatdown:

A game for the kiddies. Cute, but nothing more. **1/2.

 

[Erased Paper]

I might not have minded that so much, except The New Kid inexplicably used the second season theme song for the six episodes it contained, so you aren't really getting the original series as it originally aired.

Fortunately, the proper main titles are present for six of the seven episodes on the second disc (don't know WHAT the deal is with "Replay"). So you'll still have it on DVD.

When Kids WB reaired some season 1 episodes during the second and third seasons, they had the season 2 intro pasted onto them. 'Replay' was one of those episodes.

I don't know about CN, but when Disney XD aired this show, all of the season 1 episodes had the "right" opening.

I've heard that some episodes of "Batman" on Amazon Video have the "Batman/Superman Adventures" intro pasted onto them. (ie. episodes that Kids WB aired). It's very weird.

I like that they used the gospel singers for a musical montage at the end title, and the DVD release is the first time we've seen that uninterrupted without Kids WB! squishing the credits, I assume since it originally aired.

When Disney XD aired the show, some of the late night airings had the credits unaltered. I'm not sure if they aired the one for this episode, though.

I was never able to get a recording with those credits uninterrupted before at any rate.

Yeah, and WB would cut it off, abruptly.

 

[Fone Bone]

When Kids WB reaired some season 1 episodes during the second and third seasons, they had the season 2 intro pasted onto them. 'Replay' was one of those episodes.

They did that for all of the episodes of season 1 in the second and third season, so it makes no sense why Replay has the new title. Even more confusing is that when Replay was added as an extra episode to the last Young Justice DVD they used the original title.

 

[Erased Paper]

They did that for all of the episodes of season 1 in the second and third season,

No, after the first season, some of those episodes (like 'Aftershock') were not rerun again until the show was added to the weekday schedule during the fourth season. So, on Kids WB, 'Shock to the System' aired with the season 2 intro, while 'Aftershock' had the season 1 one.

 

[Fone Bone]

No, after the first season, some of those episodes (like 'Aftershock') were not rerun again until the show was added to the weekday schedule during the fourth season. So, on Kids WB, 'Shock to the System' aired with the season 2 intro, while 'Aftershock' had the season 1 one.

Ah.

 

[A Brisk Autumn Day]

I really hope this show gains a new following because of this DVD release.

Sadly I think it would need a retail release for that to really be a thing. But at least fans are happy.

 

[lucas]

I think super shock the top of the dcau and the western animation