It is not uncommon for superheroes to appear or disappear from a universe in the midst of cosmic events or line-wide reboots. It’s more uncommon for superheroes to disappear because of legal issues. It is even rarer still for them to return. However, one popular teen superhero long associated with DC just made a triumphant return to the main DC Universe.
The return came about during DC K.O.: The Kids Are All Fight Special #1. Written by Jeremy Adams, with art by Travis Mercer, the story centers around Jon Kent. The younger Superman was press-ganged into watching the Justice League Watchtower and the tween superheroes judged too inexperienced to help during the DC K.O. crisis.
The babysitting gig took an unexpected turn when Fairplay, the son of Mister Terrific, detected an odd energy signature on Earth. He determined this was connected to the New Gods‘ Granny Goodness, who kidnapped him as an infant and raised him before his father rescued him. Fairplay got his friends to join him in tracking Granny down, with Jon Kent in hot pursuit.
The young heroes soon discovered the nature of Granny Goodness’ scheme. She was back to her usual tricks of brainwashing young people into becoming willing slaves to Darkseid. However, rather than her usual slow torture, she was using a new machine that subverted the delta brain wave in humans. She was also seeking a young superhero whose “immense power will transform my army into something unstoppable.”
What teen superhero returned to the DC Universe?
Unfortunately, even with backup, the tween heroes were no match for Granny Goodness and her Female Furies. Thankfully, the hero Granny was searching for was close by and ready to put on his old costume to save the day. The hero was Virgil Hawkins, a.k.a. Static, who quickly shorted out Granny’s brain wave machine. This allowed the other heroes to rally and send the evil New Gods running back to Apokolips.
Static’s current status in the DC Universe had been unclear until this issue. He was originally created for Milestone Media in 1993. DC published comics based on Static and the other Milestone characters, but they remained independently owned.
Static is most famous for headlining his own animated series, Static Shock, which premiered in 2000. While originally intended to remain independent, Static Shock was integrated into the DCAU during its second season. This led many to think Static was a DC hero, though he was technically only licensed to it. Static was also adapted into the Young Justice animated series.
In 2008, DC brought the Milestone characters into the main DC Universe. This briefly led to Static being part of the Teen Titans. However, the classic Milestone Universe was revamped with the 2020 Milestone Returns special. This created another new universe, unconnected to DC’s Earth Prime.
However, with the events of the DC K.O. special, it is apparent that a variant of Static exists on Earth-Prime. The big question is how much of his history differs from that of the Milestone Returns Static. Thankfully, an answer is apparently forthcoming in the upcoming New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident.
DC K.O.: The Kids Are All Fight Special #1 is now available at comic shops everywhere.
