As the Milestone Universe relaunches Static, the teenage superhero’s first showdown against a familiar foe has consequences for his family.
The following contains spoilers for Static Season 1 Episode #1, by Vita Ayala, ChrisCross, Nikolas Draper-Ivey and AndWorld Design, on sale now.
The Milestone Universe has been reimagined for a new generation, with subtle changes updating the shared superhero universe that extends to its fan-favorite superhero Static. As teenager Virgil Hawkins acclimates to his newly gained superpowers and its impact on his daily life at school and home, the fledgling superhero has already earned a supervillain nemesis with a familiar face as the Milestone relaunch introduces its iteration of the classic antagonist Hotstreak, with disastrous consequences for Virgil and his family as the two rivals square off.
The Milestone Returns special updated Static’s origin to have him and many of his peers participate in a Black Lives Matter protest in their hometown of Dakota. As Virgil marched with his friends and high school classmates, the peaceful demonstration was violently met by counter-protestors in the streets of Dakota. Among the counter-protestors confronting Virgil and his friends were the high school bullies that frequently harassed Virgil, including the antagonistic Francis Stone. As riot police doused the protestors and counter-protestors with tear gas, an experimental mutagen in the gas triggered Virgil’s electromagnetic superhero transformation into Static. Virgil wasn’t the only character to gain powers from the incident, however, with Francis gaining his own unique power set to continue to antagonize Virgil and his family.
As Virgil and his family contemplate how they should best address Virgil’s burgeoning electric powers, they are confronted by Francis at their own home. Francis now displays pyrokinetic powers, evidently gained from the mysterious mutagen in the tear gas, and demands that Virgil come outside and face him. As the two super-powered teenagers face off, the crossfire from their showdown results in Virgil’s house being set ablaze. Though the Hawkins family is evidently able to escape from their home without any discernible long lasting physical harm, the house itself appears irreparably destroyed by the raging inferno as the family watches heartbroken and Francis laughs cruelly at what he has inflicted on them.
In the original Milestone run, Virgil and Francis were in opposing high school gangs, with Virgil falling into his crew after being bullied relentlessly by Francis and his friends. This gang war was quelled by the assembled kids being doused by the mutagen Quantum Juice, resulting in several of those present gaining superpowers. Discovering his powers, Francis created the supervillain mantle Hotstreak and formed his own gang while continuing his grudge against Virgil. Hotstreak would go on to become one of Static’s most enduring foes, both in the original comic book run and animated series, before eventually being defeated by Static at a football game when Static used the goalposts to take down his longtime enemy.
The new Static comic book series has wasted no time in reintroducing Francis as the villainous Hotstreak, with the sadistic teenager already expanding his vendetta to impact Virgil’s entire family with an attack that literally strikes very close to home. Francis has emerged triumphant from his first fiery fracas against Virgil, with even the high schooler’s newly gained electromagnetic powers not quite enough to gain an advantage over his bully.
Right from jump, the relaunch has made the fight extremely personal for Virgil Hawkins but, if there’s one thing consistent about Static in any continuity, it’s that the young hero will always rise again no matter the personal cost.
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