James Gunn Can't Make a Movie for DC's Fan-Favorite Spider-Man Replacement — and the Reasons Why Are Infuriating

This summer, the box office will be seeing the success (or shocking disappointment) of two big superhero titles: Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps and James Gunn‘s Superman. While these are both very exciting movies hitting the big screen, there’s a DC Comics character that needs to take the spotlight next: Static Shock. It was announced that the fan-favorite character, who had his first full appearance in the 1993 issue Static #1, would be getting the movie treatment when Michael B. Jordan jumped on to produce a movie, as revealed at DC FanDome in 2020.

During press for Superman, Gunn, who’s now in charge of DC Studios, was asked about the status of the project. “No updates on Static Shock. There’s a whole bunch of complexities behind that character right now so I don’t have good news for you on Static Shock,” was what he unfortunately had as an update. That might not be the answer fans wanted to hear, but it makes sense if you know Static’s comic book history.

DC Comics' Static Shock — Image via DC Comics

Most fans might know Virgil Hawkins due to the series Static Shock, but he first appeared in his own self-titled comic book series, Static. Virgil, alongside other heroes including Icon and Hardware, was co-created by the late, great Dwayne McDuffie as part of Milestone Media. Milestone was unique in that it was a creator-owned imprint. DC could publish comics featuring Milestone’s heroes, but Milestone still held the rights to the characters. McDuffie, alongside Milestone co-founders Derek T. Dingle, Michael Davis, Denys Cowan, and Christopher Priest, wanted to create more diverse characters and update the tropes that went with certain comic book characters. McDuffie told The World’s Finest that he and Milestone’s founders wanted to make Static the contemporary answer to Spider-Man:

“Everyone agreed that we should have a teen aged hero and I’d previously tried to develop something along those lines, strongly influenced by Spider-Man, in the late-eighties when I was over at Marvel. I’d always been partial to Spider-Man as a child, particularly the teen version… I wanted to do a contemporary teen hero to fill that then-empty niche… I sort of dusted him off for Milestone and threw him into the pot.”

Despite having top-tier creators, compelling characters, and one of the “Big Two” publishers launching its comics, Milestone struggled due to the comics market hitting a slump in 1993. It eventually shut down its publishing operations in 1997 and chose to license out its characters, which resulted in the creation of Static Shock. After McDuffie’s tragic death in 2011, Denys Cowan, Reginald Hudlin and Derek Dingle announced they were re-launching the Milestone Media line of comics. This led to McDuffie’s widow, Charlotte Fullerton, suing the trio, due to excluding McDuffie’s estate. This explains the “complexities” that James Gunn mentioned, as these legal issues might explain why previous efforts to bring Static to the screen haven’t worked out.

Static Shock Starred in His Own Popular Animated Series

James Gunn might not be bringing Static Shock to the big screen yet, but the character has thrived in animation. Static Shock premiered in 2000 and ran for four seasons, introducing Virgil Hawkins (played by Phil LaMarr) to a new generation of fans. Not only did Static Shock deliver great superhero action, but it also wasn’t afraid to tackle some heavy issues throughout its run. Episodes like “Jimmy” and “Sons of the Fathers” addressed topics of gun violence and racism, respectively, and handled those subjects with nuance. Static Shock even flipped the script when it made Virgil’s friend Richie Foley (Jason Marsden) into the tech whiz Gear. It was rare for a white, nerdy kid to be the sidekick instead of the hero.

The biggest impact Static Shock left on the animation industry concerns Dwayne McDuffie’s career. He managed to land assignments on animated series, including Justice League and Ben 10: Alien Force. McDuffie even helped script a crossover between the Justice League and Static! Static also made an appearance in the second season of Young Justice, where he and other teenagers received superhuman powers after being experimented on by the alien conquerors known as the Reach. Static wasn’t the only Milestone hero to appear in Young Justice, as Icon and Rocket made their first appearances in Season 1.

Static Shock’s Comic Book Storylines Continue To Take Risks

Static Season One Akira — Image via DC Comics

Static didn’t just break ground on the silver screen, but on the page as well. Throughout the original Static series, Virgil Hawkins faced issues that were not typically found in superhero comics. His first nemesis, Hotstreak, is a white supremacist. His friend Rick Stone (who inspired Richie Foley in Static Shock) came out to Virgil, leaving him to wrestle with his feelings. Even Virgil’s attempts to take the next step in his relationship with his girlfriend Daisy were handled with a surprising amount of nuance, though it led to friction between Milestone and DC. However, the legal maze surrounding Milestone’s characters ultimately affected their appearances in comics. Geoff Johns revealed that he couldn’t add Static to the Teen Titans, saying: “I really wanted Static on the team, but there’s so much red tape there that every time I requested it DC said ‘not yet’ and so I never got to have him.”

The 10 Best DC Comics Shows of All Time, Ranked

I am vengeance. I am the night.

Static and the rest of the Milestone heroes would eventually join the DC Universe in the wake of Final Crisis, and the electromagnetic hero would get to join the Titans… until the “New 52” wiped the slate clean. Static’s series in that era was sadly short-lived, but fans finally got to witness Virgil Hawkins in all his glory during the Static: Season One miniseries. Vita Ayala, ChrisCross, and Nikolas Draper-Ivey give Static an anime-inspired update, blending together elements of the original Milestone comics with the animated series. It also gives timely updates to Virgil Hawkins’s origin, as the moment where he gets his powers is changed from a gang shootout to a Black Lives Matter protest. If James Gunn and Peter Safran ever do get to develop a Static Shock movie, they have the perfect template in that comic.