Static Shock Gives a Classic Character Powers for the First Time

Warning! Spoilers for Static: Season One #2!

A classic Static Shock character is getting powers for the first time in Milestone’s rebooted Static. Virgil Hawkins’ friend Daisy Watkins is joining Dakota’s new superhero as she learns she has abilities of her own.

DC Comics and Milestone’s beloved teenage hero Static has returned to comics after a long hiatus. With Virgil’s new series, there have been several shakeups in the city of Dakota that remix elements from past iterations. Milestone Returns: Infinite Edition #0 previously revealed that Virgil didn’t receive his powers from a gang riot, but from a Black Lives Matter protest. The change updated Static’s origin story for additional relevance, and fixed an issue that had been ignored throughout the comics and the animated Static Shock. Since meta-humans in Dakota received their powers from the Big Bang, it didn’t make sense for all of them to be present at a gang war. Some characters who had received powers did not have a background in gangs, and seemed to be at the Big Bang coincidentally.

Now, Daisy Watkins has been revealed to be a meta-human with unique powers in Static: Season One #2, written by Vita Ayala with art by Nikolas Draper-Ivey and ChrisCross. When Daisy’s mom calls her from another room, she closes her laptop and a burst of power comes through her hands. Although it’s unclear what her specific powers are, they look similar to Static’s electricity. However, her hands also radiate an energy which causes reality to appear as if it’s glitching.

Considering that Daisy closes her laptop and that seems to ignite her abilities, combined with the crackling sound they cause, she might have technology-based powers. Such a reveal would make it seem that Static and Daisy are a compatible match. Formally Virgil’s high school girlfriend, Daisy had always been written as another supporting cast member. Now, it appears that Daisy will be on a journey parallel to Virgil, who still hasn’t taken the name “Static” at this point. The change is among the biggest remixed elements in this new iteration of Static, as it seems his love interest could also become his crimefighting partner.

Having received abilities from attending the Black Lives Matter protest, Daisy’s powers shouldn’t be too much of a shock. The experimental gas dispersed by police affected everyone in the crowd, and Daisy is no exception. As the series continues in this exciting direction, more surprises and deviations from Static’s traditional backstory are likely to come. Although such additions to Virgil’s journey to becoming Static are drastic expansions of the source material, they allow for old and new readers alike to have a fresh experience in every issue. It seems like Static won’t just be the story of Virgil Hawkins, but also Daisy Watkins.

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