"From time to time we receive letters from readers who wonder why there’s so much moralizing in our mags. They take great pains to point out that comics are supposed to be escapist reading and nothing more. But somehow, I can’t see it that way. It seems to me that a story without a message, however subliminal, is like a man without a soul." - Stan Lee (1970)

The boy's mom died in the show in a town-wide riot, his best friend endured anti-gay sentiment in the comics, and in the show he dealt with the temptation of joining a gang due to bullying, PLUS got his powers during a fight between gang members and police. To claim Static is too political is to ignore his very history as a character.

Static was an iconic character because his stories we're about real-world issues.

the speech Virgil's dad gives about the world changing around bigots without them noticing is really....extremely relevant to these people who always complain about wokeness in their favorite comics. Most of them were challenging politics at the time, but we don't notice that as a kid, so we don't think of those issues as political when we grow up, because that's just how much the world changed.

I honestly prefer the original origin story. It felt more personal to Vergil and got its political points across just fine. Saying he’s involved with BLM is one thing (which I honestly felt the original Static would’ve been a part of if it happened back then), but having that as his origin story kinda feels like he had nothing to learn from this. The original had him learn that he had to be the bigger man and not simply kill his tormentors (throwing away the gun), this version sounds like he already knows that (peaceful protesting, not getting involved with the criminals, etc) and it kinda just feels like he’s being punished for standing up for his beliefs.

Static throwing away the gun seems like way more of a defining moment honestly.

Milestone was literally created because of a lack of minority characters

I fell in love with static because of the real world story plots. He faced real problems real issues and that's what made him a really cool hero.

The Static Shock show is remembered fondly, and one of those reasons is b/c it didn't treat its audience like dumb little kids and brought up real world problems that they would inevitably experience. Also, when it did talk about real world problems, it wasn't shoved them down your throat. It was well written b/c the writers cared about the message and put effort into teaching that message. More writers need to take notes from Static Shock.

Shout out to my friend Nikolas Draperivery he’s the illustrator/Artist behind the new comic...proud of you my guy

This video deserve an award

I used to be majorly bigoted towards all sorts of groups, be it African Americans, gays, Trans people, etc. Growing up with my family didn't really help. All it really takes is to get informed. I was incredibly ignorant, and was in an echo chamber of that same ignorance. Part of my rehabilitation has been the creators I looked up to speaking the facts against this ignorance, and I can't thank you enough for providing the same to so many people.

I'm more upset that the setting put Vergil on the moral high ground from the start he was ready to kill someone in cold blood and needed the responsibility of his powers to become better

Dwanye McDuffie is rolling in his grave, from people using him to criticize the politics that they're uncomfortable with

The episode of Static referenced that tackles racism from his best friend's father was 1) fantastic, and 2) recently shown in its entirety, without any ad breaks, at DC Fandome. That completely free, online event that I thought a bunch of us DC nerds showed up to watch. I would think that the episode, its core messages, and the political nature of Static and Milestone would be fresh on peoples' minds after Fandome where I believe this comic was first announced along with the Milestone relaunch. I personally love it when comics can balance very real and important themes/messages with their super heroism. You get the best of both worlds really, a fun, action packed adventure with cool characters, and the opportunity through story telling for the characters and audience to learn about how other people see the world. Static pulled this balance off extremely well in its time and I hope this new comic and manage the same.

I agree 100% with your video. Saying the new Static Shock is "too woke" is nonsense because it always had important real-life issues such as homelessness, hopelessness, race, biggotry, drug abuse, gun violence and even general injustice. I will say that you being a White male and being so passionate about all of this speaks volumes and I am glad you did this. I've never been one to hate anyone based on race or sexual orientation. Stupid comes in all races and all genders, and so does goodness. Hell, I'm mixed with so much shit that if I was racist, I'd only be hating part of myself. I could go on and on, but I'll just end this by saying I look forward to more Static Shock and more of your content. Subscribed!

On some level everything is political. People hide behind "it's too political" when they're really saying they just want to silence political perspectives that aren't their own. Great video btw. I really like Static Shock and got introduced to him via the cartoon. It's cool to see he's still relevant today.

Static: Sometime I wish there was a black superhero back home to look up to. John Stewart: Am I a joke to you?

I honestly prefer his original origin with him learning to throw away the gun it’s kind of his uncle Ben moment

They did Dwayne McDuffie HORRENDOUS by claiming he's rolling on his grave, that's just disrespectful

I have created a new backstory forStatic. It keeps Virgil getting bullied by Heatwave and his revenge plot, but it has updated circumstances in the origin. He grabs his dad's gun to kill Heatwave. He finds Heatwave, Heatwave's gang and other gangs, causing riots using the "BLM" movement, to justify their actions, but they don't believe in the cause and just want to cause chaos. So, Virgil using his dad's gun tries to stop Heatwave, and proclaim that Heatwave doesn't believe in the BLM movement. Then the police come in teargassing the rioters and Virgil- This tear gas as you expect give them superpowers. The rioters and Virgil manages to escape. __ I think this backstory address and reflects on how people try to use the BLM to cause chaos -Jake Paul Meanwhile other people, who actually believe in the movement stop these rioters. Edit: Yes, I mixed up with heatwave and hot streak, my bad. Add ons: We will still have Wade peer pressuring Virgil to take action against hotstreak, but instead Virgil takes one of his father's gun. After the Big Bang, Virgil would throw away the gun, since everyone loves that moment, and is integral to his character growth. The Big Bang would still happen on Blood Island.

I honestly didn't know Static was political, I would try to wake up early on Saturdays and watch it as a kid, and I loved it. A few years ago watching Young Justice Static made an appearance and I was like "Static?" with a big grin on my face. Political or not Static is awesome, easily one of my favourite heros ever. It can be politcal as much as the creators want, good, I love when stories have elements of real life in them, for me they make the story more emotional and worth investing in.

The art for the comic is amazing though.

When I first heard people say Static is getting too political, my thought was, "didn't they have an episode about school shootings in the early 2000s? And a lot of antagonists came from gangs?" I don't remember a lot of individual episodes, but the gun violence one stuck with me, along with the one where the Hawkings go to Africa. But I did think Static was awesome, and I have a hard time believing Robert Hawkings not raising his kids to stand up for what they believe in.

I love static and I am happy he is back . But I think people dislike of his new origin isn’t because it’s political it’s just that back then the situation of execute force was more relevant and they cut out the things like gang violence and Virgil going to shoot his bullys. It’s like if Spider-Man never let the criminal get away to kill uncle Ben. Peter learns with his power comes responsibility and also the responsibility to not be selfish with it and stop crime. Like he learnt all this because he did something bad because he as a character messed up . And I think that if static doesn’t have flaws he won’t be engaging . Like in this he is just a victim who gets powers doing good. Even The perfect character is flawed or else what do they have to learn. Just doing good because it’s in your nature and being perfect isn’t relatable. His restraint to kill his bully’s after having power to do so even tho he is compelled to by emotion not only makes him relatable for havin said emotion but makes him better and aspiring for that restraint . And the new version cuts that out and he is nearing merry sure status in perfection. Not to mention people’s personal beliefs on BLM protest . Personally idm as they are with good intention it’s just comparing it to issues that plagued the era of static shock is unfair to people who went through that . Either way I really don’t care as I am happy to see him return I just don’t want him to get messed up as a character because he was honestly just cool.

People that say comics shouldn’t be political seem to forget a huge amount of their favourite superheroes made their first appearances punching Hitler.

A big reason I prefer the original is it explained pretty simply why most of the bang babies were assholes or straight-up Villians. They were gangsters; of course, when given REAL power, they’re going to push up their bullshit. Peaceful protesters in power are more likely to stick to their morals, less easily explaining the villian ratio.

These same people called X-Men "too political" when the plight of mutants was literally an allegory for racism. Sometimes I wonder if these people even read comic books.

I think part of it is nostalgia love. Honestly the original story has a place in my heart and is a lot more interesting than the BLM spin on it. I don’t care if it’s political. The original series actually did so good at political topics. I just think the original was a lot more interesting and touches on something that not many media touches on. We see BLM in the media all the time. Gang violence is something that happens a lot in my area that everyone fears, but no one in the media talks about. But I think I may have a bias because I love historical pieces and looking into pieces of the past. I love historical fiction. So I’m very interested in historical issues.

As long as they keep the moral Complexity of static I'm happy. Because that what made static so interesting is he used to be in the wrong alot. Like dude was gonna kill a bully or i think was starting to become on later. And his dad told him you can't. Because we need to talk about the social issue of the time but not define the character in them. That why I love captain America he went from just being the poster boy of America to being what America should stand for

"Sons of the Fathers" best episode. Virgil's dad was the best in that episode.

the issue that I have with the new storyline is that its just social media based it takes out a lot of the emotion of the original concept. Like take his family relation its now butchered and static originally tackled issues in a way that wasn't forcing it to be the main concept in a sence. Stick with the original it was a perfect piece already it didn't need an update. The og showed static as a nerdy normal kid who was tryibg to balance his new life but also just enjoying life learning and handling lessons. The new one just shoves issues in your face and takes away from the core ties of static like how his mothers sacrifice and her death from a gun made him have a conflict of using one and joining in the gang riots. even with racism it was a ep that they put into teaching points but showing it in a teachable way thats how it put most of their lessons not like the new version that makes it the "in your face" of everything just starting off with it. I think it should've just been a continuation of the new 52 or just left alone especially since McDuffie passed

Has there ever been a single person whining about something being too political who wasn't a massive hypocrite? Unlikely.

The only surprise to me was that Virgil's mom was still alive.

This is kind of off topic, but I actually really like your takes on this stuff, because I'm tired of the right wing views of ew politics I don't agree with I HATE, or centrists that believe no politics should be in stories but... That's the point of stories. The point is that they have something to say and should be impactful, they are the most powerful invention of humanity because they are humanity themselves. I also like how unapologetic you are about this stuff. Thanks for the videos bro

The problem isn't it's too political but it's the removal of the complexity of what happened to Virgil up to the point he got his powers in order to make SS part of BLM. It is just low effort propaganda that doesn't understand what made Captain America great propaganda for an example. Original SS origin tackled a lot of different societal issues giving it nuance, new one just hops on a trend addressing stuff very on the surface.

The fact that I grew up to look almost just like Virgil on accident is hilarious to me I mean brown eyes? Check. Black/dark brown hair? Check. Brown skin? Check. Dreadlocks? Check. 5’8? I’m 5’8 and a half so that’s close enough. Male? Check. And I’m a actor. I mean... if they still casting for the static shock movie 👀👀👀

This is almost as stupid as that time everyone complained that watchmen got political. Comics are allowed to be political, and really, always have been.

Yoo, you reminded me of why I loved Static Shock as a kid. As a non-American, it was interesting to see a perspective of a black hero's experience and life. Had static came out in this era, reactionary garbage will call it 'woke', even for its time.

Those who says that static is too political never read the books or watched the show. They are just disconnected or themselves racist.

I feel like a lot of these anti-woke, anti-sjw types want the characters they read to have mistreatment that's allegorical. So they can sympathize with the plight that mutants face in X-Men comics, but not real life marginalized communities. It doesn't make much sense, when you think about it.

Saying that black lives matter shouldn't be political. It's not that only black lives matter. It's that often times black people lives are treated as lesser

I've got to admit, I've been watching and enjoying more of your videos as they show up in my recommended section but since I've never been a hardcore comic book fan it always felt like it was a niche I wasn't sure I needed to add to my already sizeable queue. But then I clicked on this video, and you spoke so well about so many important topics that you immediately got a sub from me. Thank you for taking such care in being as clear and concise as possible on this topic. Too many nerd spaces, even those on the right side of history, refuse to speak up about important political issues like this even when the stories themselves tend to be so inherently drenched in these issues. While I was definitely enjoying the random videos that caught my eye in the recommended, I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing your content in my KZfaq queue for your new releases.

Not to mention: Captain america: ww2 and nazi germany this is political Iron man: genius playboy millionaire who happens to invent outrageous tech and weapons X-men as a whole: represents segregation and dehumanizing people with mutations and fighting against a system that wants to enslave them for war= malcom "X" and the civil rights movement

*New Static is too political* Uhh, did these people forget that his Mom literally died to police brutality?

The sons of the father episode stuck hard with me...when I was younger I was kinda kicked out of my best friends house by him because his dad came home and found me there in 6th grade then again in 10th...no reason more than being black but noone understood what that felt like...that episode made me feel like I wasn't alone

These people that complain about this stuff aren't actual comic/super hero fans. They are only here just to find something new to vilify.

Static is a great example of politics enhancing the characters & the setting rather than just being there. It’s never politics = bad to me it’s implementation & learning how to do that helps spread a message more

This is why I like your channel, it's not afraid to go political when it's necessary and you bring up facts from past comics and shows that prove its not too different from past politics. Every thing isn't black and white with politics as most people think, there is a Grey area where people choose not to think about.

I’ve always loved Static. I’m white and was born into a lower middle class family in a predominantly white small town. My first exposures to the ideas or racism, school shootings, and gang violence were from the Static Shock cartoon. It really helped me get how pointless and stupid racism is, and why it shouldn’t be encouraged or celebrated. Unfortunately the world seems to be getting worse in that regard. Especially in the US since the 2016 presidential election.

this comment wont reach but i would still like to thank people like drake for getting me out of the right wing pipeline during 2016-2018. i got so upset that "leftists are ruining comics and anime" but i was just an ignorant sheltered kid and i dont think i would have ever met the people who made me change my mind if i was still that little racist/sexist twerp. ofcourse garbage is still released by leftists (as well as right wingers), but its not because of the politics, its just bad writing. the only reason online reactionairys get made at politics in games/comics is because its not the polictics they agree with

I prefer the original origin story personally.

I know making "controversial" videos is probably not fun because you have to deal with all the hate that comes with it but good got standing up and stating the truth Drake.

"Wait their comics were political?" "Always have been,asshole." Am really happy to see Static back!!

I don't think people really are against something being political - they just angry these creators have political views polar opposite to their own. :) And yes for me best fiction (especially superhero one) is the one which help people dealing with real life issues.

I wish Static gets a live-action, but I feel like it won't because the issues Static tackles are too real and will be labelled offensive. But yea, I just wanna see a Static live-action and just fangirl in my room.....

Static Shock is a black teenager that dealt with the problems and social issues a black teenager in an urban environment deals with. Its always been political.

Who’s mad, I promise I’m not gonna cyberbully them.

I prefer the old static ciz i love it the way it's

I remember this one quote from McDuffie about seeing black kids dressing up as static in conventions and his response though he loves seeing it he wishes to see white kids also dressed up as static which I think is a very powerful message

Sucks that people are dumb, but that ART STYLE THO

These people complaining about wokeness either haven't been alive long enough to have read Dwayne Mcduffie's comics in the 90s or have seen the cartoon in the early 2000s. Why did I have to become an adult in the height of a changing political climate?

Let be honest y’all,, if a show has a black character a lot of people will call “wokeness” on it.

I just hope it approaches the situations the same way the old series did and am excited to see where they go with the characters

Making it BLM was a given, but I'd rather they do something along the lines of Static being an already established hero in Dakota with this protest giving way for a new Big Bang; thus introducing some new metas into the world. That way it doesn't get rid of the growth he had in his origin through him getting rid of his gun n whatnot. No disrespect to Mcduffie's colleagues, but they aren't him. They had huge fights and creative differences back in the day, which led up to Milestones downfall. I hope the new books good but given the current writer's track record, I'm not holding my breath.

Look I can understand getting mildly peeved about certain politically charged issues being put in the media you consumed when they weren't before. Static always had them though. You think a comic book about a black teen originally written decades ago wasn't gonna have stories pertaining to race in America? Come on now.

Being honest, I think that comics are actually a good medium for discussing sensitive political issues. I honestly agree with your views and think that Static being political actually helps the character stand out and helps younger demographics understand that these problems exist and that they can be part of the solution.

Drake may not get to pay attention to his older comments but I really resonated with the creator who had to deal with essentially being big and black. I used to be a muscular 350+ lbs 6’3” Afro Caribbean man who got all types of strange or disapproving looks, run-in’s with police as well and just generally living a life where I felt like a lot of people were afraid of me. I’m a guy who tries not to kill insects or pests and just tries to carry them outside of where I live instead. Among a whole host of other things. I am nowhere near a threat. Today after a Sleeve Gastrectomy I am 220 lbs still 6’3” slim build and people are so much less afraid of me I don’t get any looks from officers anymore nobody is concerned of me being a threat. It has been completely disgusting to notice that difference over me just being visually smaller. The world can be a terrible place but there’s also beauty. Try your best to live in the beauty.

I can agree on the political part, but shouldn't that conflict on the gang problem and all the villains? There was a logical explanation why most of the people affected by the gas became super villains, since they were already criminals. Now that most of the people are legit protesters, the origin of lots of villians over a legit protest cause may do more harm than good. I am saying this without reading the material, since I live in Brazil and have no possibility to reach it, speacially because my currency over dollar is ridiculous.

9/10 people who say that there shouldn't be politics in comics have never read a comic

Using the phrase "just a few bad apples" in the face of police brutality and corruption is an insult in and of itself. Especially when you remember the phrase actually says that all it takes is ONE bad apple to spoil the bunch.

I do like the OG origin story more than the BLM story because I'm a black kid from Brooklyn Static Shock was what originally helped me understand why gang violence happens, but I understand them wanting to update it.

Static is back. Hell yes

Here’s the thing. Static is too perfect as a powerful black character that I cannot find a flaw. Let Static be Static babeh

I really like the original Static Shock, and am really hopeful for the new reboot, one thing I am a little worried about (but I am optimistic), is the handling of the political themes. In Static Shock (the original) it was very good at showing how problems, and people are not simply right and wrong, these issues are not simple, and it handled complex problems such as the morality of a good person who indirectly supports systemic racism. Unlike older comics, newer comics feel a lot more politically biased in the messaging (which is why myself and many others have mostly dropped comics), this is why when we see "BLM" and such in a comic, we immediately know the beliefs of the author, and associate it with other comics by people with similar beliefs. I am really hopeful that the new Static Shock is able to have the nuance of the original, and I hope we can have a comic book renaissance soon

For my Opinion Static is way more relatable of a character than Spiderman. This is only my opinion.

I'd say that the new origin story is not that creative compared to the previous one. Old one had layers, and started off Vergil in a dark and vulnerable place. With the discovery of powers raising him to become a hero. For the new one, you can argue that he already is a "hero" because he is peacefully protesting for a good cause which results in conflict from other protestors, which I'm guessing is going to be propolice, with police being seen as the direct antagonist for the series.

As someone who hates the new Static origin let me explain. It's not that it's political, it's that it takes away a core concept of Virgil's character. When he was powerless he was peer pressured into joining a gang and actively thought about killing his school bullies. Yes Virgil makes the right decision and tosses the gun before becoming Static, but in a moment of powerlessness he almost becomes a gangbanging murderer. It lets him connect to the villains he fights because he was almost there. To me that's a core concept of the character that's gone if he just got his powers from a BLM protest because then Virgil no longer has a past that lets him connect to villains. The only way he stays the same is if you see attending a BLM protest as a bad thing. I don't. I don't take issue with Virgil attending BLM protests, your video more than highlights moments from the original series of comics and cartoons that support that for his character, I take issue with the gang elements being completely eliminated from Virgil's origin.

Honestly, if a comic book gets political, I’m not surprised, because superheroes during World War Two and the Cold War were used to “spread the message”…as I would say. To me, politics would mainly discuss problems in a community or the world in general.

Being a 6'4" black Gen X'er....I really don't think Static has the same fanbase now as it did when it came out. We hailed Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, even Todd McFarlane over at Image, and please don't forget Kevin Grevioux as HEROES! Not "heroes" but all caps HEROES! These men showcased something that growing up Black and in America, we just didn't get a chance to see too often....Black superheroes who actually lead lives as Black Americans. The superhero alter ego is great but showing who these people were outside of their costume was just as important. And without very many Black writers, often times they either omitted those lives or gave them some generic backstory that didn't capture the complexities of why they chose to be the superhero. I'm happy about Static's return. I feel nothing about them changing his backstory because the essence is exactly the same.

For the people that say comic are supposed to be not political just remember that in the first issue of Captain America Cap was punching Hitler

When these people complain about politics in movies or books and say keep it out of them what they mean is keep mine or the sjw politics out. But when it’s politics or movies or books that talk down about sjws look how quick they are to applaud,lol or put up they are on the right side of the argument.

Im glad to hear static is back definitely one of the best comic characters. I like that they modernized his story because thats what helps an audience get the characters point of view and their feelings because it hits close to home. Or at least thats what I think

People seem to forget that one of the most famous superheroes of all time was literal WWII propaganda. Comics have always been political, arguably more than they currently are. Get the fuck over it.

I mean, I do understand people not liking politics in their comics, but, when the comic was political from the start, that is kinda dumb to get mad at.

The broken arm analogy was perfection.

8:41 How can this be said when Dwayne McDuffie died in February of 2011? I get that, technically, all founders of Milestone Comics are attributed to Static's creation -- yet I recall many interviews wherein Static is considered Duffie's pet character. Hmm. I suppose I can't call the claim false, seeing how those who knew McDuffie would probably best be able to say whether he'd take issue with this. 8:56 Yep, I commented too soon.

Hold on, I feel you're misrepresenting the actual arguments people have. The original addressed both police brutality AND gang violence. It's not that it's "too political". It's misrepresenting the actual situation AND recontextualizing Miles' origin story in a completely different light. The actions of the police were excessive, but at least we were given a reason as to why they used it. Every party at the place was in the wrong. The police for using brutality, the gangs for being violent gangs, AND even Virgil for wanting to kill someone, but we could at least see the rationale behind each of them. In the NEW one, no such nuance is given. The police do it for no reason whatsoever, simply to make them the bad guy of the situation, and to make the protesters innocent victims and heroes. A more accurate reboot would have been the police using that gas on a protest turned violent riot.

Never read the comic as a kid-might not have even seen it to be honest-but I loved the show as a kid. That said, I don’t remember it being all that political because I was young enough for some of that to fly right over my head. Looking back on it? It was certainly political and I am okay with that.

I hate it that whenever there is an African-American character present in the comic people start whining about how it's "too political" or if there's a female character (that isn't replacing a male) is feminist propaganda. I mean, look at Falcon and The Winter Soldier. It's about a black man becoming Captain America, which stands as an inspiring story for racial minorities everywhere, and yet people cry about not wanting realism in their stories, and then whine how Marvel isn't "real" enough.

If people are whining about that, they clearly haven't read Claremont's X-Men run (arguably one of the best runs in comics history). Stan Lee himself said that he had Charles and Magneto written as analogues of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, respectively. And if we REALLY wanna get into it, Captain America and Superman fought Nazis. Shoot, when they did the Marvel / DC crossover in the 90s, Joker REFUSED to work with the Red Skull because while he acknowledged he's a psychopath, even HE has standards and wouldn't work with a Nazi!!! People need to stop having such tender Fee-Fees!

My problem with it isn't how or why blm started it's what it has become. To me personally it parallel with another group that started for all the right reasons but ended up becoming extremist. They're starting to do the exact same thing that they were fighting against

I’ve been going back and reading a lot of the old Milestone comics as they’ve been uploaded to the DC Universe app. Anyone saying that they’ve only become political now has never read those comics.

I don't think I've ever had a problem with politics being in a comic book. More just when it's poorly handled. When it comes across as a preachy from a top my pedestal I'm better than you. I think I like the original origin more but I can get behind this new one. Honestly I'm just happy to have static back. And even better hes getting a live action movie I really hope they do that I've always wanted to see him on the big screen.

I love Static. My issue is that the big bang happened at a protest. TL;DR - The police's action is just plain evil and not shades of gray. Does not reflect real life. Muddies Virgil's origin unnecessarily. Villains suffer too. Maybe I'm a bigot or closet racist or something, but I'm not a fan of BLM itself. Of course black lives matter, of course there is racism in the country that needs to be fought, of course said racism is everywhere. But a movement as all encompassing as BLM can be easily used for harm, and it has. That being said, Virgil being a part of a BLM protest is 100% in character as much as I disagree with the movement as a whole - I would be more upset if he wasn't in some way working to end racism. Specifically calling it a BLM protest might be bad optics for the general public but who gives a shit. Call it End Racism Now and somebody would just bitch that ERN is a stand in for BLM and we are back at square one. My ultimate issue is that someone somewhere within the story decided to tag protesters with a chemical marker to track them down after the protest? And you expect me to believe this is the work of a nuanced "everything is a shades of gray" police force? Nope, this is a cartoonishly evil force that seemingly wants to track down perfectly peaceful protesters to....arrest them later? The BLM movement stands for something good, but it is used to shield bad actors way too much. If a protest is 100% peaceful the only people arrested are those breaking that peace. Yeah yeah, perfect world and all that. But here's where that nuance comes into play. The protesters are shown to be nothing BUT peaceful and the police are shown to be nothing BUT corrupt and evil. The point of the chemical marker is to mark so they can investigate further. That's a charitable "we wanted to do good" viewpoint. Even using this charitable viewpoint you can't see the police as anything but evil using it on peaceful protesters that have the right to be there. You're going to track down and arrest someone for protesting. Yeah you're the baddie. Oh that peaceful protester shone a high power laser into a police officer's eye? Ok, track that guy. That ONE guy. The chemical marker being used at a gang war is way more believable while still being overkill. You're going to use a barely tested chemical compound to tag gangbangers and track them after the scuffle to arrest them? Maybe don't? But there is a shades of gray here. The police take drastic overkill action from something that you can believe is good faith or plain evil if you think about it. Rather than stand by and let violence run rampant AGAIN, they wanted to stop it before it happened. By dousing people that are not 100% innocent but also not 100% guilty of anything with a...uh.....dangerous......compound.....to track them after......being stopped from committing a crime......so they cant commit a different crime in...the future. See? Shades of gray. There is no gray for the police in the origin. "Lets tag these protesters, we can kill the protests at the source" is cartoonishly evil to the core no matter what way you slice it. "Lets tag these gangbangers, we can kill gang violence at the source" is nuanced and can have good faith arguments from either side. And Virgil being at a BLM rally - as I said earlier - is fine. Police overreaching and taking drastic measure is fine. The big bang happening at the protest informs a ton of things though. Virgil being at a gang war is happenstance and firmly solidifies his character by making it a multifaceted conflict - and explains why a lot of bang babies are "evil". Virgil was the one good guy in a sea of (potentially) bad guys that were accidentally given super powers. Virgil is arguably not the only good guy at that protest. Accidentally give superpowers to random BLM protesters and I would like to believe you just made a big ass super hero team and *maybe* one or two baddies. And if we argue the chemical marker was a good thing to use in that situation, we argue that if innocents didn't want to get hit by it they shouldn't have been there. Which again circles back to the police being evil - even with a charitable view on their action they are still purposely stifling civil rights. But hey, maybe that's the point. Good men assist evil by not doing anything. But then who is Static going to fight? More extreme BLM members using their powers for the greater good and ultimately hurting people? Nah, too nuanced. A cartoonishly evil police force? likely. And why would it be called the big bang when the bigger common factor is BLM activity? Wouldn't it be called something like the Black Lives Matter Tragedy or the Protest Tragedy of 2022? Unless the media in the story spins it as "everyone at the rally was a gangbanger" which I could buy.

If people think that the rebooted Milestone is "too political", then they've missed the whole point. McDuffie, Cowan, Dingle, and Davis were unapologetic about their beliefs and what the company stood for from the start, and if anyone can't accept that then those stories weren't for them in the first place.

9:53 Or they know full-well that he's political, but don't like it because it's not politics *that they like.* Let's be real here, it's absolutely that.

And again, internet acts like they know everything without searching for the whole story.

What bothers me about of the comments here are they're.. passive aggressive and ultimately stupid. Your entitled to your opinion no doubt but... I feel like most of what im hearing is your upset (the folks who are saying they are) because of his new origins are too real or not depressing enough for you like... Bro what? If seeing a black kid about to kill his bully with a gun but ends up not going through with it- inspires you to think he rightfully deserves that origin story in todays world you need to wake up. The real world needed to see this new origin especially young black kids. Its essentially and tbh very obviously telling us... You dont need superpowers to be a good/wise person. Like mlk said "our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter". And in todays world i think its important to tell black peoples current story anyway we can. Maybe this didnt make sense to you either, cool. Or maybe this did sense make to you... Either way i wanna read what you guys think of my opinion.

IMO the original origin story was more timeless and social than political. Gang violence and police brutality are timeless issues... BLM is specifically now. And maybe people are uncomfortable with Virgil being affiliated with a political movement of questionable principle. Like, BLM has been accused of some shady stuff with how they handle donations, and many people believe they are unethical in their practices. It's a ballsy move to have him throw his hat in with BLM. Maybe it would not have met with such backlash if he was involved in an unaffiliated protest or something. Edit: You addressed this, nice.