One of the more recent Funko Pops I have added to my collection is of the Milestone Comics teenage hero, Static. Many of you will remember Static as the star of the Static Shock animated series. I loved that series. Virgil Hawkins was a teenager who lived with his dad and sister. His mother had died in a riot years back. Virgil hangs with his best bud Ritchie. During a second chaotic event, Virgil was exposed to the Big Bang, along with a number of other residents of Dakota.  You can currently watch the entire series on HBO Max.

I’ve always been a sucker for team ups. And a DC fan. Over the course of the 4 seasons of the show, Static teamed up with DC stars Batman, Superman, the Justice League, Batman Beyond and Green Lantern. Not to mention other in universe heroes like Anansi and Gear. Little Romeo even makes an appearance.

Back in the days of the show, there was almost zero merchandise. One of the fast food chains, Subway, had a four piece assortment of toys. I remember reading an interview with some of the creators of the show. The show fell short of the 5 year goal because they were losing money. Think of this way, they said. It costs 5 grand to make an episode. Warner Bros and Cartoon Network paid them 2 grand for it. The rest, and profit(!!), was supposed to be made up with licensing. They were unable to sell the licensing to anyone.  After 4 years, they were tired of losing money.  But we got 4 amazing years.  Virgil even went back in time and saw his Mom on the evening before she died.

I have to admit, the costume chosen for the Funko Pop is not my favorite. I’d rather have the animated look, the second one. Virgil changed up his costume in season 3. This costume is the one DC artists drew him in for his new solo series in the new 52 era, right after the Flash Point event. But I gladly signed up and bought it right away. Batman will always get multiple versions made. For secondary characters, I always grab whatever gets made because there may never be another version. I should mention this Funko Pop is a Hot Topic exclusive which means getting it from them or a reseller like on eBay. I’ve had issues getting exclusives in the past, so I went the eBay presale route. I’ve had it at for at least a few weeks.

So why write this now? Because yesterday I bought another Static item. Issue 1 of the comic series Static: Season One. Released yesterday. Static in June.  Icon and Rocket in July.  Hardware in August.  It’s great to have Static back on the shelf and in the comics!