Aaron and Josh Sarnecky are here to talk about Static Shock for its 25th anniversary.

Static Shock is a superhero cartoon based on the Milestone Comics/DC Comics character Static. It premiered on Kids’ WB on September 23, 2000. It ran for 52 episodes and ended on May 22, 2004. It was the first broadcast animation series with an African American as the titular superhero.

The series follows high schooler Virgil Hawkins (Phil LaMarr), who through an accident involving mutagenic chemicals gains electromagnetic powers. Also gaining powers are the numerous “Bang Babies” across the city of Dakota, most of which are villainous. As Static, Virgil takes down the Bang Babies, alongside his friend Richie (Jason Marsden), who later becomes to the superintelligent hero Gear.

Static’s adversaries include Ebon (Gary Anthony Sturgis) and Hotsteak (Danny Cooksey), as well as Rubberband Man (Kadeem Hardison), who later reforms.

The series was nominated for two Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Special Class Animated Program and composer Richard Wolf won an Emmy for the show’s music.

Aaron and Josh talk about their past with show before going into the plot, characters, animation, and crossovers with the wider DC Animated Universe. They also discuss the show’s legacy and the possibility of a new cartoon or Static movie. 

For another podcast on a superhero cartoon, listen to Aaron and Josh’s podcast on Teen Titans.

Static Shock is available for purchase on Prime Video.