Episode 01 - Shock to the System

Overview

Transcript

Episode 01
Title Card Screencap
Shock to the System
Air Date	September 23, 2000
Season	1
No. in Season	1
Production No	01
Written by	Christopher Simmons
Directed by	James Tucker
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Episode 01 - Shock to the System Gallery

Shock to the System is the first episode of Static Shock's first season. It premiered on September 23, 2000.

Synopsis

Set in an American town called Dakota City. Through a series of unfortunate events, high school freshman Virgil Hawkins gets caught up in a gang war. The result is a chemical explosion which changes Virgil and many other's lives, for better or worse.

Major Events

• The Hawkins family is introduced
• Richie, Frieda & F-Stop are introduced
• The Big Bang occurs
• Virgil's powers manifest. He only tells Richie.
• F-Stop's powers manifest

Plot

In a warehouse situated somewhere in Dakota, a masked teenager thwarts an electronics robbery, wielding electrical powers and flying around on a manhole cover. Magnetically removing their metal weapons, he subdues them, sticks them to the ceiling, and creates a sign suspended in midair, directing the police — just arriving on the scene — to the building. Admiring his handiwork, he thinks back to two days ago, when in his own words, he was the last person anyone would call "hero material".

Virgil Hawkins, an ordinary 14-year-old boy, preps for a new school day while bickering with his sister Sharon. Downstairs, he bumps into his father, Robert, and expresses excitement for the day: Today he plans to ask his friend Frieda to homecoming. His sister teases him, asking "What'd she ever do to you?", and they continue their bickering as their father leaves for work. When the house phone rings, Virgil manages to escape his sister (and her bad cooking) and leave for school.

F-Stop bullying Virgil

At school, he meets up with his best friend, Richie, who coaches him for his upcoming proposal to Frieda. The girl in question appears and Richie leaves, wishing his friend good luck on his "test". Virgil eventually works his way up to the subject with Frieda but is interrupted by Francis "F-Stop" Stone, who tries to make a pass at her. Virgil intercepts and nearly receives a beating, but is saved last minute by an acquaintance, Wade. Coming home from school, though, Virgil runs into Francis again, flanked by his friends, and soon finds himself cornered in the back of an alley. There, he is held back as Francis pounds him mercilessly, only stopping when Wade happens by again. Warned by their lookout, the bullies make a break for it while Wade finds his beaten friend, and orders him to meet him under the bridge in half an hour, not listening to his protests that that's when he has to meet his dad.

Thirty minutes later, Virgil hesitantly meets Wade, alongside the rest of his "crew", and is stunned when they ask him to join them. Wade tells him he won't always be around to save him from Francis, but that joining them will keep him safe. Virgil, well aware of the dangers of joining a gang — as well as his father's stance on the subject — is unsure. A while later, he comes home, writing off his bruises as "football injuries". When his sister persists on the topic, he asks to be excused and goes to his room. Upstairs, he receives a call from Richie, who has already heard about his apparently joining Wade. He protests that he just gave a sort of noncommittal nod. Richie himself can't believe it, as Virgil's own mother died from gang fire. Virgil, realizing that his situation is worsening, begins trying to think of a way out when Wade calls on another line, telling him to meet at the dock, now, and hangs up.

Virgil arrives at the dock, he notices multiple large metal canisters with "DANGER" written on them. He finds Wade and his gang preparing for a huge throw-down with several gangs, including Francis'. When he is handed a gun, Virgil realizes he's already neck-deep in trouble. He throws the gun into the water nearby and tries to run off. Unfortunately, he finds himself face-to-face with Francis himself. Just then, police helicopters arrive, casting a searchlight on everyone and breaking up the fight. Everybody scatters, ignoring orders to stay where they are. Virgil hides behind a dumpster. An officer fires tear gas from the helicopter, accidentally hitting one of the "DANGER" chemical canisters, resulting in an explosion that releases a huge cloud of purple gas. Everyone who inhales it begins coughing aggressively. Some start exhibiting strange physical reactions; one's face begins to stretch while another's eyes begin glowing purple. As the police begin to move in with gas masks on, Virgil scales a fence, coughing violently as the gas gets to him before falling over the side.

Virgil discards the gun

The next morning, Virgil wakes in his bedroom. He's happy to have made it home in one piece but his mood shifts when his blanket starts clinging to him with inexplicable fervor. He narrowly gets it off of himself, and goes to the bathroom to shave — when the razor begins buzzing as soon as he approaches it, even though it's not even plugged in. He drops it, stunned, and realizes that he himself is somehow giving off electricity. Excited, he calls Richie, and tells him to meet him at the auto junkyard. When Richie arrives, Virgil surprises him with impressive control over his new abilities. He tells him of the gas that changed him as he glides around on the hood of a car, showing off. Richie watches in awe before concluding that Virgil could be a superhero just as Virgil crashes into a pile of cars. Back at Virgil's house, they go through a series of potential superhero costumes, before finally settling the one he will go on to use in the fight at the warehouse.

The original Static costume

Back at the warehouse, Virgil lets the burglars drop from the ceiling, allowing the police to arrest them. A moment later, he notices that the new lab computers for his own school are among the electronics in the warehouse. Meanwhile, as the students work on setting up the homecoming, Richie tries to cover for his friend. Virgil arrives shortly after, in costume, personally delivering the computers and introducing himself as Static. He then proceeds to single-handedly put up most of the decorations, turn the lights on, and blow an electric heart in Frieda's direction, causing her hair to stand on end. He wonders why it's never this easy for Virgil. Richie, watching with the rest of the crowd, muses that "he's a natural".

Elsewhere, in a hospital, several of the gang members exposed to the gas continue to mutate in a variety of unsightly ways. The doctors find themselves helpless to do anything and waiting for a Haz-Mat team to arrive. Among the casualties is Francis, who is, quite literally, burning up. His new pyrokinetic powers finally manifest and he blasts out the side of the building. Landing on the streets below, surrounded by fire, he remarks that "This is going to be fun" as he strides off into the city.

Character Debuts

Major Characters

• Virgil Hawkins
• Richie Foley

Antagonists

• F-Stop (Francis Stone)

Supporting/Recurring Characters

• Sharon Hawkins
• Robert Hawkins
• Frieda Goren

Minor/One-Shot Characters

• Wade and his gang
• F-stop's gang

Superpowers & Special Moves

Electrokinesis

Virgil gains the ability to manipulate his own electric field/electrostatic energy.

• Electric Aura
• Electric Charging
• Electric Pull/Tether
• Electrokinetic Surfing
• Combustion
• Taser Punch
• Static Cling
• Electric Image Projection
• Electrical Telekinesis

Pyrokinesis

Francis gains the ability to generate and manipulate fire.

• Fire Aura
• Pyrokinetic Flight

Locations

• Warehouse
• Hawkins residence
  • Bathroom
  • Kitchen
  • Virgil's room
• Dakota Union High School
  • Gymnasium
• The Stone Bridge (Wade's gang headquarters)
• Foley residence
  • Richie's room
• Docks - Gate 10
• Auto Junkyard
• Hospital

Music

• Check Me Out Now, Will Ya

Trivia

• There are several static puns in the episode

• One of the costumes Virgil tries on bears a strong resemblance to that of Black Vulcan, another black superhero with electrical powers from Super Friends. Black Vulcan was originally voiced by Buster Jones, but Phil LaMarr went on to play a parody version of him (stressing the political correctness of his character) in Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.

References

• Shock to the system - A "shock to the system" is a sudden, unexpected, and usually unpleasant event or experience. In Static Shock, it is likely a pun, referring to both the Big Bang (as well as the resulting mutations) and Virgil's new ability to manipulate electricity.
• "I don't care if it's Aladdin on his magic carpet!" - Said by one of the robbers, this quote alludes to the well-known Middle Eastern folk tale character. Aladdin is known to have a magic carpet. The robber compares Static flying around on a manhole cover to Aladdin flying on his carpet.
• Little black book - a little black book is an address book or journal, especially one in which the details of one's lovers/potential lovers are recorded. When asked if she has one (over the phone), Sharon says hers is paisley.
• "Dude makes Norman Bates look like Mr Rogers!" - Norman Bates is a fictional character from the thriller novel-turned-movie Psycho. On the other hand, Mr Rogers is an American television host best known for his children's television series Mr Rogers' Neighborhood. Richie claims that F-Stop is so unhinged he makes a psychopath like Norman Bates seem as friendly as Mr Rogers.

Mistakes/Inconsistencies

• After his beat-down with Francis, Virgil initially has a black eye on the right-hand side. It later changes to a bruise on his left cheek which completely disappears the next day.
• While talking to Virgil on the phone, Richie’s room door is initially closed but then open in the next shot.

Production

Voice Cast

• Phil Lamar as Virgil Hawkins / Static
• Jason Marsden as Richie Foley
• Danny Cooksey as Francis Stone / F-Stop
• Kevin Michael Richardson as Robert Hawkins
• Danica McKellar as Frieda
• Michele Morgan as Sharon Hawkins
• Melissa Disney as nurse
• Omar Gooding as Wade
• Gary Sturgis as Duke
• Marcelo Tubert as doctor
• Art Bonilla as cop