Virgil Hawkins is just an average teenager, attending Ernest Hemingway High School, with a fetish for comic books and role-playing board games. His only problem was being ridiculed and bullied, mainly by his rival Francis Stone, also known as Biz-Money-B, later becoming
Hotstreak.
After taking a beating from him,
Larry Wade, a close friend, asks him to meet him at Paris Island, the most dangerous section of
Dakota. Once there, Larry hands Virgil a gun in order to pay back Francis from earlier. But, he couldn't bring himself to do it, and with that, he tosses the gun into the water. There was one problem. Virgil was present at
the Big Bang, a large brawl between rival gangs, but at the same time, the police arrived and unleashed a tear gas, spiked with chemicals to track any gang members that tried to slip away.
Things backfired, and the gas proved harmful. Out of over 500 gang members, only 10% of the people exposed to the gas survived, either mutating into monstrous creatures or gaining superhuman powers and abilities, and leaving the rest on their deathbed. When Virgil was exposed to the gas, he gained electromagnetic powers and unwillingly dismantles police robots with his powers before making his escape from Paris Island. Later he decides to become a superhero, naming himself Static.
Powers and Abilities
Super-Conductive Electromagnetism
Static has the metahuman ability to project, channel, generate, manipulate, and absorb raw electromagnetic energy, mainly being able to generate electricity from his body and fire powerful lightning bolts from his hands. He can generate electromagnetic shields from his body in order to protect himself from bullets, lasers, energy blasts, and other projectiles, and he can also generate repulsion fields that repel virtually anything. He can manipulate magnetic fields and magnetically lift metal objects, sometimes weighing many tons (anywhere from cars to helicopters). He can use his powers to magnetize and demagnetize objects; broadcast his voice over speakers nearby; charge objects with electricity to cause them to explode; reverse the polarity of nearly any object; and bend electrons to his will. He can also cover his fists with electromagnetic energy and employ this tactic in the use of melee attacks. Static has also has a trademark ability to generate electromagnetic energy to cling people and/or objects to surfaces, dubbing it a "Static-Cling." He can also use it to charge and levitate non-metal objects, but on some occasions, he has failed to. Static's maximum power level is unknown, but he has stated to be able to generate at least 20,000 volts of power and at one point has generated electromagnetic energy that was once immeasurable but powerful enough to destroy an abandoned building. Static uses a reinforced piece of steel to fly at up to speeds of 200 mph, controlling it via electromagnetic levitation.
Equipment
Static's most common item used in comics is a
metallic disk he designed that allows him to fly using his powers. He's also capable of using the disk as a make shift weapon. After the company-wide reboot, Static sports a new Detachable Saucer, designed by
Hardware that allows for both offensive and defensive actions, as well as video chat. Most recently, Static also wields a Detachable Bo-Staff for close quarters combat.
Intelligence
Static is an intelligent young man and does work with S.T.A.R labs, having designed parts of Red Robin's new suit in the New 52 and also making a mechanical dinosaur 'because he got distracted'. He also demonstrates interrogation skills, able to get intel on the Slate Gang from a fellow student in New York without threatening him.
Mental Powers
Static possesses some level of mind control resistance, having been able to willfully resist telepathic assaults of
the Swarm, avoid telepathic detection from
Miss Martian, and eventually resist the mental control of the
Anti-Life equation. While in the
Wyld's dimension Static could control different forms of energy in that dimension.
Healing Factor
Static has commented on having a Healing Factor when looking to see if his wounds from earlier in the morning were healed yet.
Weaknesses
Static's main weaknesses are insulators. His powers have little to no effect on them, as shown in his battle against
Rubberband Man. Others would be wood (can be set on fire, but not electromagnetically manipulated or levitated) and anything that resists his power set. Water was an established weakness in the cartoon show, but he has never shown a weakness to water in the comic book series. Another weakness is his susceptibility to getting his power drained by an outside source.
ALTS - SKINS IDEAS
