Super History of Superman: Static Shock (2004)

Although the idea of seeing Superman of the animated series again always sounded good, Supes' foray to Dakota was a mixed bag. Again, on paper an encore of Toyman in Toys in the Hood sounded like a winner but instead we were treated to a bunch of fights between Superman, Static, and giant clowns and monkeys. Hardly the stuff of legends. Still, for Superman diehards, this Static Shock crossover is worth tracking down.

Check back next week for another chapter in The Super History of Superman.

First Look at Static, Deathstroke, and Arsenal from Young Justice

Also fresh off of Comic Con is a sneak peek at upcoming episodes of Young Justice: Invasion which gives a first look at Static Shock who appears to be joining the team! Its also a pleasant surprise to see Deathstroke joining the villain's roster and Arsenal beginning his training. Looks like the next batch of episodes are going to be amazing.

Evolution of the Batman (and Robin) - Crossovers

Over the course of the DC Animated Universe run there were quite a few crossovers involving the caped crusader. The first, marketed as a movie event, occurred in 1997 on a three-episode arc of Superman: The Animated Series titled, World's Finest.

An alliance between Lex Luthor and the Joker forced Batman and Superman to reconcile their differences in order to take down the evil duo.

In the Superman episode Knight Time, Superman paid a visit to Gotham to find a missing Batman. To counter emboldened criminals who realized Batman was MIA, Superman donned the cape and cowl and teamed up with Robin the Boy Wonder. Later Batman and Superman would reteam against Ra's and Talia Al Ghul in Superman's The Demon Reborn.

Batman teamed up with Static Shock (a hero tangential to the DC Animated Universe) a number of times beginning in 2002 when the pair (along with Robin) took on the Joker in The Big Leagues.

In Hard as Nails, Batman and Static would team up in Gotham City against Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn.

In the two part A League of their own, Batman and the Justice League, sans Superman and Wonder Woman, teamed with Static to take on Brainiac.

Finally, Static would team with the future Batman from Batman Beyond in Future Shock.

Up Next: Birds of Prey

Batman Serial * Batman and Robin Serial * Batman '66 TV * Batman '66 Movie * Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder * Batman on Scooby Doo * Batman the Super Friend * The New Adventures of Batman * Batman '89 * Batman Returns * Batman: The Animated Series * Batman: Mask of the Phantasm * Batman Forever * Batman and Robin * The New Batman Adventures * Boo Wonder * Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero * Batman Beyond * Gotham Girls * Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker * Batman on Justice League * DCAU Crossovers

* Special Musical Edition * Special Christmas Edition * Special OnStar Edition

Spotlight on Black Lightning

Black Lightning made his comics debut in 1977, but it wasn't until finally in 2009 that he made the jump to the TV screen appearing in a recurring role on Batman: The Brave and the Bold along with his team The Outsiders.

Batman took Katana, Metamorpho, and Black Lightning under his wing, until the Outsiders were trained to work as a team.



Although BL has only appeared in this one series to date, he has had a much larger influence on superhero shows over the past 30 years.

Shortly after the creation of Black Lightning, another African-American hero with electricity based powers (and without pants) joined the Super Friends line-up. Due to rights issues, Black Lightning was not included in the team line-up, but its safe to say he was at least a partial inspiration for the "Friend" Black Vulcan.

Years later, Justice League Unlimited played homage to the diversity inspired characters created for Super Friends (El Dorado, Black Vulcan, Apache Chief, and the Wonder Twins) with its own unique creations, the Ultimen. Justice League's take on the electricity character was named Juice, who also sported the trademark blue and gold colors of Black Lightning's costume.

In 2000, the Static Shock series debuted with an African American hero that also had electricity-based powers.

In the series' first episode, Static was shown in a costume very similar to that worn by Black Vulcan.

Later in the series, Static teamed up with a retired superhero, Soul Power, also similar to the original Black Lightning.

Like Black Lightning in the comics, Static Shock would go on to join the Justice League as shown in the Justice League Unlimited episode, The Once and Future Thing- Part 2: Time Warped.

But back to the man who is getting this spotlight. 2009 is not over, and before years end Black Lightning will appear again alongside the World's Finest, Batman and Superman in their upcoming team up movie voiced by Geordi La Forge. Hopefully we will be seeing much more of this historic hero, and less of imitators, in the years to come.