Static Shock is an American superhero animated television series based on the Milestone Media/DC Comics superhero Static. It premiered on September 23, 2000, on the WB Television Network's Kids' WB programming block. Static Shock ran for four seasons, with 52 half-hour episodes in total. The show revolves around Virgil Hawkins, a 14-year-old boy who uses the secret identity of "Static" after exposure to a mutagen gas during a gang fight which gave him electromagnetic powers. It was the first time that an African-American superhero was the titular character of their own broadcast animation series.
Zatanna Zatara, commonly known mononymously as Zatanna, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, and first appeared in Hawkman #4.
Icon is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, one of the headline characters introduced by Milestone Media in the 1990s. A being from another planet, he has taken on the form of an African-American man, and has abilities such as flight, super-strength, and invulnerability. He uses these in partnership with Rocket, a human teenager using his alien technology, to protect the people of the fictional city of Dakota.
Patrick "Pat" Dugan is a superhero in the DC Comics Universe. The former adult sidekick to teenage superhero Sylvester Pemberton, the Star-Spangled Kid, Dugan is a gifted mechanic known for inventions such as the Star Rocket Racer. Originally called "Stripesy" while working with the Seven Soldiers of Victory and the All-Star Squadron before building a powered suit of armor dubbed S.T.R.I.P.E.. Dugan as Stripesy was created by Jerry Siegel and Hal Sherman and first appeared in Star Spangled Comics #1.
Black Lightning is a superhero who appears in American comic book published by DC Comics. The character, created by writer Tony Isabella with artist Trevor Von Eeden, first appeared in Black Lightning #1, during the Bronze Age of Comic Books. Although his precise origin story has varied over the years, he is generally depicted as a metahuman superhero who uses the ability to generate and control electricity to defend his community – and the world – as Black Lightning. Although not the first black superhero to be featured in DC Comics stories, Black Lightning was DC's first African-American superhero to headline his own series.
The Shadow Cabinet is a superhero team created by Milestone Comics and published by DC Comics. They first appeared in Shadow Cabinet #0, and were created by Dwayne McDuffie, Robert L. Washington III and John Paul Leon. Almost all of the original run, issues #4-11 and #13-17, were written by Matt Wayne.
Static is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Milestone Comics founders Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, Derek T. Dingle, and Christopher Priest. The character first appeared in a 3-page preview in Icon #1 with his first full appearance in Static #1, written by McDuffie and Robert L. Washington III and illustrated by John Paul Leon. He is a member of a fictional subspecies of humans with superhuman abilities known as metahumans. Not born with his powers, Hawkins' abilities develop after an incident exposes him to a radioactive chemical called "Quantum Juice", turning him into a "Bang Baby".
Milestone Media Company LLC is the media company which created the Milestone Comics line, which were published and distributed by DC Comics. Milestone Media created the source material that was adapted as the Static Shock animated series. The company was founded in 1993 by a coalition of African-American artists and writers, consisting of Dwayne McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, Derek T. Dingle and Christopher Priest. The founders felt that minorities were severely underrepresented in American comics and wished to address this.
Dwayne Glenn McDuffie was an American writer of comic books and television. He was best known for co-founding the pioneering minority-owned-and-operated comic book company Milestone Media, which focused on underrepresented minorities in American comics, creating and co-creating characters such as Icon, Rocket, Static, and Hardware. McDuffie was also known as a writer and producer for animated series such as Static Shock, Damage Control, Justice League Unlimited and the Ben 10 franchise.
Hardware is a fictional superhero published by DC Comics. An original character from DC's Milestone Comics imprint, he first appeared in Hardware #1, and was created by Dwayne McDuffie and Denys Cowan.
Doctor Light is a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Kimiyo Hoshi is a distinct character from the villain of the same name. She has, however, crossed paths with the villainous Doctor Light on several occasions.
Michael Holt is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the second character to take up the Mister Terrific mantle.
"Worlds Collide" is an intercompany crossover event presented in July 1994 in the Milestone Comics titles and the Superman-related titles published by DC Comics. A one-shot comic title of the same name was written by Dwayne McDuffie, Ivan Velez Jr. and Robert Washington.
Black people have been portrayed in comics since the medium's beginning, with their portrayals often the subject of controversy. Mainstream comic publishing companies have had a historical trend of being predominantly white and male, reflecting the lack of representation and inaccurate depictions of Black people in comics. The integration of black characters in mainstream and superhero comics has endured various obstacles and challenges. Critics have noted that black men and women have historically often been portrayed as jungle or ghetto stereotypes, and as sidekicks as opposed to primary characters. Occiasionally, comic book creators would lampshade stereotypes, lack of representation and emphasize social injustices. In recent years, with the integration of more Black people in mainstream comic writing rooms as well as the creation of comics on digital platforms has changed the representation and portrayals of Black people in comics and has started to reflect the complexities of Black people across the diaspora.
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths is a 2010 American animated superhero film directed by Lauren Montgomery and Sam Liu and written by Dwayne McDuffie. It is based on the abandoned direct-to-video feature Justice League: Worlds Collide, which was intended as a bridge between the DC Animated Universe series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, and reworked to act as a standalone story. It is the seventh film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies.
Justice League: Doom is a 2012 American animated superhero film directed by Lauren Montgomery and written by Dwayne McDuffie. A standalone sequel to Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010), it was loosely based on "JLA: Tower of Babel", a 2000 comic book storyline that ran in the DC Comics series JLA. It is the 13th film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies.
Young Justice: Outsiders is the third season of the American animated superhero series Young Justice, developed by Brandon Vietti and Greg Weisman. The series follows the lives of teenage superheroes and sidekicks who are members of a covert operation group, referred to simply as "The Team", that acts as a young counterpart to the famous adult team, the Justice League. In the second season, Invasion, the Reach revealed the existence of the meta-gene. Following on from these events, the third season focuses on the Team battling metahuman trafficking as various nations and organizations have started participating in such activities. It also features the superhero team Outsiders.
Milestone Returns or Earth-M is a relaunch of American comic books published by DC Comics that began in September 2020. The line features reimagined versions of the fictional characters and shared universe of Milestone Media by Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, Derek T. Dingle and Dwayne McDuffie.
Naomi McDuffie is a fictional superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by the writer Brian Michael Bendis for his Wonder Comics imprint, along with writer David F. Walker and artist Jamal Campbell. The character's name is, in part, a tribute to comic book writer and creator Dwayne McDuffie.
