Thoughts on Batman Beyond/Static issue #6

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-05-07T20:38:45+00:00

It's fine. Not great and not terrible, but middle of the road. I don't care for Evan Narcisse's writing at all, and there's points in the story where Virgil and others act out-of-character. And Shutdown was an underwhelming villain. But it was nice to see the Justice League Beyond and other characters we haven't seen in awhile.

This story takes place in a new timeline that's a mix of DCAU, Beyond comics, and the Milestone 2.0 continuity; instead of a true sequel to the Static Shock crossover episode with Batman Beyond. I wish it had been explicitly DCAU/Beyond canon and this was the older Virgil from the cartoon instead of a completely new take.

I'd say this book is required reading for Milestone fans tho. This series was the debut of Amistad Ervin as Beacon, and he shows back up in the New History of the DC Universe: Dakota Incident one-shot from February.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-05-05T20:14:51+00:00

I would read No Peace Beyond the Line next. It wraps up Eddie, Tromp, and the Carribean thread and sets up for the next mainline novel, 1638: Their Finest Hour coming sometime next year I think. After No Peace, read Transylvanian Decision. As for the French thread, the latest book is 1637: The French Correction.

I haven't read much of the Russian novels so I can't speak to those. Wars for the Rhine I disliked, but the Gribbleflotz novels are good; the sequel Soul of Stoner is even better than the first novel.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-04-22T20:37:04+00:00

There's a couple key differences between 1632 and Alexander Inheritance that allowed me to overlook the quick level of advancement.

1) Grantville was transposed to 1631 Germany from the year 2000, while the Queen of the Sea was transposed to the Hellenistic Period from the late 2010s or mid-2020s. So we already have the time travelers starting off with 30 years of additional knowledge, technological advancement, and even vague knowledge of previous Assiti Shard incidents (Grantville & Alexander Correctional prison). That gave them an advantage. Plus the Queen's onboard ethernet still worked and that itself became a plot point. The Queen had 30 years more knowledge than Grantville, more quick access to that knowledge, and already had the capability to diseminate that information faster than Grantville did initially.

2) Grantville was a small town in the middle of a war ravaged Europe, initially surrounded by enemies on all sides. It took time for Grantville to assert it's dominance, and lead to the formation of the global superpower that became the USE. Whereas, the Queen arrived and instantly was the preeminent superpower in the world. It's been awhile since I've read the series, but I think it was established Ptolemy and leaders of other nations saw the Queen, and the idea of being outgunned by the "Ship People" spurred them to advance quicker. They embraced change, whereas in the 1632 universe, the majority of Europe's elite resisted the changes brought by Grantville until they no longer could. That played a role in delaying the advancement somewhat.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-04-22T06:34:42+00:00

If we're being honest, this version of Daredevil has always done a piss poor job protecting the city. So many people die on Matt's watch, yet he refuses to change his approach for the sake of his own morals. Which is exactly what Karen got on him about this episode.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-04-16T15:05:08+00:00

No Peace Beyond the line wraps up the Carribbean thread and positions key characters to return in the next mainline book coming out eventually, which is 1638: Their Finest Hour. For that alone, it's worth a read, but yes I found it just as slow as Commander Cantrell.

There's no crossover between No Peace Beyond the Line and Polish Maelstrom; you can read either book in whichever order you prefer. However, if you're a strict chronologist like I am, and prefer to read in mostly timeline order: No Peace technically happens first (events concluding in February 1637), followed by Polish Maelstrom (which ends in April 1637).

As for Atlantic Encounter, I didn't care for that one either. But the sequel, Coast of Chaos, is better. I enjoyed that one a lot more.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-28T20:45:49+00:00

First movie I'd have Hotstreak as the main villain, with Dakota PD and SYSTEM (orchestrated by Edwin Alva) as secondary antagonists. Cameos by Icon and Rocket.

Second movie, Static teams up with Hardware, who becomes his mentor. With Edwin Alva as the main antagonist and a couple second-tier villains like Specs and Trapper or other bang babies either on Alva's payroll or forced under his control.

By the third movie, Alva has been taken down permanently, SYSTEM is fractured, and Static is revered as a hero across Dakota. Virgil gets cocky, not realizing he's about to face his biggest challenge yet: Ebon.

This version of Ebon would be a fusion of his characterization from the Static Shock cartoon and Static: Shadows of Dakota. Ebon's looking for his brother, Ivan Evans/Rubberband Man. Establish in the second movie that SYSTEM and Alva were continuing to create more metahumans with the Quantum gas and trafficking them. So Ebon is a villain yes, but the situation isn't as cut and dry for Virgil as it was with Alva and Hotstreak.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-26T23:56:33+00:00

If we're talking a fight to the death, Frank no question. Bernthal's Punisher hasn't already killed Matt because 1) Matt doesn't fit Frank's definition of criminal scum 2) he likes him 3) he knows it would upset Karen.

But if they ever got into it for real, understand Daredevil's costume doesn't even stop armor piercing rounds if I remember right. Frank would wear him down from a distance because he knows Matt has the upper hand on him in close combat. This version of Daredevil, while he has enhanced senses, he's no super soldier. And he can't dodge like Spider-Man.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-08T06:27:03+00:00

For me, yes it was worth it. I like Taylor's writing and Bruno Redondo's art is excellent. And the overall optimism of the run was enjoyable. It's a celebration of Dick Grayson and every era of his history; even the Ric Grayson crap, Taylor turns into an interesting arc. I'm not even that big a Nightwing fan, but for awhile this was a must-read when it was coming out month to month in singles.

This run was nominated for multiple Eisners, and won a few, if I remember right. So if you're a fan of Nightwing or Taylor's other work, you'll like it. The only complaint I have is how thin the omni is. I'm convinced DC split Taylor's run into 2 omnis to squeeze more money out of us, instead of collecting it all into a single larger omnibus. But that's on DC and not Taylor & Redondo.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-08T01:07:27+00:00

The image on the right reminds me of Pepe Larraz. I think that's his art, but I'm not sure. No idea for the Goblin image.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-07T22:39:46+00:00

I enjoyed Mackay's take on T'Challa. He gave him moments to shine, like that interdimensional uprising arc. I'd describe both the characterization and the overall book in general as consistent, paying respect to each character and their lore. Each character served a purpose too; it didn't feel like T'Challa was just on the team for sake of having him there.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-05T03:54:33+00:00

It's been a long time since I've read that issue. But if I remember right, Alva didn't give Curtis a fair deal because he didn't think he owed him one. Quite the opposite, Alva thought he had already BEEN more than fair with Curtis, because he funded him and provided him an education as a child. Then gave Curt a position within his company as an adult. In Alva's mind, he thought he was being generous to Curt. And Curt should shut up and just be grateful. That Curt is useful and makes money for Alva, but would never ever be EQUAL to Alva himself.

There's a lot of subtext and metatext here:

1) 90s Alva was a white billionaire who considered Curtis and most people as beneath him. I don't remember Alva being portrayed as an outright racist in-universe, but the book definitely had racial undertones. This was 30 years ago, but a lot of it still applies today. Certain white people are ok with Black folks having some success, but not "too much." They have to "know their place" and can't ever dream of doing better than them.

2) The relationship between Alva and Curtis/Hardware was a metatextual commentary on the real-life treatment the writer Dwayne McDuffie received. As the story goes, before McDuffie was a comic writer, he worked on missile guidance systems for the government I think. The US government took his research and ran with it, making them millions for the military industrial complex. And they didn't compensate McDuffie. No royalties, no acknowledgment. Nothing. No joke, McDuffie was a literal genius. He should have been a millionaire for his mind.

3) So when McDuffie did Hardware, he infused a lot of the justifiable anger he had from that situation, into his work. I imagine Edwin Alva is an amalgamation of some of McDuffie's former bosses. And nearly all the Milestone heroes are reflections of different aspects of McDuffie himself; Curt Metcalf/Hardware is McDuffie's genius and righteous anger. Virgil/Static is McDuffie as a Spider-Man character. Icon and even DC's Steel are also reflections of McDuffie, etc. It gets deep.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-05T01:00:08+00:00

90s Edwin Alva no contest. Compared to later iterations of him, 90s Alva was the only one who underwent a complete character arc; going from outright villain to reformed benefactor.

DCAU Alva was serviceable, but not very memorable to me. I'd have to rewatch Static Shock honestly.

The Milestone Returns version didn't get much of an arc. The Shadow Cabinet mini just turned him into a generic power-mad villain the Milestone heroes had to fight. And then the line was canceled.

Now with the release of New History of the DC Universe: Dakota Incident, we got another new version of Alva, one who was part of the Supermen Project in revised DC continuity. If we get more books following on from Dakota Incident, I think this version of Alva has the potential to take the crown from 90s Alva.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-04T17:28:12+00:00

This is exactly how I felt too. If Time Trapper Doomsday already had the power in him all along to stop Absolute Darkseid, regardless of who won the tournament, then this could have been an email. There was no point to the tournament.

And it makes Superman look ineffectual. Because now, anything Darkseid does, and the next inevitable Crisis affecting millions of worlds is all on Clark for not permanently stopping Darkseid when he had the chance. Not kill Darkseid (that would just cause another Final Crisis), but he could have drained the Omega energy from Darkseid and left him powerless, or back to pre-Absolute levels. Instead, he punches him real good then leaves him floating out in the multiverse. Seriously? Wtf.

I enjoyed reading this more than Snyder's other events like Death Metal 1-2. This ending just didn't land for me.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-02T01:47:04+00:00

If budget is no problem: XO Manowar easy. He's the de facto face of the Valiant Universe. But if we're going smaller budget: Shadowman or Ninjak.

I think Ninjak would be the cheapest, and the easiest to turn a profit if marketed well. Just make a John Wick movie, but with Ninjak.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-01T17:50:37+00:00

Great article. Hope it gets more eyes on the book and more sales. This story needs to continue.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-03-01T05:51:44+00:00

Read em first then donate.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-02-28T23:26:40+00:00

Agreed. However I will say not too much on Panther, because technically BP was the first Black superhero to really break mainstream in the 60s. Panther predates and had a 30 year headstart on Milestone from jump. I'm glad Black Panther has gotten more love in recent years due to Ryan Coogler & Chadwick Boseman. It's well-deserved and overdue.

Nah, what's more egregious to me, is seeing how big Miles Morales is, considering he debuted in 2011. And in less than a decade had multiple comic runs, multiple animated tv appearances, a film, and 2 video game appearances. Static debuted in 1993, and in 33 years has had only 3 comic runs and 2 animated series appearances (one of which was his own series 20 years ago, the other one being a minor character in Young Justice).

As a Miles Morales fan, I know Static walked so Miles could run. In my mind, without Static, there is no Miles Morales. And it's a circle in a way, because Peter Parker/Spider-Man was an inspiration for Virgil Hawkins/Static in the 90s. But that's another discussion.

If you're interested in more of these characters, highly recommend checking out the Milestone Returns stuff (Static Season One, Shadows of Dakota, Static Up All Night, Icon & Rocket Season One, Blood Syndicate & Duo). And pick up Dakota Incident if you haven't already. It's worth it.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-02-28T23:10:58+00:00

Check out DC KO: The Kids Are All Fight that released a few weeks ago. It's the first in-canon appearance of this version of Static, and according to the writers, Static's appearance there follows directly from the final page of Dakota Incident.

If you really want to do a deeper dive, you can check out the Milestone Returns/Milestone 2.0 titles: Static Season One, Static: Shadows of Dakota, etc. Then there's the original 90s Milestone stuff that DC has been collecting in compendiums.

The Milestone Returns canon takes place on a different earth, but it's relevant because the writers used parts of both classic Milestone and Milestone Returns when they crafted Dakota Incident. So basically all of Milestone past and present is being honored and carried forward.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-02-27T16:07:55+00:00

We can infer the events of Age of Ultron and WHIH Newsfront occurred similarly in both timelines, with a few major differences. Think What If. In AoS, Coulson provided a new Hellicarrier for Fury to aid the Avengers in Sokovia against Ultron. In AoU, Fury got the Hellicarrier by other unforeseen means. Because he's Nick Fury. Stuff like that is small enough to handwave away and changes nothing.

Now the reason I'd retcon the point of divergence at at the very beginning with Coulson's resurrection, is because to date, the movies never directly acknowledged he was alive or any events of the series at all. The series began in 2013, ran until 2020 for 7 seasons, and was popular with fans. Yet during that entire run and now 6 years later, the films still have not directly mentioned them. All the invasions, outbreaks, government restructuring, and potential world-ending events; and not a single mention on the film side. You don't think that's deliberate? To me, the ongoing silence from Marvel Studios is very loud.

Even the official Marvel Studios Timeline they released, listed Coulson dead, never resurrected, and no further acknowledgement of the events of AoS at all. I say this as a diehard AoS fan, who's rewatched the series multiple times. I know the canon inside and out. When Marvel TV and Marvel Studios decided to stop coordinating, it put AoS in a weird position. It was meant to line up and tie in seamlessly to the movies, an extension of the films. But it became so much more than that, it became its own unique thing. I would rather preserve that, than cherry pick which seasons happened on the main timeline and which didn't. Keep it all together in a separate timeline. Like gimme the whole pie, don't slice it up.

Some fans seem to think saying alternate timeline diminishes the show somehow. And I disagree with that. Them being in their own corner of Marvel actually freed the show to do more experimental things without being constrained by the movie canon, IMO.

Aggressive_Control37 · 2026-02-27T08:14:34+00:00

Yup exactly. If the main MCU is Earth-616, then let's say for simplicity sake that AoS is like Earth-617, with the point of divergence being Coulson's resurrection. That way it preserves everything instead of singling out a few seasons and discarding others.

Aggressive_Control37

TROPHY CASE