‘Static Shock’ issue 2, Disarmed, starts with a brief flashback of the final few panels of ‘Static Shock’ #1 where the evil Virule cuts off our electronic hero’s left arm. Fret not gentle reader, Static’s left arm is away from his body for all of a couple of panels, as his electric powers keep the arm tethered and even reattaches it for him.

Of course when that arm comes loose and gets reattached it causes a huge power surge leaving a good chuck of New York City in a blackout. After quickly recovering, a low powered Static comes face to face with Virule. Lucky for Static, his black out causing sugre also caused Virule’s “arm slicing weapon” to malfunction.

After a brief check in with The Slaters, a group of teenage would be villains and assassins riding super sweet mag lev motorcycles, The Slaters have been hired to help kill Static, and their boss is not happy at their failure. They are then given orders to track down any teens who recently moved from Dakota to NYC.

Meanwhile, back at Static HQ, after running a self diagnostic it is revealed Static is only suffering from a hairline fracture. How the heck did that happen, and what is going on with Static’s powers?

In this issue we get our first clue as to why the Hawkins family has relocated to New York City. Virgil (Static) all of a sudden has two sisters… both named Sharon. One is a clone, one is for real; neither will step up and admit to being the doppelganger.

We close out this issue with Static vs. Virule part 2… which will lead us right into issue #3, Turnabout.

So, what was good in this issue? Well Scott McDaniel’s artwork is as solid as ever, and he comes ready with a couple of great splash pages. Speaking of McDaniel, he’s doing a nice job balancing the mystery of Static’s relocation and giving clues as to that reason.

When Static’s arm gets severed the art is great, but one of the coolest things is the way McDaniel shows Static is more than just powers. By using his glider discs, he is able to form a makeshift cast to protect what he believes is a damaged arm. After the “disarming” attack, Static’s brief encounter with Virule leaves us with a promise of more to come (which we see the start of that rematch at the end of the book).

My only real gripe for this issue is The Slaters. First, what a stupid name. I expected them to all have jheri curl mullets under their helmets. I’m sure we will see more of them in coming books, but I feel like they were taking away from the cool new villain that is Virule. I also found it weird when Static refused to contact Hardware after being hurt, but that gripe is so minor it’s almost not worth typing.

Static Shock is one of the better comics in the “Young Justice” line of of the New 52. I think with time this book will become a solid series that will be a lot of fun to read and reestablish Static as one of the top tier teenage superheroes.

Verdict: Buy

Static Shock #2
Written by Scott McDaniel & John Rozum
Pencils by Scott McDaniel
Inks by Andy Owens
Colors by Guy Major
Cover by Chris Brunner with Rico Renzi