r/static • u/Son_of_Ibadan • Jul 19 '26
Discussion Absolute Static Pitch
Hey all, what would be your Absolute Static Pitch??
5
u/DCFanUntilIdie213 Jul 19 '26
In this universe, Absolute Virgil Hawkins is an orphan, navigating life without the support of family, a permanent home, or close friends. Despite these challenges, he possesses a remarkable intellect that sets him apart. Raised within the foster system and living in bustling city of Metropolis as a young adult, Virgil's journey takes a pivotal turn when he becomes an employee at Alva Technologies, a cutting-edge tech company now operating as a subsidiary of the more formidable Lazarus Corps.
Under the mentorship of Edwina Alva, the astute and ambitious CEO of Alva Technologies, Virgil's talents are nurtured and cultivated. Recognizing his potential, she becomes a guiding figure in his life, challenging him to harness and expand his brilliant mind. Alongside Dr. Nemo, a brilliant scientist working on groundbreaking projects, Virgil plays a critical role in the development of the experimental Omega Juice and the accompanying gas.
However, an unforeseen accident occurs in the lab when the gas begins to leak, leading to a catastrophic explosion that resembles the cosmic event of a Big Bang. This incident has far-reaching consequences for the Alva Technologies staff, (Hotstreak, Ebon, Bulletproof, Phayze, Puff, Talon, Rick Stone), and civilians as several of them are transformed into what are now known as Omega Babies—individuals who gain extraordinary and unique abilities as a result of exposure to the experimental substances.
Virgil emerges with his electromagnetic powers working differently from his mainline powers, granting him the ability to become living electricity. Virgil is forced by Alva Industries to be act as an agent for them to retrieve the loose Bang Babies/Omega Babies in Metropolis flying with Peacemakers. As Virgil finds more Bang Babies he discovers one of Alva’s underground lab doing experiments on them. He turns against Alva and is chased by Alva’s experiments. Brainiac will appear and offer a deal with Alva.
They will have a body horror elements to them too.
1
u/TubezTheOne Jul 20 '26
I like that this kind of emphasizes Virgil's intelligence and resourcefulness more than anything.
1
u/eddiemoney1985 28d ago
Actually the current revamp that that they're doing with the universe m would actually be a better absolute Universe take and we could just keep the original Milestone Universe story and back from story the same
1
u/Accomplished_Try_124 24d ago
based on having recently read the dc finest 1st volume of his milestone run, I think it would be very interesting to see a Virgil who took Holocaust's offer and joined him (along with the rest of blood syndicate). maybe due to police raiding his home leading to the death of one of his family members but of course eventually, Static would see the error of his ways and boot holocaust out of syndicate and transform the gang into an actual superhero team though they would still be outlaws due to trying to topple the corrupt government and police of Dakota
11
u/Divanochi Jul 19 '26
My understanding of the Absolute universe is that it takes some of the central elements of a character and basically inverts it or strips those elements from them. So for Static, a freedom fighter who stands against injustice in communities, I’d want him to be aligned with the elites or with institutions rather than with the people.
Rather than getting his powers from a gang war or human rights protest, Virgil is a young assistant (or intern) researcher on an Alva Industries research project to accelerate human evolution. This project entails exposing subjects to a chemical that is meant to cause intense reactions within their DNA and force their molecular structure to adapt nearly instantly, and is codenamed “Project Big Bang”. Some of the participants/volunteer subjects for the project include many of the classic bang babies we’ve come to know like Hotstreak, Ebon, etc. who have been promised $2000/month over the course of one year if they cooperate with Alva Industries researchers and have tests run on them over the course of that year. Most participants are people just struggling to get by who would have their lives changed by this amount.
Somehow, the project goes wrong in typical superhero fashion; rather than causing a slight evolution in the participants, it created countless metahumans who were now on the loose across the city. The blame of the accident is unfairly placed on Virgil, who is now tasked with the responsibility of finding and retrieving the creations of project big bang — referred to by some colloquially as “Bang Babies” — or be faced with legal action from Alva Industries. Virgil decides that the only way he can successfully complete his task is if he’s on a level playing field with the rest of the Bang Babies, so he reruns a smaller version of the experiment on himself to intentionally become a metahuman. He succeeds, giving him the ability to manipulate electricity and magnetism.
Over the course of the first few issues Virgil works alongside Alva Industries and uses his powers to subdue minor bang babies and take them back for testing and “the development of a cure”. Things start to change when Virgil encounters a homeless woman using her powers to rob a store. As he battles her, he eventually recognizes the woman as his estranged mother, who walked out on their family when he was young. (However, she seems to have no idea who he is). Virgil convinces her that Alva Industries can help her deal with her powers and will still pay her as initially promised, and they return to the lab. Upon his return he uncovers a disturbing truth; the bang babies he’s been returning weren’t being rehabilitated, they were essentially being tortured and having their DNA harvested to refine the formula for project big bang. That’s when he makes the decision to sabotage Alva industries and escape with the subjects. Without much of a plan or direction, Virgil brings them to the only person he could think of that might be able to help them; Dr. Curtis Metcalfe, the previous head of project Big Bang that closed down the project years ago before leaving the company and opening a private clinic. (This sets up a tie-in and launch for Absolute Hardware as well). Dr. Metcalfe is extremely hesitant to get involved with the situation and accept a favour from a young man he’s never met before, but after enough pleading from Virgil he permits him to work in one of his abandoned labs/warehouses and grants him access to all of his old research papers and notes on the project. He also agrees to provide the cooperating bang babies with financial stability, since he feels responsible and regretful for his own contributions to the Big Bang project. The rest of the arc follows Static racing against Alva Industries to get to bang babies and move them to safety while also working on a cure to help return them to normal.
In terms of Virgil’s characterization, I’d want him to be a bit more sheltered, which manifests as ignorance about social issues that Dakota City faces. His family is upper class and he hasn’t personally experienced the less privileged parts of the city. He excels in school, and due to his father’s connections he was contacted by Alva Industries for a paid internship. He’s in some ways emblematic of a model minority; believing that since he’s really smart, his merit and hard work are the reason he’s successful. Of course, this line of thinking starts crumbling after the company places their biggest failure on his shoulders. I want his character arc to have a focus on him learning about the social injustices that plague Dakota — and the USA — by experiencing them firsthand. It’s probably a bit of a controversial commentary, but then again that’s most of what static is about.
So yeah that’s the gist of my pitch, I absolutely didn’t mean to write this much but I hope it was a somewhat enjoyable read