If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.
Static to Marvel? The late Dwayne McDuffie originally developed Milestone's flagship hero for Marvel, but here's why they said 'no'
Dwayne McDuffie created Static as a response to the Spider-Marriage
Popverse's top stories
- Fans complaining about The Punisher's bad VFX are missing one point: it's not actually CGI
- Over $1.4 million in Absolute Green Arrow #1 pre-orders could open the door for the series to grow
- Veronica Roth's Seek the Traitor's Son is her Alysa Liu moment, says the Divergent author, and a way to buck the haters
Could you imagine Static in the Marvel Universe? What if Virgil Hawkins fought alongside the Avengers? Believe it or not, that’s almost what happened.
Static made his debut in 1993’s Static #1. The teen hero was originally published by Milestone Comics before being integrated into the DC Universe. However, Dwayne McDuffie, who passed away in 2011, had originally planned for the character to be published by Marvel. In fact, he was created as a response to the Spider-Man marriage.
“The genesis of Static was I was working at Marvel in the late ;80s, and I loved Spider-Man as a kid,” Static co-creator Dwayne McDuffie says during a panel at San Diego Comic Con 2009. “Spider-Man was this nerdy kid who liked science. Things didn’t go well for him. And by the time I was working at Marvel he was married to a supermodel and had a loft in Soho. And I’m like, I’m glad it worked out so well for him, but that’s not really the part of Spider-Man that I liked. And I pitched something, a very early version of Static to Marvel, who at the same time, they were developing Speedball. And they kind of went with Speedball. Actually, it worked out really well for me.”
It’s hard to picture the launch of Milestone without Static, so in retrospect it’s a good thing Marvel picked Speedball. The fact that Static owes his existence to the Spider-Man marriage is also interesting. We knew the Spider-Marriage was controversial, but apparently it’s so influential enough to create superheroes for other universes.
Want to know what's coming up next in pop culture? Check out Popverse's guides to:
About San Diego Comic-Con
Dates
-
Follow Popverse for upcoming event coverage and news
Find out how we conduct our review by reading our review policy
Let Popverse be your tour guide through the wilderness of pop culture
Sign in and let us help you find your new favorite thing.
Comments
Want to join the discussion? Please activate your account first.
Visit Reedpop ID if you need to resend the confirmation email.