Line #9 TearJerker/StaticShock


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2	%% Examples have generally been put in order by production date. When adding examples in the future, please keep the order in mind. %%
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6	Tearjerkers in ''WesternAnimation/StaticShock''.
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8	* Virgil finding out about Sean Foley's racism in "Sons of the Fathers". It's blatantly clear that Virgil is deeply hurt (and not entirely on his own behalf; he admits to being stunned how a good guy like Richie can have a bigoted dad) and that Richie is ''devastated'' when his best friend leaves.
9	-->'''Sean:''' And now I see why Richie acts like a hood, Maggie. That kid's a bad influence. ''All his kind are!''\
10	'''Maggie:''' Keep your voice down!\
11	'''Sean:''' It's bad enough I gotta deal with them all day long, ''now one of them is in my house!''
12	** Then the exchange where Richie snaps at his father about how his father got what he wanted and that his best friend's gone before snarling "I hate you!", running away from home, and disappearing into the streets to ultimately get captured and held hostage by Ebon.
13	--->'''Richie:''' Well, you got what you wanted, Dad! My best friend is gone because of you and your stupid racism! '''I HATE YOU!'''
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15	* In the Season 1 finale "Tantrum", Virgil's family is planning a memorial service for his deceased mother, Jean. As much as Virgil misses her, at this point in the series, he still hasn't fully come to terms with her death. Hence, he doesn't want to take part in it because it would hurt too much. Later on, he and Richie are watching an old home video of when Virgil was a baby, which Richie intended on playfully making fun of him with. But when Jean appears in the video and easily calms baby Virgil down, Richie finally understands why Virgil did not want to see it.
16	-->'''Richie:''' Now I see why you didn't want to look at this. She was so great, and now she's... gone.\
17	'''Virgil:''' She really knew what made me tick.
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19	* The ChristmasEpisode "Frozen Out" and ''everything'' involving Permafrost's simply tragic and heartbreaking backstory. Even adult fans admitted to crying over it.
20	** The entire scene where Virgil talks down Permafrost.
21	--->'''Static:''' I know what you've gone through!\
22	'''Permafrost:''' How could you know?\
23	'''Static:''' [[ArmorPiercingResponse Because... I lost my mom, too.]] (''the blizzard dies down, and he gives her the photograph of her and her mom'') I know how hard it is, how the pain never really goes away.\
24	'''Permafrost:''' (''takes the photo and looks at it sadly'')\
25	'''Static:''' Is that why you did what you did at the mall and the power station?\
26	'''Permafrost:''' Those families… all happy and warm in their homes. They have no idea how it is out here! When you're homeless, people look right through you. It's like you're not even there.\
27	'''Static:''' ''(recalling how he neglected her earlier in the episode)'' [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Yeah… I've been guilty of that…]]\
28	'''Permafrost:''' I thought when I got these powers, things would get better for me. They didn't. (''starts to cry'') I'm more alone now than ever! (''drops to her knees and sobs. Virgil comfortingly puts a hand on her shoulder and she suddenly turns around and hugs him. He hugs her back as it gently starts to snow'')
29	* In "Consequences", Virgil's showboating during a fight with Puff and Onyx lands his friend, Daisy, in a temporary coma. He feels like it was partially his fault ([[WhatTheHellHero after getting called out by Rubberband Man]]). It's sad to see a hero have this sort of problem, potentially harming someone close to them.
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31	* "Jimmy" involves the titular character, a depressed kid who gets bullied a lot. It gets worse when he brings a gun to the Community Center and aims it at his bully, Nick. Richie and Frieda try to talk him down, and the boy is crying. And as he's trying to put the gun down, Nick's goons tackle him, causing him to accidentally shoot Richie in the leg. This shocks Jimmy into [[TroubledFetalPosition curling up on the floor]] and utterly sobbing.
32	** When the bullies shove Jimmy into a locker, the poor kid is screaming and begging for them to let him out. He looks and sounds terrified, implying that he might be [[{{Claustrophobia}} claustrophobic]]. When Virgil opens it, Jimmy falls out with tears streaming down his face.
33	** There are two other really hard-to-watch scenes tied to the above:
34	*** Virgil ranting to the school counselor about how upset and confused he is about the events. He's mad at the bullies for picking on Jimmy, he's mad at Jimmy for shooting Richie (even if it was an accident), and he's mad at himself for not telling his father about the gun stored in Jimmy's house and for not doing more to stop the bullying.
35	*** The exchange when Virgil is signing Richie's cast. While it is somewhat PlayedForLaughs, Richie makes a somber remark about what would have happened to him had the bullet hit just a little higher. Virgil very firmly telling him ''not'' to go there is hard to hear.
36	*** Later, the two express hopes that the incident will put a stop to bullying... only to see another kid get pushed around by a pair of thugs just as Jimmy had been. While it is mitigated by the fact that Virgil chooses to step in to help the kid, it shows that tragedies don't automatically solve societal problems and it takes a kind person to actually do the work.
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38	* "Hard As Nails"
39	** Virgil notes that Ally is scared of her metal powers and unwanted changes. She became a Bang Baby but is trying to cover up her physical change with makeup and clothes. Her classmates are worried for her when a falling basketball hoop shatters as it hits her, and she smacks away the jocks trying to help her to her feet. When Virgil realizes she's running away to Gotham City, he follows her and tries to reassure her that she's not in trouble. Virgil says that they should both go home and talk this out because he knows what she's going through. He never gives up on her, not even when she wants to commit murder.
40	** The Bruce Wayne of ''Batman: The Animated Series'' talked down several would-be murderers with compassion, noting most were adults. Here, he's brusque towards Ally, a teenager, because she left him and Virgil to die. Virgil has to point out that Ivy and Harley are manipulating a confused and scared kid and Ally deserves a second chance. It's sad to see that Bruce's big heart gives way to cynicism over time.
41	** Ally asks Static at the end, after all the trouble she caused, why he still came to help her. Virgil says matter-of-factly that she's from his neighborhood, and that's all that matters.
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43	* "Flashback", a TimeTravelEpisode in which Virgil/Static goes back to meet his deceased mother, Jean, on the night she died in a gang riot as a paramedic caught in the crossfire. Virgil reveals his SecretIdentity to her and begs her to stay out of harm's way. Although he doesn't explicitly mention her death, he gravely warns that she gets hurt and insinuates her tragedy. It's clear that Jean understands that she will die that night doing her paramedic duties. Nonetheless, Jean's desire to help people who need her drives her back onto the streets - accepting her death. Virgil's panic as he sees Jean with her ambulance crew among the fracas as he's stuck in the time bubble that returns him to the present is heartbreaking as he yells for her. It is made even worse when he runs home with the faint hope that she survived, only to discover that Jean still died despite his efforts to save her.
44	** Adding to that (and crossing over with [[Heartwarming/StaticShock heartwarming]]) is the reveal of what ''did'' change: On the night she died, Jean told everyone how her son was a superhero and that [[SoProudOfYou she was proud of him]]. Thus, giving him the closure he needed to heal from her death.
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46	* In "A League of Their Own, Part 2", Richie briefly breaks out from being mind-controlled by Brainiac to attempt to give Static a message. What makes the moment such a tear-jerker is the sheer emotion in his voice, a combo between fear and desperation as he fights Brainiac's control. Creator/JasonMarsden absolutely ''nails'' it.
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48	* In "No Man's an Island", when Static and Hotstreak are [[ChainedHeat chained together]], they learn they're in a medical facility. Hotstreak totally flips out, eventually revealing that, when he was a kid, he ended up having to spend ''two years'' in a hospital. This reveals a somewhat poignant side to his usual thuggish portrayal.

Context TearJerker / StaticShock