Boomstick: Oh, great! As if we don't have enough to keep track of already!
Wiz: Miles Morales, the Spider-Man of Marvel's Earth-1610.
Boomstick: And Static, the electric genius from DC's Dakotaverse.
The two leading brands in superhero comics are back at center stage for the season premiere. Thankfully, their latest combatants have no shortage of shared traits: African-American teens who can control electricity, each strapping youth has made a promising start to his foray into heroics. In this first episode of the season, two genetic mutations and a new generation of heroes meet; these heroes, Miles Morales and Static, will end this meeting with only one survivor, courtesy of a death battle.
Kicking off the season is Miles Gonzalo Morales, originally a native of the Ultimate Marvel universe. Miles, at one point in his life, was an unassuming charter school attendee, his biggest concern being his family's strained relationship with his uncle, Aaron Davis. The reason for this familial tension is that Aaron was a career criminal, a burglar for hire. During a heist at the Oscorp headquarters, a spider snuck into Davis' equipment bag; this same spider would go on to bite Miles the next time he visited Aaron. The spider, unbeknownst to either Miles or Aaron, was one of several modified with a serum laced with the corporation's Oz drug, intended to mimic the formula which gave Captain America his superhuman physique. In turn, these spiders got loose and gave those they bit, Miles included, similar physical enhancements. It should be noted at this point, that a key distinction between Ultimate and mainline Marvel is that the former universe's incarnation of Peter Parker was killed in action shortly after Miles gained his powers. Distraught that his own inaction played a role in Peter's death, Miles vowed to live up to the slain hero's ideals and adopted the mantle of Spider-Man as his own.
In the time since, the Afro-Latino youth has had time to hone and refine his newfound powers. These include archetypical enhanced strength and speed courtesy of the Oz drug, as well as spider-sense; an instinctive awareness of his surroundings that warns him of impending peril. Miles' spider-sense is in fact superior to Peter's, in that it grants him a sort of precognition, informing him of events well before they occur. Like Peter before him, Miles has the ability to cling to walls and scale them, courtesy of his control over the interatomic attractions of his body. This ability extends to control over his body's bioelectrical generation as a whole; as expected, this electrokinesis can then be weaponized. Miles can produce electric shocks on contact or produce larger blasts with a wider area-of-effect. The electrical manipulation can also supply Miles with a camouflage effect equivalent to invisibility. In the way of equipment, Miles has less to note; the only real entry being spinnerets that launch a variety of high-tensile webbing.
Even in a different universe and under a different owner, the Spider-Man identity is upheld proudly. Speed-wise, his reaction speed can be measured down to a microsecond and can theoretically survive an explosion equivalent to 220 tons of TNT. The traditional Peter Parker, whom Miles has overcome in combat, can react at relativistic speed, lift nearly 150 tons single-handedly, and tear apart Doctor Octopus's robotic arms; the latter is especially notable in that the limbs in question can withstand multi-kiloton nuclear weapons. Being at a similar level of skill, Miles theoretically can perform the same. His own electrical attacks are even capable of defeating Electro, a villain made entirely of electricity, by overloading his electrical charge. That said, Miles does have his weaknesses as a hero, namely among his skillset. Overuse of his electric powers can wear down Miles' stamina and while the spider-sense informs him of danger in advance, it does not work actively defend against said threats. Miles and the web-shooter can also be injured by attacks of an electric or magnetic nature. For all his faults, Miles was able to push through them and the tragedies they led to, from the eventual death of his uncle to the merging of his reality with the classic universe of Earth-616. Wherever he may operate, Miles plays his part the Spider-Man legacy without fear of failure.
- Miles Morales: (overlaid to a shot of him backflipping off a tower crane) Don't watch the mouth. Watch the hands.
The episode moves on to Static of the Dakotaverse, real name Virgil Ovid Hawkins. The setting's namesake, Dakota City, is plagued with crime and gang warfare, and nowhere is this more prevalent than Virgil's home neighborhood, Paris Island. Despite the nature of his surroundings, Virgil had a promising future at school, hindered primarily by the torment he faced from bullies like gang leader Francis Stone. Virgil's close friend Larry Wade offered him sanctuary from Stone in the form of his own gang. Hesitant, Virgil accepted the offer, leading to a showdown at the piers of Paris Island. A riot broke out amongst the assembled gangs, Francis and Larry's among them, interrupted by the arrival of police forces armed with gas canisters. Most who were exposed to the tear gas, laced with the mutagen Quantum Juice, died shortly after; Virgil proved an exception. Instead, he woke up the next day to discover he had developed electromagnetic manipulation from the tainted gas. Inspired by the comics he indulged in, Virgil latched on to the idea of becoming a superhero and chose Static as his new alternate alias.
Virgil took to his newfound gifts quickly, and even with his brief time to demonstrate them, they are vast in number and impressive in scope. His electromagnetism, in addition to standard lightning, more specifically enables him to manipulate electrons. The hero of Dakota City augments his punches with electricity to debilitating effect, and, should he need ranged options in a fight, Virgil can also concentrate lightning into specific forms or direct it to drain energy from his foes. For defensive measures, Virgil can generate an omnidirectional force field with notably high defensive capabilities; with electricity to siphon from, he can even recover from grievous injuries. His magnetism, meanwhile, can bend and control metallic object, such as his signature tool, the static saucer. A metallic discus that Virgil manipulates to achieve flight, the saucer can also be used to deflect attacks or be launched as an impromptu bladed projectile. Further training heightened both Static's finesse and the scope of his powers, as well. He can see outside the visible light spectrum and detect the bio-electric auras of other individuals.
There may not be much to Static's name compared to other heroes, but what there is speaks volumes. As point of reference, his electromagnetism has been shown as equal to the telekinesis of fellow hero Superboy. With Superboy demonstrated as using his telekinesis to lift four million tons, even being in the general vicinity of power as Superboy lends credence to how powerful Static's abilities are. The fact that Static can melting glaciers and lifting maglev tracks with his powers, measured as feats worth several hundreds of tons of force or energy, provides further proof. Virgil can also dodge beams of light and survive being in the epicenter of building-leveling explosions. Virgil is still human, though, and he must bear all the hindrances that come with that fact. His natural supply of electricity can be drained if he overexerts himself, and, naturally, insulated materials can be used to restrain him, essentially hindering the use of his powers. Still, Virgil made do even with these faults, protecting his world in the face of earthly concerns and the circumstances that later befell it. Through a lengthy series of cosmic events, the Dakotaverse became merged with the Earth Prime universe of DC, bringing Static along with it. Virgil kept at his heroics even in this new plane of existence and for his efforts, would eventually join the ranks of the legendary Justice League in the future. Virgil continues to work alongside fellow heroes with his gifts, proving that fateful night in Dakota City had a greater purpose than he could have expected.
- Static: (runs into an alley in civilian clothes; he exits in full attire aboard the static saucer) Static shock!
The two combatants have been studied and are fully prepped for action. One advertisement for the Blue Apron cooking service later, and now, it's time for a death battle!
All is quiet in the streets of an urban city block. This silence is soon broken as a black and red figure zips across the city streets. As Miles Morales swings across the buildings, Virgil Hawkins trails behind him on the static saucer. Bolts of lightning dart around the young Spider-Man as each teen accuses the other of attacking him first. Miles justifies himself by mistaking Static for another villain, but a thunderbolt blasts Miles off his web mid-sentence and careening across the cityscape. The new Spider-Man orients himself to launch a pair of webs, barely able to dodge Static divebombing him. To Virgil's perplexity, Miles swings out his field of vision, before a string of webbing connects him to the saucer.
FIGHT!
Anchored to Virgil's ride, Miles slingshots himself onto the static saucer, swerving around Static every effort to fight back. The Afro-Latino knees the bang baby in the stomach and admires his foe's distress for a moment. Gingerly resting a hand on Static's shoulder, Miles nonchalantly sends a surge of electricity through his foe. As the kilowatt kid is blasted towards the street from the venom touch, another set of webbing catches him at the last second. Miles takes the helpless Static and flings him against the side of a skyscraper; Virgil takes this moment to process his opponent's electrokinesis. This confusion subsides as Miles prepares to launch himself into Static; Virgil gets his mind back in gear by backflipping out of the attack, his electromagnetism allowing him to stick to the wall. Static closes the distance and for his efforts, the match shows signs of shifting back in his favor. Pummeled by a series of taser punches, the Ultimate Spider-Man attempts to counterattack. Virgil may have put up a force field, but it proves strong enough to withstand anything Miles throws at it. The electric barrier soon dissipates as Static watches his foe from a safe distance.
The spider-sense kicks in, warning Miles of the static saucer closing in from behind. Though the lightning-charged saucer misses its mark the first time, Static redirects it back towards Miles; the bang baby's mount chases after Miles, carving a path into the skyscraper. The next development in the fight soon follows as Miles grips firmly into the chunk of wall and, after tilting it for leverage, drives a firm kick into the uprooted chunk. The impact of the kick sends Virgil, the static saucer, and the fragment clean flying off the high-rise, but the Dakota City hero steadies himself on his saucer and flies out from underneath the rock's path. Soaring back to the skyscraper, Static sends an electric charge through the entirety of the building. Miles soon finds himself slipping off the wall before falling downward altogether. It takes a desperately launched web making it to the topmost edge of the high-rise to stop Miles' descent. Instead, a bolt of lightning smacks the spider into the wall, pinning him in place for Virgil's next assault.
Surrounding himself in an electric sphere, Virgil swoops downwards, making a u-turn and slamming straight into the Ultimate Spider-Man. Miles is dragged along every inch of the building before he gets launched onto the rooftop. As soon as he makes contact with concrete, the young Spider-Man disappears from view. Static attempts to keep his cool, but that stoicism is challenged by his saucer being yanked out from beneath him. With Miles smashing the saucer to pieces, Static takes a second to lament the destruction of his craft before he carries the fight on. A massive sphere of electromagnetic energy envelops the roof; Miles watches as his invisibility is nullified, his body surrounded by an orange radiance. The bang baby unleashes yet another ray of lightning towards his foe in response. Miles jumps away from it, but even the spider-sense fails to do anything of note as the hero is pulled towards the epicenter of the ensuing vortex. Metal furnishings create an impromptu coffin around Miles, but an even brighter gold flare destroys the barrier as the Afro-Latino youth breaks free.
Virgil is launched into the high-rise's parapet, the remains of the static saucer cleaving an arm off. Spider-Man lunges towards the seemingly-helpless bang baby; Virgil, however, still has some fight left in him. An ensuing electromagnetic surge, so intense it blacks out the power grid, envelops Static as he reattaches the severed limb. In his confusion, Miles is tackled by Virgil as the two plummet off the skyscraper. The hero of Ultimate Marvel ensnares Virgil's hands in webbing, but this time, the bang baby is prepared. Sending electric currents through the webs, Static overloads the spinnerets with energy; sure enough, they soon burst, wrapping Miles in his own webs. Spider-Man breaks out of the bindings, but he leaves him exposed for Static to wrap him in a blue wire. The plasma coil shuts down Miles' attempt to escape, giving Virgil all the time he desires to wrap up the match. A sphere of condensed energy forms in Static's free hand. Yanking Miles towards him, the bang baby slams a nova bomb straight into the unprotected Spider-Man. Agonized screams fill the air as the plasma ball goes rocketing into the sky. At the apex of its flight, the bomb detonates, completely atomizing Miles. Static, meanwhile, continues to fall, but brings a car to his position, breaking his fall as he recomposes himself.
K.O.!
After a moment to mourn Miles' demise, the analysis is carried out. Both hosts admit that Miles was physically stronger than Virgil, but Static had an even greater advantage in his powers. Specifically, for every one of Miles' abilities, his foe had an answer for. Virgil has displayed feats of speed that meant he could land attacks faster than the spider-sense's precognition to fully kick in, and he could track Miles' bio-electric aura even while invisible. Even the electro-magnetic manipulation, by its very nature, can nullify Miles' wall-crawling and the rest of his powerset. Spider-Man, meanwhile, would have no way to get around Static's electromagnetic barrier. Physical statistics like speed and durability also leaned heavily towards Virgil, even when scaling Miles to other Spider-Men. As a point of reference, the supervillain Electro is the closest thing either Miles or even the original Peter Parker have to Static. Electro's best showings of destructive potential have been measured at 160 tons of energy, well below Static melting glaciers with his own power. In addition, Electro is often defeated by being outsmarted, a weakness that the more intelligent Static lacked. Befitting the episode's theme of alternate universes; the Wizard and Boomstick of one such universe take the usual pairs' place for the last leg of the analysis. In summary, Miles was not without his strengths, but Virgil would need just one hit to nullify his powers and secure victory, and he had the abilities and speed to make that happen.
Miles Morales vs. Static contains examples of:
- Alternate Universe: The main trait these two heroes share is that they are both from universes alternate to the main universe of their comic publishers - Miles is from Marvel's Earth-1610 instead of Earth-616, and Vergil's reality is called the Dakotaverse since it was from a comic company that was bought out by DC.
- Taking the joke even further, Wiz invents a device to peer into alternate realities, and the only one it shows is one where "Broomstick" is the eloquent host of an alternate Death Battle, "Fatality Kerfuffle", while "Jizz" is the boorish comic relief.
- Art Evolution: Wiz and Boomstick look slightly different from the way they appeared in seasons 5-6.
- Beat Them at Their Own Element: An electric spider vs an electric genius. Of course, electricity has never been a huge part of Miles' powerset, so he largely gets curb-stomped by overwhelming power.
- Brick Joke:
- Boomstick calls Miles out for having a tough time with his parents, knowing all too well a loved one's going to pull an Uncle Ben on him; he proudly claimed he called it after noting how Miles' Uncle Aaron pulled the Uncle Ben.
- Partway while describing how Virgil's Dakotaverse became part of the DC universe proper, the hosts play around with a device that lets them trade places with versions of themselves from alternate universes. The device's destruction gives them the opportunity to take over for the end of the episode.
- Continuity Nod: Once again, a Spider-Man positions himself for a dropkick towards his prone opponent. Also once again, said opponent gets out the way of the attack and turns the match back in his favor.
- Also, in the dimension of Fatality Kerfuffle, Wiz and Boomstick's alternate selves are officially known as Jizz and Broomstick. Maybe Caboose knew about both dimensions.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Static to Miles all the way. Even though Miles was physically stronger than Static, Static had an answer to literally every thing else in Miles' arsenal. So, whenever it seemed Miles was getting an edge in the fight, Static quickly put a stop to it.
- Electric Black Guy: Two of them. Miles is Afro-Latino, Static is Jamaican, but his voice actor just talks with an African-American accent here, like in other adaptations.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: After the venom touch in the first act of the fight, Miles holds a dabbing pose in midair.
- Mistaken Identity: Miles attacked Static, mistaking him for his enemy Electro.
- Mythology Gag: The alternate version of Wiz and Boomstick, Jizz and Broomstick, were mentioned when Caboose got Wiz and Boomstick's names wrong.
- A couple to Into the Spider-Verse:
- Miles pulls off the shoulder touch on Virgil early on, complete with "'ey."
- The name of the track used in the fight, Watts Up Danger, is a play on the one used in the film's "rising" scene, What's Up, Danger.
- A couple to Into the Spider-Verse:
- Personality Swap: The Fatality Kerfuffle alternate universe featured has this set-up with the hosts; its Boomstick (Broomstick) is eloquent, well-mannered, and in a familiar lab coat, with that universe's Wiz (Jizz) being a perkier, down-to-earth fellow in a familiar trucker hat (and an Irish accent, for some reason).
- Take That!: Quite the blunt one, at that, while describing how Virgil tried getting out of the gang scene:Boomstick: Virgil wasn't having any of it. It was time to bail, like DC did on its cinematic universe.
