10 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About Static Shock
7. Static's Mom Was Dead In The Cartoon, But Lived Through The Run Of The Comics
If you thought that Virgil's mother being dead was always part of his character, you (and many others), would be wrong.
In the Static comic, Virgil's mother Jean was a consistent part of his family life. In the show, however, his mother had been dead for five years when the first episode aired, being a paramedic who had died while helping people on the streets during a series of riots that had gripped Dakota. She was killed by a stray bullet, which gave Static his deep-rooted hatred of firearms on the show.
McDuffie said this change was made so kids from single-parent homes could better identify with the character, but it also provided some major plot points. Virgil often 'talked' to his mom, using his memories of her love and compassion to sort through problems and arrive at (usually) the right answer.
In the episode 'Flashback', Virgil travels back in time to the night his mother died, in an attempt to save her. He is unable to do so, and she still is killed, but he is able to gain closure and let her know that he became a hero like her, giving them both a measure of peace.