10 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About Static Shock
6. The Tone Of The Comic Had To Be Lightened Considerably To Make It Past The Kids WB Censors
The comic Static was aimed at an older audience, as were the rest of the Milestone line. When the decision was made to make Static a Kids WB show, several changes would have to be made to satisfy the Standards and Practices folks at Warner Brothers and to ensure that Static Shock blended with their Saturday morning lineup (Virgil's mom being dead notwithstanding).
McDuffie and the other writers went to work. Virgil was made younger, (14 as opposed to almost 16 in the comics). Gunplay was substantially reduced, showing villains using energy weapons or powers, as opposed to more realistic violence prevalent in Static.
The animators took advantage of the medium to make displays of Virgil's power more flashy and dynamic, adding purple tones to the usual blue and white. Colour was also added to Static's costume, moving from the comic's simple black bodysuit and ball cap to a costume consisting of a blue coat with yellow highlights, white shirt with a black lightning bolt, white mask, and yellow goggles.
McDuffie would later admit that many of these changes were to make Static more accessible for toylines and video games, which did not sell well and were one of the show's downfalls.