The Good
I really liked the origin/dream sequence in this book because it introduced some much-needed depth to the character. Static's typical "Peter Parker" build is expanded to include a possible predication to violence, and having him almost shoot someone is better than actually doing it; it gives him something to ponder, and makes him wonder if he'll fall "to the dark side" again.
The Bad
I'll get into this more in "The Verdict", but the book doesn't feel like it's moving beyond very basic plotlines. Villains attack, Static stops them using something vaguely science-related, he goes home. Rinse, repeat.
So Static's robotic mentor shows up for what seems like the first time since the first issue. Where's he been since then? For someone that seems to integral to the whole being of Static, he seems kind of absent. If he's supposed to be a mentor of some kind, his involvement just seems a bit lackluster.
The Verdict
While the dream sequence origin was good, it took them five issues to give the reader something concrete. Five. On a monthly schedule, that's almost half a year of Static hinting at "Dakota" without giving the reader any meat. This meat is what keeps us buying the book beyond the initial surge of launch, and I think that it's taken much too long for us to get it.
This book is pretty disappointing because it seems to rely on an abundance of action to make up for Static being a pretty shallow character. The book hasn't changed much since the first issue: Static goes out and fights crime while the villains scheme behind the scenes, utterly focused on ridding themselves of the hero menace.
While this is pretty standard superhero fare, it doesn't get deeper. We're still left wondering about things mentioned in passing, and it's getting to the point where I just don't want to stick around to see what they end up resulting in.
To be frank, I'm utterly bored by this book, and this issue didn't change a thing.
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