 |
"Frozen Out" is the fifth episode of the second season of Static Shock. It first aired on February 22, 2002. It depicts the birth of Permafrost.
Plot[]
The winter holidays are rapidly approaching, and the citizens of Dakota are celebrating. Everyone except Static. Having attended to three apartment fires, two train wrecks, and a cat stuck up in a tree, Virgil is running so late to Frieda's Hanukkah party that he's concerned she'll never talk to him again. Finally headed to her house, the bad luck doesn't end as Virgil witnesses another police siren nearby.
Meanwhile, at Frieda's house, her grandfather explains why the Jewish people observe Hanukkah, as a celebration "to mark our victory over invaders." Sneaking in during the explanation, Frieda spots Virgil, pulling her attention from lighting the menorah. As everyone heads to the kitchen to eat, she attempts to confront him, but is pulled away by another party goer who wants her to meet her son Herschel. Taking the reprieve, Virgil catches up with Richie to discuss his patrol and social gatherings like Daisy's Kwanzaa party and Omar's Ramadan Feast.
Suddenly, the power goes out on the whole block. Hoping that it's just the result of a power failure, Virgil initially blows off Richie's concern that this may be a crisis that needs Static's expertise. Richie finally convinces him to check it out, so Virgil uses his electricity to pick up a radio broadcast from Dakota Hills reporting an electric substation lies buried under a mountain of ice. Hearing that this affected dozens of houses, leaving them without heat on the coldest day of the year, Virgil asks Richie to save him a plate of party food for later.
Donning his costume once again, Virgil makes contact with the crew of workers at the sub-station, who are concerned it may take a week to cut through it all. Asking the crew to stand clear, Static charges the ice with his electric powers, and is met with cheers from the impressed workers. Just as he expresses that he's "done", Virgil is attacked by an unknown assailant, bombarding him with giant frozen spikes. Needing to recharge, Static leaps towards a transformer, but is pinned by one of the spikes. Struggling, he finally gets close enough to kickstart his abilities, and wards off the final attack. He challenges his assailant to show, but looking around, all he sees a cold and lonely homeless girl. She asks Static if he has any change, and he blows her off, saying "now's not a good time." Upset, the girl stumbles off in the snow.
Back at Virgil's house, Richie pelts his friend with a snowball as soon as he walks out the front door. Hoping to cure Virgil's crankiness, Richie tells him that he called their councilman in the role of Static's "publicist" to set up for Static to light the 50-foot-tall tree at the Dakota City Media Plaza on Christmas Eve. Upset because he already has plans, Richie walks off telling him "That's the price you pay for fame."
Later on, Virgil and Daisy go to the Dakota Mall to buy a gift for his sister, Sharon. Daisy spots the girl from the sub-station again, and laments her circumstances given how young she is, to which Virgil agrees. Getting a good look at her, he suddenly realizes he recognizes her, and noticing frost coating the windows as she passes, he excuses himself to the restroom. Running into a nearby dressing room, he exits as his superhero identity, Static.
Meanwhile, in another store, the girl admires a glass sculpture of an angel. Exclaiming how beautiful she finds it; the shopkeeper places his hand on her and remarks "I don't think you belong here." Not expecting to be touched, the girl's powers go haywire, and she falls into a trauma episode repeating the sentiment that she doesn't belong. Out of control of her powers, the mall is covered in snow and ice. Completely frozen, the Mall's Christmas tree nearly falls on Daisy, but Static swoops in, just in the nick of time. "Hello there, Lois, isn't it?", he kids as he flies her to safety. As he continues to quip, Static is reminded that the girl's powers are still out of control and is nearly pinned by a pillar of ice. Thinking quickly, he uses his powers to heat up the Static Saucer and melts his way down as the ice continues to rise.
Hiding away in one of the mall's stores, the girl witnesses a mother express her desire to protect her daughter. This recalls memories from her own mother; many Christmases ago, the girl danced around her living room as her mother, sick and in need of an oxygen tank to properly breathe, watched her place ornaments on the Christmas tree. After placing the final ornament, her mother presented her with a glass angel much like the one she would later admire in the mall. Breaking the ambiance, her stepfather forebodingly stepped through the room, slamming the door behind him, abandoning the family for good. Whether it be a result to the shock, or poor timing, the results remain the same, and the girl's mother died from medical complications in front of her eyes just moments later. An ambulance arrived on the scene, but it was already too late. As they took her mother's lifeless body away, the child services agent tells her "You have to come with me. In need of comfort, and not knowing where to find it, the girl ran away in tears, shattering the glass angel when she tripped and fell.
Back in the present, the girl is suffering clear emotional distress due to the flashback. Having a moment of clarity, she flees the scene. Meanwhile Static finally reaches the bottom of the ice pillar and cuts open an elevator door to free himself. Seeing no sign that the mysterious bang baby is still around, he quips that next time he'll be doing his shopping online.
At the Freeman Community Center community center, Virgil and Richie are volunteering at a food drive for the homeless. Relaying the events from earlier, Virgil tries to piece together the girl's motives, but is having a hard time due to the strange nature of erratic behavior. Finally getting the box they were carrying to where it needs to be, Richie suggests that Virgil use his powers to help speed up the process, leading to a conversation between the two about Static's higher level of responsibility due to being a superhero. Agreeing to Richie's premise, Virgil's pal sneaks out, knowing his friend will pick up the slack.
Meanwhile, Robert Hawkins and Reverend Anderson are discussing how glad they are that the church and community center could work together on their homeless project, since the local politicians have decided that it isn't their problem. Walking in on their conversation, Virgil asks his father if he can be excused to go home. Obliging the request, Robert still reacts with a sense of concern when his son speaks flippantly about the work. He reminds Virgil that "this stuff" is the only way some poor families can get through the holidays. Chiming in, Reverend Anderson informs Virgil that by government count, there are more than seven million homeless people in America. Half a million of them kids Virgil's age or younger, Robert adds. Shocked, Virgil asks how that can even happen, and is overwhelmed to hear so many possible answers. Reverend Anderson offers to discuss the topic more at a different time, but the mention of time reminds Virgil he's running late to Daisy's Kwanzaa party. Running out the door, Virgil almost knocks over Sharon along with another volunteer.
Back at the Hawkins' household, Virgil tries to pick out an outfit for the party, but his plans go on hold when he gets a call from Richie on the Shock Vox. It turns out Richie is running late as well. His parents, Sean and Maggie Foley were driving him to Daisy's party when all of a sudden, the girl's powers set off again, snowing in the turnpike for miles. Frustrated that his personal time is being cut into once again, Virgil grabs his superhero costume and heads out.
Back downtown, Richie and his family are stuck inside their car as the snowstorm continues. Static arrives on the scene as a girl walks through the street muttering "not my fault." Attempting to hold a conversation, Static asks if she has a name, but she seems to have forgotten it, only knowing that "the voices in the dark" call her "Permafrost". Telling her that what she's doing has got to stop, regardless of whether or not he knows what her problem is, Static unknowingly repeats the same words as the child services agent from her memory. "You have to come with me now", the words induce another trauma episode, as Static morphs into the child-services worker. Unable to process, she blows Static back with her powers, and begins running, dodging cars as they skid past her, launching projectiles at Static as he pursues her. Almost hit by an oncoming oil tanker, Static continues his pursuit despite the fact the truck skids towards the edge of the bridge they're traveling. With no other way to shake him, the girl finally buries Static in an avalanche of snow.
Digging himself out, Static tracks the girl towards the Dakota City Cable Car Company Repair Depot. Getting the lay of the land, Static falls and to his shock, lands on top of another person. It turns out that this old decrepit building is being used by the local homeless community to shelter from the cold. Asking for help, Static is distraught to learn that the buildings inhabitants don't trust anybody. Finally describing the girl, Static is approached by a mother and her children who says she knows the girl. Leading Static to her frozen-out chambers, the mother explains "She's not bad, you know? She just has problems." Stunned by her living quarters, Static takes a look around to find that everything, even her belongings, is frozen, with one singular exception; a photograph of the girl with her mother, the stepfather ripped from the picture. Leaving with the photo, Static is spotted by the girl, under the impression he stole the last remaining piece of her humanity.
At the church, Static shows Reverend Anderson the photo. He recognizes the girl, and finally reveals that her name is Maureen Connor. She used to come to the church for meals, but disappeared more than a year ago, right after the Big Bang happened. Static asks him what he knows about her, and the reverend tells him about how she lost her mom a few years ago, and how her stepfather wanted nothing to do with her. "Before long, she ended up on the street." Sympathetic, Static posits that an experience like that has got to "mess with your head" to which Reverend Anderson replies that he's afraid that it has, "and sorry to say, she's fairly typical. Nearly half of all homeless people suffer from some type of mental illness." Unsure of how to approach the issue, Static asks how he can help someone like that. The reverend tells him to remember that "she's not some faceless category, "the homeless". She's a person like you and me. A person in pain". Wrapping up the conversation, Reverend Anderson asks to be excused as he has to continue preparing for Christmas Eve. He tells Static that the church is having an inter-faith service this year and welcomes him to join them. Static almost accepts the invitation before remembering Richie roped him into the tree lighting at the Dakota City Media Plaza. Realizing his dilemma, Static steps outside expressing that his father will slaughter him if he doesn't show up to the church service.
Later, at the media plaza, in front of the UBC building, the tree lighting ceremony is underway. Unimpressed with the pace at which the councilman delivers his speech, Static hurriedly pushes him out of the way as soon as the councilman begins to introduce him. The councilman asks him to say a few words, but Static insists he's in a rush and going to be grounded until he's 90 if he doesn't hurry. Unfortunately for him, Maureen has caught wind of his whereabouts, and unleashes a snowstorm as he begins to charge up to light the tree. As pedestrians scatter, Static tosses Maureen towards the plaza steps, a fight ensues until Static asks if the two can talk it out. Upset that he stole her photograph earlier, Maureen declines, demanding its return. Promising to give the photo back, Maureen calms down, realizing this is the first time she's heard her name in quite some time. Static tells her he learned it from some people who care about her, but she's convinced that nobody cares about her. Static assures her that he cares and offers to help her. Revealing to Maureen that he had lost his own mother, Jean Hawkins, Static assures her that he can understand what she went through, how hard it is, and that the pain never really goes away. He asks her if that hurt was why she did what she did at the mall and the power station, and while she doesn't give a direct answer, expresses envy of the families warm in their homes who don't know how hard it is living on the street. She confesses to Static that when you're homeless, "people look right through you. It's like you're not even there".
Maureen thought that when she got the powers, things would get better for her, but they didn't. Beginning to cry, Maureen expresses that she's "more alone now than ever." Static places a hand on her, but unlike the shopkeeper from earlier, this time to comfort her. Recognizing the kindness, Maureen turns to embrace him. As Static returns the embrace, snow begins to fall. He remains comforting her as the camera pans out to show the two underneath the watch of a glass angel.
Now back at the church, Maureen sits in Reverend Anderson's office. When the reverend greets her, Maureen notes that she knows this place. "It feels safe". Reverend Anderson reassures her that it is a safe place, and tells her the church wants to help, but they can't make her do anything that she doesn't want to do. After re-iterating that Maureen has to be the one to choose, she responds that she wants to get better. Reverend Anderson introduces Maureen to Joanna, who runs the churches program for the homeless, and assures Maureen that Joanna will get her some warm clothes. Passing by Static on her way out, Maureen thanks him for his help. Static asks Reverend Anderson if Maureen will be alright, and he responds that he's unsure, but "you have to have faith."
Later, during the church service, Virgil shows up shortly after Reverend Anderson begins the service. As the sermon continues, Reverend Anderson reminds the congregation that while United States of America may be blessed, those blessings are out of reach for others, making it our duty to offer them "safe conduct through life's difficult journeys" and be their "ambassadors of compassion." As he speaks, the Dakota City Cable Car Company Repair Depot serves a free dinner for the homeless community at Dakota Union High School. Having now experienced a connection with Maureen. Reverend Anderson's speech moves Virgil to tears. Richie asks him if he got something in his eye, to which he responds "no, I'm just starting to see what the holidays are really about."
Continuity[]
- This marks the second time Static referred to someone as Lois Lane. The first time was in "The Breed", to Frieda.
- It has been more than a year since the Big Bang.
Background information[]
Home video releases[]
Production notes[]
- After hearing through the grapevine that the network wanted a holiday-themed episode, Len Uhley "begged and groveled" for the opportunity to write it, in hopes of revisiting themes of faith and belief in God from his "Nightcrawler" episode on X-Men: The Animated Series.[1]
- Before landing on the story that became "Frozen Out", Len Uhley has mentioned he pitched a handful of more "outlandish" ideas that were rejected by Burnett.[1]
- According to Uhley, "As long as we backed up our statistics about the homeless, and didn't overtly promote one faith over another, the network's creative execs and Standards & Practices were all on board."[1]
- Dave Chlystek has stated that despite being a socially conscious episode, he decided to play up the action while directing, leading to a final product that " has more action than [The] Big Leagues."[2] Of the final product, he reflects that this episode is one of his "proudest moments in a long career in animation."[3]
- Storyboard artist Marcus Williams had worked for years with homeless communities prior to working on this episode and was credited by director Dave Chlystek for bringing enormous insight from his experiences.[2]
- Wanting to bring sensitivity and accuracy while approaching the subject that society regularly ignores the homeless, Dave Chlystek tasked show coordinator Jackie Olsommer with pulling as much reference from web and video sources as possible. According to Chlystek, "we researched this as if we were doing a live action film."[2]
- Chlystek has credited Hynden Walch's performance for making the crew step up their quality all around. According to him, "as we sat in the recording studio, I got chills listening to her performance (no pun intended). Alan Burnett, Len Uhley, Scott Jeralds, one of the network heads, Jessica Pinto, and myself all would constantly turn to each other and just have this look of our jaws hitting the floor at this woman's performance."[2]
- When Static thaws the electric substation, he causes a machine to blow up that features reused footage from the scene of Superman: The Animated Series episode "World's Finest, Part III" in which one Wayne/Lex T-7 blows up another droid.
Production inconsistencies[]
- In the gymnasium, after Richie makes his "my arms are going to fall off" crack, Virgil is wearing a watch on his right hand which disappears in the next scene.
- When Virgil takes out his Static uniform after Richie calls him, his white shirt is shown to have long sleeves despite the fact that it usually has short sleeves. This could be a different shirt from normal, to account for the cold weather.
- The Static Saucer vanishes from underneath Static's knees when the icicles start raining at the power station.
- In the beginning of Maureen's flashback, her two front teeth are missing, only to re-appear in the next scene.
Trivia[]
- The death of Maureen's mother, storyboarded by Eddie Lin, is one of Dave Chlystek's favorite sequences from the entire show.[2]
- Bill Proctor's background drawing of Permafrost's living chamber was said to be so good that "the network actually comment on how lovely they thought it was."[2]
- This is the only holiday episode that focuses on the shared aspects of multiple religious and social holidays, which is notably uncommon in the DCAU due to censorship rules.[4]
- It is left unexplained what exactly Omar's "Ramadan feast" is. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, moving about two weeks back on the Gregorian calendar every year.
- This is one of several Static Shock episodes to cover social issues, like how Jimmy was about gun violence in schools, Where the Rubber Meets the Road was about dyslexia, and Sons of the Fathers was about racism. According to Len Uhley, these episodes were an important part of making Virgil identifiable with the audience, by making him "inhabit a world that at least partially reflects reality -- even its unpleasant aspects, and even if it is 'only' a cartoon." He went on to elaborate "If we avoid issues like the loss of a loved one, or bigotry, or school violence, or drugs, or you-name-it, then we abandon the rich story possibilities that are at the heart of the series. We ignore the unfortunate facts of life for a lot of kids in this country. And we insult the intelligence of our viewers. None of which we want to do."[1]
Cast[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Phil LaMarr | Virgil Hawkins/Static |
| Jason Marsden | Richie Foley |
| Kevin Michael Richardson | Robert Hawkins |
| Crystal Scales | Daisy Watkins |
| Hynden Walch | Maureen Connor |
| Matt Ballard | Spaced Out Customer |
| Jack Carter | Frieda's Grandfather |
| Linda Dangcil | Homeless Woman |
| Michael Dorn | Reverend Anderson Homeless man (uncredited) |
| Danica McKellar | Frieda Goren |
| Michele Morgan | Mother |
Uncredited appearances[]
Quotes[]
Richie: You know, all this heavy lifting could go a lot faster with a little MAGNETIC boost? |
Permafrost: When you're homeless, people look right through you; it's like you're not even there. |
Reverend Anderson: Now, Johanna here runs our homeless program. She'll get you some warm clothes. It's been pretty cold out there. |
Reverend Anderson: I want to tell you that, despite our differences, we all have in common certain basic human beliefs. Whether you are a disciple of Muhammad, a child of Abraham, or a member of the Body of Christ, you know that you are called upon to care for the needy and the poor. This great country of ours is so very blessed — yet for some, the blessings are out of reach. Therefore, it is our duty to offer them safe conduct through life's difficult journey. To be their ambassadors of compassion. |
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Len Uhley Talks Static Shock, "Frozen Out" by Jim Harvey
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Director Dave Chlystek Talks "Frozen Out" and More Static! by Jim Harvey
- ↑ David Chlystek Tweet (Feb. 23, 2021)
- ↑ Mark Hamill tweet sharing Bruce Timm's drawing of censorship "No-No's" from during the production of Batman: The Animated Series. (Jan. 19, 2018)