"Junior" is the eleventh episode of Static Shock. It first aired on February 10, 2001.
Plot
Robert Hawkins and Sharon Hawkins are at a fancy party at the Freeman Community Center which Virgil Hawkins is also supposed to attend, but he hasn't come yet. Edwin Alva and his son Edwin Jr. are also in attendance. Edwin Jr. thanks his father for getting him off school, but Edwin says his performance at school was poor anyway. Robert realizes he should start the ceremony without Virgil, and the party turns out to be a dedication ceremony for the center's new gymnasium, which was sponsored by Edwin. Meanwhile, it turns out the reason that Virgil isn't in attendance is because, as Static, he's fighting a few snake-like villains trying to rob a store.
A TV reporter at the party, Shelly Sandoval, talks with Edwin Jr., who responds by making an insulting reference to legal troubles his father has been in. Edwin rushes in to explain it away and then walks away with his son, reprimanding him. Virgil finally arrives at the party. His dad is not pleased with his lateness and accuses him of being irresponsible.
At home, Edwin continues to berate his son, both for his comments and for not giving him anything to be proud of. Edwin Jr. disputes this latter point, saying that he's learned how to control a hazmat gas that Edwin's scientists have been studying, but Edwin doesn't believe him, saying that not even he fully understands the gas. Edwin Jr. is upset by his father's words and runs away. Meanwhile, Virgil is talking with Richie on the phone about his father's unhappiness with him.
Edwin Jr. proceeds to enter the lab where the gas, which turns out to be the Quantum Vapor that caused the Big Bang, is stored. He designs and wears a suit that is covered in poppable bubbles, similar to bubble wrap, around his ankles, wrists, and belt. He then siphons the gas into the bubbles, saying that he's modified the gas so that popping any bubble will give him a bang baby superpower.
Later, Edwin Jr. attacks an Alva Industries ship by throwing exploding fireballs at it. When the crew of the ship returns fire using the guns they're smuggling, he pops another bubble to turn intangible. Static intervenes and tries to save the ship but fails, and instead just saves the crew. Edwin Jr., who is now calling himself Omnifarious, is upset with Static for saving them and the two get into a fight, and Virgil recognizes him as Edwin Jr. As they fight, Omnifarious pops more bubbles to give himself more powers, including X-ray vision, which he uses to look through Static's mask, though he doesn't immediately recognize him. Later, Edwin and his son are having dinner when York comes in to inform Edwin of the harm Omnifarious has been doing to his company.
Virgil's dad tries to talk to him about why he's seemed different recently, but their conversation is interrupted by Virgil taking a call from Richie, who tells him about what Omnifarious has been doing. However, that conversation is then interrupted by a different phone call, this one from Omnifarious himself, who has realized Static's identity and warns him that he will reveal it if Static continues to interfere with him. Static and Richie discuss this at the abandoned gas station, and Static says that he can't just ignore Omnifarious, meaning his secret will be revealed, but he wants to personally tell his dad his secret before this happens. However, he also wants Omnifarious' father to know his son's secret, so Virgil breaks into Edwin's bedroom and tells him Omnifarious' identity. Although Edwin doesn’t believe him at first, Static persuades him to check his lab and he leaves to do so.
Mr. Hawkins and Sharon talk and reminisce about Virgil, and Mr. Hawkins realizes that he does trust him. Meanwhile, Omnifarious is refilling the bubbles in his suit at the lab when his father confronts him. Omnifarious pops some of the bubbles and gains more powers, which include growing large, and he grabs Edwin. This causes Edwin to call his guards, who are in flying machines, to stop him.
Virgil is about to reveal to his dad that he's Static, but his dad says it's not necessary to tell him exactly what he's been up to because he trusts him, then he leaves. Before Virgil can follow him and tell him the truth, he sees the commotion going on at the Alva Corp building and intervenes. Edwin is trying to call off his guards before they hurt his son, but he's unsuccessful because Omnifarious keeps attacking them, so they're attacking back in self-defense. Static causes an electromagnetic pulse to short out the machines, and the guards parachute out. With his guards gone, Omnifarious confronts his father directly and begins popping a multitude of bubbles to give himself more powers, enough to level everything his father has built, but he's popped so many that he ends up shifting between his different powers and mutations at an uncontrollable speed until he finally turns to stone.
Static expresses regret at having told Edwin Omnifarious' identity, saying he did it because he thought as father and son they could work through things, but as he flies off, he realizes not everyone is as lucky as he is to have a good father. Edwin drops his head down in shame and sadness as the eyes of his stone son glow.
Continuity
- Edwin Alva Sr. becomes desperate to cure his son in "No Man’s an Island".
Background information
Home video releases
Production inconsistencies
- When Edwin Jr./Omnifarious is confronted by his father and uses the gas to buff his body up to hulking proportions, his face looks like that of his father, returning to his usual features in the next shot.
- When the camera moves to face Edwin Jr./Omnifarious, when he is turned into stone at the end of the episode, the scenery moves the wrong way.
- When Edwin Jr./Omnifarious uses the gas for the last time, he takes off the gas packed "belt" and crushes it in his hands. However, when he turns to stone, the "belt" is still on him.
Trivia
- The Bang Baby gas is referred to as "Quantum Vapor", a reference to the comic books where the mutations were caused by "Quantum Juice", a liquid mutagen.
- This episode marks the first time a villain has learned Static's secret identity (see List of people who know Static's secret identity).