In this review of New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident #1, an incident in the City of Dakota changes its heroes’ lives and future forever.
NEW HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE: THE DAKOTA INCIDENT #1
Writers: JOSEPH P. ILLIDGE, STEPHANIE WILLIAMS, MORGAN HAMPTON, and NIKOLAS DRAPER-IVEY
Artist: CARLO PAGULAYAN, VALENTINE DE LANDRO, EDWIN GALMON, and STEPHEN SEGOVIA
Main Cover: DIEGO OLORTEGUI
Variant Covers: DENYS COWAN & DAN JURGENS, YASMINE PUTRI, CARLO PAGULAYAN, JOSHUA “SWAY” SWABY
Page Count: 40 pages
Release Date: 2/25/26
This review contains spoilers
When I first met with the writers of New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident #1, I had no clue what to expect within its pages. Preview pages weren’t provided. I only had the solicits and a press release. One thing the writers implored on me, however, was that in the end, this story would wow me and other readers alike whether they were veterans of the Milestone Universe like myself, or a new reader first jumping into the world created by Milestone Media in 1993 (for the record, I am old enough to have picked up the original titles when they released in 1993). I placed my trust in them based on that conversation…
And I was not disappointed.
Truth be told, the story that writers Joseph Illidge, Stephanie Williams, Morgan Hampton, and Nikolas Draper-Ivey tell is one that needed to be told for so many reasons. I will touch on some, but to try to address them all might require another article. The Dakota Incident #1 is full of symbolism for everything that the world Milestone Media created beginning in 1993, yet also serves as a starting point for anyone being introduced to the world of Dakota for the first time.
New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident #1 is a story told in three parts along with a prologue and epilogue. It is told from the viewpoint of Beacon (real name Amistad Augustus Ervin), the son Raquel “Rocket” Ervin, who has had somewhat of a prominent role in Evan Narcisse’s Batman/Static: Beyond of late. After battling Shiv, a longtime adversary of Static, a rupture in time begins to tear, destroying everything around Beacon, who was able to activate temporal safeguards to protect himself.
At this point, comic veteran Joe Illidge takes over from Nikolas Draper-Ivey and embarks the reader on the history of the Milestone Universe as Beacon hits important markers within Dakota’s past, highlighting the Big Bang and first appearances of many of Milestone Media’s famous characters. These few pages serve as a quick, yet sufficient introduction to Milestone that new readers to the universe would enjoy learning. However, something is wrong.
It is at this point we reach THE DAKOTA INCIDENT — the incident being the mysterious death of Edwin Alva and Hardware’s framing for the murder. Clearly, for those familiar with the history of Hardware (aka Curtis Metcalf) and his former mentor/employer would know this isn’t how their rivalry ended. As Illidge turns things over to Stephanie Williams, we see another change in history as we find Alva has been involved in the Superman Project and that involvement played a role in the Big Bang. That connection would also get the U.S. government involved — a government led by President Lex Luthor.
Stephanie Williams portion of New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident #1 is without a doubt the most intense of the issue. Luthor’s government not only sends in troops, but also Amanda Waller’s Suicide Squad (not like they can’t make me hate Waller any more than I already do). And this is where the tragedy of Milestone occurs for me. Page after page, we see the heroes of Dakota (including the Blood Syndicate) take on the forces of Luthor’s government (which ironically includes Captain Atom). Things somewhat turn when Bronze Tiger decides he’s no longer a puppet and will not harm innocents.
One can find a lot of symbolism in this part of New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident #1 as the Milestone Universe finds itself on its own, much like most of its history, fighting for its place. There’s no help from the Justice League. And by the time the Trinity (Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman) arrive, they’re not coming to help. They arrive in Dakota to say that the battle is already lost as the President and his goons arrive.
The reins of New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident #1 are now in the hands of Green Lantern Corps writer Morgan Hampton. Hampton’s portion of the story takes us through the “negotiations” between the Dakota heroes and the Luthor administration. However, it turns out to be more blackmail than anything as Luthor in turn threatens everyone, including the families of Static and Rocket, revealing he knows their identities. Despite some minor resistance, the pillars of the Milestone Universe give in to the demands of Luthor… and they disband. But not before reverting to history in revealing Raquel’s pregnancy with Amistad.
Whether true or not, there’s some true, hard symbolism in everything we see up to this point. Whether it’s the absence of the League in helping Dakota or the Pillars (symbolizing Milestone) giving in to Luthor (representing DC), one can find plenty of arguments that the actions throughout New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident #1 is symbolic of Milestone Media being left behind by DC since there hasn’t been much coming from the publisher outside of one-shots here or there. That’s a topic for a different article.
However, things look up after Nikolas Draper-Ivey’s epilogue, which sees Beacon make his way to post-incident Dakota. There he finds Virgil Hawkins living a normal life. He confronts his uncle about the coming threat to the future and begs him to act before disappearing to the same temporal rift that destroyed the rest of his world. Virgil goes to his home and pulls out his Static suit to start “A New Beginning…”
It’s important to note the suit he pulls out and how it connects with what else has happened in the DC universe, particularly in the pages of the DC K.O. event. In The Kids All Fight Special #1, the story bringing Static back into the proper DC universe, we see Static wearing the suit as the one pulled at the end of The Dakota Incident #1. Are they connected? Based on that interview with the writers, where the statement was made that they fought to have that scene included, my answer is yes.
Does Granny Goodness’ Delta Wave contraption have anything to do with the rift that destroys the Beacon’s future? Could it be something yet unseen, perhaps in the pages of the last issue of DC K.O.? Wherever the truth, Static is back. The biggest question, however, is for how long?
Final Thoughts
What’s next for Static and the rest of the characters of the world of Dakota remains to be seen, especially after they have been, once again, merge within the main DC universe. The writers of New History of the DC Universe: The Dakota Incident #1 are clear in stressing that Static at a minimum deserves a place moving forward. If public reaction is any indication, they want that as well…
And more.
