The third season of the show saw some of the biggest changes; in addition to Richie's superhero powers and a new opening, Static changed his costume. Cowan stated that the change was done to give his clothes a "feel of the comic book", while McDuffie said it represented a growth that Virgil was passing through. This maturation made possible to "explore some of the darker places in his world," and to have more varied conflicts, as the villains have also become more mature. --> He described it is as "a natural outgrowth of all that, as is the new, more naturalistic look of the show." This change followed the second-season premiere—"The Big Leagues"—when Static meets Batman and Robin. Burnett said, "after that show, everybody went, 'Let's go in that direction.'" Writer John Semper, Jr. commented, "of course, I always lean toward the dramatic ... But the same old light-hearted Static spirit is still there." Richie gains superhero powers because it was becoming hard to fit him into the story and the producers wanted to keep the "chemistry" between voice actors LaMarr and Marsden. There was also a positive response from children in focus groups so "he answer seemed pretty obvious."