Dakota City, Michigan
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Real Identity: Not Applicable
Appearances (SS): All 52 Episodes except Hoop Squad
Powers/Skills: None
Voiced By: Not Applicable
Dakota City is a city in the state of Michigan near the High Hills and shares similar origins to Detroit. Desegregation, racial tensions, and the stratification of social classes changed Dakota over the years. Standing the test of time, an annual event is the Dakota Autoshow. Professional sporting events and annual 4th of July celebrations are held at the Dakota Dome, replacement for the Dakota Stadium. The local professional basketball team are the Dakota Destroyers. The native species of Dakota are from the Cervidae, deer, and Rodentia, squirrel and raccoon, Orders. A train passes by the Welcome to Dakota billboard on the city outskirts.
As far back as the 1990's, Dakota City has been plagued with youth gangs and homelessness. Ferris Row is notorious for housing these groups but the Dakota City Cable Car Company Repair Depot is a known haven for the homeless. Dakota's darkest hour came to be known as the Dakota Gang Riots of the late 1990's. Several rescue workers were slain while on duty during the Riots, including Jean Hawkins. Five years later, a monument was dedicated to the rescue workers' bravery. The city's second most infamous event came to be known as the Big Bang. In the early 21st century, several gangs converged at the docks near Gate 10. The Dakota City Police Department tried to end the standoff with tear gas but set off a shipment of Quantum Vapor, a mutagen created by Alva Industries. The surrounding area was doused in the gas and many teenagers were either horribly disfigured or were artificially transformed into metahumans. Others manifested years later. The dockyards became a teenage hangout even after the Big Bang.
The city is home to two dueling newspapers, the Daily Dakotan and the Dakota Times. The top media network is DKT and they have a new, cutting edge studio in downtown. A popular radio station among teenagers is WWDK-FM and the resident Dr. Mac. The Dakota Action News and lead reporter Shelly Sandoval are the most well known in the news media. The two most well-known high schools are Dakota Union and the Vanmoor Institute while a known college is Dakota University. The Guin Airfield is located at 37 W. Gold Avenue. Lake Dakota is located in the eastern part of the city. The city's sewer system is managed by the Dakota Water & Power Station.
Dakota's first superhero protector was Soul Power in the 1960's to 1970's then Static, Rubberband Man, Gear, and SheBang are several heroes who took up the role in the early 21st century. After Batman's encounters with Static, Wayne Industries took an interest and implemented a program to treat metahumans. Years later, Genomatech was brought in by the government to cure every metahuman to deal with crime attributed to them. Several celebrities have been sighted in Dakota such as Shaq, B2K, Lil' Romeo, and A.J. McLean.
The largest and most influential business by far is Alva Industries, led by Edwin Alva. Coming in second is a defense satellite firm run by Phil Rollins on Main Street. Others range from small to large in scale including Stone Gas Records, Dakota Electronics, Supermarkets Inc., Dakota Sportsman, Dakota Meat Packing Co., Dakota Comics and Collectibles, Off Your Rocket, Spire Records, where live signings are often held on album release days, D-Town Recordings, All Taco, Burger Fool, and Cowan Chemical Plant. The top five banks are Dakota Merchants Bank, First National Bank, Dakota Savings Bank, First Bank of Dakota, and Emmerson Bank.
The Dakota Mall occupies a space that was once an amusement park called Kid Circus. Ever since the Big Bang, it has become a target for crime and strange occurrences, including being menaced by constructs of Dwayne McCall, held up by the Meta-Breed, the recipient of Permafrost's anger, and robbed by Speedwarp. Several amusement parks have thrived such as Dakota Dunes, a water park, and Reel World, a park based on television and cinema. For the those in search of intellectual pursuit, the Natural History Museum and Dakota Museum of Technology are the premiere destinations. However, its displays have become targets of criminals such as Slipstream, Ragtag, Osebo, and Professor Menace.
The Dakota Park is located near town square and also is home to an amusement park. Although a trade secret, the Abandoned Gas Station of Solitude is located near the exact center of Dakota. The old Milestone Street Station is located at Milestone Street and Hill Street. Milestone encompasses the addresses in the 900's while Cowan Street, in the 730's. Ferris Row is one of the most impoverished neighborhoods and is home to the Freeman Community Center, headed by Robert Hawkins. Within the Row are the Fenton Projects where Mrs. Price and her biological son, Dwayne McCall live. The homeless and runaways are known to occupy squats in the north end of the area. North of Second Avenue out of Ferris Row lies Dakota Hills, an area where high class residents live. D.J. Rook, Edwin Alva, and the Goren Family are some examples. The Dakota Police 123rd Precinct is located somewhere near the home of the Hawkins Family. After a clone of Static created by Replay went on a crime spree, the police formed the Dakota Metahuman Capture Divison, much like Metropolis' Special Crimes Unit, and is based at police headquarters.
Dakota City was an unexpected haven for various supervillains such as the Joker, who hid in the old industrial district near 34th and Main, Brainiac, who resurfaced at the old steel mill, Toyman at Finnegan's Mannequins, and Sinestro. The Meta-Breed moves from hideout to hideout and is known to have occupied the old Dakota Juvenile Detention Center. Just as deadly, 44th and 3rd is infamous for bad traffic. Likewise, the metahuman HotStreak once went on a rampage on 52nd and Main. The subway system is known to be on route to Alvarado and Soul Power's secret hideout, the Power Pad, is located somewhere in it. One of the other best kept secrets is the Sub Rosa Studios, a secret recording studio used at least once by Adam Evans. Dakota's main movie theater is the Dakota Multiplex and it was attacked by HotStreak and Puff & Onyx in two separate occassions. Chainlink and Dule Jones fought at the old AeroCal plant at 85th and Fairfield. The Night Breed have occupied an area below Swinton Street and Cowan Street.
In the 2050's, Dakota City is still protected by Static and Gear. Two known changes are an abandoned military installation, the Dakota Platform 247 now hovers above the city, and Dakota is included in the route of the national hover rail system. It is a known destination from the Neo Gotham hover rail. A time lost Static returned to Dakota and found his Gas Station of Solitude had undergone major changes. Static and Batman discovered the Static of that time had been led into a trap set by a Kobra cell, following the capture of their leader, and set out to rescue him.