Static Electricity

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Zappity Zap-Zap, Double D! —Ed, Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy episode "Every Which Way But Ed"

The Other Wiki tells us that "Static electricity is an imbalance of electric charges within or on the surface of a material", and goes on to tell us why and how it works in Real Life.

Static electricity is slightly different in fiction, thanks to poorly-remembered physics classes or the Rule of Funny. Multiple people can get a static shock from touching the same door knob, rather than having the static charge be grounded by the first person who touches it. Metahumans and deities can shoot off lightning bolt after lightning bolt with no pause to recharge. Charges can be powerful enough to create X-Ray Sparks. And there's always a related sound effect - usually the "zap" of a discharging capacitor.

Shock and Awe is for when static electricity is weaponized.

Examples of Static Electricity include:

Anime and Manga

• Occurs in Detective Conan as the trigger for a murder.
• Lucky Star: STURONGGAAAHHH!
• Late in the second season of A Certain Scientific Railgun, the title character builds up a static charge on her own body as a side effect of consciously overriding her own nervous system in order to be able to move. This comes as a shock to her roommate, who tried to give her a hug.

Comic Books

• Bone: Fone Bone rubs his feet on the ground to build up a static charge ("for luck") before touching the Crown of Horns. This causes a chain reaction that kills Briar.
• Superman was able to generate enough static electricity that it fixed a hole in reality.
• Christopher Bradly, aka Bolt from Marvel Comics, can absorb static electricity charges from the atmosphere plus manipulate it.

Film - Animation

• On Cats Don't Dance, Battle Butler Max rubs Pudge on his bald head and makes him stick to the roof of the theater with static cling. He eventually comes down, his feathers standing on end in a fright wig. Later, he shakes hands with the turtle, inadvertently shocking him.

Film - Live Action

• In Office Space, Peter gets a static shock every day when he comes into work touching the door handle. One way it illustrates his changed self is that he comes in one day with a power screwdriver and removes the handle, which shows he's taken control of his life.

Literature

• On Arthur, when the class is having a sleepover at the museum Binky complains that it will be the same as last year's. A Flash Back shows us Binky being throughly bored and annoyed last year including someone in the static electricity display shocking him. "OW!" Then in this year's field trip eveything happens the same as last year, including the shock. This time Binky reacts with Dull Surprise. "Ow. Even that's the same as last year."

Live Action TV

• The King of Queens: after accidentally shocking each other, Carey and Doug start a static shock fight in their socks.
• Miss Lint from The Tick can discharge electricity but causes dust and lint to cling to her statically because of it.

Newspaper Comics

• Dilbert: a few strips had Dogbert shuffling along to carpet to charge himself with electricity. He confronts Dilbert and demands to be called "Thor, Dog of Thunder". When Dilbert responds with a joke about resistors, Dogbert shocks him with electricity, complete with X-Ray Sparks.
• Baby Blues: in one strip Hammie rubs his feet on the carpet to use X-Ray Sparks on his older sister with static electricity.

Oral Tradition, Folklore, Myths and Legends

• Lightning is static electricity; its weaponisation in classical myth is at least as old as Zeus from the Greco-Roman pantheon and Thor from Norse Mythology.

Video Games

• Space Quest: Roger Wilco used a shag rug and some dance moves to deliver an incapacitating static charge to a cyborg kidnapper.
• In Pokémon, various electric pokemon, like joltik and Oricorio's Pom-Pom form, makes and uses static electricity to generate electrifying results. There is even the Ability, Static (Static Electricity in the Japanese version) paralyzes an opponent who has made physical contact with the Pokemon.
• In early 2020, the City of Heroes revival server, City of Heroes: Homecoming, added an "Electrical Affinity" powerset based around generating static electricity and using it to discomfit enemies and help allies.

Western Animation

• The Tick: a minor character, the Carpeted Man, has this as his superpower.
• On Pinky and The Brain, one of Brain's plans is to build a giant dryer that will create enough static cling to trap everyone in their own clothes.
• In one episode of Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers, the resident Mad Scientist uses robot dogs to kidnap cats from all over the neighborhood. He then uses a cat-petting machine to build up static electricity and power a Lightning Gun.
• Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy: Edd demonstrates the concept to Ed, who of course takes it too far. Zapity Zap Zap!
• Family Guy: Peter gains the "power" to zap people after he buys a pair of long underwear. This results in annoying Lois so much she has all of the carpet removed from the house, kicking off the B plot.