"Static" introduces another escapee from the Phantom Zone. I've always had mixed feelings about season 6. On one hand, the ongoing storyline of Clark's mission to recapture all of the Phantoms offered a nice change in pace. For once we didn't need to sit through 5 minutes of exposition to explain how the villain of the week developed their powers, and the Phantoms posed a serious threat to Clark. On the other hand, the producers continue to disappoint week by week with the portrayal of the Phantoms themselves. First a park ranger, then Lil' Bow Wow, and now the first of multiple WWE Superstars we'll see this season. Overall my opinion is that this particular Phantom of the week was a much better adversary for Clark, but it was way too distracting to see a well known wrestler in the show. It completely took me out of the episode.
This episode actually included two totally separate stories. Clark vs Phantom Zone escapee, and Lex being turned into Static by your standard disgruntled freak. I'm usually not a fan of the Smallville stories that go so heavily sci-fi, which is why I was surprised that I actually enjoyed Lex's story. I'm also not usually pleased with the episodes that tell two completely separate stories with no connection to each other, but yet again I didn't mind this one. I think the main reason why double plotted episodes usually don't work is because there's rarely an equal amount of time spent. One story usually carries 80% while the other is only featured in a few scenes. "Static" is much closer to 50/50. While neither plot is particularly strong on it's own, dedicating only a little over 20 minutes to each means the episode doesn't really drag on.
While far from a perfect episode, Static in my opinion is slightly better than it's reputation. There's even a nice tease at the end for another DC character soon to be introduced.