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The Tick is a superhero created by cartoonist
Ben Edlund Ben Edlund (born September 20, 1968) is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, television producer, and television director. He is best known as the creator of the satirical superhero character The Tick. Background Edlund was born and raised in ...
in 1986 as a newsletter
mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...
for the
New England Comics New England Comics is an American comic book retail chain and publisher headquartered in Brockton, Massachusetts, U.S. They have locations in Quincy, Brookline, Brockton, Cambridge, Malden, New Bedford and Norwood. The chain is known for publish ...
chain of
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
-area
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
stores. The character is a
parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its sub ...
of American comic book superheroes. After its creation, the character spun off into an independent comic book series in 1988, and gained mainstream popularity through an
animated TV series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have either ...
on
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
in 1994. Two
live-action Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ...
TV series, a
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
and various merchandise have also been based on the character.
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time ranked the Tick as No. 57.


History

In 1986, eighteen-year-old cartoonist
Ben Edlund Ben Edlund (born September 20, 1968) is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, television producer, and television director. He is best known as the creator of the satirical superhero character The Tick. Background Edlund was born and raised in ...
created the Tick as a mascot for a newsletter of the
Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population is 105,643 as of the 2020 United States Census. Along with Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of Plymouth County. It is the sixth-largest city in Mas ...
, store
New England Comics New England Comics is an American comic book retail chain and publisher headquartered in Brockton, Massachusetts, U.S. They have locations in Quincy, Brookline, Brockton, Cambridge, Malden, New Bedford and Norwood. The chain is known for publish ...
, where he was a frequent customer. Edlund expanded this into stories, beginning with the three-page tale "The Tick" in ''New England Comics Newsletter'' #14–15 (July-August – September-October 1986), in which the hero escapes from a
mental institution Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
. The character became popular and the store financed a black-and-white comic book series, with the first issue released in June, 1988, and subsequently reprinted at least nine times through the next decade, including later editions with additional content. The Tick's
sidekick A sidekick is a slang expression for a close companion or colleague (not necessarily in fiction) who is, or is generally regarded as, subordinate to the one they accompany. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, ...
,
Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...
, was introduced in ''The Tick'' #4 (April 1989). Spin-offs followed featuring characters such as Paul the Samurai, Man-Eating Cow, and Chainsaw Vigilante. Edlund continued to write and illustrate these projects initially through his years as an undergraduate film student at the
Massachusetts College of Art Massachusetts College of Art and Design, branded as MassArt, is a public college of visual and applied art in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1873, it is one of the nation’s oldest art schools, the only publicly funded independent art school ...
. The ''Chainsaw Vigilante'' spin-off, which was never completed, was written and illustrated by
Zander Cannon Alexander Cannon (born November 1, 1972) is an American cartoonist, known for his work on books such as '' Top 10'', ''Smax'' and ''Kaijumax''. Career Cannon's first professional comics work was '' The Chainsaw Vigilante'', a spin-off from ''The ...
. Other series, such as the second ''Paul the Samurai'' series and the ''Man-Eating Cow'' series, were written by writer Clay Griffith. In 1994, the Fox network introduced ''The Tick'' as a
Saturday-morning cartoon "Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre's popularity had a br ...
series, which Edlund wrote and co-produced. Lasting three seasons, the animated series provided the Tick's greatest mainstream fame.
Townsend Coleman Townsend Coleman is an American voice actor who has performed in many animated series and TV commercials beginning in the early 1980s. Among his most notable roles are Michaelangelo from ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', Wayne Gretzky on '' ProSta ...
voiced the title character and Micky Dolenz played his sidekick Arthur, in season 1. Rob Paulsen took over the Arthur role during seasons 2 and 3. The series also featured hapless heroes Die Fledermaus, Sewer Urchin and American Maid. Reruns on
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programmin ...
helped make the series a
cult hit A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. A ...
with adults. The 1997 book ''The Tick: Mighty Blue Justice!'' by Greg Hyland (creator of ''
Lethargic Lad ''Lethargic Lad'' is a protagonist in the comic strip of the same name, created by Greg Hyland sometime in the late 1980s. The character is notable for being very slow and inactive. Lethargic Lad does not speak, though he sometimes mutters "Umm.. ...
'') was published as a tie-in with the animated series. In 2001, Fox introduced a live-action TV series (produced by
Columbia TriStar Television Columbia TriStar Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CTT) was an American television production and distribution company that was active from 1994 to 2002. It was operated as the third name of the early television studio Screen Gems and the fourth ...
), written and executive produced by Edlund. The series starred
Patrick Warburton Patrick Warburton (born November 14, 1964) is an American actor. On television, he has played David Puddy on '' Seinfeld'', the title character on ''The Tick'', Jeb Denton on ''Less Than Perfect'', Jeff Bingham on '' Rules of Engagement'' and L ...
as the Tick, David Burke as Arthur,
Nestor Carbonell Nestor may refer to: * Nestor (mythology), King of Pylos in Greek mythology Arts and entertainment * "Nestor" (''Ulysses'' episode) an episode in James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses'' * Nestor Studios, first-ever motion picture studio in Hollywood, ...
as Batmanuel and
Liz Vassey Elizabeth Leigh Vassey (born August 9, 1972) is an American actress. Her most notable roles include Emily Ann Sago on ''All My Children'', Captain Liberty on ''The Tick'', Wendy Simms on ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', Lou on '' Brotherly L ...
as Captain Liberty. The series was short-lived, however, and it only lasted nine episodes. A
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
release of the complete series (including several unaired episodes) was released on September 30, 2003. In June 2005, the Toon Disney network began airing ''The Tick'' animated series. The series also occasionally aired on ABC Family as part of the Jetix cartoon block. The following year,
Buena Vista Home Entertainment Buena ( ) is a borough in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,603,Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
announced that a new live-action series, starring
Peter Serafinowicz Peter Szymon Serafinowicz ( ; born 10 July 1972) is an English actor, comedian, director and screenwriter, best known for his roles as the title character in the 2016 live-action series of '' The Tick'', Pete in ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004) an ...
and directed by
Wally Pfister Walter C. Pfister (born July 8, 1961) is an American director and former cinematographer, who is best known for his work with filmmaker Christopher Nolan. Some of his collaborations with Nolan include '' Memento'' (2000), ''The Dark Knight Tri ...
, would air on
Amazon Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service pr ...
. The pilot was picked up as a series, and the first season's 12 episodes were released in two parts—the first six episodes on August 25, 2017, and the second half on February 23, 2018. A 10-episode second season was released on April 5, 2019.


Character biography

The Tick seems to have no memory of his life before being the Tick, and indeed not much memory of anything; more than likely, this is due to frequent head injuries. Each media adaptation has a different origin of the Tick: * In the original comic series, the Tick is apparently legally insane, having escaped from a mental institution near the City. * In the 1994 animated series, he was assigned to protect the City after passing an official superhero initiation test. * In the 2001 live-action series, the Tick was tricked into moving to (and protecting) the City after irritating the employees of a remote bus station he had sworn to protect. He has no memory of his life before that, although Batmanuel suggests that the Tick may be from space. * In the 2016 live-action series, the Tick has no memory of where he comes from, and his past was not explained or uncovered. It is implied he is a projection or guardian of some kind of his sidekick, Arthur. A square-jawed, muscular, bright blue-costumed figure with antennae sticking up from his head, the Tick is a surrealistic parody of superheroes, in the vein of
Dave Sim Dave Sim (born 17 May 1956) is a Canadian cartoonist and publisher, best known for his comic book '' Cerebus'', his artistic experimentation, his advocacy of self-publishing and creators' rights, and his controversial political and philosophical ...
's character
Cerebus the Aardvark ''Cerebus'' (; also ''Cerebus the Aardvark'') is a comic book series created by Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim, which ran from December 1977 until March 2004. The title character of the 300-issue series is an anthropomorphic aardvark who takes on ...
. He is well-intended, friendly, childlike, good-natured, high-spirited, bombastic, frequently obtuse, and prone to quipping odd, dim remarks and "inspirational" speeches filled with bizarre
metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...
s. The Tick is known for his nonsensical battle cry, "Spoooooon!", which he decided upon one day while eating a bowl of Drama Flakes cereal. Warburton described his perception of the Tick character, as Warburton played him: Originally, the Tick's costume was meant to be brown, but it was decided that blue looked better in print. In ''The Tick vs. The Tick'', wherein the Tick is confronted by Barry, an unstable pseudo-hero who also calls himself "the Tick", Barry wears a brown costume similar to the Tick's. The Tick is named after an
arachnid Arachnida () is a class of joint-legged invertebrate animals (arthropods), in the subphylum Chelicerata. Arachnida includes, among others, spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites, pseudoscorpions, harvestmen, camel spiders, whip spiders and vinegar ...
, much like Spider-Man. The logo of the series also resembles that of the 1994 Spider-Man series. According to the live-action series, the Tick is 6 feet 6 inches tall, weighs 230 pounds (6 inches and 170 pounds less than his dimensions in the comic), and has blue hair and eyes. In the comic series, the Tick gets a job at the ''Weekly World Planet'' newspaper. He works in the same office as Clark Oppenheimer, who is also a superhero called the Caped Wonder. Oppenheimer has all the typical Superman powers, including X-ray vision ("see-through vision"), super strength, invulnerability, flight, heat-vision ("very hot vision"), and super hearing. Consequently, he looks down on the Tick as a lower form of superhero with limited powers. Like many superheroes, the Tick has a sidekick, a rather plump former accountant named Arthur. Arthur wears a white
moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...
suit that allows him to fly; however, he is often mistaken for a bunny due to the long ear-like antennae of his costume and the fact that his wings are often folded up. The Tick is impulsive and Arthur serves as a sort of conscience. He also figures out the schemes of villains and formulates plans to stop them. Arthur's "battle cry" is "Not in the face! Not in the face!" In the Amazon Prime video series, the Tick is fixated on Arthur, and even mentions at one point that his thinking is fuzzy when away from Arthur. Despite Arthur's repeated attempts to push the Tick away, the hero won't leave Arthur's side for long. The Tick also frequently talks about Destiny as if she is a literal person, guiding Arthur's path ("Destiny gave him the suit. I just acted in more of a 'delivery man' role"), alluding to the
Parcae In ancient Roman religion and myth, the Parcae (singular, Parca) were the female personifications of destiny who directed the lives (and deaths) of humans and gods. They are often called the Fates in English, and their Greek equivalent were the ...
in
Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representa ...
. At one point, Arthur starts to believe that the Tick is merely a hallucination, but that thought is quickly dispelled when Arthur's sister, Dot, interacts with "The Blue Guy". In all of his incarnations, the Tick is surrounded by a cast of equally absurd heroes and villains, many of them parodies of popular comic book characters and character types. Few of the "superheroes" in the Tick mythos have powers that measure up to those of
DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
or
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
characters, but their foes are often equally silly and/or weak. The Tick lives in a city simply called "The City". In the animated series, the Tick was assigned to the City after his "Cabinet of Terror" (described by the Tick as the "deadliest engine of destruction 1974 had to offer") exploded, leaving him unharmed, during his city assignment selection trials at the National Super Institute Convention in
Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
. According to the series' companion book, ''The Tick: Mighty Blue Justice!'', at least one of the judges was amazed by this, awarding the Tick a score of 10 out of 10.


Powers and abilities

The Tick possesses superhuman strength and mass, which makes him capable of inflicting great damage on his surroundings if he is not careful. His full strength is never actually quantified, although he is capable of lifting whole cars with a single hand, and comfortably bending steel girders. In the pilot of the 2016 series, The Tick claims to have the strength of "ten, perhaps twenty men—a crowded bus stop of men". The Tick is also "nigh-invulnerable", which means it is almost impossible to injure him in any serious way (although he is vulnerable to feelings of pain and his antennae are particularly sensitive). Because of this he can survive moments of extreme stress, and has demonstrated this ability on numerous occasions. In one noteworthy instance, in the animated episode "Evil Sits Down for a Moment", he falls 4,000 feet out of the sky, crashing through the concrete road below into a subway tunnel, yet before he reaches a stop he is subsequently hit by an oncoming train: he survives it all without any lasting physical injury (only a brief, albeit severe, concussion). Several powerful supervillains have been able to knock the Tick unconscious in several fights, but he never comes to any lasting harm. He also does not possess a super-powered immune system, as he has been seen sick with the common cold just like a normal person. One of the Tick's few limitations is that harming or removing his antennae will destroy his sense of balance. Finally, the Tick possesses something referred to as "
drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
power", or basically a tendency for the Tick's powers to increase as the situation becomes more dramatic. He can also survive in space without a suit, and under water without oxygen for "at least" a long time. In the 2017 Amazon adaption, he is shown to be able to leap and bound great heights with ease and speed, and he is utterly impervious to bullets.


Reception

The Tick has been well received as a comic book character. ''Empire'' magazine ranked him as the 28th-greatest comic book character of all time, stating that the Tick is a lovable lunk, given to overly dramatic declarations on behalf of justice.
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
ranked him as the 57th-greatest comic book hero of all time, saying that if you like your heroes on the bizarre side, you won't find anyone more surreal than the Tick. IGN also stated that whatever his mental state, the Tick's adventures are thoroughly enjoyable on both the printed page and television. ''Wizard'' magazine rated him as the 187th-greatest comic book character of all time.


In other media


Television

* ''The Tick'' (1994 TV series), a 1994–1997 Fox animated television series, with
Townsend Coleman Townsend Coleman is an American voice actor who has performed in many animated series and TV commercials beginning in the early 1980s. Among his most notable roles are Michaelangelo from ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'', Wayne Gretzky on '' ProSta ...
voicing the Tick * ''The Tick'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2002 live-action television series, with
Patrick Warburton Patrick Warburton (born November 14, 1964) is an American actor. On television, he has played David Puddy on '' Seinfeld'', the title character on ''The Tick'', Jeb Denton on ''Less Than Perfect'', Jeff Bingham on '' Rules of Engagement'' and L ...
as the Tick * ''The Tick'' (2016 TV series), a 2016–2019 live-action Amazon Prime television series, with
Peter Serafinowicz Peter Szymon Serafinowicz ( ; born 10 July 1972) is an English actor, comedian, director and screenwriter, best known for his roles as the title character in the 2016 live-action series of '' The Tick'', Pete in ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2004) an ...
as the Tick. Patrick Warburton was involved in the production of the series.


Merchandising

While ''The Tick'' comic book series included some extras, such as trading cards, the merchandising of The Tick increased dramatically with the launch of the animated series.
Action figure An action figure is a poseable character model figure made most commonly of plastic, and often based upon characters from a film, comic book, military, video game or television program; fictional or historical. These figures are usually mark ...
s, stickers,
pogs Milk caps is a children's game played with flat circular cardboard milk caps. Players make a stack of these caps, and take turns to drop a heavier "slammer" object onto it, causing the caps to be disrupted. Each player keeps any face-up caps and ...
, T-shirts, hats, party favors, costumes, and a
board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...
were created. In addition, many fast food restaurant chains, such as
Carl's Jr. Carl's Jr. Restaurants LLC is an American fast food restaurant chain operated by CKE Restaurant Holdings, Inc., with franchisees in North & South America, Asia, Oceania, Europe and Africa. In 2016, ''Entrepreneur'' listed Carl's Jr. as No. 54 ...
and
Taco Bell Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includin ...
offered Tick-related giveaways. In 1994,
Fox Interactive Fox Interactive was an American video game publisher based in Los Angeles, California. The company published games based on 20th Century Fox properties, yet also published several original titles, such as '' Croc: Legend of the Gobbos''. History ...
also released a
beat 'em up The beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels, ...
video game based on the animated series. The game, however, was not well received.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * *


External links


''The Tick'' (1994–1997)
– Official site
Comic VineMichael Legg: Leggman's the Tick Super Fanpage!The Tick - Compendium of Comics
{{The Tick Comics characters introduced in 1986 American superheroes American comics characters Comics adapted into animated series Comics adapted into television series Comics adapted into video games Comics characters with superhuman strength Fictional characters with superhuman durability or invulnerability Humor comics Parody superheroes Parody comics Mascots introduced in 1986 Male characters in comics Male characters in advertising