The Tick was the cartoon version of the comic book that didn’t get nearly enough exposure from comic book stores it deserved. The show takes place in “The City” which is filled with other superheroes and super villains.
The saga starts when The Tick crashes the annual superhero convention where various heroes and their side kicks are matched with the urban areas they are to defend. The Tick unintentionally pretty much destroys the convention center while demonstrating his super powers—nigh invulnerably and super strength. He is assigned to “The City,” and travels there in a bus where he meets up with Arthur, a mild-mannered accountant who walks around in a moth suit dreaming of becoming a superhero instead becoming the necessary sidekick. The two – along with occasional help from fellow superheroes like the cowardly yet self-styled ladies man Die Fledermaus (The Bat), the capable American Maid who throws her stiletto heals at villains, the Sewer Urchin who uses his smell against evil doers, the Civic Minded 5 and many more. Some of the super villains included such inspired creations as The Idea Men, The Breadmaster, Pineapple Pokopo, Chair-face Chippendale just to name a few.
The Tick’s sidekick, Arthur, was a pudgy accountant who found a “Moth Suit” that lets him fly around, and left his old hum-drum life behind to fight crime. A chronic worrier with a belly, he’s the smart but timid counterpoint to the Tick’s brazenness. His catchphrase of “Not in the face!” pretty much sums him up.
“The Tick” enjoyed a three season run in the mid-’90s, largely fueled by the fact that the show was enjoyed by adults just as much as it was children – it offered wacky battles between the heroes and increasingly bizarre villains, but was always quite clever. The series, which certainly didn’t take itself too seriously and is a funny today as it was when I watched it originally.
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