The Tick
Series, 1994, The mid '90s, Set in The City
The Tick is #12 of 22 in release order and #12 of 22 in chronological order in the Fox Kids Classics.
The story
Attention Evil-doers! The Tick is here, and he’s wearing the blue tights of justice! Together with his trusty moth-costumed sidekick Arthur, The Tick keeps the streets of The City safe from a rogue’s gallery of hilariously malevolent villains. So grab a snack, put your feet up and get ready to laugh and cheer as everyone’s favorite brawny hero swats evil on the snout with the rolled-up newspaper of goodness!
The Tick recap
The Tick (1994) follows a huge, nearly indestructible blue superhero with far more enthusiasm than sense as he protects a place known only as the City. Ben Edlund created the character in his own satirical comic book, and the cartoon ran on Fox Kids for three seasons and 36 episodes, from September 10, 1994, to November 1996. After passing tryouts at the National Super Institute in Reno, the Tick (Townsend Coleman) is assigned to the City, where he takes on Arthur, a former accountant in a moth suit, as his sidekick; Micky Dolenz voices Arthur in the first season and Rob Paulsen takes over after that. Their friends are a set of odd local heroes, including Die Fledermaus (Cam Clarke), American Maid (Kay Lenz) and Sewer Urchin (Jess Harnell). The villains are just as strange, from Chairface Chippendale, a gangster with a chair for a head, to the Breadmaster, Professor Chromedome and El Seed. Nearly every title pits the Tick against something, as in "Tick vs. Science," and the stories send up the conventions of superhero comics, from secret origins to team-ups and time travel. The series was nominated for Emmys and won two Annie Awards in 1995, and later reruns on Comedy Central widened its audience.
The Tick ending explained
The Tick ends with "Tick vs. Education," which premiered on Comedy Central on November 24, 1996: the Tick and Arthur teach an extension class for would-be superheroes, and a field trip runs into Uncle Creamy, a disgruntled former ice cream company employee. It is a standalone episode, not a finale, and no fourth season was made. The character returned in a live-action Fox sitcom in 2001 starring Patrick Warburton, and again in an Amazon Prime Video series from 2016 to 2019 with Peter Serafinowicz.
Ratings
IMDb 7.8/10
Where it fits
- Release order: after Spider-Man: The Animated Series, before Life with Louie.
- Chronological order: after Spider-Man: The Animated Series, before Life with Louie.
Cast
- Townsend Coleman as The Tick (voice)
- Kay Lenz as American Maid (voice)
- Cam Clarke as Die Fledermaus (voice)
- Jess Harnell as Sewer Urchin (voice)
- Rob Paulsen as Crusading Chameleon (voice)
- Pat Fraley as Thrakkorzog's Tongue (voice)
- Micky Dolenz as Arthur (voice)
- Kevin Schon as Babyboomerangutan (voice)
- Jim Cummings as Multiple Santa (voice)
- Roger Rose as Brian Pinhead (voice)
- Pat Musick as Mad Nanny (voice)
- Maurice LaMarche as Human Ton / Handy (voice)
Created by Ben Edlund.