‘The Tick’ Balances Silliness and Sincerity

And spoons.

Superhero parodies are a tough sell for me. The genre is so inherently outlandish (in a good way) that it becomes too easy a mark with too many obvious targets. Just have a strong sense of humor but otherwise play it straight—that’s been my preference.

Occasionally, a good parody works well, though.

Among the more notable superhero parodies is the Tick, created by Ben Edlund in the late ’80s in a series of black-and-white comics published by New England Comics Press. The character hit the mainstream with a cartoon that debuted in 1994. A live-action series followed in 2001, though it lasted a mere nine episodes.

I watched the live-action show several years after the fact. Been a while, though. All I remember is that I liked it and that Patrick Warburton (Puddy from Seinfeld) was perfectly cast as the Tick.

A second live-action series debuted on Amazon Prime in 2016, and I just got around to watching it recently. It lasted two seasons, 22 episodes in total, with the second season dropping in 2019.

And it surprised me. Prime’s The Tick is not pure parody, and it’s not for kids at all. It has plenty of jokes and a self-deprecating sense of humor, but it also has genuine stakes and threats. Edlund helmed this iteration as well, but he took the opportunity to do something different with his longtime creation.

The Tick himself remains true to form. Played by Peter Serafinowicz, the big blue guy is a simple, direct do-gooder who is fully committed to doing good at all times. He comes across as sort of like Adam West’s Batman, but with a much lower IQ and much greater physical strength. Possessing no memory of his past or origins, he’s unhindered by any personal concerns. He’s basically a child’s idea of a superhero come to life, a simplistic, good-natured wrecking ball of justice who sees the world in good-vs.-evil terms. Shades of gray cause him discomfort.

This time, however, the Tick’s world includes some gray.

Arthur, traditionally the sidekick character, is the real protagonist of this series, which employs a serialized structure and focuses on his hero’s journey. Played by Griffin Newman, he’s a non-super guy thrust into super situations, equipped with only an unreliable hi-tech suit and his clueless protector. The scripts give him a solid backstory and supporting cast.

As a kid, Arthur watched helplessly as a superhero team’s aircraft crashed right on top of his father, killing him. The superheroes then stumbled out as the Terror and his goons massacred them. The Terror (Jackie Earle Haley) then strolled right up to young Arthur, and the kid had to look evil directly in the eye.

Not exactly parody territory there. The incident resulted in years of mental health issues for Arthur. Even after the Terror was presumed dead, Arthur was convinced he was still out there somewhere, plotting more evil. At the series’ start, he’s determined to prove it.

His sister Dot (Valorie Curry) is an EMT with some secrets of her own, though she’s far more normal than you’d expect of a Tick character, making her a nice counterbalance to the surrounding absurdity. She fills the role of the down-to-earth straight person, even as the superhero action increasingly draws her in.

Overkill (Scott Speiser) is a Punisher-like vigilante whose willingness to kill earns the Tick’s righteous ire. He lives in a sentient boat (voiced by Alan Tudyk) that’s not-so-secretly in love with Arthur. Superian (Brendan Hines) is the Superman of this world, but he’s a self-absorbed Superman who lacks any genuine empathy with humanity. He means well, but he doesn’t truly understand people and can be oblivious. On the villainous side, we have the electrically charged Ms. Lint (Yara Martinez), former right hand to the Terror who tries to emerge from his shadow even as all the dust keeps clinging to her. There’s even a talking dog (voiced by Townsend Coleman).

The tone reminds me of the Justice League International comics by Keith Giffen, J.M. DeMatteis, and Kevin Maguire. That series delivered a funnier take on the Justice League, but the humor stemmed from the characters and their interactions. The threats were legit. Some were also silly, but still legit.

In this iteration of The Tick, the plots get ridiculous, as they should. But it’s not a cartoon world; it’s a world with ample cartoonish highlights. There are jokes at the Terror’s expense, and he exudes a campy flair, but he’s ultimately a formidable villain and a sincere threat.

Sincerity is key. That may explain why the Tick has been such an effective superhero parody for all these years (and why 1960s Batman was as well). He’s not there to point and laugh at all the silly genre tropes, even though we might be doing some of that. He is fully devoted to heroism. Being a superhero is the most important thing in his blank slate of a life. He spouts lines that sound funny to us—“I have the strength of ten, perhaps 20 men. A crowded bus stop of men.”—but he means every word. He frequently calls Arthur “chum” without a hint of irony. The Tick loves being the Tick.

Thanks to the title character’s innocence, The Tick never looks down on its genre. No smug sense of superiority here. The show picks on superhero tropes with affection.

Prime’s Tick was canceled before all threads received a proper resolution. For example, we never learn why the Tick is so dependent on Arthur or what exactly the connection is there. Nevertheless, the show ends at a decent stopping point at least.

It’s not must-see streaming, but it’s a fun show. I would have watched another season. Alas, Amazon is a harsh mistress.