The Tick

Super Name: The Tick
Real Name: Nick
Publisher: New England Comics
Creators: Ben Edlund
Gender: Male
Character Type: Human
First Appearance: The Tick #1
Appears in: 155 issues
Birthday: n/a
Died: None

Origin:

Little is known of the Tick's past. What is known, however, is that he was interred in an insane asylum while already costumed as the big blue hero. He grows bored of his confinement and heeds destiny's call to do something more. He breaks out to be a superhero.

Creation: Written and drawn by Ben Edlund.

Major Stories: The arrives at the City and becomes a hero almost by accident.



Powers and Abilities:

The Tick is nigh-invulnerable, which makes him able to withstand intense trauma. This does not keep him from feeling pain. Crashing into the ground or having a bullet shot into his teeth won't break his body, but he will still feel the discomfort of it all.
He also has a "drama power," which gives him the ability to make any situation more dramatic by his mere presence.
The Tick probably has super strength. And if it is not super then it is certainly impressive.
Though not necessarily a power, The Tick's battle-cry is said to baffle, or stun, his opponents. Before battle, he yells out, "SPOON!"

Other Media:

The Tick has had two television shows over the years. First, "The Tick" animated series ran for three seasons from 1994 to 1996. It aired on FOX Kids Saturday mornings. While some of the episodes borrowed from the original Tick comic books, many of the characters in the animated show were not in the comics, like Die Fladermaus and American Maid.

The second television show was a live-action series. In it, The Tick and Arthur battled more everyday problems, like getting Tick an ID card or going to court. The two other main characters in the series were Batmanuel and Captain Liberty, characters not in the comics but also not in the cartoon (though similar to Die Fladermaus and American Maid). Tick rarely battled major villains, though he did do tangle with The Terror and The Red Scare.

Both series change up the Tick's origin. The animated show has the Tick audition for his city assignment and the live action show has the Tick protecting the citizens frequenting a bus stop before he is tricked into leaving, in which he becomes the hero of his destination.