I'm keeping it weird, baby!
May 21, 2016 2:59 AM Subscribe
This year we've seen Batman vie with Superman (it's Just Us) and Captain America's civilized war against Iron Man, but for the greatest battle between superheroes ever captured to the screen you have to go back 20+ years to the classic-est episode of THE classic animated satirical superhero series: “The Tick vs. The Tick”. Explanation why is provided by Evan Narcisse. (hint: The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs At Midnight)
You'll never prove a thing, copper- I'm just a part-time electrician...BAD IS GOOD, BABY! DOWN WITH GOVERNMENT!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 4:12 AM on May 21, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 4:12 AM on May 21, 2016 [9 favorites]
Man. I loved that show. Mrs. Thistledown has never watched it. I feel her life is lacking in this regard.
That episode is still one of my favorites of any show, anywhere. Thanks for posting.
posted by Thistledown at 4:43 AM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
That episode is still one of my favorites of any show, anywhere. Thanks for posting.
posted by Thistledown at 4:43 AM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
And so he says to me, "you wanna be a bad guy?" and I say, "Yeah baby! I wanna be bad!" I says "SURF'S UP, SPACE PONIES! I'm making gravy without the lumps!"
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:02 AM on May 21, 2016 [24 favorites]
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 5:02 AM on May 21, 2016 [24 favorites]
I'M FULL OF TINIER MEN!
posted by vrakatar at 5:24 AM on May 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by vrakatar at 5:24 AM on May 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
SPOON!
posted by Fleebnork at 5:27 AM on May 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by Fleebnork at 5:27 AM on May 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
One of the things that makes me feel like a successful parent is that I got my kid to watch every episode with me.
posted by sotonohito at 5:31 AM on May 21, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by sotonohito at 5:31 AM on May 21, 2016 [7 favorites]
I love the Tick so much. So. Much.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 5:58 AM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 5:58 AM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
Legend has it that Ben Edlund stayed up all night drinking coffee to write The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs At Midnight's dialogue.
And so he says, I don't like the cut of your jib, and I go, I says it's the only jib I got, baby!
posted by murphy slaw at 6:00 AM on May 21, 2016 [16 favorites]
And so he says, I don't like the cut of your jib, and I go, I says it's the only jib I got, baby!
posted by murphy slaw at 6:00 AM on May 21, 2016 [16 favorites]
My favorite Tick villain (and he should be MeFi's as well, for obvious reasons) was Handy, who was a supergenius sock puppet on the hand of a complete lummox called The Human Ton. READ A BOOK!
posted by KingEdRa at 6:49 AM on May 21, 2016 [16 favorites]
posted by KingEdRa at 6:49 AM on May 21, 2016 [16 favorites]
The Tick and The Venture Brothers both share the space of "self-aware parody of superhero tropes". I'm still waiting for hollywood to take notice, though.
posted by rebent at 7:04 AM on May 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by rebent at 7:04 AM on May 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
My favorite Tick villain (and he should be MeFi's as well, for obvious reasons) was Handy
I don't thinkatl I can agree with youatl.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:10 AM on May 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
I don't thinkatl I can agree with youatl.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:10 AM on May 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
My favorite Tick villain (and he should be MeFi's as well, for obvious reasons) was Handy, who was a supergenius sock puppet on the hand of a complete lummox called The Human Ton. READ A BOOK!
That episode has a slew of great villains. Handy is probably the champ, but I'm fond of Stalingrad:
That episode has a slew of great villains. Handy is probably the champ, but I'm fond of Stalingrad:
THE TERROR: What are you afraid of? We got Stalin!posted by DaDaDaDave at 7:18 AM on May 21, 2016 [10 favorites]
STALINGRAD: Oh, uh, heh, excuse me, but I am not actually Stalin. I'm Stalingrad, a former graduate student in Russian Studies turned supervillain. I, I base my work on the works of Joseph Stalin...
THE TERROR: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, you look like Stalin to me!
Legend has it that Ben Edlund stayed up all night drinking coffee to write The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs At Midnight's dialogue.
This is also how Brian Mitsoda wrote the Malkavian dialogue for V:tM Bloodlines- late at night, strung out and punchy from a long day's work.
The Tick and The Venture Brothers both share the space of "self-aware parody of superhero tropes". I'm still waiting for hollywood to take notice, though.
Edlund was involved in the creation of TVB, wrote a couple of episodes, and claims that they're the same universe.
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:31 AM on May 21, 2016 [15 favorites]
This is also how Brian Mitsoda wrote the Malkavian dialogue for V:tM Bloodlines- late at night, strung out and punchy from a long day's work.
The Tick and The Venture Brothers both share the space of "self-aware parody of superhero tropes". I'm still waiting for hollywood to take notice, though.
Edlund was involved in the creation of TVB, wrote a couple of episodes, and claims that they're the same universe.
posted by Pope Guilty at 7:31 AM on May 21, 2016 [15 favorites]
I think the episode that it came from (Alone Together, where the Tick meets his universe's version of Galactus) isn't on any of the DVD collections, but I love saying "Those are his condolence cheeses" like Die Fledermaus.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 7:34 AM on May 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 7:34 AM on May 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
Every year I'm reminded of Arthur's plaintive opening line from "The Tick Loves Santa Claus": "I don't know, Tick! Maybe they're plums dipped in sugar, maybe they're made out of sugar; I don't know, I've never had one!"
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:40 AM on May 21, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 7:40 AM on May 21, 2016 [5 favorites]
The Tick and The Venture Brothers both share the space of "self-aware parody of superhero tropes". I'm still waiting for hollywood to take notice, though.
Mystery Men is pretty much The Tick brought to screen. Minus any specific character who is nigh invulnerable, I suppose, and the protagonists would probably be relegated to the sidekick lounge, but the philosophy seems roughly the same.
Sky High seems close.
I suppose it's arguable that Deadpool counts as self-aware and parody, but I'm not really sure it's the same. Too smartass, not fever-dream weird enough.
posted by wildblueyonder at 7:50 AM on May 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
Mystery Men is pretty much The Tick brought to screen. Minus any specific character who is nigh invulnerable, I suppose, and the protagonists would probably be relegated to the sidekick lounge, but the philosophy seems roughly the same.
Sky High seems close.
I suppose it's arguable that Deadpool counts as self-aware and parody, but I'm not really sure it's the same. Too smartass, not fever-dream weird enough.
posted by wildblueyonder at 7:50 AM on May 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
I think we all recognize the great writing and great characters and great pull quotes, but let's not forget that the show also had one of the all-time great theme songs!
posted by tdismukes at 8:01 AM on May 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by tdismukes at 8:01 AM on May 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
"Tick? Is this a WARM moment or should I be disturbed?"
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:03 AM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:03 AM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
Edlund was involved in the creation of TVB, wrote a couple of episodes, and claims that they're the same universe.
I'm pretty sure Dr. Horrible (another one Edlund was involved in) is in the Edlundverse, too.
posted by fings at 8:11 AM on May 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
I'm pretty sure Dr. Horrible (another one Edlund was involved in) is in the Edlundverse, too.
posted by fings at 8:11 AM on May 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
The Venture Brothers is what would happen if Wes Anderson made Johnny Quest.
posted by pxe2000 at 8:36 AM on May 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by pxe2000 at 8:36 AM on May 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
The Tick cartoon was a magical anomaly when it debuted.
Yes it was. When I saw Tick v Tick I assumed it would be the episode where the Tick fought the snot monster version of himself, which was the first episode I saw and got me hooked. The live series was OK but had just a tiny fraction of the loopy greatness of the animated one.
This one does have a lot going for it, including one of the great opening sequences.
"Can you shoot heat beams out of your eyes?"
"No."
"Breathe atomic fire?"
"No."
"Can you destroy the Earth?"
"Egads, I hope not! That's where I keep all my stuff!"
Posting this on a Saturday morning is perfect, BTW. I'm running late now but that just increases the nostalgia factor.
posted by mark k at 8:45 AM on May 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
Yes it was. When I saw Tick v Tick I assumed it would be the episode where the Tick fought the snot monster version of himself, which was the first episode I saw and got me hooked. The live series was OK but had just a tiny fraction of the loopy greatness of the animated one.
This one does have a lot going for it, including one of the great opening sequences.
"Can you shoot heat beams out of your eyes?"
"No."
"Breathe atomic fire?"
"No."
"Can you destroy the Earth?"
"Egads, I hope not! That's where I keep all my stuff!"
Posting this on a Saturday morning is perfect, BTW. I'm running late now but that just increases the nostalgia factor.
posted by mark k at 8:45 AM on May 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
The Evil Midnight Bomber is great, but I think my favorite Tick villain is Eastern Bloc Robot Cowboy.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:46 AM on May 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 8:46 AM on May 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
Having watched the entire run of that show makes me feel rich, definitely rich in spirit.
posted by mordax at 9:04 AM on May 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by mordax at 9:04 AM on May 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
I spent a lot of the 90s telling people I was making gravy without the lumps. And when somebody told me I had to get a gimmick I was like yeah baby a gimmick and that gimmick was high explosives.
posted by Nanukthedog at 9:06 AM on May 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Nanukthedog at 9:06 AM on May 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
My favorite thing from The Tick was always the horror of the world's most comfortable chair.
(I like Batmanuel better than Die Fleidermaus, but being as he's Nestor Carbonell that should be no surprise. Dude is great.)
posted by Pope Guilty at 9:06 AM on May 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
(I like Batmanuel better than Die Fleidermaus, but being as he's Nestor Carbonell that should be no surprise. Dude is great.)
posted by Pope Guilty at 9:06 AM on May 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
"An object at rest cannot be stopped!"
posted by nubs at 9:14 AM on May 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by nubs at 9:14 AM on May 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
I am also here because A BIG CLOWN HIT ME.
posted by daisystomper at 9:14 AM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by daisystomper at 9:14 AM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
I miss both Ticks. Science....boring....losing...focus....
(I need you! You're on a first name basis with lucidity! I have to call it Mr. Lucidity and that's no good in a pinch!)
posted by biscotti at 9:24 AM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
(I need you! You're on a first name basis with lucidity! I have to call it Mr. Lucidity and that's no good in a pinch!)
posted by biscotti at 9:24 AM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
IT'S OK TO PLAY WITH DOLLS!
posted by lagomorphius at 9:42 AM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by lagomorphius at 9:42 AM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
This looks like a job for...LEGAL TENDER!
posted by nubs at 9:46 AM on May 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by nubs at 9:46 AM on May 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
"Take hold of my armored mumu, Joseph Stalin, and we will leave this foul earth behind."
No better poetry was ever written.
posted by The Gaffer at 10:23 AM on May 21, 2016 [7 favorites]
No better poetry was ever written.
posted by The Gaffer at 10:23 AM on May 21, 2016 [7 favorites]
I sorta wished that the cartoon introduced the ninja insanity of the comic book (and Oedipus and Paul the Samurai)
But The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight more than made up for it.
Interestingly, Barry was I think the last issue of the original comic book run. Oh, it was the second to last (Issue 11). I really ought to dig up all 12 issues and see if they're still in decent condition after sitting in a box for almost 30 years.
posted by linux at 10:30 AM on May 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
But The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight more than made up for it.
Interestingly, Barry was I think the last issue of the original comic book run. Oh, it was the second to last (Issue 11). I really ought to dig up all 12 issues and see if they're still in decent condition after sitting in a box for almost 30 years.
posted by linux at 10:30 AM on May 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
Oh, this changes everything! I feel ... different ... better! A new sensation spreading out from my upper lip to every other part of my body! It's a feeling I can't quite describe. It's a savvy kinda feeling, a suavy kinda feeling! Kind of a ... kind of a ... moustache feeling!
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 10:35 AM on May 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 10:35 AM on May 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
I, an impressionable ten year-old, fell in love with The (animated) Tick within the first two minutes, as the board of superheroes assigned the Human Blowfish as the official guardian of my hometown (New Rochelle).
I know they're streaming on YouTube, but I desperately wish they were on one of the regular streaming services so I could get them on my TV more easily.
(Also, they're shooting the live action reboot in NYC now. We saw one of the shoots and, uh, they aren't skimping on the budget.)
posted by thecaddy at 10:51 AM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
I know they're streaming on YouTube, but I desperately wish they were on one of the regular streaming services so I could get them on my TV more easily.
(Also, they're shooting the live action reboot in NYC now. We saw one of the shoots and, uh, they aren't skimping on the budget.)
posted by thecaddy at 10:51 AM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
I sorta wished that the cartoon introduced the ninja insanity of the comic book (and Oedipus and Paul the Samurai)
My girlfriend, who has never read The Tick in comic form, found watching the most recent season of Daredevil with me to be extremely trying.
"It's not like we hit a collie or anything."
posted by Parasite Unseen at 10:52 AM on May 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
My girlfriend, who has never read The Tick in comic form, found watching the most recent season of Daredevil with me to be extremely trying.
"It's not like we hit a collie or anything."
posted by Parasite Unseen at 10:52 AM on May 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
It is crazy how many lines from that episode found their way into every day usage for me. Thd line from the opening about crushing carbon into diamonds reminds me of a line from the first episode of the live action version:
"I will crush your carbon heart into a diamond of terror"
posted by munchingzombie at 11:32 AM on May 21, 2016
"I will crush your carbon heart into a diamond of terror"
posted by munchingzombie at 11:32 AM on May 21, 2016
BTW, don't forget! The comic is properly stylized the Tick!
It's amazing reading a thread of injokes and getting every single one of them. I'm going to run out of favorites. There are so many great lines. Let's see if I can think of some that haven't been said already... (This comment is going to be very long, but honestly, I could have easily made it twice as long. This was the Best Cartoon On TV when I was growing up, and I was obsessive about it.)
----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Arthur: "I'm SICK of being your pudgy comic relief!"
Tick: "C'mon Arthur! You know I'm my own comic relief!"
???: "From now on, The City will see only by the light of Evil! SO COMMANDS the DEADLY BULB!"
[...]
The Deadly Bulb: "FORGET the PIG!"
Tick: "Hey, that's the jerk who made my head hot! Well, he's not gonna make my friends' heads hot!"
President of Baking College: "He baked a souffle that stole my car!"
[...]
Arthur: "Good job, Tick! You ate that bread into submission!"
Tick: "I hate broccolli... but you know, in a certain sense... I am broccolli."
Tick: "I didn't wanna have to do this, I mean, I really didn't wanna have to do this, but you've left me no choice!"
(in a well-animated sequence, snorts an entire clone of himself made out of mucus up his nose)
Thrakkorzog (horrified): "It's... not... possible!"
Bigshot (an obvious Punisher parody): "Freeze!" (fires all his guns at Idea Men, but he's already wasted all his ammo)
Tick: "Guns and superheroes don't mix. Seek professional help, friend!"
Bigshot: "Why didn't you love me, mom??" (cries on Arthur's shoulders)
"This looks like a job for The Human Lemmiiiiinnnnnnnnggggggggg....") [crash!] "C'mon spine, work with me!"
Caped Chameleon (trying to replicate the pattern on some curtains): "Can't... do... plaid!" (falls off unconscious)
Tick, speaking from doorway: "Ladies and gentlemen, please return to your seats!" (pulls pin from hand grenade gotten from Bigshot) "The wedding's about to begin!"
Mayor Blank, through a megaphone to a gigantic Dinosaur Neil: "Neil! Come this way! We have gotten for you--" (camera change) "--a giant pair of paints!"
Dr. Strangelove parody: "Bring him to the pants...."
(lightning strikes the pants, setting them ablaze)
Strangelove: "LIAR! LIAR!! Pants on FIRE!!!"
Strangelove (in previous job working for Josef Stalin): "It'll be... the LARGEST SECRET ARMY OF ATOMIC ROBOT ZOMBIE MEN... in the VORRRLD!"
(Voice of Bobcat Goldthwait) "Uncle Creamy, destroyer of worlds!"
[...]
(BTW, I should mention, The Tick is the only cartoon that's done a successful Squirrel Girl parody, which is amazing in itself.)
Flying Squrrel: "I'm... the Flying Squrrel. And... I like squirrels."
Tick: "Well, what's your power?"
FS: "I... like squirrels."
Tick: "Well, maybe you have a super origin? Maybe a feral childhood raised by twitchy rodents?"
FS: "No, I... just like squirrels. Oh, and my life is empty."
[...later..., when fighting a KGB agent in a big robotic ice cream mascot suit in the city park]
FS: "I.... I... I LIKE SQUIRRELS!"
Squirrels around park: (take notice, attack robot)
KGB Agent: "ARRGGHH!!"
FS (referring to fleeing corrupt ice cream executive): "Boys..." (squirrels look up) "...get him!" (squirrels run after)
Evil Ice Cream Exec (off screen): "AUGH! Get 'em OFF ME!"
posted by JHarris at 11:35 AM on May 21, 2016 [12 favorites]
It's amazing reading a thread of injokes and getting every single one of them. I'm going to run out of favorites. There are so many great lines. Let's see if I can think of some that haven't been said already... (This comment is going to be very long, but honestly, I could have easily made it twice as long. This was the Best Cartoon On TV when I was growing up, and I was obsessive about it.)
Arthur: "I'm SICK of being your pudgy comic relief!"
Tick: "C'mon Arthur! You know I'm my own comic relief!"
???: "From now on, The City will see only by the light of Evil! SO COMMANDS the DEADLY BULB!"
[...]
The Deadly Bulb: "FORGET the PIG!"
Tick: "Hey, that's the jerk who made my head hot! Well, he's not gonna make my friends' heads hot!"
President of Baking College: "He baked a souffle that stole my car!"
[...]
Arthur: "Good job, Tick! You ate that bread into submission!"
Tick: "I hate broccolli... but you know, in a certain sense... I am broccolli."
Tick: "I didn't wanna have to do this, I mean, I really didn't wanna have to do this, but you've left me no choice!"
(in a well-animated sequence, snorts an entire clone of himself made out of mucus up his nose)
Thrakkorzog (horrified): "It's... not... possible!"
Bigshot (an obvious Punisher parody): "Freeze!" (fires all his guns at Idea Men, but he's already wasted all his ammo)
Tick: "Guns and superheroes don't mix. Seek professional help, friend!"
Bigshot: "Why didn't you love me, mom??" (cries on Arthur's shoulders)
"This looks like a job for The Human Lemmiiiiinnnnnnnnggggggggg....") [crash!] "C'mon spine, work with me!"
Caped Chameleon (trying to replicate the pattern on some curtains): "Can't... do... plaid!" (falls off unconscious)
Tick, speaking from doorway: "Ladies and gentlemen, please return to your seats!" (pulls pin from hand grenade gotten from Bigshot) "The wedding's about to begin!"
Mayor Blank, through a megaphone to a gigantic Dinosaur Neil: "Neil! Come this way! We have gotten for you--" (camera change) "--a giant pair of paints!"
Dr. Strangelove parody: "Bring him to the pants...."
(lightning strikes the pants, setting them ablaze)
Strangelove: "LIAR! LIAR!! Pants on FIRE!!!"
Strangelove (in previous job working for Josef Stalin): "It'll be... the LARGEST SECRET ARMY OF ATOMIC ROBOT ZOMBIE MEN... in the VORRRLD!"
(Voice of Bobcat Goldthwait) "Uncle Creamy, destroyer of worlds!"
[...]
(BTW, I should mention, The Tick is the only cartoon that's done a successful Squirrel Girl parody, which is amazing in itself.)
Flying Squrrel: "I'm... the Flying Squrrel. And... I like squirrels."
Tick: "Well, what's your power?"
FS: "I... like squirrels."
Tick: "Well, maybe you have a super origin? Maybe a feral childhood raised by twitchy rodents?"
FS: "No, I... just like squirrels. Oh, and my life is empty."
[...later..., when fighting a KGB agent in a big robotic ice cream mascot suit in the city park]
FS: "I.... I... I LIKE SQUIRRELS!"
Squirrels around park: (take notice, attack robot)
KGB Agent: "ARRGGHH!!"
FS (referring to fleeing corrupt ice cream executive): "Boys..." (squirrels look up) "...get him!" (squirrels run after)
Evil Ice Cream Exec (off screen): "AUGH! Get 'em OFF ME!"
posted by JHarris at 11:35 AM on May 21, 2016 [12 favorites]
"Suuuuuuuusan?"
posted by tzikeh at 11:39 AM on May 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by tzikeh at 11:39 AM on May 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
Arthur (in the body of Tongue Tongue) "I can taste the floor! I can taste EVERYTHING!"
posted by happyroach at 1:06 PM on May 21, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by happyroach at 1:06 PM on May 21, 2016 [8 favorites]
I CAN TASTE YOUR BACK!
posted by Fleebnork at 1:45 PM on May 21, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by Fleebnork at 1:45 PM on May 21, 2016 [8 favorites]
You can't fight evil with a macaroni duck!
posted by Zonker at 1:55 PM on May 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Zonker at 1:55 PM on May 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
My only real gripe about the comics-to-TV conversion is that they made Man-Eating Cow an evil-doer. But, since they did, she's my favorite villain.
posted by wintermind at 2:55 PM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by wintermind at 2:55 PM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
As featured in JHarris' excessivecomprehensive collection of quotes, "Tick Vs. Education" was also one of the best episodes of the series (and sadly the last one made). With Tick teaching a Learning Annex class on Superheroism (why not?) it allowed Ben Edlund and Richard Liebmann-Smith* free reign to create some of their lamest supercharacters: The Flying Squirrel, Mr. Exiting ("It's good to be ali-i-i-ive!!!"), Sarcastro ("My secret weapon is the razor-sharp sting of sarcasm"), Babyboomerangutan ("It's okay to play with dolls!!!") and Gezundtitan, with his unhygienic super-sneezing, plus some great choices in guest voices: Bobcat Goldthwait as the mutated ice cream mascot Uncle Creamy ("I EVERYTHING Triple Ripple Vanilla Road Monkey!!!"), Jim (the Lesser) Belushi as the evil ice cream executive, and Laraine Newman, one of the ORIGINAL cast of Saturday Night Live, as The Flying Squirrel. And the concept provided a great forum for The Tick's wonderfully silly speechifying - "One of the sidekick's most important jobs is to keep the superhero in touch with reality... because in this business, reality can be pretty hard to come by".
*who also co-wrote "The Tick Vs. The Tick". Whatever happened to him? His last IMDb credits are doing voices in the FIRST season of Venture Brothers. and co-writing a (shudder) Veggie Tales video in 2006, since then having one published novel, "The James Boys", based on the Tick-level-absurd concept of the outlaws Jesse and Frank James being related to novelist Henry James and philosopher William James.
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:57 PM on May 21, 2016 [7 favorites]
*who also co-wrote "The Tick Vs. The Tick". Whatever happened to him? His last IMDb credits are doing voices in the FIRST season of Venture Brothers. and co-writing a (shudder) Veggie Tales video in 2006, since then having one published novel, "The James Boys", based on the Tick-level-absurd concept of the outlaws Jesse and Frank James being related to novelist Henry James and philosopher William James.
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:57 PM on May 21, 2016 [7 favorites]
Yikes, I had no idea that episode was so packed with voice talent, or that Liebman-Smith dropped off the planet so thoroughly after The Tick.
I also had no idea that I had forgotten Mr. Exciting, who really needs to lay off the energy drinks.
posted by JHarris at 3:11 PM on May 21, 2016
I also had no idea that I had forgotten Mr. Exciting, who really needs to lay off the energy drinks.
posted by JHarris at 3:11 PM on May 21, 2016
Mad scientists do not wear the "hello my name is..." badge!
posted by snwod at 3:31 PM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by snwod at 3:31 PM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
I have a fondness for The Tick vs. El Seed, for many reasons, including: the introduction of the Civic-Minded Five ("Let's make a difference!"); the Bee Twins, El Seed's assistants, and the corn soldiers that don't get turned back into cornstalks and reappear in a couple of other episodes.
posted by mogget at 4:05 PM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by mogget at 4:05 PM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
The Tick, Tony Stark, and Steve Rogers would have a lot to talk about regarding companions and betrayal.
TICK: "Yes, you know Little Wooden Boy, the worst sin in the world is disloyalty. You wouldn't lie to me, would you, Little Wooden Boy?"
ROGERS: "He's my friend."
STARK: "So was I, once."
Great, now I want to see Sewer Urchin and Black Widow talking about anything.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 4:48 PM on May 21, 2016 [7 favorites]
TICK: "Yes, you know Little Wooden Boy, the worst sin in the world is disloyalty. You wouldn't lie to me, would you, Little Wooden Boy?"
ROGERS: "He's my friend."
STARK: "So was I, once."
Great, now I want to see Sewer Urchin and Black Widow talking about anything.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 4:48 PM on May 21, 2016 [7 favorites]
The late commenter's lament:
Down here I'm considered the apotheosis of cool.posted by palindromic at 5:01 PM on May 21, 2016 [6 favorites]
well then YOU fire me boy
posted by daisystomper at 5:07 PM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by daisystomper at 5:07 PM on May 21, 2016 [2 favorites]
Inserting Tick-verse characters into any of the Marvel Universes (Marvel movies, Fox movies, tv, comic books, old pre-boots) would always make for wonderful stuff. That's why I was glad I saw The Flying Squirrel BEFORE anything with Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, and I must suspect USG writer Ryan North had to be partly informed by Tick-stuff.
You KNOW Tick and BigShot would work together to try to "calm down" the Hulk.
Sarcastro would try to get Deadpool to hire him as a narrator.
Fish Boy, Misplaced Prince of Atlantis, would constantly try to get close to Namor.
Speak would raise his leg on Groot.
And both the Civic Minded Five and the Decency Squad would vote to decide which side all of them would take in Civil War (I or II); Decency Squad would make it a secret ballot.
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:20 PM on May 21, 2016
You KNOW Tick and BigShot would work together to try to "calm down" the Hulk.
Sarcastro would try to get Deadpool to hire him as a narrator.
Fish Boy, Misplaced Prince of Atlantis, would constantly try to get close to Namor.
Speak would raise his leg on Groot.
And both the Civic Minded Five and the Decency Squad would vote to decide which side all of them would take in Civil War (I or II); Decency Squad would make it a secret ballot.
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:20 PM on May 21, 2016
I've always had a bad sense of relative time. Or absolute time for that matter. I thought I'd watched the Tick sometime in my late teens, but since it came out in 1994 an I was born in 1974 I was 20 (or, I guess, 19 since I'm born in Christmas and it debuted in September, but let's not split hairs).
I had no idea I was 20 when I first watch the Tick. It isn't quite on the same order as discovering that I have pockets, but still it is something of a personal revelation.
Never did like the live action one, I tried watching a couple of episodes but the manic bizarreness of the cartoon wasn't there. I have only the first collection of Tick comics, but I do agree that if they'd included the ninja it would have been awesome. Also the Red Scare.
I'm not sure I'd consider Mystery Men to really be related much to the Tick, but it was an awesome movie largely because of William H. Macy totally owning the role of the Shoveler, and the delightful back and forth between Janeane Garofalo and her bowling ball.
And to continue the argument, the Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight is the best Tick character ever. To deny this is impossible.
posted by sotonohito at 5:47 PM on May 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
I had no idea I was 20 when I first watch the Tick. It isn't quite on the same order as discovering that I have pockets, but still it is something of a personal revelation.
Never did like the live action one, I tried watching a couple of episodes but the manic bizarreness of the cartoon wasn't there. I have only the first collection of Tick comics, but I do agree that if they'd included the ninja it would have been awesome. Also the Red Scare.
I'm not sure I'd consider Mystery Men to really be related much to the Tick, but it was an awesome movie largely because of William H. Macy totally owning the role of the Shoveler, and the delightful back and forth between Janeane Garofalo and her bowling ball.
And to continue the argument, the Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight is the best Tick character ever. To deny this is impossible.
posted by sotonohito at 5:47 PM on May 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
Holy crap, was it really Maurice LaMarche who voiced the Evil Midnight Bomber? He's unrecognizable.
posted by Iridic at 6:10 PM on May 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Iridic at 6:10 PM on May 21, 2016 [3 favorites]
"Tongue Tongue is sad because he has but one tongue with which to taste the whole world."
posted by Ghidorah at 6:23 PM on May 21, 2016 [9 favorites]
posted by Ghidorah at 6:23 PM on May 21, 2016 [9 favorites]
I have a sneaking affection for the second collected volume of the comic, with the Tick and Arthur's bizarre road trip, the Chainsaw Vigilante, the people who patch up their houses with chunks of expressway, and the town of farmers turned into mad scientists by a monolith straight from 2001. They built a particle accelerator, and next year, they're gonna build one that accelerates grapefruit!
posted by kewb at 7:16 PM on May 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by kewb at 7:16 PM on May 21, 2016 [1 favorite]
"Tongue Tongue is sad because he has but one tongue with which to taste the whole world."
"I'm tasting the floor."
posted by Daily Alice at 7:58 PM on May 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
"I'm tasting the floor."
posted by Daily Alice at 7:58 PM on May 21, 2016 [4 favorites]
"And I, as always, am Doctor Mung-Mung."
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:00 PM on May 21, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 8:00 PM on May 21, 2016 [5 favorites]
When my eldest child first started talking I said to him "I'll call you Speak because that's what you do"
posted by langtonsant at 1:15 AM on May 22, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by langtonsant at 1:15 AM on May 22, 2016 [3 favorites]
> Mystery Men is pretty much The Tick brought to screen. Minus any specific character who is nigh invulnerable, I suppose, and the protagonists would probably be relegated to the sidekick lounge, but the philosophy seems roughly the same.
That's because they actually are sidekicks of sorts - the Mystery Men is the auxiliary organization for the Flaming Carrot, who was tragically absent from the MM movie and could outweird the Tick on a Tuesday night with a brutal hangover. Plus, Carrot scored mad bitches.
Nothing against the Tick, mind you - There's room for all.
posted by davelog at 5:51 AM on May 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
That's because they actually are sidekicks of sorts - the Mystery Men is the auxiliary organization for the Flaming Carrot, who was tragically absent from the MM movie and could outweird the Tick on a Tuesday night with a brutal hangover. Plus, Carrot scored mad bitches.
Nothing against the Tick, mind you - There's room for all.
posted by davelog at 5:51 AM on May 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
"Why am I here? I'm here because...I"m here because a giant clown punched me!"
posted by kewb at 8:11 AM on May 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by kewb at 8:11 AM on May 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
For those mentioning the vague connections between the Tick and Venture Brothers, did you know that Publick and Hammer did a run on the Tick? "Karma Tornado", done while Edlund was busy with getting the show off the ground. (They also worked on the Tick show, unsurprisingly.)
posted by egypturnash at 8:53 AM on May 22, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by egypturnash at 8:53 AM on May 22, 2016 [3 favorites]
the Mystery Men is the auxiliary organization for the Flaming Carrot, who was tragically absent from the MM movie and could outweird the Tick on a Tuesday night with a brutal hangover.
mmmyeahkindof; that's true of the MM in the Flaming Carrot comic, but the movie went well beyond that. And, as much as I respect someone who even remembers FC, IMO Edlund has gone way beyond Burden in terms both of output and popularity; weirdness is mostly in the eye of the beholder, and there are lots of underground artists who seem to have simply puked up their ids directly onto the Bristol board. (Probably the weirdest thing that I've ever seen that had anything remotely approaching a narrative is Chester Brown's Ed the Happy Clown from the late, lamented Yummy Fur.)
Also too, how is it that no one has yet mentioned that Edlund was a writer on Firefly? Also also too, it looks like he's also a writer on the TV version of Powers.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:39 AM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
mmmyeahkindof; that's true of the MM in the Flaming Carrot comic, but the movie went well beyond that. And, as much as I respect someone who even remembers FC, IMO Edlund has gone way beyond Burden in terms both of output and popularity; weirdness is mostly in the eye of the beholder, and there are lots of underground artists who seem to have simply puked up their ids directly onto the Bristol board. (Probably the weirdest thing that I've ever seen that had anything remotely approaching a narrative is Chester Brown's Ed the Happy Clown from the late, lamented Yummy Fur.)
Also too, how is it that no one has yet mentioned that Edlund was a writer on Firefly? Also also too, it looks like he's also a writer on the TV version of Powers.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:39 AM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
"These aren't baked goods! They're baked BADS!"
posted by murphy slaw at 9:39 AM on May 22, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by murphy slaw at 9:39 AM on May 22, 2016 [6 favorites]
"These aren't baked goods! They're baked BADS!"
I will always remember that baker guy calling up a bakery and yelling at them for producing crappy bread that rolls easily into doughy lumps between the fingers because as a kid I did that with bread ALL THE TIME.
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:33 AM on May 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
I will always remember that baker guy calling up a bakery and yelling at them for producing crappy bread that rolls easily into doughy lumps between the fingers because as a kid I did that with bread ALL THE TIME.
posted by Pope Guilty at 10:33 AM on May 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
The Venture Brothers is what would happen if Wes Anderson made Johnny Quest.
Ha! Venture Brothers is no where near as twee as Anderson's films and Wes shies away from anything as dark as in Venture Brothers.
posted by Ashwagandha at 5:19 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Ha! Venture Brothers is no where near as twee as Anderson's films and Wes shies away from anything as dark as in Venture Brothers.
posted by Ashwagandha at 5:19 PM on May 22, 2016 [1 favorite]
Thanks to this thread, I have had the theme song in my head for 36 hours now. ....this is not exactly a bad thing.
da doo-WEEEEE, da-da-da-dwee-dow....
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:47 PM on May 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
da doo-WEEEEE, da-da-da-dwee-dow....
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:47 PM on May 22, 2016 [2 favorites]
I don't know about Venture Brothers, but I'm pretty sure that The Tick exists in the same universe as Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, which also puts it in the same universe as Sealab 2020 and (I think) Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 5:53 PM on May 22, 2016
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 5:53 PM on May 22, 2016
Well, let's see... a new DC comic, Future Quest, unites the various heroes of the HB "Action Cartoon" Era, including Jonny, Space Ghost (pre-Coast to Coast) and (pre-Harvey) Birdman. And one episode of Venture Brothers featured a guest appearance by an unnamed middle-aged ex-adventurer who was so obviously Jonny, so that shared universe is solid. But The Tick never had any known connection to any DC, HB or WB properties. He was the most successful property of the publishing side of New England Comics, and both the animated and live-action versions aired on Fox networks, which COULD make a tenuous connection to the Fox Theatrical X-Men franchise (Deadpool so belongs in the Tick-verse) and a Columbia/Tristar credit on the live-action series puts him in close proximity to Movie Spiderman (which has been rebooted enough that we no longer know what universe he's in). I do remember Animated Tick having the time slot right before Earthworm Jim, but no obvious crossovers (Earthworm Jim cartoon had a 'road trip' arc suspiciously similar to the one in the Tick comics). With the new series being made for Amazon Video, the most likely crossovers there would be with Thunderbirds and Transparent (a transsexual Tick, why not?). Sadly, there is no Tick connection to the "Tommy Westphal Universe" which could have opened up so much...
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:03 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by oneswellfoop at 2:03 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
The Venture Brothers has Jonny Quest, and used to refer to him by name (also Race Bannon, before his death), but they were instructed to change his name because Cartoon Network wanted to do a Jonny Quest reboot. The reboot never happened, but he's been Action Johnny ever since.
posted by Pope Guilty at 3:04 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Pope Guilty at 3:04 AM on May 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:08 AM on May 21, 2016 [9 favorites]