My familiarity with “The Tick” is limited only to the recent Amazon series (2016), not the one with Patrick Warburton, so if it doesn’t follow in the spirit of the original material I cannot comment. However what it does do is make the last decade or so of profuse heroic media look as awful as I think they are (I mean specifically the ridiculous output of Marvel and DC and how not great most of it is). The Tick follows Arthur Everest and his new acquiantance the eponymous The Tick, a seemingly invulnerable blue-suited hero who is pushing Arthur to be a hero as well.
Our giant blue friend The Tick knows little about himself or his own past but is driven by “Destiny” as he calls it, to act as he does. It is destiny in his mind that makes him want to encourage Arthur to take up the mantle of hero and be the best Arthur. Between them they have the brains and brawn dichotomy with The Tick being an overpowered non-intellectual and Arthur a quick-thinking, effective planning, somewhat cowardly squishy person. Arthur being the logic of the duo can’t “hear” destiny as The Tick does but can effectively turn his friend’s desires into plannable actions. It’s here in this dynamic that heroism is explored, in one of many ways. Despite being a regular person Arthur learns to become responsible in taking action, no matter how small, to help others. The Tick is innately called upon by “Destiny” to do this but doesn’t always know the best way. They learn from each other, support each other, and in doing so help others.
There’s more I could write and with time more effectively could I write it but this is just a call to watch what a proper Super-Hero media can be in an era where the pure ideals of yesterday are covered in the equivalent of a child smashing action figures together in ugly CGI “action”. If you do watch this be warned that season two ends in a cliffhanger(s) and we’ll likely never get a season three.
ooglykraken 