[Review] Amazon’s The Tick is way better than you’d expect!

This year’s San Diego Comic Con International gave us a lot to look forward to. With all the hype that surrounded Marvel and DC, it’s easy to imagine some superhero reveals may have fallen to the wayside. One of the many announcements made was the first official reveal of Amazon’s newest incarnation of the classic comic series and 90’s cartoon, ‘The Tick’, starring Peter Serafinowicz. The first episode finally premiered Friday, and despite previous attempts to adapt a live-action version, this one may surprise fans and newcomers in the best possible way.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

We open with Peter Serafinowicz’ narration, finally showcasing his American accent.  Thankfully, it doesn’t sound half bad. Being British and known for his commanding UK inflection, there were some concern about his casting, but he managed to pull off a very believable cadence.

An alien spaceship comes to earth in 1908 carrying what turns out to be the world’s first superhero, Superian. After the intro, we meet Arthur (Griffin Newman) watching an interview of the aforementioned hero discussing his nemesis, The Terror. Arthur is, for whatever reason, attempting to find this supervillain, unconvinced that he’s dead, contrary to public opinion. During a stakeout of a local power plant, he discovers a group of henchman smuggling what we can recognize as the famous “bunny suit”, the moth costume that will eventually become his super-suit.

Despite his stealthiness, Arthur’s cover is nearly blown by the arrival of a massive, blue superhero introducing himself as The Tick. True to fashion, this Tick has his usual penchant for haphazardly bounding destructively across the city while spouting his colorful metaphors, even if they don’t always make sense.

Arthur’s encounter with The Tick results in his being arrested for trespassing, but the incident leads us to discover the root of his obsession with The Terror. Earlier, we learned of a once revered superhero team known as the “Flag 5” who had been gunned down by The Terror’s goons once they were blinded by “weaponized syphilis”. The whole endeavor happened in public, which left his father dying in the crosshairs and left Arthur an emotionally broken mess from then on.

Failing to heed Arthur’s tactical method of “finesse”, The Tick laughs his way through the henchman as their bullets ineffectively bounce right off his barreling brawn. Leaving destruction and chaos in his wake (you know, “hero’s work”), he returns to Arthur, the moth suit and a dim-witted rhetoric about destiny in tow.

All things considered, the newest version of ‘The Tick’ seems to be far more promising than anyone could’ve imagined. The layout doesn’t feel the need to skimp on the adult humor or gratuitous violence, but still manages to find an even balance with the wacky shenanigans we’ve come to love from the cartoon and comics in a coherent, well-executed way. The whole story seems to be concise, simple, utterly hilarious, and despite any previous doubts FOX’s adaptation may have engendered, this series looks to be a hilarious romp sure to please diehard fans everywhere.