History WesternAnimation / TheTick

* AnimalThemedSuperbeing - The Tick... even if he doesn't actually suck blood. Also, Arthur is not a bunny, he's a moth (At least he could fly like one with his folding wings).
** Not to mention Sewer Urchin, Die Fledermaus, The Ant, Man-Eating Cow, Bumbling Bee, Caped Cod, Portuguese Man-of-War, Cockroach, The Praying Mantis, Blowfish Avenger, Caped Chameleon, Captain Lemming, Fishboy, The Angry Red Herring, The Fin, Octo-Raymond, Shiela Eel, and more.

* AnimatedShows

** There's also Belgian superheroine Eclair, a one-shot character from "The Tick vs. Europe." She is more androgynous-looking than Jungle Janet, though.

* AntiHero: Parodied with Big Shot, [[AffectionateParody a satire on]] [[NinetiesAntiHero the type of gun-toting psychotic vigilantes popular in the 90s]], who's revealed to be deeply psychologically unstable and unsuited for crimefighting.

* BodyHorror: "ARTHUR! My mustache is touching ''my brain''!" [[TruthInTelevision Actually possible]] - a little bit of your brain actually does protrude into your sinuses (that's how you can smell). Also, The Tick's transformation in "Coach Fussel's Lament."

* BreakoutCharacter: [[MadBomber The Evil Midnight Bomber]] [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment What bombs at Midnight!]] ("Yeah, baby!") has a rather strong cult following.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Arthur is pretty competent in a variety of things, once you look past he's in a giant moth suit all the time.

* TheCameo: The 10th anniversary re-release of Tick issue #1 has a bonus segment showing Tick's escape from an insane asylum. It turns out [[Series/TheMuppetShow Dr. Bunsen and his assistant Beaker]] ran the place.

* GracefulInTheirElement: Sewer Urchin in the, well, sewer.

* MyNameIsNotDurwood: In "The Tick vs the Uncommon Cold", the Tick kept mistaking Thrakkorzog's name until he purposely called him Susan.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed - Sewer Urchin has DustinHoffman's "Rainman" voice.

* AnalProbing = {{Subverted|Trope}}. When [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} The Tick]] is [[AlienAbduction abducted by aliens]], he is enthusiastic about being probed to expand interstellar knowledge, but it turns out the aliens actually want him to help defeat their enemies. The thought of probing him never crossed their minds.

* AmazonianBeauty[=/=]StatuesqueStunner - Jungle Janet of the Civic-Minded Five. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0p_2i8qMh4 On one occasion,]] an obviously smitten Tick tries to woo Janet with a rose and... a potato that grew on his armpit...
** He wasnt smitten, he was delerious from being doused with El Seeds growth formula.
** Also Eclair
* AntiHero: Parodied with Big Shot, a satire on the type of gun toting psychotic vigilantes popular in the 90s, whos revealed to be deeply psychologically unstable and unsuited for crimefighting.

* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever - The {{plot}} behind "[[CloudCuckoolander The Tick]] Vs. Dinosaur Neil."

** He seeks moustache advice from Taft, a man with a BadassMoustache [[{{Expy}} who is totally not]] {{Shaft}}.

* BodyHorror: "ARTHUR! My mustache is touching ''my brain''!" [[TruthInTelevision Actually possible]] - a little bit of your brain actually does protrude into your sinuses (that's how you can smell). Also, The Tick's transformation in "Coach Fussel's Lament".

* {{Expy}} - Die Fledermaus for Franchise/{{Batman}} and American Maid for WonderWoman Maid were already Expies in their own right. Also, Taft for {{Shaft}}.

* EyeScream: One of the retired old heroes from "Grandpa Wore Tights", The Visual Eye, had the power to eject his eyeballs from their sockets with the phrase "Rocket From The Socket", and fly them around for scouting purposes. In his old age, he can no longer control them as well, and when he sends them out, they simply flop to the floor, where the Human Ton ends up slipping on them like a pair of marbles.

** TheQuietOne - Sewer Urchin (Sometimes TheChick)

* GodGuise - Of sorts, as other inmates of the Evanston Asylum that escaped when The Tick did start worshipping him, forming the Mystic Order of Arachnid Vigilance. Which then underwent {{Defictionalization}} as The Tick's fanclub.

** Done again in a follow up episode where The Human Ton slips on The Visual Eyes ejected eyeballs, upon which Handy remarks that it was an "Oedipal moment". Once again, no one gets it.

* LimitedWardrobe: Tick and Arthur, and most of the other superheroes for that matter, are NEVER seen without their costumes, to the point where they usually sleep in them. In Ticks case, its debatable if it comes off at all. Arthur was seen without the bottom half of his suit in "Little Wooden Boy", after [[ItMakesSenseInContext Swiss mercenaries stole his pants]].

* MadScientist: The comic and cartoon being what it is, it has these guys coming out of its ears, but the most notable ones are the evil Dr Chrome Dome, Brainchild and the mostly good but somewhat quirky Professor Vatos, the creator of Arthurs flying suit, as well as Dr Mung Mung, a less villanous take on the YellowPeril, and the trouser-obsessed Dr Strangepants.

* MundaneMadeAwesome - To escape the Infinity Ball (see "FelonyMisdemeanor"), they're forced to use a new drive to get to the Speed of Lint!

--> '''The Tick''': "Uh.,. Crayons? Change? Lip Balm?"

* NietchzeWannabe: The Hey's, an alien race that concidentally happen to look exactly like Arthur, who have a species wide obsession with non-existance and the lack of purpose of life.

* PaperThinDisguise: Often used by Tick and Arthur, who will usually just wear obvious disguises over their costumes, and in one episode, Der Fledermaus "disguises" himself by putting a rake over his head.

* [[WhatKindOfLamePowerisHeartAnyway What Kind Of Lame Power Is xxx, Anyway?]]: Many heroes and villains have weird/marginal abilities: The Indigestible Man, Pig Leg/The Deadly Bulb, Bi-Polar Bear, the Caped Chameleon, the Carpeted Man, Four-Legged Man, Baby Boomerangutan, loads more...

** He wasnt smitten, he was delerious from being doused with El Seeds growth formula

* BreakoutCharacter: [[MadBomber The Evil Midnight Bomber]] [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment What bombs at Midnight!]] has a rather strong cult following.

* MadBomber - The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs At Midnight (yes, that is his full title).

* MundaneMadeAwesome - To escape the Infinity Ball (see "WhatDoYouMeanItsNotHeinous"), they're forced to use a new drive to get to the Speed of Lint!

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotHeinous - TheDreaded Infinity Ball, the most powerful weapon of the Hey Empire. Lampshaded by The Tick: "We have things like those on earth. We knock them into little pockets with sticks."

** The Tick himself qualifies, as well. When compared to most of the other "heroes" in The City, at least The Tick has the drive and focus to get the job done.

* LimitedWardrobe

** Stalingrad, a graduate villain who looks and acts like Joseph Stalin.

* SpikesOfVillainy - Baron Violent's costume.

* BadassGrandpa - The retired superheroes from "Grandpa Wore Tights," who despite their advanced age and failing powers, put up quite a fight against [[GiantMook The Human Ton]] and [[CompanionCube Handy.]]

** Not to mention the various, DickTracy esque villains, such as Zipperneck, who [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a zipper on his neck]] that he can pull down to expose the inside of his throat to horrify his opponents, Chairface Chippendale, Bolthead and countless others. Also worthy of mention is The Deadly Bulb/Pig-Leg, who for some unknown reason has a live pig in place of his right leg.

** Not to mention the various, DickTracy esque villains, such as Zipperneck, who [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a zipper on his neck]] that he can pull down to expose the inside of his throat to horrify his opponents, Chairface Chippendale, Bolthead and countless others.

In 2001, Creator{{FOX}} attempted to revive the series in a live-action format with {{Patrick|Warburton}} "[[Series/{{Seinfeld}} Puddy]]" [[PatrickWarburton Warburton]] as The Tick, details are [[Series/TheTick here]].

* AnimalThemedSuperbeing - The Tick... even if he doesn't actually suck blood. Also, Arthur is not a bunny.

1994 AnimatedSeries, a casual but incisive send-up of SuperHero shows (based on an independent comic by Ben Edlund written in the early 90s), featuring as its title character a super-strong, "[[NighInvulnerability Nigh Invulnerable]]" (or so he says), and (probably) insane moron with a hypertrophied sense of justice and {{melodrama}}, given to bold, thoughtless action and near-incomprehensible [[AnAesop Aesop]]-[[SpoofAesop like]] pronouncements. Assisting [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} the Tick]] in his daily struggle against the forces of Evil is [[BunnyEarsLawyer Arthur]], a former accountant, now moth-themed hero/{{sidekick}}. Frequently joining their adventures are [[HandsomeLech Die Fledermaus]] and [[ActionGirl American Maid]], two fellow crimefighters [[{{Expy}} who bear a funhouse-mirror resemblance]] to a pair of well-known characters from Franchise/TheDCU.

1994 AnimatedSeries, a casual but incisive send-up of SuperHero shows (based on an independent comic by Ben Edlund written in the early 90s), featuring as its title character a super-strong, "[[NighInvulnerability Nigh Invulnerable]]" (or so he says), and [[strike:probably]] insane moron with a hypertrophied sense of justice and {{melodrama}}, given to bold, thoughtless action and near-incomprehensible [[AnAesop Aesop]]-[[SpoofAesop like]] pronouncements. Assisting [[CloudCuckoolander the Tick]] in his daily struggle against the forces of Evil is [[BunnyEarsLawyer Arthur]], a former accountant, now moth-themed hero/{{sidekick}}. Frequently joining their adventures are [[HandsomeLech Die Fledermaus]] and [[ActionGirl American Maid]], two fellow crimefighters [[{{Expy}} who bear a funhouse-mirror resemblance]] to a pair of well-known characters from TheDCU.

[[CloudCuckoolander The Tick's]] adventures are evenly split between well-intentioned cluelessness and actual battles against supervillains. These villains -- such as Chairface Chippendale, [[DashingHispanic El Seed]], Brainchild, and the Terror -- are frequently just as bizarre as [[CloudCuckoolander the Tick]] and his allies. Some, like the Evil Midnight Bomber [[RepetitiveName What Bombs At Midnight]] (''"One of these days, baby! Milkshake! Boom!"''), have even developed their own fan followings.

In every episode, this program [[{{Deconstruction}} gleefully skewers the]] {{trope}}s and {{cliche}}s of the SuperHero [[{{Deconstruction}} genre, distorting and twisting them like Silly Putty until they can stretch no more and snap back to hit you in the face.]] The resulting lunacy has spawned a cult following that continues to this day.

In 2001, {{FOX}} attempted to revive the series in a live action format with Patrick "Puddy" Warburton as The Tick, details are [[Series/TheTick here]].

* BadassGrandpa - The retired superheroes from "Grandpa Wore Tights," who despite their advanced age and failing powers, put up quite a fight against [[GiantMook The Human Ton]] and [[CompanionCube Handy.]]

* ForScience - The primary motivation of most of the shows various mad scientists, most notably [[MadScientist Dr. Chrome Dome]].
* GeniusDitz: The Tick may be very, very ditzy in just about everything, but he has shown a certain level of philosophical thought in some cases. Especially so in the second episode of the live action series, where he learns that everyone (even potatoes) can die, and after thinking about it for about a minute, gives Arthur a motivating speech that ''actually makes sense''.
* GodGuise: Of sorts, as other inmates of the Evanston Asylum that escaped when The Tick did start worshipping him, forming the Mystic Order of Arachnid Vigilance. Which then underwent {{Defictionalization}} as The Tick's fanclub.
* GoodGuyBar: The Comet Club
* GratuitousLatin: [[GadgeteerGenius Milo]] from the supervillain team [[TinyGuyHugeGirl Venus and Milo]] spouts Latin phrases constantly.
* TheGreatestStoryNeverTold: In the comics, just to tweak Chairface Chippendale, his attempt to carve his name in the moon is hushed up and subsequently blamed on Charo.
* GrievousHarmWithABody: "Arthur, my body is a weapon. Use it!"
* HandPuppet: Handy, the Human Ton's good pal. Read a book!
* HighlyVisibleNinja: Parodied to the point of ludicrousness (just take a look at the picture on the trope page).
** The Flying Squirrel superhero student in "The Tick vs Education" proved to be pretty effective with her squirrels.
* HotBlooded: The Tick, especially in his more scenery-chewing moments.
* IAmNotWeasel: Arthur's moth costume is confused for a rabbit rabbit.
* IceCreamKoan: Many quotes by The Tick and The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs At Midnight.
-->''Gravity is a harsh mistress!''
-->''I hate broccoli, and yet, in a certain sense, I am broccoli.''
-->''You know, when a tomato grows out of your forehead, it gets you thinking.''
-->''I'm about to write you a reality check. Or would you prefer the cold, hard cash of truth?''
-->EMBWBAM: ''AN OBJECT AT REST, CANNOT BE STOPPED!''
-->''SURF'S UP, SPACE PONIES! I'M MAKING GRAVY WITHOUT THE LUMPS!''
* IdeaBulb: The terrorist group Idea Men have a light bulb logo.
* [[IdiotHero Idiot Hero]]
* ImAHumanitarian: Keith "Crime Cannibal" Donner, superhero with the power to ''eat human beings incredibly quickly''.
* IncrediblyLamePun: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hN-uCyWbjo "It's a YULE TIDE!!"]]
** Another episode had a gun that turned half The City into "[[RayGun some guy named Ray]]".
** Apparently there was also a "Tommy Gun" that did something similar.
* InTheNameOfTheMoon: "Sun-worshipping dog-launchers, you face... ''The Tick!''"

* JunglePrincess[=/=]NubileSavage: Jungle Janet.
* LampshadedDoubleEntendre: The Tick ''doesn't'' "know what they mean".
* LampshadedTheObscureReference: A hand puppet compared The Tick to Achilles in his tent. When no one, even his ventrilloquist, got it he said "It's from The Illiad. Read a book!"
* LanternJawOfJustice: Really, just look at the Tick's profile (preferably against the Tick-signal).
* LensmanArmsRace: The CIA made a sentient mustache, because "[[ColdWar The Russians]] were working on a ''beard''!".
* LetsGetDangerous: "That'll be QUITE ENOUGH OF THAT!"

* LiveActionAdaptation
* LoveFreak: The Tick. He avoids being a WideEyedIdealist simply by the world being only *slightly* less loony than himself.
* MadBomber: The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs At Midnight (yes, that is his full title).
* MagicPants: Subverted and lampshaded in ''The Tick vs. Dinosaur Neil'', where Dinosaur Neil's monstrous transformation renders him completely nude, causing a group of top scientists outside of The City to attempt to clothe him with the largest pair of pants.

* MatryoshkaObject: The Living Doll.
* {{Mayincatec}}: [[http://home.jps.net/~lsnyder/7_tick.html#aztecs The Deertown Aztecs]] are classic examples of this, right down to the trap filled temple pyramid.
* {{Meganekko}}: Arthur's sister Dot
* MetaphysicalFuel: The Whats' starships run on fear -- their own.
* MilesGloriosus: Die Fledermaus
* MiniDressOfPower: American Maid
* TheMonolith: In the comics, a Monolith upgrades a town full of farmers into full-blown [[ScienceRelatedMemeticDisorder mad scientists]].
* MonsterClown: The Proto-clown.
* MyBrainIsBig: Brain Child and Dr. Chromedome.

* NestedMouths: Thrakkorzog has a little face on his tongue that talks about eating brains.
* NinetiesAntiHero: Parodied with Big Shot.
--> ''Tick'': Guns and superheroes don't mix. Seek professional help.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Sewer Urchin has Dustin Hoffman's "Rainman" voice.

* NoExportForYou: Finally averted when the live-action version got its UK premiere, in January of 2011. [[FridayNightDeathSlot At 9PM on a Friday night]].
* NoNameGiven: The Tick
* PaperMaster: Papercut
* ParodiedTrope: About half the SuperheroTropes were spoofed, as well as various other tropes.
* PlantPerson : El Seed
* PokemonSpeak: The language of the Whats and the Heys.
* PullingThemselvesTogether: The Living Doll is, as his catchphrase goes, "full of tinier men". Of course, that means that once the fighting's over he has to round himself up and make sure he's got all of them in the right order.
* PunnyName: Scarf Ace, a knitting supervillain.
** For that matter, the "Rive Droite" bank whose fitting slogan is "The Right Bank for You"
* ReinventingTheTelephone: Parodying the Bat Signal

* RetroRocket: A miniature one was used as a JetPack by [[ActionGirl The Suffragette]] during her hero career.
* RobotDog: Brainchild has one.
* {{Roofhopping}}: But tends to smash the parts he lands on, and they don't take too kindly to that in Europe.

* SapientCetaceans: "The Tick vs Nevada" featured a dolphin who, like Blowhole, wanted to conquer mankind rather than amuse it.

-->'''American Maid:''' Oh well, I suppose I could do a lot worse.\\
'''Tick:''' Neat!
* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: Arthur in the live action series, making The Tick think it's a DistressedDamsel.
* ShesGotLegs: American Maid
* ShoutOut: To many sources, including ''Dick Tracy'' and TheDCU.
* {{Smurfing}}: The Whats mistake Arthur for a Hey and he still manages to get through an interrogation.
* SolarPoweredMagnifyingGlass: Evil giant ants plan to deliver {{Karmic Death}}s to all of humanity via one gigantic magnifying glass.
* SpikesOfVillainy: Baron Violent's costume.
* SpoofAesop ("You know, though today was the worst day of my life, I learned many things. First, the world looks a lot different when you're six inches tall and covered with feathers. Second, two heads are definitely not better than one. And finally, you can lay eggs and still feel like a man.")
* SuperBreedingProgram: El Seed had an ultimate goal of creating an army of super-strong animated plants.

* SuperheroPackingHeat: Parodied with Big Shot.

* ThisLooksLikeAJobForAquaman: Sewer Urchin, normally somewhat useless and meek, becomes a Badass in the episode where they have to battle his sewer-based archnemesis. Here, he is largely unflappable with just the right tools for the job and a pretty cool base of operations.
-->'''Arthur:''' (sotto voce) "Who knew Sewer Urchin of all people would be this cool?"
-->'''Sewer Urchin:''' (revealing that he heard Arthur just fine) "Down here I'm the apotheosis of cool."
* TheUnintelligible: The Idea Men, while theyre helmets are closed anyway.
* VillainsOutShopping: Which can turn even that into doing unspeakable evil.
* WatchWhereYoureGoing: Arthur manages to crash into ......LeonardoDavinci [[ItMakesSenseInContext while flying. Twice.]]
* WearingAFlagOnYourHead: American Maid
* WebcomicTime: "I dreamed I stopped existing for ''eight months!''"
* WeNeedADistraction "Hi, I'm Arthur, and this is my diversion!"
* WeWantOurJerkBack: With the ''villains'' bringing him back. "We've got to rescue the Blue Tick, who is also mad, but in a much more goal-oriented way."
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotHeinous: TheDreaded Infinity Ball, the most powerful weapon of the Hey Empire. Lampshaded by The Tick: "We have things like those on earth. We knock them into little pockets with sticks."
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotAwesome: To escape the above mentioned Infinity Ball, they're forced to use a new drive to get to the Speed of Lint!
--> What Interpreter: "Right after you do your laundry, what's the first thing you find in your pockets?"
--> The Tick: "Uh.. Crayons? Change? Lip Balm?"
--> What Interpreter: "Lint! And how does it get there?"
--> The Tick: "Uh.. I don't know!"
--> What Interpreter: "IT'S THAT FAST!"
* [[WhatKindOfLamePowerisHeartAnyway What Kind Of Lame Power Is xxx]]: Many heroes and villains have weird/marginal abilities: The Indigestible Man, Pig Leg/The Deadly Bulb, Bi-Polar Bear, the Caped Chameleon, the Carpeted Man, Four-Legged Man, Baby Boomerangutan, loads more...
* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: The Tick fights crime in a city named The City.
* TheWormThatWalks: "ANTS IN PANTS!"

* AlienAmongUs: Tick and Arthur get new neighbors in one episode: Thrakkorzog, some normal guy, and Thrakkorzog's brain-eating tongue.
* AllPsychologyIsFreudian - In one episode, [[CloudCuckoolander The Tick]] goes to see a psychiatrist. His "therapy" consists of being forced to wrestle the psychiatrist's assisstant [[strike: Shaft]] [[{{Expy}} Taft]] in various disguises.
--> ''Taft:'' Come on man, I'm your mother!
--> ''[[CloudCuckoolander Tick]]:'' No, you're not! You're Taft!
* AnimalThemedSuperbeing: The Tick... even if he doesn't actually suck blood. Also, Arthur is not a bunny.

* AnalProbing: {{Subverted}}. When [[CloudCuckoolander The Tick]] is [[AlienAbduction abducted by aliens]], he is enthusiastic about being probed to expand interstellar knowledge, but it turns out the aliens actually want him to help defeat their enemies. The thought of probing him never crossed their minds.

* AmazonianBeauty / StatuesqueStunner - Jungle Janet

* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever - The {{plot}} behind ''[[CloudCuckoolander The Tick]] Vs. Dinosaur Neil''.
* AuctionOfEvil -Takes place in the episode Coach Fussell's Lament
* AxCrazy - The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight
* BadassMustache -- [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZWXRIlAl9w This excerpt]] has [[CloudCuckoolander the Tick]] grow one.
** It didn't grow so much as...find its way onto his face.

* BadassNormal: In the cartoon at least, most of the heroes aside from [[CloudCuckoolander the Tick]] himself are this or at least trying to be this. Some have a gadget based gimmick like [[BunnyEarsLawyer Arthur]].

* BadGuyBar : The Evil Eye Cafe

* BadassGrandpa: The retired superheroes from ''Grandpa Wore Tights'', who despite their advanced age and failing powers, put up quite a fight against [[GiantMook The Human Ton]] and [[CompanionCube Handy.]]
* BalefulPolymorph: In the animated episode "Coach Fussell's Lament, Brain Child uses one of his inventions to turn the Tick into [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot a two-headed bluebird that only speaks high school French and lays chocolate eggs]]. Later, as Arthur tries to reverse the transformation, he is briefly turned into a flatworm, a chimp, an ant, a sock and a cow before his sidekick finally finds [[ResetButton the button marked "NORMAL"]].
* BatSignal - [[CloudCuckoolander The Tick]] Signal first seen in [[CloudCuckoolander The Tick]] vs. [[BunnyEarsLawyer Arthur's]] Bank Account.

* BattleCry /CatchPhrase - ''''"SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!!!"''''

** This is averted in the Colombian Spanish dub, since they translated his name ''literally'' from German to Spanish and it's translated as ''La Rata Voladora'' (The Flying Rat)
* BodyHorror: "ARTHUR! My mustache is touching ''my brain''!" [[RealLife Actually possible]] - a little bit of your brain actually does protrude into your sinuses (that's how you can smell). Also, The Ticks transformation in ''Coach Fussels Lament''.
** In the animated episode "Armless But Not Harmless", the Tick and Arthur are struck by a ray [[BloodlessCarnage that causes their arms to fall off]]. The Tick takes his sudden debrachiation in stride. Arthur…not so much:
--->'''Tick:''' (clears throat) All right…uh…this is quite a pickle. But no reason to panic, Arthur.
--->'''Arthur''': ''(long, anguished scream)''
--->'''Tick''': (spots a [[PhoneBooth phone booth]]) Ah…come along, Arthur! We'll call for assistance!
--->'''Arthur''': ''(screams again)''
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Authur is pretty competent in a variety of things, once you look past he's in a giant moth suit all the time.

* TheCameo: The 10th anniversary re-release of Tick issue #1 has a bonus segment showing Tick's escape from an insane asylum. It turns out [[TheMuppetShow Dr. Bunsen and his assistant Beaker]] ran the place.

** In ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', of all places, The Tick gets one. Sentinel Prime is voiced by Townsend Coleman, resembles the Tick (he's large, blue and has a lantern jaw and antennae) and even speaks like the Tick at times. The biggest difference being that Sentinel is a {{Jerkass}} instead of a CloudCuckoolander.
* CaptainGeographic: American Maid
* CardCarryingVillain: Many of the antagonists, particularly Chairface Chippendale and The Terror.
* CatapultToGlory: the Human Cannonball.

* ChefOfIron / EvilChef - The Breadmaster
* TheCity, called, oddly enough, "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The City]]". It's said to have been poorly Anglicized from the French "Les Citrons" (The Lemons). Apparently early French explorers found a large quantity of ''some'' kind of fruit in the area.

* CloserToEarth (American Maid, compared to Die Fliedermaus and most of the rest of the cast)
* CloudCuckoolander: Tick, turned to 11.
** ''11?'' The Tick's dial goes all the way to "Justice"!
* CombatStilettos: [[ActionGirl American Maid]] wears them and actually uses them in combat as throwing weapons.
* ContinuityNod: Countless examples, in addition to the DefaceOfTheMoon example below. In one case, Handy loses one of his eyes at the end of "The Tick vs. Arthur's Bank Account" and when Handy returns in "Grandpa Wore Tights", he's wearing an eye patch.
* ConservationOfNinjitsu: In the comics. The third issue is titled appropriately "Night of a Million Zillion Ninjas" and they're every bit as ineffective as you'd expect with such large numbers. Justified in part by the revelation that Ninja has become a cheap franchise.
* CurbStompBattle: Tick versus the Infinity Orb.
* DashingHispanic: El Seed, to a certain degree.
* DatingCatwoman: Die Fledermaus meets his own personal Catwoman when he encounters The Ottoman, a stylish woman who knows everything about furniture.
* DeadLittleSister: Little Wooden Boy

* DefaceOfTheMoon: An aborted attempt by Chairface Chippendale to write his name. The letters "CHA" appear on the moon as a ContinuityNod.
** Later the Tick successfully blows up the C, but is blown off the moon before he can complete his job, leaving a "HA" on the moon. Later that episode, a CaptainErsatz of Galactus takes a bite out of the moon, which also remains.

**** Maybe he intended to write just "Chairface".
* TheDitz: The Tick.

* DopplegangerSpin: Multiple Santa, who duplicates whenever touched by an electrical spark.
* DumbMuscle: The Tick himself.
* EarlyBirdCameo: In one issue of the comic book, a mysterious female figure wearing a flying suit identical to Arthur's appears in a few panels. The comic ended before her story was revealed, but she later appeared in the animated series as Carmelita Vatos, [[MadScientistsBeautifulDaughter daughter of the suit's inventor]] and (eventually) Arthur's love interest.
* {{Egopolis}}: Pineapple Pokopo and Pokoponesia.
* EmbarrassingOldPhoto: In The Tick vs. Brainchild.
* EnfanteTerrible: Charles/Brainchild, who was also a MadScientist.
* EldritchAbomination: Thrakkorzog, Tun-La Not Of This Earth.
* EurekaMoment: Given the less than stellar intellects of many cast members, these tend to be gems such as "...Water. People swim... in ''water''!"
* {{Expy}} - Die Fledermaus for Batman and American Maid for Wonder Woman Maid were already Expys in their own right. Also, Taft for {{Shaft}}.
* EverythingsBetterWithCows: The Man-Eating Cow, possibly-heroic scourge of the criminal underworld and star of her own spin-off comic.
* EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys: Yank.
* EvilPlan: Parodied in the pilot episode, when the heroes catch one of the Idea Men and demand he tells them his scheme:
-->'''Idea Man:''' Well, we thought we’d steal a lot of money, and then we’d be rich, and we wouldn’t have to work anymore!
-->'''Tick:''' You ''cads!''
* EsperantoTheUniversalLanguage: "Actually, Tick, I've taught myself to speak all your Earth languages. Except Esperanto. * chuckles* You could see ''that'' one was going nowhere."
* EvilOldFolks: The Terror, a crazy old has-been supervillain who used to be buddies with Stalin. Back in the day he used to be a credible threat; these days, not so much, but he still gives Arthur and The Tick a good go of it.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs At Midnight.
* ExpospeakGag: Google "acetylsalicylic acid".

* FantasticVoyagePlot: Without as much shrinking though. The just needed to get into Dinosaur Neal's body to remove the dinosaur DNA.
* {{Feghoot}}: the episode ''The Tick Loves Santa''. Dear GOD, the episode ''The Tick Loves Santa''
* FiveManBand: Of Sorts.

** TheLancer - Die Fleidermaus (Sometimes American Maid)

** TheChick / ActionGirl - American Maid/Carmelita on occasion.

** There was an actual one in ''The Civic Minded Five''
* FlowersForAlgernonSyndrome: in the episode "The Tick versus Pineapple Pokopo."
* FootFocus: Find a fighting scene with American Maid
* ForScience: The primary motivation of most of the shows various mad scientists, most notably [[MadScientist Dr Chrome Dome]].
* FranchiseZombie: Ben Edlund wants to focus on science fiction and horror for his entertainment output. Fans keep asking for more of The Tick. He's apparently grown quite disgusted with the character as a result.

* JunglePrincess: Jungle Janet

[[CloudCuckoolander The Tick's]] adventures are evenly split between well-intentioned cluelessness and actual battles against supervillains. These villains -- such as Chairface Chippendale, [[BadassSpaniard El Seed]], Brainchild, and the Terror -- are frequently just as bizarre as [[CloudCuckoolander the Tick]] and his allies. Some, like the Evil Midnight Bomber [[RepetitiveName What Bombs At Midnight]] (''"One of these days, baby! Milkshake! Boom!"''), have even developed their own fan followings.

* BadassSpaniard: El Seed, to a certain degree.

In 2001, {{FOX}} attempted to revive the series in a live action format with Patrick "Puddy" Warburton as TheTick. American Maid and Die Fliedermaus were [[ExiledFromContinuity absent due to licensing and rights issues]], being replaced by [[CaptainErsatz near-lookalikes]] Captain Liberty and Batmanuel. Although some of the animated show's style and wit was retained, along with different humor, it was too expensive to have {{the protagonists}} actually battle evildoers, so the show was often more ''Seinfeld''-in-tights, although did provide some comedic {{Deconstruction}}s. It was canceled before it could run a whole season. ''Where's the siege?!'' (Probably didn't help anything that the last Episode, ''The Terror'' was scheduled to run on 9/11/2001.) Watch it legally [[http://www.crackle.com/c/The_Tick here]].

* CallBack: Batmanuel is referred to as Die Fliedermaus by Destroyo in "The Tick vs The Trial".

** In ''TransformersAnimated'', of all places, The Tick gets one. Sentinel Prime is voiced by Townsend Coleman, resembles the Tick (he's large, blue and has a lantern jaw and antennae) and even speaks like the Tick at times. The biggest difference being that Sentinel is a {{Jerkass}} instead of a CloudCuckoolander.
* CaptainGeographic: American Maid and Captain Liberty.
* CaptainPatriotic: Captain Liberty is a spoof of this.

* CleavageWindow - Captain Liberty's outfit in the live action show has a star-shaped window. Destroyo remarks on it in his HannibalLecture.

* {{Expy}} - Since the live action version couldn't get all the rights to characters from the animated version, Die Fledermaus became Bat-Manuel and American Maid became Captain Liberty.
** For added hilarity, [[strike: Batman]] Die Fledermaus and [[strike: Wonder Woman]] American Maid were already Expys in their own right. Also, [[strike: Shaft]] Taft.

** Also, the [[TakeOurWordForIt off-screen]] fifty-foot fire-lactating bovine known as Apocalypse Cow in the live-action version.

* HannibalLecture: Parodied with Destroyo in the live action series. Trying it on Captain Liberty just made her not able to shut up about insecure she was.

* ItsAllAboutMe: Sure Destroyo tried to nuke The City, but Batmanuel had the right of way, and he should not get higher car insurance because of it.

* OutWithABang: Captain Liberty sleeps with The Immortal, which somehow gives him a heart attack and kills him. This was a guy who once fought a man made out of black holes!

* AxCrazy - The Bomber What Bombs at Midnight

* AttackofThe50FootWhatever - The {{plot}} behind ''[[CloudCuckoolander The Tick]] Vs. Dinosaur Neil''.

** In the animated episode "Armless But Not Harmless", the Tick and Arthur are struck by a ray [[BloodlessCarnage that causes their arms to fall off]] [[IGotBetter (they get better)]]. The Tick takes his sudden debrachiation in stride. Arthur…not so much: