The Tick
Genre: Comedy/Superhero/Animation
Director: Pierre Perifel
Writer: Lon Charles
Based on the character created for comics and television by Ben Edlund
Voice Cast: Rob Riggle, Michael Cera, Alison Pill, Jimmy Tatro, Vanessa Hudgens, Neil Patrick Harris, David Alan Grier, Johnny Knoxville
Plot: The Tick (Rob Riggle), clad in a hospital gown over his classic blue costume, kicks open the heavy doors of his cell in a mental institution on the outskirts of The City. Security chases after him, but The Tick is already narrating his dramatic escape to an audience of none. "And so, like the storm itself, I rise! Unbound! Unstoppable!" The Tick pauses mid-sprint to scratch his head. "Why am I here again? Ah, hero stuff!" He launches forward, crashing the last wall of the hospital. He looks out at the skyline of The City in the distance and begins marching toward the lights on the horizon.
In a bland office, Arthur Everest (Michael Cera) sits hunched at his desk, crunching numbers as an accountant. He adjusts his collar nervously, revealing the corner of his moth costume peeking out. Arthur is called to his boss's office, where he is fired for wearing a superhero costume under his work attire. Arthur tries to plead his case, arguing that moth-themed attire is technically not a dress code violation, but his boss isn't willing to listen. Arthur walks out of the building with a box of his belongings.
Meanwhile in The City, a low, earth-rumbling roar silences the hustle and bustle of the city. A massive, scaly dinosaur, lumbers through the city streets. "Fear not, citizens! The Caped Wonder is here!" The City's famed superhero, the Caped Wonder (Johnny Knoxville) flies heroically through the city toward the chaos. He lands with theatrical flourish. His eyes land on The Tick, who has cluelessly wandered into the scene. The Caped Wonder orders The Tick to stand down or face his righteous fury. The Tick stares at The Caped Wonder in confusion. The dinosaur lets out a roar and lunges forward. With one quick gulp, The Caped Wonder vanishes into the dinosaur's mouth with one big gulp. The Tick squints at the dinosaur. Calling him by the name Neil, The Tick tells the dinosaur to spit up the superhero. Neil roars in The Tick's face. The Tick grabs Neil by the tail, slamming him into the ground. Neil retreats, leaving The Tick standing victorious on the streets of The City.
Among the stunned crowd of onlookers is Arthur alongside his disinterested sister Dot (Alison Pill). Dot turns to leave, telling Arthur to make sure he doesn't forget their mother's birthday. Just as Arthur is about to leave himself, The Tick's hand clamps down on his shoulder, accidentally ripping away at his suit, revealing his moth costume. The Tick comments that Arthur has the look of a sidekick and asks if he ever considered a career in the service industry... serving justice, that is.
In his dimly lit lair adorned with eccentric and priceless treasures, Chairface Chippendale (Neil Patrick Harris) - a villain born with a wooden chair for a head - watches footage of The Tick's heroics on a large screen. Chairface is intrigued by The City's newest hero - and pleased by the demise of the Caped Wonder.
The Tick and Arthur have lunch at a local diner. The Tick doesn't touch his meal. Arthur nervously asks what they should talk about, suggesting the subject of strategy. The Tick becomes wide-eyed excitement. Arthur asks about The Tick's origin story. The Tick scratches his head and tells Arthur that he doesn't really have any origin he can remember. He just woke up one day knowing one thing - that he must protect The City with every ounce of his super-powered being. Arthur asks if he really can't remember anything before today. The Tick earnestly proclaims, "Not one thing!"
After their conversation at the diner, Arthur and The Tick walk down the streets of The City. The Tick begins asking about Arthur's secret base, commenting that he's between one right now. They arrive at Arthur's modest apartment. The Tick's towering frame barely fits through the front door. The shelves in the apartment are crammed with comic books and the table is covered with half-finished blueprints or moth-themed gadgets. The Tick points to an empty corner and announces that he'll set up camp there. Arthur tries to explain that his apartment isn't a secret base - it's where he lives - but The Tick begins making right at home. Arthur gives in and allows The Tick to stay with him but pleads with him to not break anything or talk to the neighbors.
Arthur wanders the streets of The City, trying to make sense of the chaos he's been pulled into. He turns a corner and finds The Tick waiting atop a fire hydrant, dramatically posed as if he’s been expecting him all along. The Tick declares that destiny clearly intends for them to be a team. Arthur tries to deny it, insisting he’s not a sidekick, but The Tick is unfazed. He gestures to Arthur’s moth-themed suit and says it’s proof enough. With no room for protest, The Tick starts marching toward a nearby diner, announcing that justice runs best on a full stomach.
Inside a quiet, old-school diner, Arthur sips coffee while The Tick flips through a laminated menu like it’s a sacred text. They sit awkwardly in a booth, The Tick barely fitting. Arthur asks where The Tick came from. The Tick admits he has no idea. He remembers waffles. He remembers justice. Beyond that, it’s all blank. Arthur asks if he at least remembers his real name. The Tick shakes his head—he only knows what matters: the urge to fight evil and the fact that he feels amazing in his suit. The Tick hammers the table and loudly orders “two of your strongest breakfasts—justice-style!” Arthur just quietly asks for more coffee.
Their meal is interrupted by the sounds of a loud explosion down the street. Without hesitation, The Tick leaps into action, urging Arthur to follow. Arthur hesitates but runs in after him. Suddenly, another hero arrives - Die Fledermaus (Jimmy Tatro), who makes a flashy entrance and loudly proclaims his superiority. Arthur isn’t impressed. Moments later, American Maid (Vanessa Hudgens) charges into the fray with precision and focus, taking down several henchmen with swift strikes. The Tick joyfully tosses goons like beach balls. Die Fledermaus mostly lurks in the background, offering sarcastic commentary and keeping his distance from actual combat. American Maid handles business quickly and cleanly. Arthur takes cover behind a vendor cart. One henchman charges him, and Arthur panics, but manages to knock him out with a broom handle. He’s shocked he pulled it off.
After the last henchman flees, a giant screen flickers on overhead. Chairface Chippendale appears. He praises the heroes for delaying his plans but warns them that the true spectacle is coming: he intends to carve his name into the Moon. Everyone stares in disbelief. The Tick stares at the sky with confusion and declares the Moon “too pure” for graffiti. Arthur points out the absurdity, but American Maid notes Chairface has the money and tech to try something this big. Die Fledermaus groans and asks if they really have to stop him. The Tick nods solemnly and says evil never rests - and neither does justice.Arthur says they just had lunch. The Tick declares they need a second lunch as justice requires protein.
The heroes gather in the dimly lit City Hall, where Mayor Blank (David Alan Grier) addresses them with dramatic overtones and misplaced metaphors. He congratulates them for not completely failing. American Maid tries to focus the group. She suspects Chairface’s lunar weapon is being powered by stolen tech from the city's science museum and hints at someone inside City Hall helping him. Die Fledermaus is more interested in whether this mission will get media coverage. Arthur, visibly overwhelmed, points out that he’s not trained for any of this. The Tick, however, paces like a general preparing for war. He slams a fist into his open palm and declares they must "unchain the Moon from the clutches of facial furniture!"
That night, the team infiltrates the museum. Arthur hacks the security system using a laminated employee handbook. American Maid disables the patrols with grace and tactical precision. Die Fledermaus fakes a limp to avoid helping, while The Tick loudly declares each hallway cleared after stomping through it. In the main hall, they discover a makeshift launch device cobbled together with parts from city-funded projects. Evidence points clearly to Chairface - blueprints, his monogrammed gloves, and even a discarded headshot. Suddenly, a trap springs. Chairface appears via hologram, gloating that they’ve arrived just in time to fail. The exhibit room locks down with steel panels. Lasers activate. American Maid dives into action while The Tick uses his body to shield Arthur, absorbing multiple blasts with no real concern. Once the lasers shut off, The Tick brushes off the singed spots on his suit.
As the heroes regroup outside, sirens wail. A crowd has gathered. Descending from the sky with fanfare and a full brass intro is The Caped Wonder - somehow alive. He lands with authority, holding a press conference on the spot. He explains—very seriously—that he survived being eaten thanks to his emergency quantum-phase belt, which ejected him at the “last molecular moment.” Reporters nod like this makes perfect sense. As he begins to announce a new "Justice Initiative"... Neil the dinosaur, half-sedated and cranky, emerges from a nearby alley. Neil tail-slaps him into a billboard advertising Caped Water™, his bottled water brand. The billboard collapses.
On a nearby rooftop, Arthur, The Tick, American Maid, and Die Fledermaus regroup. Arthur stares at the Moon. The beginnings of a giant “C” are burned into its surface. He quietly admits he’s starting to feel like he belongs in this world. The Tick puts a massive arm around his shoulders and tells him that identity doesn’t come from memory - it comes from purpose. Arthur half-smiles.
Elsewhere, Chairface Chippendale puts the finishing touches on his Moon-laser array. The “C” is nearly complete. Tomorrow night, he’ll broadcast to the world as he engraves “H” and then “A” into the lunar surface. Chairface's pet Man-Eating Cow munches on office plants in the corner, grunting.
Tick, Arthur, and American Maid cram into Arthur’s cramped apartment. Tick is too large for the couch and knocks over half the kitchenette. He calls the place cozy but riddled with justice potential. Arthur has laid out a plan: sneak in through Chairface’s supply depot, bypass his perimeter alarms, and disable the weapon from the inside. American Maid adds that she’s recruited help. Die Fledermaus arrives wearing an unnecessary stealth suit and holding a latte. He offers zero tactical advice but insists he’ll be in all the photos. Tick volunteers to be the decoy, boasting that laser blasts tickle like compliments from a cactus.
That night, the team makes their move. Arthur and American Maid climb a maintenance duct while Die Fledermaus “covers the rear” - really just loitering near the getaway van, practicing hero poses. Tick charges the front gate. Alarms blare. Laser turrets activate. Guards in high-tech armor engage him. Inside, Arthur hacks through the control systems while American Maid disables the energy cores. They find Chairface’s control chamber empty. A prerecorded hologram appears. Chairface grins, announcing that this was all a trap… to lure them away from his real target. He’s not just branding the Moon. He’s going to carve CHAIRFACE across the entire sky - using orbital satellites. Outside, while trying to get the radio to pick up the oldies station, Die Fledermaus accidentally upon a satellite feed from Chairface’s real location: an abandoned observatory high above The City. Chairface has been operating from there, using the tower as a decoy. Die Fledermaus panics and tries to radio the team. No one answers. He shrugs, takes a selfie, and runs. Meanwhile, Arthur realizes the trap too late. Chairface triggers a collapse of the facility they’re in, forcing a desperate escape. The Tick bursts through flaming wreckage, carrying his teammates on his back. As they run, Arthur points to the sky. The Moon now reads “CHA.”
The Tick, Arthur, American Maid, and Die Fledermaus pile into an emergency-response hovervan “borrowed” from City Hall. Dot reluctantly joins as their driver after Tick begs her with a strangely poetic monologue about destiny, sandwiches, and moonlight. Dot, unblinking, says she doesn’t care about the Moon, but she’d prefer it didn’t say “Chairface.” She hits the gas. The hovervan roars. Arthur, holding the laser schematics, reveals the observatory's exact location.
Chairface adjusts the trajectory of the beam as the laser finishes the "I" in his name. Just then, the observatory roof explodes. The Tick crashes through on a zipline - "It's justice o'clock!" Chairface hurls a switchblade-tipped cane. The Tick eats it. Literally. Says it tastes like cowardice. Outside, American Maid disables the antenna array while Die Fledermaus distracts guards by pretending to be an elite ninja. Dot provides sniper support with tranquilizer darts, mostly hitting the floor. She remains eerily calm about it. While Tick faces Chairface, Arthur slips into the control room and tries to override the laser feed. A countdown blinks on the screen indicating the completion of the next letter in Chairface's name. Arthur taps into his old accounting mindset. He treats the system like a bloated spreadsheet: find redundancies, eliminate loopholes, redirect input values. He manages to redirect the satellite signal... directly back at the observatory. Chairface deploys a final weapon: a mechanical exosuit shaped like a giant golden top hat, with monocle lasers and extendable mustache whips. Chairface and Tick clash. Tick is thrown through a wall of planetary charts, gets up, and throws Chairface into a gyroscope. Tick climbs the scaffolding and leaps, punching the satellite feed cable just as Arthur reroutes the beam. The redirected laser fires skyward—then turns - slamming down into the observatory’s satellite dish. When the light fades, the Moon now reads: "CHAAAAAAaaa...." Chairface is buried in debris, his mustache limp and sparking. Man-Eating Cow wanders over and sits on him.
In the aftermath, Mayor Blank declares a city-wide holiday: Tick Day. The mayor tries to take credit, but reporters focus on the heroes. American Maid turns down a Senate run. Die Fledermaus tries to sell a memoir but no one wants it. Dot goes back to work like nothing happened. Arthur is offered his accounting job back... but declines. He’s found purpose in chaos.
Back in Arthur’s apartment, Arthur makes coffee and eats toast. Tick bursts in with a new mission: a suspicious goose is causing problems in Midtown! Arthur sighs and asks if he can finish his toast. The Tick pauses, deep in thought. He declares that while justice waits for no man... or goose... it can wait for something as important as toast! They leap off the balcony, Arthur reluctantly following.
