The Tick

Secret identities, never been a fan.

Why play billionaire playboy,

alcoholic industrialist,

or a mild-mannered something-or-other

when you can be a 24/7 champion of goodness?

Cat-Man-Dude, Hoboken's half-man,

half-cheetah superhero, was arrested by police today

for a series of maulings outside a local YWCA.

Cat-Man, what happened out there? -Listen to me.

Those people weren't mauled.

They were mangled.

I'm being framed by The Mangler!

Another shocking development

in the Cat-Man-Dude case.

In an unprecedented move,

the district attorney's office

has unmasked the jailed superhero,

revealing his true identity as Mads "Murph" Murphy,

a local dairy farmer and owner of a sanctuary

for retired circus animals.

After the papers printed his real name

and photo, The Terror's goons broke into

Cat-Man-Murphy's compound,

executed his puma wife and their litter of child-kittens.

- That's messed up. - On a bunch of levels.

So the Feds enacted the 28th Amendment.

Prohibits law enforcement from exposing a super's identity,

or place of residence.

Also means a lot of paperwork.

You sure you want to go down this road?

- Tell us again what happened. - Uh...

It was like he was looking for some place to keep his knife,

and no place was good enough.

This was the guy in black,

the "robo-ninja," you said.

No. I said that he was a highly-skilled,

tech-based stealth assassin with a metal face

and superhuman reflexes.

Okay. Well, I already wrote down "robo-ninja."

Look, only a superhero can request protection

under the 28th; we don't have any of those here.

Okay. Well, I am one,

so, you know, you can't unmask me.

- What's your name? - Arthur.

Your superhero name is Arthur?

Y-Yeah, yes.

Yes. My superhero name is Arthur,

which is... that is different from my actual name.

Registration number?

Your number with AEGIS.

My number, my number with AEGIS. Right, yeah, uh...

It's, um, uh... I'm sorry,

I just haven't been carded in so long. Uh, nine.

Uh, o-one. Nine-one.

S-Seven...

uh, teen.

Something you two need to see.

Security camera picked this up just before units arrived.

Holy hell. Is that...?

Overkill.

Looks like the little guy is telling the truth.

I'm gonna cut him loose.

You don't want to check him out with AEGIS first?

That agency's a bureaucratic black hole.

Could be weeks before we hear back.

Let's get a photo for the database, then kick him.

We got bigger problems if Overkill's in town.

Wait. Overkill? That was Overkill?

It's Overkill. It's Overkill.

Overkill.

Arthur.

How we doing?

Settling into the whole destiny thing?

I thought I might give you a helpful hint or two...

Guidelines, really.

Uh, mainly about all the stabbing. -What?

Look. I saw what you left of your attackers

back in that alley, and, uh, I have to say,

I found your approach a little bit on the murdery side.

I didn't kill those men, Tick.

Whew. I am so glad to hear you say that.

I was afraid we were gonna have to have "the talk."

- That was Overkill. - My thought exactly.

No. I'm saying it was this guy called Overkill.

He was an agent for AEGIS.

He spent years in classified war zones

as some kind of government-trained assassin.

They say he had a psychotic break

and just... went rogue.

I'm lucky to be alive.

That's the unmistakable rush one feels

just before embarking on a manhunt.

- Manhunt? - Yes, man!

Hunt! Let us hunker down

over the spore of this walking bloodbath

- before the trail goes cold. - Okay, Tick.

I'm gonna go upstairs and I'm gonna go to bed,

because I have work in the morning, okay?

Fair enough.

Wise not to stalk your prey

- bereft of rested mind. - No, I mean,

I mean, I have, like, real work. You know, my job?

At my office. I-I work at Fishladder & Sons Accounting.

I promised my sister I would go,

and she's picking me up in the morning.

Wait a sec. Is this one of those secret identity deals?

'Cause I have opinions on those.

No, it's-it's my only identity, okay?

I'm-I'm done. I'm done trying to convince the world

that The Terror is still alive.

I just want my life to go back to normal.

The longer I wear this suit,

it just makes me a target

and same for everyone else I care about.

That suit is the key to unlocking the true Arthur.

Destiny bestowed it on you for a reason.

Well, uh, you and-and Destiny are not allowed in.

You want me to use the fire escape?

No. I-I just, I want you to leave me alone.

Please. Just...

Hello? Is there anyone here

trying to kill me?

Wait. Stop, stop, stop.

Look, I'll just give you the suit back

and we can pretend this whole thing never happened, okay?

This business on your wall.

You had a 16-year-old news clipping

about a lab explosion.

And you're trying to link it to this new one in Urmania.

Why?

I think you know the answer to that question.

If I knew the answer, I wouldn't be asking.

Well, unless you were trying to toy with me. -

Okay. It's The Terror.

It's The Terror, he's behind it and others.

Where'd you get that from?

Same M.O.

Experimental weaponry disappears from laboratories, transports.

Scientists get killed in explosions.

The Terror's dead.

I was there.

I watched Superian kill him.

I mean, they found his teeth, for Chrissake.

If The Terror was alive,

I would be the one to know.

What are staring at?

Uh, nothing, nothing.

I'm the only left that knows who you are,

where you live.

The rest of my crew is wiped out,

largely thanks to you and your blue friend. -We had nothing

to do with those guys in the alley the other night.

- That was all... - Overkill.

Yeah... I heard.

Did he say anything to you about me?

What?

Uh, n-no. He just...

he said, you know, "Take off the suit."

And then, he, uh, he said the...

What's so special about this thing, anyway?

I don't know.

Maybe you should ask your new buddy.

Overkill.

Christian Soldier and his pious pooch, Onward;

the Mighty Atlas, Human GPS;

Sedona, the Wiccan Warrior;

Sharp Shooter, the Gregarious Gunslinger.

And their leader,

Man of Platinum, Uncle Samson.

Together, they make up the fantastic fighting force,

The Flag Five.

Arthur, buddy, it's late.

- You got school in the morning. - Okay.

Why are you all dressed?

Oh, I'm flying tonight.

Can I fly?

Well, maybe someday you'll...

Morning, sunshine.

Shit.

Police have just released the name

of the landscaper who was assaulted in his van

and subjected to a radioactive blast.

Clifford Richter of Notlob, Illinois

was taken to St. Eva Marie Presbyterian Hospital,

where his condition was listed

as stable, but growing at an accelerated rate.

Can I just get the usual with no sugar, please?

You need to do something first.

Oh, the poncho. Yeah, okay.

I have money.

I'm talking about your friend, The Tick Man.

- Mmm. - He will not leave my store.

Yeah, I'll take care of it.

- Arthur! - Hi, Tick.

What are you doing here?

Not buying anything, that's for sure.

Arthur, this is Ouma,

Goat's grandmother.

- Goat? - What?

- His name is Goat? - Of course he's Goat.