The Tick (2016) / Characters

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Arthur

"Arthur" (Arthur Everest)

A troubled accountant who's convinced that The Terror faked his death. Unfortunately for him, destiny is calling and The Tick is going to make sure that he answers the call.

Adaptational Badass: While it takes him a fair amount to get to the level of courage and assertiveness his other iterations have, his suit is perhaps the most powerful one he's ever had.
Ambiguously Jewish: Unlike in the other iterations of The Tick, there is never a single allusion to Arthur or his family being Jewish, and his surname "Everest" is of Anglo-Saxon origin. Ironically, Griffin Newman is the first Jewish actor to actually portray the character.
Atrocious Alias: His superhero name is... Arthur.
Badass Bureaucrat: Season 2 shows him to have an uncanny skill for navigating the Vast Bureaucracy that is AEGIS, thanks to his background as an accountant.
Conspiracy Theorist: His belief that The Terror is still alive, piecing together various crimes from around the world and attributing them to The Terror. He's right.
Dare to Be Badass: The Tick spends the first season encouraging Arthur to surpass his limits, believing he has a great destiny ahead of him.
Dark and Troubled Past: He watched his father die right in front of him, at the hands of Terror, during the same attack where he wiped out the Flag Five. Then the Terror outright mocked him about it and stole his Ice-cream, with a photo of it ending up on the cover of TIME Magazine. It was this tragic day that sparked Arthur's obsession towards finding The Terror. Even the police interrogators questioning him suddenly become more gentle after learning about this.
First-Episode Twist: His father's death due to The Terror considerably influenced his background.
How Do I Shot Web?: Has a very, very difficult time figuring out how his suit works. It doesn't help that its interface is in a foreign language and it only took him until halfway through Season 1 to get the hang of it. Eventually, Kamarazov sets the suit's language setting to English, allowing Arthur to understand and utilize its features.
Hypercompetent Sidekick: The Tick admits that he needs Arthur to guide him.
I Just Want to Be Normal: Arthur honestly just wants to put the business with the Terror behind him and have a normal life. However, his obsession with proving the Terror is still alive, and then the Tick's interference keeps dragging him away from it.
It's Personal: His obsession with proving the Terror is still alive stems from the Terror causing his father’s death. He’s at best annoyed by the rampant crime in the City, until the Tick pressures him into helping clean it up.
Meaningful Echo: Gives an extremely cathartic one to the Terror himself, using the man's own Catchphrase and the season's Arc Words in the first season finale.
Arthur: You got nothing!
Mistaken for Gay: Not just by Danger Boat, but by his family as well. The Tick's loud declaration that they are "partners" doesn't help.
Named by the Adaptation: This is the first iteration of Arthur to actually give him (and his sister Dot) a last name, namely "Everest".
Moth Menace: Karamazov must have thought so, based on the design of the suit. In practice... Well, at least this version's not quite as easily mistaken as being a bunny costume.
Opaque Lenses: His moth suit in the pilot episode and the first half of the next one, only for the lenses to become transparent, similar to aviation goggles, from that point on.
Powered Armor: The moth suit. As well as allowing him to fly, it's also bulletproof and loaded with other technology. It's also crucial to the Terror's plan to kill Superian.
Refusal of the Call: With the Pyramid Gang after his suit, Arthur spends several episodes trying to just give it to them in the hopes that they won't kill him. When that doesn't pan out, his first instinct still isn't to fight crime, but to deliver all of the information he's gathered to A.E.G.I.S..
The Mentally Disturbed: Due to watching his father die when he was a child, Arthur suffers (or suffered) from trauma, PTSD and few other issues. He takes daily medication to help him deal with it. This leads to him coming to the conclusion the Tick was just a hallucination and that he had developed a Split Personality, both of which were immediately proved to be untrue. Come Season 2, with the revelation that he was right about the Terror being alive, Arthur and Joan begin to think he was misdiagnosed.
Secret Identity: Parodied. When in trouble with the police, he claims to be a licensed superhero to avoid getting an arrest on his record. When asked for his superhero name, he panics and says 'Arthur', meaning that his superhero name and actual name are one and the same.
Static Stun Gun: The suit comes equipped with hand tasers, which Arthur utilizes in the final episode to take down The Terror's goons.
You're Not My Father: "You're not my dad," to Walter. Probably more often than he needs to, although given the issues he's still working through after the brutal death of his father, understandable. Saying this is also about the closest he can get to saying thank you. Walter is so proud of him anyway.

The Tick

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ticktick2016.jpg

Portrayed By: Peter Serafinowicz

Armed with the strength of a crowded bus stop of men, impervious to virtually all physical damage and possessing boundless enthusiasm for doing good, the Tick has everything a superhero needs. Well, except for direction, but luckily he's found the perfect sidekick in Arthur.

Achilles' Heel: Whilst the rest of his body is Nigh-Invulnerable, the Tick's antennae are very sensitive, and grasping hold of them causes him extreme discomfort. This is something he didn't know himself prior to his fight with Overkill.
All-Loving Hero: He makes it a point to befriend everyone; he tends to be very good at this, quickly ingratiating himself with Arthur's family.
Amnesiac Hero: Doesn't remember anything before he met Arthur.
Because Destiny Says So: He attributes all his heroic deeds (and pretty much everything else that happens) to destiny.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: The Tick is a very capable superhero, effortlessly taking down mooks left, right and center. However, even he admits he's not very bright and is potentially outright insane.
Captain Obvious: "The key to successful falling lies in realizing that you are a falling person."
Costume Evolution: Suddenly and inexplicably changes costumes between the pilot and all the following episodes, which Arthur comments on but which the Tick himself doesn't notice/Hand Waves away. Mostly a case of Art Evolution and Leaning on the Fourth Wall — it happens again over the mid-season break. Season 2 has it happen again with him finding pieces of the old costume around the apartment like he's moulting, so it's happening in-universe.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: His lack of intelligence, Large Ham mannerisms, and habit of attributing everything to destiny aside, the Tick is implied to be powerful even by hero standards. Ms. Lint couldn’t even scratch him.
Ice-Cream Koan: He turns practically any sentence into a cross between Kirk Summation, Purple Prose, and Large Ham, and almost never makes a lick of sense.
Idiot Hero: Even he admits that he's not that smart.
Imaginary Friend: Implied to be one to Arthur as a way of coping with his trauma in the first episode. Averted when Dot states she can see him.
In a Single Bound: While he admits he can’t fly, the Tick can jump incredible distances and heights with ease. This is his main method of transport.
Inexplicably Awesome: Even he has no idea where he came from or why he has powers.
Journey to Find Oneself: His lack of a proper Superhero Origin and forgotten past start to weigh on him as the first season goes on. It's touched upon again in the second season, when he attempts to fill out forms for AEGIS membership.
Large Ham: Just about everything he does, he does in the most dramatic way possible, even making heroic monologues to himself when no one is listening.
Limited Wardrobe: He has one outfit, and he himself doesn't know if he's wearing a suit or if that's just... him. That he starts moulting in season 2 into his new updated look suggests it's the latter.
The Tick: Am I never naked or am I never not naked?
Multiple-Choice Past: Any time it looks like the Tick's Superhero Origin has been explained, no matter how much evidence there is, it's a fakeout, whether it's him being Arthur's own personal Tyler Durden in the first two episodes, or being a late-model Soviet super-robot, or being an escaped mental patient or various other suggested origins from past adaptations as lampshaded by Arthur.
Mythology Gag: He spouts a number of catchphrases uttered by his previous incarnations such as "Wicked men!" and "Go tell it on the mountain!"
Nice Guy: Tough as he is on criminals, the Tick is a friendly, sociable and cheerful fella. His main problems are his lack of intelligence and absolute faith in destiny. He may actually be the nicest version of the character, period.
Nigh-Invulnerability: A grenade launcher to the chest just throws him back and makes him consider it "impolite".
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When the Terror pulls a gun on Arthur, Tick abandons his usual cheerful metaphors and polite admonishments, openly threatening the Terror. What's even more frightening is how quietly he delivers his threat, compared to the loud, bombastic manner in which he usually speaks. Even the Terror himself notices this, and it actually causes him to hesitate a little.
Tick: If you pull that trigger, Terror... I will hurt you.
Ping Pong Naïveté: Wise enough to inspire, ignorant enough for cheap gags.
Readings Are Off the Scale: A.E.G.I.S. tests heroes' strength using a mechanical arm for them to arm-wrestle with. It's impossible to beat, with the result being calculated from how long it took you to lose. The Tick breaks it.
Secret-Identity Identity: Not a fan of them, for exactly this reason.
Stepford Smiler: In his down moments, it’s implied that not having any memory of who he is actually does bother him a lot more than he lets on.
Stealth Hi/Bye: He has an uncanny ability to silently appear or disappear beside Arthur, despite his size and usual noisiness.
Suddenly Fluent in Gibberish: Bakkup the Urmanian police android "speaks" in 56k modem beeps and whistles, but Tick seems to understand him perfectly.
Superhero Origin: He doesn't know his, although the show nods to the various guesses and hints dropped with previous versions of the character, without ever committing to any of them. Occasionally even played for a little pathos, though never for long — he spends the better part of two episodes believing he's a robot after meeting Bakkup, even as Arthur insists he's not.
Super-Strength: His other main power, apparent from his Nigh-Invulnerability. He possesses the strength of ten, twenty men, "a crowded bus stop full of men!"
Thou Shalt Not Kill: He strongly disapproves of killing, as well as heroes who choose to kill such as Overkill. However, villains who get themselves killed are fair game.
Weaksauce Weakness: His antennae are highly sensitive, and simply grabbing one can give an opponent the upper hand in a fight.
Wrong Genre Savvy: He believed that the flight suit he found during his raid on the Pyramid Gang warehouse was a superhero costume and gave it to Arthur as a gift. It's actually more of an elaborate suicide vest.

Vigilantes

Overkill

Overkill (Esteban)

Portrayed By: Scott Speiser

Reputedly a former AEGIS agent who went rogue, he's now a skull-masked vigilante whose modus operandi is Exactly What It Says on the Tin.

'90s Anti-Hero: He's a parody of violent antiheroes and wears black armor that makes him look like a mix of Deathstroke, Deadshot, and The Punisher. Essentially this series' equivalent to Big Shot from the cartoon.
Badass Bandolier: He wears a bandolier of shotgun shells despite never using a shotgun on the show.
Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Ms. Lint — not entirely unlike Captain Liberty and Batmanuel from the 2001 series, and American Maid and Die Fledermaus from the cartoon.
Berserk Button: One from his Mysterious Past: he was not a sidekick, Onward/Midnight was a mascot.
Canon Foreigner: Like Ms. Lint, however, he corresponds loosely with the recurring supporting characters from the previous two TV adaptations. Much more loosely than Ms. Lint, in fact — he isn't the style-conscious rake or layabout of either Batmanuel or Die Fledermaus, has nothing to do with bats, and far from being a coward, he's an extremely effective, hyperviolent antihero. He's still the show's resident Batman Expy (mostly through the voice, gadgets, and Ineffectual Loner aspects), ambiguously Hispanic (based on the name Esteban), and has a dysfunctional past relationship and unresolved feelings for Ms. Lint.
- He's also somewhat resembling the cartoon version of Big Shot (who was an Expy of Punisher).
Combat Pragmatist: Willing to use any combat tactic to win, the bloodier the better.
Comically Serious: He is a parody of Nineties Anti Heroes. Naturally he's going to take himself a little too seriously.
Creepy Blue Eyes: The Electronic Eyes behind the skull mask are a starting bright blue.
Cyborg: Has Electronic Eyes, cybernetic hands, and various other military-grade implants.
Dark and Troubled Past: Was once Straight Shooter, a member (or sidekick, if you believe Onward/Midnight) of the Flag Five... the one who had his hands crushed by the Terror. Hence his robot eyes and robot arms.
Establishing Character Moment: Overkill debuts by straight up killing the gangsters to whom Arthur wanted to return his suit.
Expy: As noted, of ultraviolent nineties antiheroes like Deathstroke, with an all-black color scheme and skull motif like the Punisher (which might also make him this series' equivalent to Big Shot from The Tick), as well as fellow grim gadget-based hero Batman. Later revelations reveal him to be one of Bucky Barnes, the former sidekick of a Captain Patriotic superhero who came back as a cyborg killing machine.
Foe Romance Subtext: With Ms. Lint. They've crossed paths before. When he was still Straight Shooter, the Terror had her seduce him in order to get the access codes to the Flag Five's Flagship. In the present, they clearly remain attracted to each other (though as Dot notes, in a very dysfunctional way).
Overkill: Did she say anything about me?
Given Name Reveal: Ms. Lint calls him by his given name, Esteban. Though that's not nearly as much of a reveal as his previous superhero name: Straight Shooter, of the Flag Five.
Hates Being Touched: He has intimacy issues which seem to stem all the way back to when Ms. Lint seduced him into giving up the Flagship's access codes.
Hero with Bad Publicity: Played With. Overkill is genuinely dedicated to bringing an end to crime, however, being a parody of the '90s Anti-Hero, his methodology is basically wholesale slaughter first, think of the consequences a very distant second. As such, it's pretty understandable that everyone else thinks he’s an unstable lunatic.
I Call It "Vera": Has a gun named "Shakira".
I Owe You My Life: Says this word for word to the Tick after saving him from the Terror's base collapsing on him. Since the Tick is virtually indestructible, Overkill doesn't know how to repay that, so Tick offers a way to make it up to him: never kill again. Overkill's not happy about it, but ultimately keeps his promise to the Tick (at least until Dot saves his life and "cancels" his debt to the Tick, which in his mind frees him from that obligation).
I Work Alone: Prefers to work alone following the deaths of his old team, the Flag Five.
Mind-Control Device: Has one implanted in him by Acting Agent Director Doctor Agent Hobbes. He is freed by it after the mind control device is broken.
Murder Is the Best Solution: His modus operandi when it comes to crime (hence his name) is to basically kill all the criminals, normally in the most brutal way possible.
Not So Above It All: Tries to hold himself seriously at all times, but often succumbs to the silliness of the setting. He's prone to petty bickering and jealousy, has a dance party before major missions, and treats the Tick making him promise not to kill in return for saving his life like a magic wish that needs Dot to unwish it.
Odd Couple: Tough to say who's the Oscar and who's the Felix, but Overkill is a murderous high-tech vigilante who works alone and eats nothing but cans of not-Spam, while Dangerboat is a friendly, openly gay A.I. who spends most of his time composing his own theme song.
Revenge Before Reason: His plan for dealing with the Terror is a suicide run with no escape plan as long as they kill their target.
Overkill: Revenge needs no exit strategy!
Stealing the Credit: Admits to Arthur that he only started hunting the Terror after reading through the evidence in his conspiracy reddit thread, but every time Overkill himself is asked how he knows the Terror is still alive, he claims it's due to his own "instincts."
Straight Man: Especially while working alongside The Tick.
Survivor Guilt: The real reason he works alone. If giving the Flagship codes to Ms. Lint is what led to the Terror's victory over the team, it's understandable why.
There Is No Kill Like Overkill: It's right in the name. His very first scene has him killing one thug by stabbing him in the top of the head.
Trademark Favorite Food: Fo-Ham, which he eats right out of the can. He appears to have no other kind of solid food stored aboard Dangerboat.

Dangerboat

Portrayed By: Alan Tudyk

The A.I. of Overkill's base of operations. Created by A.E.G.I.S.. Developed sapience in 2012 and is currently mostly occupied working on his own theme song.

Ass Shove: He excitedly slides a loofa sponge into Arthur's rear when he takes a shower in the cargo cannon.
Benevolent A.I.: Helpful, loyal, and a hell of a lot friendlier than Overkill.
Cool Boat: It is a boat with a sapient A.I. that serves as Overkill's sidekick/nagging roommate.
Cyber Cyclops: Has a ceiling-mounted webcam which serves as a face, of sorts.
Dark and Troubled Past: As revealed by Overkill DB could originally fly just like the other A.E.G.I.S. ships. While celebrating his one year birthday with his pilot Michael, DB became distracted and crashed into the ground. Michael died immediately, with him splattering into the grating. Ever since, DB swore to only act as a boat and never fly again.
Deadpan Snarker: Prone to making sarcastic remarks, primarily directed at Overkill.
Heterosexual Life-Partners: He's not Overkill's boat. They just live together, a fact which Dangerboat is quick to point out to the Tick.
Home Base: Is this for Overkill.
Instant A.I.: Just Add Water!: Went A.I. in 2012. Exactly how it happened is never elaborated upon.
Monster Roommate: Sentient speedboat roommate. Is also the room they both live in.
Noodle Incident: Gained sapience back in 2012. Neither Dangerboat nor Overkill act like this is an especially big deal.
Odd Couple: The Alfred to Overkill's Batman. Overkill is a brooding loner who eats nothing but cans of not-spam, where Dangerboat is cheerful and outgoing and has a water massage in his shower.
This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: He's physically incapable of helping the protagonists while they're on land because he's stuck at the pier. He can actually fly, but the last time he did his then partner, Michael, died when DB became distracted and crashed into the ground.
Voice with an Internet Connection: For Overkill. Occasionally he calls the other characters on the phone, as well.

Dot

Dorothy "Dot" Everest

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dottick2016.jpg

Portrayed By: Valorie Curry

Arthur's sister, a paramedic and roller derby enthusiast.

Action Girl: Despite being a civilian with no special tools or advanced training, she still manages to sneak into a guarded facility, outwit Miss Lint, and rescue Overkill from torture. By Season Two, she's training herself to be Overkill's apprentice.
Adaptational Badass: She's trained in Krav Maga and has precognitive abilities.
Ascended Extra: In previous adaptations, she was Arthur's fairly one-note nagging/worried sister. Here she's a major recurring cast member, with her own subplots and character arcs.
Back-Alley Doctor: Starts out as one, pulling bullets out of bad guys and such. Her boss in this tries to talk her into continuing, but she says she's going back to being a legitimate medical practitioner. She returns to being one so she can gather intel for Arthur and the Tick from the criminals she patches up.
Big Sister Instinct: Has been looking out for Arthur since they were both children. However, her desire to keep him safe has also caused her to unintentionally smother him. As the Tick points out, he’s more capable than she believes he is.
Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: She's Arthur's caretaker, emergency contact, and serves as a voice of reason in contrast to the Tick. Subverted, however, when it turns out that Arthur was onto something all along, and in trying to protect him and make him normal, she's keeping him from finding a real identity of his own.
Combat Clairvoyance: Season 2 reveals she has precognitive skills. From what is shown, she is able to see a few seconds into the future. So far, her ability has ranged from saving a baby from having burning hot coffee accidentally spilled on it to being able to dodge bullets from Overkill while he was mind-controlled.
Dare to Be Badass: First when she's trying to find a captured Arthur, and later when she follows up on a lead on Ms. Lint, despite Overkill trying to warn her off. When the roles are reversed and Arthur's the one telling her not to put herself in danger, she starts hitting the firing range.
Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy: After Overkill leaves her with his gun she tries it out at a shooting range, she only hits the target once. He later gives her one more suited for her strength/size, with better results.
Only Sane Woman: The most together and down-to-earth, compared to the rest of the eccentric main cast.
Seers: In season 2 she activates a latent ability to see a few seconds into the future.
Story-Breaker Power: Implied by Kevin and Overkill. Her precognitive abilities seem to make her a game changer since she can use them to avoid getting hurt. It makes sense they don't want A.E.G.I.S. to find out about her.

Other Superheroes

Superian

Portrayed By: Brendan Hines

First and greatest of the superheroes.

Accidental Misnaming: Repeatedly gets names wrong while under the effects of Big Bismuth.
Ambiguous Criminal History: The end of Season 2 implies that Superian is a galactic criminal and that he came to Earth to hide, an alien presence appearing referring to him as a fugitive.
Beard of Sorrow: He's clean shaven in season 1. In Season 2, he's having problems dealing with people outright hating him for the first time and has stopped shaving.
Berserk Button: Do not attempt to harm a civilian in his presence.
Beware the Superman: As he goes increasingly off the rails in Season 2. Then there's his idea of going back in time by flying around the Earth and reversing its orbit. Of course, if it goes wrong... "Seven billion monkeys... boiling in the void..."
Big Good: He may be a little douchey, but he genuinely wants to be a good person.
Broken Pedestal: His popularity takes a major hit after it turns out the Terror wasn't dead after all. He copes with it... poorly, and winds up creating his own Humiliation Conga line with one bad idea after another.
Came from the Sky: Crashed to Earth aboard a giant meteorite made looking like a gigantic bismuth crystal.
Chronic Hero Syndrome: Answers the mass cries for help even while suffering from his Kryptonite Factor. He even admits that he does what he does because he simply wants to be a good person.
Dude Where Is My Respect: Despite saving the world many times, after season 1 it seems the world has begun hating him for not actually defeating the Terror when he thought he did. This massively bruises his ego and leads him to do some self-destructive things.
Establishing Character Moment: His first scene has him worrying about his reputation (establishing his issues with image and self-esteem) while insisting that the V.L.M. be stopped without harming him (establishing that he is, ultimately, trying to be a good person) and threatening the army to accomplish it (establishing his Beware the Superman aspects.)
Expy: For the comic's Clark Oppenheimer.
Eye Beams: That add pumpkin spice to coffee!
Flying Brick: He can fly and he has super strength.
Good Is Not Soft: He will not hesitate in threatening a government official the minute they start to threaten the life of a civilian. He also didn't lose any sleep for seemingly killing the Terror during their last fight.
Hero of Another Story: Doesn't contribute much to Arthur & co.'s story aside from jump-starting the era of superheroes, and there only is a brief scene of him trying to talk down the Very Large Man with the military. Then Overkill calls Arthur to clarify that his moth suit is designed to assassinate Superian...
Hollywood Mid-Life Crisis: His breakdown over the course of Season 2 has strong shades of this. Either that or the Kryptonite Factor did a bigger number on him than it looked like at the time.
Human Aliens: A perfectly human-looking extraterrestrial.
It's All About Me: After taking the blame for the Terror running around unchecked for years the media turns on him, despite all the good he has done. This severely wounds his ego to the point where he kidnaps the talking head who is badmouthing him, traumatizing the man with an unwanted superflight and absent-mindedly abandoning him in a Guatemalan jungle, and is later willing to time travel to a point before this happened by spinning the Earth around on its axis. While weighing the pros and cons, he realizes it might not work and he would doom billions of people by destabilizing the planet. He decides it's worth the risk, but thankfully is stopped at the last moment by an outside force.
It's All My Fault: He takes the blame for the Terror running around unchecked on the sly for years because he just wanted their exhausting rivalry to be over, and didn't even investigate too hard to see if his nemesis was really dead when it seemed to be the case.
Kryptonite Factor: The Terror's plan revolves around finding it. It turns out to be Big Bismuth, which hits Superian like a bad case of the flu.
Older Than He Looks: Looks about thirtysomething. It's not clear how old he looked when he crash-landed on Earth or how old his species can live to be, but the Tunguska Event was all the way back in 1908.
Real Event, Fictional Cause: In this world, The Tunguska Event was caused by his arrival on Earth.
Superman Substitute: He's the resident Superman parody. He even calls Big Bismuth "baggage" from wherever he's from.
Talkative Loon: After taking a hefty, prolonged dose of Big Bismuth, his Kryptonite Factor. His loopy behavior in Season 2 counts as well.
Took a Level in Jerkass: In the first season he was a little ditzy and had a Smug Super aura around him, but he was a genuinely good person. Even his taking credit for taking down VLM was non-malicious, as he was amnesiac from Big Bismuth poisoning and took his fans' word when they assumed he defeated him. In Season 2, however, public opinion souring over his failure to permanently bring down The Terror causes him to get much more abrasive and douchey.
The Tunguska Event: Caused it with his arrival on Earth, and with it, ushered in the age of superheroes.

Tinfoil Kevin

Portrayed By: Devin Ratray

A homeless man who loiters around Arthur's building, and one of the many random people The Tick befriends.

Cool House: Cool office, rather. He works out of the decapitated Humongous Mecha head in the vacant lot next to Arthur's apartment. He's still homeless, however, since he only works there.
Cloudcuckoolander: Which means he gets on really well with the Tick.
Crazy Homeless People: Subverted in that despite being a mentally unstable hobo, he is also a kind and helpful individual rather than a raving lunatic.
Early-Bird Cameo: Arthur passes him several times on the street in Where's My Mind before his official introduction in Party Crashers.
Gadgeteer Genius: With Karamazov's guidance, he's able to turn the Urmanian robot Bakkup into a functioning robot suit for Karamazov to pilot.
Hidden Depths: Big time. He's a technological savant, bathes regularly, and seems to understand the Tick's ramblings about purpose and destiny. And then there's the big reveal in the last episode of season 2.
Homeless Hero: Lives on the street outside of Arthur's house, but becomes a valuable ally to Arthur and the Tick.
Insistent Terminology: He's homeless, not officeless.
Invisibility: He's a Category, and possesses the ability to turn himself and anyone he's touching invisible.
Irony: Tinfoil Kevin believes the government is watching him and is extremely paranoid, wearing a tinfoil hat to hide. His power, invisibility, makes it so no one can see him, allowing him to perfect way to hide. With or without powers, he can go undetected.
Nice Guy: Arthur asks him to monitor his apartment while he's gone. He does this by going inside and cleaning it up for him.
Obfuscating Insanity: Downplayed but there. He wears a tinfoil a hat (hence the name), believes the government is always watching him and has devices made out of tinfoil to block his presence. As it turns out, he is absolutely correct. As a Category, the government is potentially watching him. His tinfoil devices are shown to work, such as the dampener he gives Dot so she can go undetected. More so, once he takes his tinfoil hat off, he has access to his invisibility powers, implying the tinfoil really does block outside observation to hide his identity and powers.
The Thing That Would Not Leave: Subverted. He is uninvited, but ultimately a pleasant and helpful houseguest.
Tinfoil Hat: Named for it.

Sage the Supernumerary

Portrayed By: Clé Bennett

A magic-based hero who arrives in The City after the AEGIS branch is reopened. He's a member of The Righteous Squad, but hopes to join the Flag Five because his team simply has too many members.

Composite Character: Combines Doctor Strange with Black Lightning, as a kind of Blaxploitation superhero wizard.
I See Dead People: Apparently senses the presence of ghosts, saying that AEGIS HQ is "haunted". Flexon says Sage says that about everywhere, but Sage says this building is "extra haunted". He might actually be right, depending on exactly what the Big Bad of Season 2 has been up to in A.E.G.I.S.'s labs.
Meaningful Name: Sage is a sage. Supernumerary means extra, "in excess of the usual or prescribed number", and may be applied to an assistant or substitute — he's a secondary cast member, whose previous team had too many members. It's also the technical term for an extra nipple.
Non-Indicative Name: Not his hero name, which is apt, but he possesses 'the Blind Eye of Thirdarra'... which is actually a third nipple.
Seers: Has vaguely-defined powers of clairvoyance and extrasensory perception.
Teleportation: Using his third eye he can teleport himself and anyone touching it, in a spacey, psychedelic kind of effect (the Tick mentions seeing paisley patterns after a teleport), but only to places he's been before.
Unexpectedly Real Magic: The use of magic amazes the Tick and Arthur, especially the former. In Sage's own words, "Magic is real." There had been no hints previous to this as to whether or not magic existed in this world; only superscience had been shown.
Third Eye: 'The Blind Eye of Thirdarra'... which is an extra nipple in the center of his chest.
Those Two Guys: He and Bronze Star go way back.

Flexon

Flexon (Pat Murphy)

Portrayed By: Steven Ogg

A retired superhero that has saved the world at least twice. He also is a lawyer.

Cool Old Guy: Closer to middle-age, but still a pretty chill guy and a beloved hero. People love shaking his rubbery arm, and he doesn't mind at all. It's also extremely unlikely that Lobstercules or Arthur are able to pay him for his work as Lobstercules' lawyer, which means he's going above and beyond the call of duty to protect Lobstercules while working pro bono.
Badass Bookworm: He has the abilities of a Rubber Man and his also a practicing lawyer.
Mr. Vice Guy: He's a bit sleazy, going to a known criminal's poker game in his off hours and hitting on women he's barely met, but he ultimately turns out to be a good guy.
Retired Badass: Has retired from duty, but still wears the costume to get into the A.E.G.I.S. Hero's Lounge.
Rubber Man: An Expy of Mr. Fantastic and Elongated Man. From what can be seen, he can stretch his limbs or make them shake like jelly.
Secret Identity: He's actually retired as a superhero, but still working as a trial attorney by day.

Bronze Star

Portrayed by: Adam Henry Garcia

Another hero trying out for the new Flag Five after The City's AEGIS branch is opened.

Amazing Technicolor Population: It's unclear if his skin is actually bronze, or if he's just wearing makeup.
Chrome Champion: Seemingly, although he looks more like he's covered in body paint than the usual reflective metal skin.
Flat Character: We don't learn much about him as a person, not even what his powers are.
Meaningful Name: He's bronze and a popular hero. The actual bronze star, at least in the US, is a military medal awarded for meritorious conduct in a combat zone. Time will tell if the latter has any bearing on the character.
Street Performer: Based on 'living statue' street performers.
Those Two Guys: He and Sage are old friends.

Supervillains

The Terror

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/terrortick2016.jpg

Portrayed By: Jackie Earle Haley

The world's most infamous supervillain, mentor to Ms. Lint, murderer of the Flag Five, and Superian's nemesis. Or at least he was until being turned into a crater by the aforementioned superhero, leaving behind nothing but his teeth.

All Drummers Are Animals: Like his actor, the Terror is a drummer. He always wanted to learn, so he took it up while he was in hiding. It ties in nicely with his appreciation of the primal destructive urges that make him a villain.
Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: He apparently meant to follow Ms. Lint's every move while he was in hiding, but didn't even know that she had gotten married and subsequently divorced to IT Derek, having lost interest because she "got so boring so fast, I dunno..." (walks off)
Badass Longcoat: A long red one with both Shoulders and a High Collar of Doom.
Badass Normal: Doesn't seem to have any superpowers himself, just gadgets; nonetheless, in a world filled with people with superpowers, he's The Dreaded and is considered the archnemesis of the setting's Superman expy.
Bald of Evil: He's the world's premier supervillain and is completely bald.
Big Bad: Considered the greatest supervillain of his time, has a personal connection with Arthur, and is revealed to be Faking the Dead halfway through the first season, at which point he turns out to have been behind pretty much everything.
But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Eventually averted — the Terror eventually does remember Arthur. Not entirely surprising, since the shot did make the cover of Time magazine.
Card-Carrying Villain: Has Alexa shuffle him up an "ominous music" playlist and everything.
Catchphrase: Overlapping with Arc Words:
The Terror: Ya got nothin'!
Complexity Addiction: Needlessly complicated schemes are his specialty. According to Superian, the key to understanding his plans is that "they make no sense."
Diabolical Mastermind: His style of villainy. He has no apparent powers, but he does have mooks, ships, evil superweapons, and shell corporations to carry out his will.
Dirty Coward: Immediately after the Tick breaks his T-ship, the Terror decides he needs to go check on something, he'll be right back.
The Dreaded: He isn't called "The Terror" for nothing.
Enemy Eats Your Lunch: Right after killing the Flag Five, after having engineered the crash that killed Arthur's dad, he took Arthur's ice cream and ate it in front of him. Because he's evil.
Evil Is Hammy: Slaughters superheroes and steals Arthur's ice cream with equal gusto, and likes over-the-top speeches and grand spectacles of evil. He knows he's the villain and views the whole thing as a chance to put on a show.
Evil Is Petty: Between committing mass terrorism and murder, the Terror likes going out of his way to be a jerk to people. He even admits that he’s been killing off the bees as nothing more than a hobby.
Evil Old Folks: Was a supervillain for decades, and it shows.
Faceless Goons: His mooks wear black leotards with red capital-T emblems and blank masks with goggles. They also never speak, only gibbering unintelligibly in battle, so it's not entirely clear if they're human.
- In the pilot, they wear red and black body armor and helmets with T-shaped visors.
Faking the Dead: He faked his death and has been underground for decades.
A Father to His Men: Genuinely takes a personal interest in Ms. Lint's life, giving her her grounding bracelets and offering her advice when her men give her a ridiculous nickname. Until he reveals the bracelets double as a way to control her. Even when her behavior disappoints him, he tells her so, but less to upset her than to motivate her to be the villain he knows she can be.
Foil: To the Tick, in that while Tick tries to serve as a role model to Arthur who encourages him to become a hero, the Terror haunts Arthur's dreams. He's also the mentor of Ms. Lint in the same way that Tick is the mentor of Arthur.
For the Evulz: He doesn't need any reason at all to do what he does. He doesn't, in fact, have any grand design or great endgame in mind. He's just evil for the sake of it, and comes up with his plans as he goes along.
Hero Killer: His first onscreen presence involves killing off the Flag Five in Arthur's flashback.
High Collar of Doom: Two of them, as a matter of fact. He's that evil.
In the Hood: Wears a chainmail executioner's hood with a T-shaped cutout around his face.
Laughably Evil: Terrifying and hilarious in equal measure. Case in point: flamboyantly eating a young Arthur’s ice cream immediately after killing the Flag Five (with weaponized syphilis)... and Arthur’s father.
Looks Like Orlok: He's a shriveled, hairless old creep who looks like a walking corpse.
The Man Behind the Man: Continued to run his operations after his supposed death by using Ramses and the Pyramid Gang as his proxies.
Mister Big: He's shorter than his own minions, shorter than the grown-up Arthur, and has no apparent powers. He still manages to be believably terrifying and was in control of one of the largest villainous organizations ever.
Pet the Dog: He was surprisingly supportive of Ms. Lint, being the one who gave her the stabilizing bracelets and encouraged her to make the Embarrassing Nickname everyone called her something to be feared. But ultimately turns her against him, at least for now.
Red and Black and Evil All Over: His favorite colors, naturally, as part of his Card-Carrying Villainy. Even when not wearing his Badass Longcoat or hood, most of his clothes are some shade of red, black, or purple. His Faceless Goons likewise wear red and black.
Secret Ingredient: He's the founder of the Brown Tingle Cola corporation and the secret ingredient to his wildly popular soda is a drop of urine in each can. His urine.
Shoulders of Doom: Swooping points as part of his Badass Longcoat. Just look at them!
Straw Nihilist: He shows he is one with his final Breaking Lecture to Arthur upon his defeat in the season one finale.
The Terror: Your life's a joke, dumbass! You think this is a meaningful existence we're living in? Huh? This dumpster fire? This is a musical comedy and I'm the only one making it rhyme.
Supernatural Gold Eyes: Has bright yellow eyes that serve to make him look even more menacing and inhuman.
Villainous Gold Tooth: He is the world's most infamous supervillain and the murderer of the Flag Five. He sports an entire set of gold teeth after he's shown to have faked his own death.
What Have We Ear?: In the first episode flashback to the Death by Origin Story of Arthur's dad and the Flag Five, the Terror pulls this on the already-thoroughly traumatized young Arthur. Subverted in that he's not holding anything when he pulls back his hand, and it's just an excuse for the Terror to mock Arthur for his powerlessness and segue into his Catchphrase. And then he eats the poor kid's ice cream.

Ms. Lint

Ms. Lint / Joan of Arc (Janet)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/linttick2016.jpg

Portrayed By: Yara Martinez

Once the Terror's most loyal follower, now working as Ramses' chief enforcer. She's a supervillain who has electricity powers.

Appropriated Appelation: "Ms. Lint", originally an Embarrassing Nickname given to her by the Terror's other henchmen. A side effect of her electricity based power causes dust particles to become stuck to her clothing through static cling. The Terror himself counseled her to not let them get to her, and instead take it for herself and turn it into a name to be feared.
The Baroness: Her overall look tends toward this, with her tight pulled-back hair (so tight it requires no less than three separate braids) and various dark, tailored outfits. Her characterization after the first episode tends to downplay her coldness in favor of a more neurotic, humanizing characterization.
Becoming the Mask: Subverted in Season 2. At first she starts to enjoy being a superhero, but after Doctor Agent Hobbs takes control of AEGIS she comments that being a hero is starting to feel a lot like being a villain, and ultimately uses her fake allegiance to him to distract him while her henchmen robbed AEGIS HQ blind.
Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Overkill — not entirely unlike Captain Liberty and Batmanuel from the 2001 series or American Maid and Die Fledermaus in the cartoon.
Broken Pedestal: She turns on the Terror at the end of Season 1 after realizing he never had some big endgame and was just doing random evil stuff for the hell of it.
Canon Foreigner: Played with. She has the same Type A personality as Captain Liberty and American Maid (and the same name, Janet, as the former), but she's a villain with electricity powers and no Captain Patriotic gimmick, not even a villainous one. She also has a dysfunctional past relationship with Overkill, who takes a few cues from Batman — but an entirely different set of cues from Batmanuel and Die Fledermaus.
- Season 2 dangles tantalizing hints that she might be becoming a Captain Patriotic character as the heroic Joan of Arc joins the new Flag Five. We even see concept art of her potential costume. Turns out to be a fakeout, however, when Lint pretends to join forces with Big Bad Agent Commander Doctor Agent Hobbes — only to turn on him and then ditch him to the heroes, as her goons rob A.E.G.I.S. blind.
Cut Lex Luthor a Check: One of the reasons she grows sick of the Terror's random scheming is because none of them involve any real profit or overall goal.
The Dragon: Used to be the Terror's. And aims to take the position back after she finds out the Terror is still alive.
Eye Scream: When her glass eye pops out after a power surge in the second episode, she spends most of the following episode walking around with an empty eye socket.
Ramses: Yeah, nobody missed that. It's like you're looking at me with bacon.
Foe Romance Subtext: With Overkill. Back when Overkill was still Straight Shooter, the Terror had Ms. Lint seduce him in order to get the access codes to the Flag Five's Flagship, and by the time of the series they clearly remain attracted to each other (though as Dot notes, in a very dysfunctional way).
Ms. Lint: Did he say anything about me?
Embarrassing Nickname: Ms. Lint would've been one, but the Terror convinced her she could turn it into a strength.
Flight: Her super suit in the second season lets her use her amped-up lightning powers to launch herself into the air.
Glass Eye: She has a whole drawer full of different ones, to suit her mood.
Go-to Alias: In a Shout-Out to Seinfeld: when she crashes Arthur's mother's birthday, her fake name ("...Paloma.") is the same one Elaine gives in "The Package", right down to the plosive way Yara Martinez delivers the line.
- When she runs into Dot out-of-costume in Season 2, it takes the latter a moment to recognize her. When she does...
  Dot: ...Paloma?
Good Scars, Evil Scars: Has a villainous jagged lightning bolt-shaped scar across her left cheek and forehead, crossing her missing eye. As flashbacks show, she received it at some point during her service to the Terror.
Handicapped Badass: She has only one eye, yet is a terrifying supervillain and formerly the Terror's second.
Heel–Face Turn: Seems to be heading this way during season 2 while pretending to be Joan of Arc. She even goes through a Talkingto Themself with a mirror version, notable that the mirror version has 2 real eyes. She ends up conning everyone and stealing A.E.G.I.S. weapons in the last episode, revealing her turn either never took or she was faking.
Iron Lady: Has to be twice the hardass other villains are to get half the respect.
Jeanne d'Archétype: In Season 2 she goes undercover as a superhero using the name "Joan of Arc".
Loophole Abuse: In Season 2 she takes out all her competition under the guise of being a hero, due to the amnesty granted them by the 28th Amendment. The Tick and Arthur are even helpless to expose her to the rest of A.E.G.I.S. due to the rule against outing each other's identities.
Meaningful Name: Well, she is a supervillain. Ms. Lint might be a little less obvious than others — it's a reference to static cling, which she used to have problems with before the Terror gave her her grounding bracelets.
One-Steve Limit: Averted — her superhero name in Season 2 is Joan of Arc — Arthur and Dot's mother's name is Joan. This ends up having no bearing on the plot, as the two never meet.
Paper-Thin Disguise: Makes pretty much no effort to disguise her true identity. In the second season she simply hides behind the 28th Amendment (which ensures that no superhero may be unmasked by local authorities), even though Arthur and Dr. Hobbes recognize her pretty much immediately.
Psycho Electro: She's a villainess with electricity powers.
Required Secondary Powers: Averted. Unlike most electricity-based supers in pop culture, she needs devices to ground herself in order to keep from accidentally shocking herself and others — and to keep her hair manageable and prevent herself from attracting lint like crazy (hence the name).
She Cleans Up Nicely: When she crashes Arthur's mother's birthday, she has a glass eye that matches her other eye, makeup over her scars and a less extreme outfit and hairstyle.
Shock and Awe: Her main power is that she can generate massive blasts of electricity and direct them as she sees fit. Unfortunately, this has the side effect of her whole body being constantly charged, meaning that without her bracelets to ground her, she constantly shocks others and herself and has to deal with attracting lint and dust.
The Starscream: More surprisingly, she isn't. The Terror is actually surprised and a little disappointed Ms. Lint never became this to Ramses, as the Terror had assumed Lint would have killed Ramses within a year. Later, when she threatens to supplant the Terror in the season finale, he's actually kind of proud that she's trying, though this does reveal that the bracelets he gave her were always designed as contingency to protect him if she ever got it into his head to kill him.
Talkingto Themself: She talks with a good mirror version of herself while contemplating a Heel–Face Turn.
Took a Level in Badass: Deliberately seeks out ways of upgrading her powers in Season 2, leading to meeting up with Gadgeteer Genius Edgelord, who provides her with a supersuit which further soups up her lightning powers and lets her use them to fly.
Took a Level in Kindness: While she is still a villain, her time as Joan of Arc has changed her morality a little. For example, she warns the Tick and Arthur about Superian's breakdown and how it could lead to the death of billions. The Tick calls her out on her concern while Lint denies it and says it is out of self-preservation.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: After a while of posing as the hero Joan of Arc, she remembers that the reason she idolized the original Joan of Arc as a child was that she wanted to be a hero.
Villainous BSoD: Following the Terror’s apparent death, Ms. Lint just spiraled down, ending up temporarily marrying his IT guy Derek, and then working for the egocentric but non-powered gangster Ramses.
Villain: Exit, Stage Left: At the end of Season 1, she leaves the Terror to his crashing ship at the end of Season 1, blasting off in the escape pod. She then does the same to Hobbes at the end of Season 2 after her henchmen are done looting A.E.G.I.S., leaving Hobbes to deal with the heroes all by himself.
Villainous Friendship: Was genuinely distraught when the Terror was killed by Superian.
Wingding Eyes: Some of her glass eyes are neon-bright with spirals and other patterns.

Edgelord

Portrayed By: Julian Cihi

A young man employed by Ms. Lint to help with her operations. He dresses and speaks like a stereotypical goth.

Emo Teen: His gimmick, if it is a gimmick — he wears a gothy-looking, slightly Neo-esque trenchcoat, has hair like Kylo Ren, and a dangly feather earring in one ear.
Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: His expression doesn't change at all, but after Flexon explains that his client Lobstercules is just a loving mother wrongfully separated from her children, Edgelord uses his newfound access to A.E.G.I.S. security to open up the holding cells so Flexon can visit her.
Gadgeteer Genius: He is hired by Ms. Lint to develop her new super suit so she can act as a superhero.
Pet the Dog: Opens the holding cell security door for Flexon when he explains Lobstercules and her children's plight.
Sidekick: He signs on with Ms. Lint at A.E.G.I.S. as Joan of Arc's sidekick, as part of her plan to steal from A.E.G.I.S..

Frank

Formerly a henchman of Ramses; now ostensibly The Dragon to Ms. Lint.

Ascended Extra: As one of the longest-lived members of the Pyramid Gang, and the one who got the most lines once Lint took over, he grows into the role of her confidant and dragon in the wake of the Terror's downfall.
The Dragon: Second-in-command to Lint in the aftermath of the first season. Later gets into something of a one-sided rivalry over the position with Edgelord.
Pragmatic Villainy: While Ms. Lint gets wrapped up in masquerading as Joan of Arc, Frank does his best to convince her to simply steal the A.E.G.I.S. tech and run.
Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: As Ms. Lint continues to pretend to be Joan of Arc and seems to be on the cusp of a Heel–Face Turn, Frank decides to leave before she really becomes an actual hero. It turns out Ms. Lint had been conning A.E.G.I.S. all along and included Frank on the plan to steal the A.E.G.I.S. tech.

Ramses

Ramses IV

Portrayed By: Michael Cerveris

The head of the Pyramid Gang, and the gangster running all organized crime in the City.

Big Bad Wannabe: Ramses does effectively run the City's underworld, and believes himself to be an important player and an invaluable agent of, or even a successor to the Terror. Truthfully, his success mostly relies upon the lack of heroes in the City, with the Tick and Overkill managing to effectively end his operations within a few days of turning up. By the end it’s clear he was never anything more than the Terror’s pawn, and the Terror has Ms. Lint execute him.
Bullying the Dragon: Spends a lot of his time with Ms. Lint mocking her and blaming her for everything that goes wrong, despite knowing she is a murderous supervillain. It ends with her killing him.
Disc-One Final Boss: The first season establishes him and his gang as the antagonist for The Tick and Arthur to take down. The moment The Terror came out of hiding is the moment where we see who the true Big Bad of the series is.
The Don: Leader of the Pyramid gang, Ramses effectively runs all the crime within the City.
Foreign Culture Fetish: Ancient Egypt, though it's more for branding than out of any real understanding of the culture, and as Ms. Lint points out, choosing a pharaoh who's most famous for having a short reign. Fittingly, Ramses was never intended to last very long as The City's crime lord.
Gang of Hats: His gang all have an Eye of Horus tattoo and he keeps up an Egyptian theme. He actively criticizes Ms. Lint for not getting the tattoo herself. Neither did her crew, which hangs a neat lampshade on the fact that none of the thugs in the pilot had the tattoo either.
Jerkass: As well as being a crime boss, Rameses is also a smug, arrogant and obnoxious man. He even mocks Ms. Lint over her missing eye.
Not-So-Harmless Villain: While it's clear he's hopelessly out of his depth when it comes to facing actual superheroes, Rameses is still a powerful mob boss, and, as he displays in the season finale, has absolutely no regard for civilian casualties.
Smug Snake: He hardly does anything, letting Ms. Lint do all the dirty work, including ordering his goons around, then blames her when things go wrong.
Trademark Favorite Food: Drinks Vitaminwater, and even has a mini-fridge stocked to the brim with them in his limo... and a full-sized fridge full of them in his lair.

Derek

Portrayed By: Bryan Greenberg

Ms. Lint's ex-husband and current roommate. Also the Terror's former IT guy, which is how the two of them met.

Amicable Exes: Amicable-ish. He and Ms. Lint are divorced but still live together, since both their names are on the lease and Derek refuses to buy her out. They bicker and snark, but the fact that Ms. Lint hasn't murdered him speaks volumes.
Brick Joke: Wakes up after half a season's absence to walk in on Ms. Lint briefing the members of the former Pyramid Gang, which she has taken over for herself after murdering Ramses. She tells him to go back to bed.
Evil Genius: IT guy to the Terror. Possibly subverted, as it's not clear if he was especially brilliant or evil.
Granola Guy: The modern version: he's an avid cyclist and wears a shirt proclaiming his love of kombucha.
Pet the Dog: When it becomes apparent that Ms. Lint really isn't in the mood, following an especially bad day that ended with her coming home literally covered in dirt, he stops mocking and instead offers to help her get cleaned up.
Tranquilizer Dart: Spends most of the season unconscious after being filled full of poison darts upon the Terror's return.

Other Villains

Lobstercules

Portrayed By: Niko Nedyalkov

Voiced By: Liz Vassey

A giant lobster creature who the Tick and Arthur first encounter robbing a bank. Spoilers follow.

All Myths Are True: She was a member of the Atlantean royal guard.
Forced into Evil: She is forced to rob banks because her children are being held hostage by the Donnelly brothers.
Mind-Control Device: Hobbes implants one in her and has her fight the Tick. After being freed she is horrified by her actions.
Monster Is a Mommy: Which look just like ordinary lobsters. And are super-cute. Rather than being tiny spawn which attack the heroes, they're the Ridiculously Cute Critters that instantly make Lobstercules completely sympathetic.
No Name Given: Lobstercules' actual name is, of course, not Lobstercules. It was simply given to the giant, hulking lobster creature by the press. She never gives her actual name even after The Reveal.
Not What It Looks Like: She's not a mutant monster with a gang of themed goons doing her bidding — she's a member of the Atlantean Royal Guard, and the fishermen are actual fishermen who kidnapped her children and are holding them hostage, forcing her to do their bidding.
Super-Strength: Is able to rip a bank vault door with minimal effort and fight the Tick evenly when first appearing. While she is mind-controlled she tosses Tick around as well.
Walking Spoiler: The actual circumstances behind Lobstercules' crime spree inevitably spoil the latter half of the second season.
What Measure Is a Non-Human?: Brought up fully. When first shown it seems Lobstercules, a gigantic lobster person, is a mindless monster and does not speak. Then, after kidnapping Arthur, she is shown to be fully intelligent and only robbing banks because the true bank robbers are holding her children hostage.

The Donnelly Brothers

A group of thugs dressed as fishermen (complete with outrageous Maine accents) who accompany Lobstercules on her crime spree. Spoilers follow.

From Nobody to Nightmare: By kidnapping the "magic lobster's" babies, they're able to force her to do their bidding, letting them go from ordinary fishermen to minor-league villainous thugs.
Gang of Hats: They rob the bank dressed in mariner's raincoats and rain hats, all speaking with highly pronounced New England accents.

A.E.G.I.S.

A government organization task with monitoring superhumans and licensing superheroes.

Expy: Of S.H.I.E.L.D.. The A.E.G.I.S. training video specifically mentions that they act as a shield, making it more obvious.
Fun with Acronyms: Played with as no definition is given for what AEGIS stands for.
Government Agency of Fiction: It is a fictional agency that deals with all matters superpowered.
Mauve Shirt: It's implied to be this even in universe as they exist to back up superheroes rather than deal with problems themselves.
No OSHA Compliance: There's an alarming number of accidents around their equipment.
Obstructive Bureaucrat: A lot of superheroes, including Overkill, think of A.E.G.I.S. as this.
Police Are Useless: Arthur thinks the world of them but it's very obvious they're not actually that useful at what they do.
Superhuman Registration Act: A rather realistic and inoffensive one, as you have to register in order to get legal protections and the authority to act as a superhero, not if you simply happen to have powers. Zigzagged as the Big Bad of Season 2 specifically wants to monitor, weaponize, and control all Categories, which is exactly what Tinfoil Kevin was afraid of and the reason he was in hiding from them.
Theme Song: A badly-played version of "Scotland the Brave" as the A.E.G.I.S. anthem.

Tyrannosaurus Rathbone

Agent Commander Ty "Tyrannosaurus" Rathbone

Portrayed By: Marc Kudisch

The leader of A.E.G.I.S. and in charge of registering superpeople to his cause.

Bad Powers, Good People: He has to feed live mice to his black hole heart to stay alive. His heart — which contains an Eldritch Abomination — also brings him Back from the Dead after being shot right between the eyes by the mind-controlled Overkill.
Dark Secret: He has a circular chest hatch over his heart that is implied to be a new development. When it opens, it is revealed to be a black hole that can only be satiated by feeding food, such as mice. He calls it his "black hole heart." After he is seemingly killed, while in the morgue, the hatch opens and the tendrils of Thrakkorzog is shown partly emerging to revive him.
Expy: Of Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and by extension of the animated series' expy of the same character: Jim Rage, Agent of S.H.A.V.E..
Literal Change of Heart: The man has a black hole in place of his original heart, with a big metal hatch that sticks through his shirt. It's either some kind of portal or container for the Eldritch Abomination Thrakkorzog.
Reasonable Authority Figure: While he initially comes across as a hard-ass, he is shown to listen to reason and is actually open minded. Doctor Agent Hobbes even mentions that Rathbone loves superheroes, which is why Hobbes stages a coup to kill Rathbone, as Hobbes views superpeople less than human.
Red Baron: His name is Ty Rathbone, but everyone calls him "Tyrannosaurus Rathbone"
Reportsof My Death Were Greatly Exaggerated: Says this nearly word for word after he was actually killed by Overkill and then somehow comes back to life.

Doctor Agent Hobbes

Portrayed By: John Hodgman

The top scientist in charge at A.E.G.I.S. responsible for many experiments and research.

But for Me, It Was Tuesday: His response about mind controlling people into believing they were furniture? That they were simply for R&D purposes and nothing special.
Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Has shades of this. For example, in his first appearance he appears behind Tick and Arthur watching the A.E.G.I.S. info video with them, surprising them both. He comments he just loves watching the video and never misses it.
Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: Compare with the Terror. Both are villains that were seemingly defeated for good and went into hiding. The differences are the personalities. The Terror is a very bombastic individual who loves villainy and being evil. Hobbes on the other hand is very soft spoken and views himself as a Well-Intentioned Extremist at worst, willing to do anything to protect the world from superpeople, both good and bad.
Evil All Along: After the twists and turns of a series of mid-season reveals, turns out he's The Duke, and has been for years — at least since Overkill was with A.E.G.I.S..
Fantastic Racism: He's quick to assume Lobstercules is "subhuman" and not really sapient. It later turns out that he views all categories as not being actual "people".
Faux Affably Evil: He is fairly soft spoken, cordial and it willing to admit when he is wrong, such as about Lobstercules being non-sentient, but he is also willing to implant Mind Control Devices into people to have them act out his agenda in order to protect the world and eliminate superpeople he views as a threat.
The Generic Guy: His primary trait is his inoffensive, good-natured blandness.
Non-Action Big Bad: Hobbes is a normal man with no superpowers. After his mind control device his destroyed, he goes down in one punch.
Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist: Unlike Rathbone who actually likes superpeople and is willing to use them to protect the world, Hobbes views this as inefficient. This leads him to enacting a coup of A.E.G.I.S., killing Rathbone and implementing an almost dictatorship over the world for its protection. All because he actually does want to protect the world. And he hates superpeople.
We Can Rule Together: Offers this to Arthur, a fellow non-powered individual. The difference is Arthur loves being a super hero and super people, rejecting Hobbes' offer. This is clearly more out of desperation, as he only makes the offer when things start going south.

Veranda and Miranda

Veranda and Miranda Li

Portrayed By: Clara Wong

Nearly identical twins who work for A.E.G.I.S.. Veranda works as paper clerk and Miranda seemingly as an assistant and guard for many different tasks.

Always Identical Twins: They are twins, and share similar names. Not to mention the same actress.
Affectionate Nickname: Tick gives Veranda the nearly superhuman name of "Paper Queen", based on her extensive knowledge and love of paperwork. Despite his hate of red tape, the Tick acknowledges she is his superior in this department. She unfortunately is not a Paper Master in the strictest sense.
Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Each twin has the other personality. Veranda is 'sugar': She bonds with Arthur over their love and knowledge of paperwork and is overall much more friendly to the duo. The Tick also likes Veranda more. Miranda is 'ice': while not exactly unfriendly, she is more neutral to the duo.
Twin Telepathy: They share this superpower.

The Flag Five

The Original Flag Five

The Flag Five

The City's original A.E.G.I.S.-affiliated superhero team, they were wiped out fifteen years ago by The Terror. They are: Uncle Samson and his teenage ward Straight Shooter, Christian Soldier and his canine companion Onward, Mighty Atlas, and Sedona.

Adapted Out: Johnny Republic is replaced by Straight Shooter as Uncle Samson's sidekick in this show.
The Adjective Number: The Flag Five.
Captain Patriotic: The team as a whole, and Uncle Samson in particular, one supposes.
Cool Plane: The Flagship is a spacey-looking red-white-and-blue jet.
Cruel and Unusual Death: The Terror blinded them with weaponized syphilis, causing them to crash the Flagship in the middle of the City, then had his mooks execute the survivors in the street, in front of the people they were sworn to protect.
Eye Scream: Blinded in the most humiliating way possible to make their imminent defeat all the more excruciating.
Fingore: Instead of simply being gunned down like the others, Straight Shooter had his hands crushed.
Non-Indicative Name: There were six members of the Flag Five.
Real Men Love Jesus: Christian Soldier, following his name, was apparently a devout Christian as well as a superhero. He even converted Onward while they were both members.
Sidekick: Straight Shooter was Uncle Samson's teenage ward (although whether this in fact made him a sidekick or not was the source of a long-running argument between him and Onward).
Sixth Ranger: There was a running rivalry between Christian Soldier's canine partner Onward and Uncle Samson's teenage ward Straight Shooter over which one of them was the sixth member of the Flag Five.
Sole Survivor: Onward, who went on to change his name back to Midnight, wasn't aboard the Flagship when it crashed.
Talking Animal: Onward, Christian Soldier's canine partner. Was not present during the incident where the Five where killed by the Terror — see Midnight below.
Team Pet: Onward was Christian Soldier's canine partner (although, again, who was the mascot and who as the sidekick was a major point of contention between him and Straight Shooter).
We Hardly Knew Ye: Their appearance in the pilot is right in the middle of their unceremonious deaths at the hands of the Terror.

Midnight

Midnight (Onward)

Portrayed By: Townsend Coleman

A talking German Shepherd and the sole survivor of the Flag Five, where he served alongside his master Christian Soldier. Formerly known as Onward, after a period of intense survivor’s guilt following the deaths of his teammates, he went through a journey of self-discovery and wrote a successful self-help book.

Big Friendly Dog: Played With. He’s charming and popular with the public, but can be rude and sharp-tongued, particularly to Overkill.
Canine Companion: Was this to Christian Soldier.
Captain Patriotic: Along with the rest of the Flag Five. After losing the Flag Five,the only family he'd ever known, he traded in his stripes but not his stars.
Cool Shades: Sports a flashy pair of aviators with American flag lenses during the Flag Five memorial service.
Dark Is Not Evil: He's an all-black German shepherd, but he's a good dog.
Evil Stole My Faith: During an interview about his book, Midnight says that the deaths of the rest of the Flag Five caused him to lose the faith which Christian Soldier had instilled in him. After the Flag Five were killed, he came to believe that “there is no God, there is only dog.”
Fictional Document: His book, Good Intentions, a self-help book/memoir.
Heroic Dog: He used to fight crime as a member of the Flag Five, under the name of Onward.
Hidden Heart of Gold: While he and Overkill may not be on good terms, Overkill knows deep down that Midnight is a good dog, who will relay Arthur's warning that the Terror is alive and plotting to kill Superian.
Hollywood Atheist: Downplayed. Formerly a devout Christian, he lost his faith when the Terror killed the rest of the Flag Five. He's kind of arrogant and mostly spouts platitudes, but deep down he's a good dog.
Journey to Find Oneself: The subject of his book, detailing his life story and how he was able to find a way to cope with the deaths of the rest of the Flag Five.
Playing with Fire: He says he can set things on fire with his mind, but it doesn't come up during the show.
Remake Cameo: He's voiced by Townsend Coleman, who voiced The Tick himself in the 1994 cartoon.
The Rival: To Straight Shooter ("Sidekick!" "Mascot!").
Sell-Out: Overkill accuses him of ‘cashing in’ on the Flag Five's deaths.
Shout-Out: Along with his master/partner, to "Onward, Christian Soldiers!", a Christian hymn composed by Arthur Sullivan.
Talking Animal: An occasionally douchey one, at that.
Team Pet: Overkill insults Midnight by saying he was this to the Flag Five. Back when the two of them were Straight Shooter and Onward, they had a rivalry over which of them was the team's Sixth Ranger/sidekick/mascot.

Civilians

Dr. Karamazov

Dr. Mischa Karamazov

Portrayed By: John Pirkis

The vanished Urmanian scientist who developed Arthur's suit.

Kidnapped Scientist: The Terror kidnapped him years ago to have develop weapons to kill Superian.
My God, What Have I Done?: Trope. He's initially quite giddy to learn that Big Bismuth is killing Superian, meaning that his hypothesis was correct. Arthur calls him out on it, and he quickly realizes that he's celebrating that a superhero is dying.
Reed Richards Is Useless: An attempted Aversion; he grew up in a factory town where food was scarce, so he wanted to develop a growth ray to end world hunger. It ended up shrinking him down to about half his normal size.
Shrink Ray: One of his inventions although it was actually the aforementioned growth ray, which malfunctioned during its public unveiling.
Ruritania: His homeland of Urmania, somewhere in the former Soviet Bloc.
This Cannot Be!: A mild case. He's confused and concerned that Superian is still sick despite being away from the Very Large Man. He eventually deduces that the Tick is covered in Big Bismuth.

The VLM

The Very Large Man (Clifford Richter)

Portrayed By: Ryan Woodle

A very large man — as in kaiju-sized — who spends most of the first season slowly making his way across the countryside.

Action Bomb: Gets turned into one as part of his transformation, with Arthur's suit designed as the trigger. It's complicated.
Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Although he doesn't really attack anything so much as stagger around in a daze. Most of the devastation he causes seems incidental. We don't truly get a sense of his scale until the season finale, where it's revealed that his big toe alone is a good several stories high.
Chekhov's Armory: In what has to be one of the most convoluted supervillain plots possible, the Terror had his minions abduct a man he knew that Superian would eventually recognize and had him injected with Big Bismuth because it would not only cause him to grow, but would make him into a walking Action Bomb which could be triggered to kill Superian (Big Bismuth being what the vessel he crashed to earth on was made of, as well as his kryptonite) when the latter inevitably showed up to save the day. The trigger for said bomb was the bulletproof flying suit Arthur stole. All of these things do in fact come together in the final episode, to the Terror's incredible good luck — unfortunately for him, and fortunately for the City and the rest of the world, Doctor Karamazov had tweaked the suit so that it would reverse the VLM's transformation, rather than causing him to detonate.
Exactly What It Says on the Tin: No points for originality, but he is a very large man.
Expy: Of Dinosaur Neil, but less scaly and hostile.
Full-Frontal Assault: No Magic Pants here.
Green Rocks: The cause of his transformation is Big Bismuth, which we first saw in the pilot in the form of the ship Superian crashed to earth in. They're also the latter's kryptonite.
The Juggernaut: So big that seemingly nothing can stop him. Even the Tick's punches only cause him to pause briefly to look down.
Kaiju: In size, if not attitude.
Make My Monster Grow: Injected with Big Bismuth by the Terror's minions, which caused him to grow to massive size and the Big Bismuth crystals along with him.
Punny Name: Clifford (he's tall) Richter (the ground shakes when he walks).
Ridiculously Average Guy: Just a schlubby middle-aged landscaper who has the great misfortune of being turned into a lumbering giant. We don't even know why for most of the season.

Joan

Joan Everest

Portrayed by: Patricia Kalember

Arthur and Dot's mother.

Good Parents: Genuinely loves her children, and later comes to love the Tick and their adopted baby Atlantean lobsters. "JOAN!" is even the kids' first word.
One-Steve Limit: Averted — Ms. Lint takes on the superhero name of Joan of Arc in Season 2. This ends up having no bearing on the plot, as the two never meet.
Out of Focus: She has very little to do in the first season, which focuses more on Arthur's relationship with Walter. The second season has her accept Arthur's decision to be a hero (and then Dot's) and admit her past mistakes.
Was Too Hard on Him: Has a minor Heel Realization when she realizes that Arthur was right about the Terror all along, and that all the years putting him through therapy and trying to "treat" his "delusions" probably did more harm than good.

Walter

Portrayed By: François Chau

Arthur and Dot's embarrassing, but supportive, stepdad.

Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: His rambling stories, odd fixation on the health and wellbeing of other people's feet, and attempts to be a supportive parent to Arthur, who still insists Walter is not his dad.
Becoming the Mask: He's actually an A.E.G.I.S. agent assigned to keep an eye on Arthur, but found himself genuinely falling for Arthur's mother and so adopted a new identity to properly introduce himself.
Cloudcuckoolander: Seriously, what's the deal with the feet? Only the Tick is more awkward, and not by much. Even when his full backstory is revealed this gets no explanation, so apparently it really is just a weird obsession he has.
First Father Wins: Played With. Arthur's never gotten over his father's death, and is quick to point out that Walter is not his dad. Walter never claims to be, but is still as caring a stepdad as Arthur will allow him to be.
Good Parents: Has a tense relationship with Arthur, who resents the idea of anyone trying to replace his dead dad. Walter is supportive anyway. They bond more over the latter half of Season 2 when Walter helps him and Dot stop Hobbes' evil plot.
Hidden Depths: While held captive by the Terror's minions at the end of the first season, he busts out some martial arts moves and takes out six mooks with a bag over his head.
I Choose to Stay: Whether he is Walter or John Wu he truly loves Joan, Dot, and Arthur and doesn't want to leave them.
In Love with the Mark: A non-murdery example. As A.E.G.I.S. Agent John Wu, he was assigned to the Everest family's secret protective detail. Over the years spent watching them, he eventually fell for Joan. When he retired after the Terror's supposed death, he met her as Walter and embarked on a life with her.
Loony Fan: Of in-universe real-world superheroes. Just a little eccentric, and ultimately harmless. As a result, he strikes up a friendship with the Tick the moment they first meet.
Nice Guy: Although that probably feeds into Arthur's resentment of him trying to act like his dad.
Arthur: [repeatedly] You're not my dad.
Rambling Old Man Monologue: Asking him anything will send him off on a rambling, roundabout tangent before he comes to the point, assuming he ever does.
Retired Badass: He was one of A.E.G.I.S.'s finest agents before retiring to start a life with Joan and her kids.
So Proud of You: Of Arthur, when he finally starts coming into his own as a superhero.
You Talk Too Much!: He talks a lot and can't take a hint, so his long-winded tangents typically end with him being cut off in midsentence.

E. Morgan Pearl

A news anchor who does nothing but bash Superian, eventually earning the latter's ire.

Asshole Victim: He's made out to be something of a smarmy, self-important jerk. Downplayed, however, especially since Superian is definitely the one in the wrong here.
Expy: Of either J. Jonah Jameson or G. Glorious Godfrey, translated through various cable news demagogues from across the country.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: His bashing of Superian led to Superian taking drastic measures, including kidnapping the man (although Superian doesn't really think of it that way, since it's just a brief jaunt for him) in order to change Pearl's mind... then forgetting about him in a Guatemalan jungle.

Characters / The Tick (2016)

Edit Locked

Superheroes

"Arthur" (Arthur Everest)

The Tick

Vigilantes

Overkill (Esteban)

Dangerboat

Dorothy "Dot" Everest

Other Superheroes

Superian

Tinfoil Kevin

Sage the Supernumerary

Flexon (Pat Murphy)

Bronze Star

Supervillains

The Terror

Ms. Lint / Joan of Arc (Janet)

Edgelord

Frank

Ramses IV

Derek

Other Villains

Lobstercules

The Donnelly Brothers

A.E.G.I.S.

A.E.G.I.S.

Agent Commander Ty "Tyrannosaurus" Rathbone

Doctor Agent Hobbes

Veranda and Miranda Li

The Flag Five

The Flag Five

Midnight (Onward)

Civilians

Dr. Mischa Karamazov

The Very Large Man (Clifford Richter)

Joan Everest

Walter

E. Morgan Pearl

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