“Ex-wife shall not molest or electro-molest ex-husband’s property or person.”
Yet, she still lives with her ex-husband, who gets mad at her for breaking his three-wheeled bike. So he reminds her of a clause in their living agreement as quoted above, which is hilariously great because it relates to her powers.
“Did you just call your gun Shakira?”
Of the reoccurring characters in media related to the Tick, Arthur’s sister Dot has arguably undergone the most change. When she was introduced in the 90s cartoon, for instance, she didn’t contribute much to the overall story except to be initially disappointed in her brother’s decision to be a superhero.
“Ooh, dog fight!”
For instance, Overkill was originally a sidekick in a superhero group called the Flag Five who were mostly annihilated following their battle with the Terror. One of the surviving heroes was Midnight (shown left) who gets into a semi-humorous fight with Overkill, which is made funnier by this quip by the Tick. It’s clever because it not only refers to the fact that Midnight’s a dog, but also that the situation is like a cat fight with two men fighting instead of women.
“Great white tater tots!”
This in turn makes the exclamation great because it parodies the kind of exclamations superheroes usually make. Plus, the subject matter is so mundane that it has no bearing on the situation or the Tick’s backstory.
“By the way, you’re cleaning up this mess, Mister.”
When superheroes fight, they tend to cause a lot of damage to the location in which they’re fighting. Because this usually doesn’t affect them, except for in movies like The Incredibles and Captain America: Civil War, where this issue is addressed directly, the hero never brings it up nor feels remorse for the unintentional destruction they cause.
“The key to successful falling lies in realizing you are a falling person.”
In the aftermath of the Tick’s first encounter with Overkill, he gets tossed out a window and falls toward the ground, picking up in the following episode of The Tick. This leads to an opening narration by the Tick himself featuring the above quote.
Now normally, an opening narration is supposed to set the mood for the episode and give the viewer a sense of what they’re in for. Here, though, the Tick’s opening narration is about the nature of falling and how to fall successfully which is great in of itself but also in the way it parodies typical opening narrations.
“We fight for vengeance…we fight for blood…we fight for the right…to dance.”
One such example is the fact that Overkill calls his gun Shakira, as stated previously, and another is this statement which he makes to Dot before they break out into a cringe-worthy dance routine. The statement is not only humorous for the direction it goes but also brilliant in its contrast to Overkill’s persona.
“Well, I can’t just summon a maniacal laugh. I need to see something maniacally funny.”
“Am I never naked…or am I never not naked?”
One of the most endearing things about the Tick is his tendency to say things that sound ridiculous, but are actually profound. In the 90s cartoon show, for instance, the Tick ended each episode by giving a moral lesson to take away from the situation that happened, whether it involved fighting a living sunflower that wanted to take over the world using plants or aiding a group of subterranean Mole Men.
“The world owes you a hug, small soldier, and I am the one that’s gonna give it!”
So the Tick gives Arthur a hug, despite the latter not wanting it. But what’s important here is this quote from the Tick, as it is not only memorable but also heartwarming both in and out of context.
