Amazon Releases First Pictures Of ‘The Tick’: Will This Version Finally Be A Success?
Amazon released the first set photos of its upcoming superhero series The Tick. Amazon is hoping to strike a chord with viewers who feel that their original series have failed to live up to their top competitor Netflix. The Tick is scheduled to premiere August 19 so the wait is almost over. The big question would be, “How will this version of The Tick succeed where previous versions have failed?”
Variety spoke with series creator Ben Edlund about his first superhero. Edlund brought The Tick to life in 1986 when he was just 18-years-old.
“This has been a labor of love for Amazon, Sony, and all of us. The only way for this to have value was if we found a wholly new expression of ‘The Tick’ and Arthur’s story in live-action, and I think we’re on to something!”
The Tick is no stranger to the small screen. It first aired as a cartoon as part of the Fox Kids block of cartoons in 1994. It ran for three seasons. It was well received by most, according to IMDb, winning two Emmy Awards while being nominated for 10. The series ran for three seasons but only amassed 36 episodes in that time.
In 2001, The Tick was resurrected by Fox. This time, it was a live action version that starred television funnyman Patrick Warburton as what Inverse dubbed “America’s Best Worst Superhero.” Warburton seemed perfect for the role, and critically, it was a success. However, high production costs and little promotion cut the series short. After eight episodes Fox pulled The Tick from Thursday nights.
Unavoidable security breach: pic.twitter.com/VxRNB1L40b
— ben_edlund (@ben_edlund) May 18, 2016
So, how will this version of The Tick be any different? Bob Edlund spoke with io9 about what will make this version different from past versions, and how this will translate to success. Edlund stressed that while The Tick maybe the title character, the story itself revolves around The Tick’s sidekick Arthur. He feels it is the moments these two share together that will really make Amazon’s The Tick work.
“In fact, Arthur would have never even conceived of being a superhero. He just wanted to try to expose evil in his town. But The Tick comes on as a whole package and practically wraps him in a superhero identity that he will not let him get out of. So that’s the right dynamic. Then, with Arthur, it’s up to him to realize, “OK, my new friend is either my murderer or my emancipator and, moment to moment, I’ve got to figure out which.”
No story would be complete without talking about the colorful cast of friends and foes that Edlund created to go along with The Tick. Amazon’s version of The Tick will be played by Peter Serafinowicz.
Edlund fails to mention any other villains that might appear in the series, but if you are expecting a Magneto or Lex Luthor, don’t. Those would be too normal. Instead, The Tick looks to protect the city from the likes of Baron Violent, Uncle Creamy, or Lou Salazar, The Sewer Czar.
With Amazon’s release of the first pictures of The Tick, it’s easy to see that they plan to take a different approach to the superheroes genre than Netflix or the networks. The question is, are watchers ready to take superheroes in this direction? We are just three weeks away from knowing. Do you plan on watching The Tick, or do you like your heroes more serious?
[Image via Amazon Prime]
