Sony Pictures Television

Amazon is getting into the superhero game, ordering a pilot for the cult character The Tick, with view to developing an ongoing TV series exclusive to its streaming platforms.

The online retailer turned content creation network is teaming with original creator Ben Edlund to bring his delightfully stupid hero back to television. Edlund will write and executive produce the pilot, with Transcendence's Wally Pfister in discussions to direct.


The Tick was created by Edlund in 1986, initially as a small press comics character that lampooned traditional superheroes. The eponymous hero has no fixed origin or secret identity, instead relishing the superhero life 24/7. While he possesses superstrength and near-total invulnerability, and uses them to defend The City (never named, always capitalised) from outlandish villains such as Chairface Chippendale, most of his allies lack any powers whatsoever.

The Tick's sidekick Arthur is simply a bored office worker, fired for wearing a flying moth uniform to work (which looks more like a bunny suit). Die Fledermaus is a Batman parody, with a variety of gadgets to his name and a sleazy charisma with women. Sewer Urchin is a spin on Aquaman, albeit swapping the majesty of the oceans for the fetid drainage tunnels of The City. American Maid may be the only other vaguely competent superhero around, a pastiche of both Wonder Woman and Captain America, but she spends most of her time arguing with Die Fledermaus. Edlund's cast of brilliantly banal heroes is sort of like Friends in cosplay, albeit with more bickering.

There's little known on the direction of the new show, other than it beginning with The Tick suffering from memory loss. This is consistent with previous appearances of the character, who is never seen out of his all-encompassing blue costume. Arthur, meanwhile, has been labelled a schizophrenic; convinced evil has targeted The City even though no one believes him until he meets The Tick. Together, they fight crime!

Amazon's series won't be the first time The Tick has dabbled with small screen stardom. He's previously headlined the 1994 animated series and the 2001 live action comedy.

Deadline reports that casting is already underway for the pilot, with Griffin Newman as Arthur, and Valorie Curry as his sister, Dot. None of the cast of the 2001 version are expected to return, although Patrick Warburton was pretty perfect as the big, dumb hero -- a tough act to follow. There's no release window for the series yet, but with Amazon having been targeting the character for development since at least 2014 (embolded by the enduring cult status of the previous live action series) it's likely to be put into production relatively quickly.