The era of Peak TV has given viewers a lot to watch and obsess over, and that’s definitely true of those that have grown up reading superhero comics. We’re well past the days when quality comic book shows numbered either one or none. Between Marvel’s Netflix shows, the CW’s DC Universe, AMC’s mature viewers adaptations, and countless others, comic fans need to take control of the Time Gem or a Cosmic Cube just to watch everything. Time is precious!

That’s why, on top of just being a top-notch superhero show, Amazon’s The Tick is so damn refreshing. The first half of Season 1, which you can stream now on Amazon Prime, consists of six episodes that all clock in under (or well under) 30 minutes. You can watch all of The Tick in just two and a half hours! And while these six episodes are unified by the mystery surrounding Arthur’s high-tech moth suit and the super villains that want to snatch it, each installment feels truly unique with moments that really stand out (the Tick crashing a suburban birthday party, or the throwdown with Miss Lint, or the daring bus rescue). There’s more of The Tick’s first season on the way, sure, but it feels great to be able to zip through so much plot in the average runtime of a summer blockbuster.

Now, compare that to Marvel’s Netflix series. Don’t get it twisted: I love all of the Defenders shows dearly (okay, except Iron Fist). I cherish all the hundreds of minutes I get to spend with these broken goofballs, their lovably badass chums, and captivating villains. But that’s the problem: each new series is a massive commitment. On average, every 13-episode Marvel Netflix season lasts 702 minutes. Okay okay okay–those seasons have twice as many episodes as this first Tick chunk. Check this: on average, it would take 323 minutes to watch the first six episodes of every Marvel season! You could watch all of The Tick twice in that time!

As much as I love the Netflix shows (excluding Iron Fist, which had the longest season!), I can admit that all of them waste a lot of time. There are a lot of monologues, pensive glares, and angsty confrontations. Iron Fist devoted so much time to showing people silently walk down hallways. Marvel needs to take some pacing cues from The Tick, a show that zipped its mild-mannered protagonist into his crimefighting gear at the end of episode one. It took almost 13 episodes (696 minutes) for Matt Murdock to do the same in Daredevil.

The Tick’s pacing is actually in step with monthly superhero comics. The average 20-page comic takes between 10 to 20 minutes to read. Comic book writers know their page limitation, and the great writers pace each issue so it’s perfectly balanced with equal parts action, drama, and (if the tone calls for it) levity. If you only have 20 pages per issue, each page has to count. Streaming services apply no such restriction to these superhero shows, which leads to something like a 62 minute Luke Cage episode (a great episode, but still 62 minutes long!). The Tick feels more like a comic book than any other superhero show right now because it works within the limitations of a 20-30 minute timeframe and wastes no time getting to the good stuff.

That’s what I want to see from Netflix’s Marvel Universe: an all killer, no filler approach to storytelling, one that accurately reflects the tight pacing found in great superhero comics. The Tick pulled it off. It’s your turn now, Marvel.

Where to stream The Tick

Where to stream Marvel's Daredevil