Pilot (aka The Tick vs The Red Scare) - Recap

He stands in silence, stoic, godlike, the mysterious blue avenger who has become legend to the simple folk of this bus station. But glory will not distract him from his vigil. Who "he" is, is a man in a totally blue, muscular suit. As he towers over the bus station who's roof he is standing upon, a customer below has their money stolen by the coffee machine. As the apparent protector of this bus station, our blue hero jumps down from his perch and proceeds to wrestle the "evil" coffee machine into submission. As it produces a cup of coffee and our hero saves the day, stating it is his "sworn duty to protect this bus station," the manager of the bus station arrives behind our hero and drops something. Telling this blue being that it was he who dropped this item, our hero picks it up, realizing it is a bus ticket to leave this bus station and go to "The City." Curious as to why he has this ticket, the bus manager, obviously fed up with our hero, tells him it must be because he has freed the bus station from the tyranny of the coffee machine. Deciding he must move on to a place where there is stuff to do, our blue hero boards the bus while the manager curiously asks "Who was that???" to which our hero replies: "He was..... The Tick!"

While Arthur, a lowly accountant, sits at his desk in a costume, his boss storms in declaring he will take care of this issue on his own. As the boss looks for an explanation for this costume, a nervous Arthur explains to him that his accounting job just hasn't been cutting it for him - that he he been harboring something more, a deeper desire. He is going to now become... a superhero! "You know, part time at first." Arthur is taken aback as his somewhat eccentric boss rips into him about his ridiculous dream. Arthur mentions that he understands the risks involved but his boss says he cannot be both a superhero and an accountant in his firm. As Arthur sits there shocked, we go back to The Tick.

The Tick is on top of a building this time, somewhere in The City. He realizes his new duty is to protect this city and we then go back to Arthur who is now at an old bar and restaurant for out of commission superheros. While Arthur justifies his actions to no one in particular, the bartender tells him how his costume looks stupid. Trying to prove her wrong, he claims it is a flying suit, and promptly ejects the thin wings out to which he claims he will use to finally fly for the first time, tonight.

Meanwhile, The Tick is jumping from building to building, breaking things in the process, as he describes to us how he will be the new savior of the city. We also go back to Arthur, now leaving the bar, who is depressed in his day and wonders to himself if he is making a careless decision.

The City encounters its first villains in the Russians, who are planning to destroy the U.S. Postal Service. However, Arthur stumbles upon their operations leaving the bar. As they are about to teach him a lesson about trying to be a hero, The Tick hears his cries and rushes to the scene. With ease, he dominates the group of thugs, however he accidentally triggers the Russians weapon: a robot set to destroy anything in its path. He rushes to tell his new found friend on the rooftops what he sees. While trying to explain to The Tick what he saw, another superhero arrives on the rooftops. He is Batmanuel, a famous suave superhero, especially among the ladies. But the party isn't over, as yet another superhero, Captain Liberty, arrives on the rooftop. Arthur desperately tries to tell them all of the robot but none of them will listen as they are too interested in their own agendas. Realizing that the superheros he cherishes so much are not all that they seem, Arthur leaves the rooftop, saddened by what he has seen.

Arthur heads back home and analyzes himself. Determining that he is nothing but an idiot in a bunny suit, he decides the superhero life may not be for him after all. However, The Tick comes barging in, looking for him and wondering what his seemingly normal apartment looks like when he flips the trigger to turn it into his superhero lair. After Arthur explains to him that he has given up trying to become a superhero, The Tick refuses to accept his choice. He tells Arthur that he believes in him and brings in one of the Russians whom he defeated earlier to try and convince Arthur that he should continue after so easily thwarting the Russians. He also explains the robot is The Red Scare, programmed to kill Jimmy Carter, as it was built in the late 1970s. Surprisingly enough, Jimmy Carter is visiting The City that week.

The Tick and Arthur rush off to the hotel where the former President is staying. Whilst in the elevator, Arthur again panics about his abilities against The Red Scare while The Tick seems the least bit nervous. Again reassuring him he will be fine, The Tick kidnaps the former president when the elevator door opens revealing him waiting to take that same elevator. The Tick warns him of his robot problem while the former President freaks out, screaming for help. But suddenly, The Red Scare drops in through the roof of the elevator. The Tick begins to battle with him but eventually he has his head smashed through the elevator and is stuck, scraping down the side of the shaft. Realizing that the time is now for him to become the superhero he has dreamed of, Arthur expels his wings and he and the President fly up from the elevator just before it wrecks.

In the remnants of the elevator wreckage, we find The Tick, still alive. Back at the bar, he and Arthur finish telling the story to Batmanuel and Captain Liberty. They find that they are the talk of the town. But justice does not rest, as the streets become ablaze with the next villain Arthur must face: Apocalypse Cow. After all, as The Tick says... it is his destiny!

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