The Tick (2001)

Arthur, a regular accountant, decided to quit his boring but meant to be job and become what he believes is his true calling: a superhero. Arthur is not taken seriously by anyone, and questions his choices. But he meets The Tick (a muscular blue man that just arrived in town) when he accidentally walks in a Soviet conspiracy to release the lethal weapon known as The Red Scare. Arthur is tired of all the superhero shenanigans and decides to quit, but The Tick won't let him: they have to stop The Red Scare from killing former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. In one of the most dangerous situations of his life, Arthur sees himself with only one way of saving Jimmy: flying out of the falling elevator, where The Tick and The Red Scare are confronting each other. Arthur succeeds, and they celebrate the newly formed partnership with other two superheroes: Batmanuel and Captain Liberty.

The Immortal, a legendary superhero who has saved the Earth thousands of times (and the Moon 3 times!) is coming to The City for a book-signing tour. Arthur is ecstatic about the chance of meeting his childhood idol, and Captain Liberty is the one in charge of escorting him to his appointments. Once in the cab with him, Janet can't resist, and the two go to her place, where The Immortal dies in the sack. Now they have to hide the body before anybody discovers. Janet takes Batmanuel (dressed up as The Immortal) to an autograph session, while The Tick and Arthur try to plant the body in the right hotel room. The Tick faces the realization that stuff dies, and Arthur finally works up the courage to ask a girl for her number.

The Tick and Arthur run into Fiery Flame and his sidekick, Friendly Fire. Arthur is shocked to see how badly Fiery treats Friendly. Friendly is also surprised to see that The Tick doesn't treat Arthur like his maid. After a little chat with Arthur, Friendly leaves Fiery, and temporarily moves in with Arthur and Tick. Arthur and Tick are having enough problems of their own (the toothpaste cap, for example) and Friendly suggests Arthur put his foot down regarding his relationship with The Tick. Friendly takes him out to meet other underestimated sidekicks, but Arthur insists he's not a sidekick; he's part of a duo. Finally, Fiery shows up drunk asking for Friendly to go back to him, and Tick and Arthur establish that no one wears the pants in their house. Meanwhile, Captain Liberty attempts to find a companion. She tries to buy a Chow puppy, but the store clerk won't sell it to her, so she asks Batmanuel to buy for her. He buys a bulldog, which not only destroys her house, but also has

When it is revealed to Arthur, Captain Liberty and Batmanuel that The Tick is working without a superhero license, he and Arthur go down to the DMV to obtain one. Only one problem -- The Tick doesn't know his date of birth, his social security number or his real name. In a quest to find out whom he really is, Arthur does a search, which unites The Tick with a woman who claims to be his wife -- but is she the real thing? Meanwhile, Captain Liberty tries dating as a regular woman. And Batmanuel attempts to make the papers.

Arthur runs into an old high school crush of his. Stacy Waxman is her name, and Batmanuel advises Arthur to keep his suit on no matter what, since Stacy seems to be attracted only to The Moth, not Arthur. Arthur schedules a date with Stacy, but he has a hard time getting rid of The Tick, who doesn't understand why he can't tag along. It's up to Captain Liberty and Batmanuel (who were trying to prevent nude photos of Captain Liberty from being printed in an adult magazine) to explain to The Tick what sex is – even if he can't understand it. On patrol, The Tick watches a documentary on insects and how they kill and eat their mates after sex. He rushes back home, fearing Stacy might have killed Arthur. The Tick ruins his date, but fortunately, Stacy was after the man inside the suit. Meanwhile, Batmanuel saves Janet from being demoted while answering to hero court.

The Tick and Arthur are invited to join the League of Superheroes, an all-male, all-white organization that Captain Liberty and Batmanuel had been looking forward to join for a long time. Seeing Arthur and Tick being invited and not them, they decide to take action against the League for discrimination. They think they'll win the case, until they discover that Batmanuel's lawyer is the secret identity of The Champion, who is president of the league. Arthur and Tick eventually quit to support their friends. And once they discover the true identity of Steve, they settle for an amount of money that makes the League go bankrupt.

When Batmanuel backs into the car of villain Destroyo, he, The Tick and Arthur discover a treasure throve of weapons in his trunk. The three go to court to testify against Destroyo, and The Tick winds up in jail for contempt of court. Meanwhile, Captain Liberty is asked to guard the villain while he is in custody, and he ends up chipping away at her confidence, a la Hannibal Lector to Clarice in Silence of the Lambs.

Captain Liberty encourages Arthur to come out to his family as the superhero he really is. The only problem is, his mother and sister don't take the news very well. They admit him into a psychiatric hospital, where they supposedly turn superheroes into "normal" people. The Tick is lost and miserable without Arthur, until Janet unites the group to rescue him.