Prime Video’s Canceled 2-Season Superhero Parody Is the Perfect Replacement for ‘The Boys’

The Boys may have turned superhero television into a blood-soaked corporate autopsy, but Prime Video already has another superhero satire sitting in its back catalog that deserves a second life. The Tick, Ben Edlund’s gleefully demented two-season comedy, is the perfect rebound watch for anyone who wants superheroes skewered without another gallon of fake blood hitting the ceiling.

Peter Serafinowicz plays the absurdly confident, nigh-invulnerable Tick, while Griffin Newman is Arthur Everest, an anxious accountant who discovers that supposedly dead supervillain The Terror is still operating in The City. Jackie Earle Haley, Valorie Curry, Yara Martinez, Brendan Hines, and Scott Speiser fill out its gallery of heroes, villains, and assorted lunatics. Rotten Tomatoes currently lists the complete series at a hefty 95% critics’ average and 93% audience score.

The comparison with The Boys has teeth beyond both shows living under Amazon’s roof. The Tick also satirized superhero excess, bureaucracy, and absurd mythology – just with a rubber chicken instead of a chainsaw.

The Tick Roasts Superheroes Without Becoming Miserable

Credit: Prime Video

Ben Edlund created the Tick as a comic-book character decades before Hollywood’s current superhero deluge, but the 2016 Amazon incarnation deliberately evolved with the genre. Speaking to TheWrap, Edlund described contemporary culture as having a “manic obsession” with superheroes and explained that his creation absorbs whatever the genre has become: 

That makes The Tick a fascinating counterweight to The Boys. Both puncture the grandeur surrounding costumed heroes, but Edlund’s series doesn’t assume everyone underneath the cape is a monster. The Tick is ridiculous, Arthur is neurotic, Superian is hilariously self-important, and Overkill is practically a grimdark superhero parody who accidentally wandered onto the wrong set.

Beneath the tomfoolery, Arthur gives the show a pulse. He carries childhood trauma after watching The Terror kill the superhero team Flag Five, and his obsession with proving the villain survived leaves everyone questioning his sanity. Newman’s performance refuses to make that pain the punchline.

He told CBS News that he wanted to preserve Arthur’s neurotic and fearful qualities while bringing forward the “sweet and childlike and gentle” side of the character, particularly his empathy for others. That’s the secret sauce. The Tick can mock superhero storytelling mercilessly and still believe that being decent matters.

Amazon Canceled The Tick Just as It Hit Its Stride

Credit: Prime Video

The cruel joke is that The Tick was getting better when Amazon pulled the plug. Season 1 earned a 90% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, but Season 2 climbed to a perfect 100% critics’ score and 96% audience score. Critics particularly praised the second season for expanding its supporting characters without sacrificing the comedy. Rotten Tomatoes records the sophomore season’s spotless Tomatometer from 11 reviews. Amazon nevertheless canceled the series in May 2019, barely a month after Season 2 arrived. Edlund broke the news himself (via TheWrap): 

He added that he loved its cast, story, and message and began searching for another home for the series. A month later, Edlund confirmed that the search had failed to find a new network. That third season never materialized, leaving just 22 episodes across two seasons. Yet the cancellation makes The Tick unusually easy to revisit now. There is no sprawling cinematic homework assignment, seven-season commitment, or labyrinthine mythology demanding a corkboard and red string.

And while The Boys attacks superhero culture by asking how ugly unchecked power could become, The Tick finds comedy in how preposterous the entire machinery already is. Same target, wildly different ammunition. For viewers craving something after The Boys that can still take the piss out of capes without drowning in cynicism, this forgotten Prime Video oddball deserves to crawl back onto the watchlist.

Would The Tick survive longer if it premiered in today’s superhero-fatigued landscape, and which parody does the genre better? Tell us in the comments and follow FandomWire for more updates.