Arthur is a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

, a vigilante

Vigilante

A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....

 in the Tick comic book series

The Tick (comic book)

The Tick was a comic book series created by Ben Edlund in 1988 and originally published in black-and-white by the New England Comics store in Boston, Massachusetts. The series provided modest beginnings for its title character, who would later feature in his own television programs and merchandise...

, animated series, and live action series. He serves as The Tick's sidekick

Sidekick

A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...

.

Overview

Arthur wears a moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

 suit, which gives him the ability to fly, but he is often mistaken for a bunny

Bunny

Bunny is a colloquial name for rabbits.Bunny may also refer to:-People:* Allu Arjun , Telugu film star, nicknamed Bunny* Andrew "bunnie" Huang , American hacker* Bunny Ahearne , British ice hockey promoter...

 because of the shape and size of his antennae, and the fact that his wings are folded up. He is an extremely kind, sensible and intelligent person, but his social skills are somewhat lacking as he is shy and has little self confidence. He often shows mild discomfort or annoyance with the dangers and frustrations of being a superhero's sidekick. Various family members and friends continuously beg him to give up his superhero

Superhero

A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...

 lifestyle. Arthur is Jewish, but he does celebrate non-Jewish holidays, such as Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

. Arthur’s apartment serves as his and The Tick’s superhero headquarters.

Arthur first appeared as a character in The Tick #4, but he can be seen as a mysterious flying figure in the background of earlier issues of that series. Trained as an accountant

Accountant

An accountant is a practitioner of accountancy or accounting , which is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information that helps managers, investors, tax authorities and others make decisions about allocating resources.The Big Four auditors are the largest...

, Arthur purchases his moth-suit at an auction and decides to pursue the life of a superhero. He is currently on indefinite "psychiatric

Psychiatry

Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...

 leave" from his accounting firm. After rescuing the Thorn of Oblivion, a powerful ninja artifact, and helping The Tick and Oedipus defeat the ninjas, Arthur decided to become The Tick’s sidekick.

Arthur has a romantic relationship with Chet Atkins, a waitress at a local fast food restaurant, whom Arthur rescues after the restaurant was destroyed.

Arthur has two sisters, Dot and Alice. Alice is married to an ex-coworker of Arthur’s named Errol, who, after winning a fortune in Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

 has decided to become a supervillain, the Slot Jockey of Doom. Alice and Errol have two children. In the animated series, Dot begins dating paleontologist "Dinosaur" Neil, an associate of Arthur and the Tick's and occasional unwilling super-villain (accidental ingestion of a sample of cloned dinosaur tissue causes him to transform into a giant, mindless reptilian), and eventually marries him.

Arthur's costume and timid nature were inspired by "The Mothman," one of the Minutemen in Alan Moore's Watchmen

Watchmen

Watchmen is a twelve-issue comic book limited series created by writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colourist John Higgins. The series was published by DC Comics during 1986 and 1987, and has been subsequently reprinted in collected form...

.

Powers

While Arthur only uses the moth suit to fly (and poorly, at that), it has a host of other built-in powers that he doesn't know how to activate. The suit, which he bought at a yard sale, did not come with the instruction manual. When the villainous Bowlingame acquired the suit, he quipped "I'll bet he didn't even know about the night vision, the fool."

Appearances in other media

Arthur is one of the few characters that appears in all versions of The Tick. In the animated series, Arthur's moth suit was created by scientist JJ Vatos. Later, Arthur develops a bashful romance with Vatos’s daughter, Carmelita, who has an identical flying suit. Arthur’s sister also appears, and The Tick and Arthur often borrow her car for road trips or errands. Dot is dating and later marries Dinosaur Neil

Dinosaur Neil

Dinosaur Neil is a fictional character from the animated television series, The Tick. Voiced by Danny Mann, he is a near middle-aged man with a thick mustache who works at a dinosaur park, apparently as a mascot; however, he is actually a paleontologist, thus working twofold with dinosaurs...

. Arthur adopts the battle cry

Battle cry

A battle cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same military unit.Battle cries are not necessarily articulate, although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religious sentiment....

 "Not in the face!" after The Tick chooses "Spoon!"

Arthur is voiced by Micky Dolenz

Micky Dolenz

George Michael "Micky" Dolenz, Jr. is an American actor, musician, television director, radio personality and theater director, best known as a member of the 1960s made-for-television band The Monkees.-Biography:...

 (Season One) and Rob Paulsen

Rob Paulsen

Robert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson, is an American voice actor, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner and Dr...

 (Season Two and Three). He is played by David Burke

David Burke (American actor)

David Burke is an American television actor. He attended the College of William and Mary where his most famous role was that of Eugene Morris Jerome in Brighton Beach Memoirs.-Career:Burke has appeared on many television shows in guest roles...

in the live action TV series. This series also introduces Arthur’s mother named Bea.